Weight Regain following Weight Loss Meds

Weight regain following weight loss meds may be happening far faster than we realised.

And that matters rather a lot.

A huge new 2026 meta-analysis published in the British Medical Journal has delivered a sobering insight (full paper linked in comments).

📜 Here are the Headlines

Weight regained after stopping weight-loss medications is dramatically faster than regain following behavioural approaches.

Researchers analysed randomised trials, non-randomised trials and observational studies involving adults with overweight and obesity using medications such as Wegovy and Mounjaro.

Key Findings

➡️ Average regain after stopping medication: 0.4 kg per month

➡️ Projected return to baseline weight: 1.7 years

➡️ Improvements seen during treatment (HbA1c, fasting glucose, cholesterol, triglycerides and blood pressure) were also projected to return to baseline within 1.4 years after cessation

Now compare that with behavioural change programmes where typical regain after structured lifestyle interventions is 0.02 kg per month

That’s a 20-fold difference.

So what does this mean?

One interpretation is simple & unavoidable. To retain benefit, one may need to stay on these medications indefinitely, with all the financial, nutritional and physiological implications that come with that.

Yet there is surely a better way. If one is going to use weight loss meds, safely, with support, what would that look like?

Weight Loss Meds Good Practice?

☑️ Leverage the motivation boost to reshape habits

☑️ Build sustainable routines that survive after the medication

☑️ Add resistance training to preserve lean muscle

☑️ Improve aerobic fitness, mobility and energy

☑️ Learn to make movement something you actually enjoy

☑️ Upgrade dietary quality rather than just eat less of the same food

☑️ Prioritise protein to support muscle recovery and metabolic health

☑️ Design your environment so better choices become the default

☑️ Use social and emotional support to reinforce new behaviours

☑️ Understand your relationship with food not just your calories

☑️ Build habits that make long-term success easier, not harder

Wrap-around care and genuine transformational change?

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