Why people decide to stop Mounjaro
Several reasons lead people to consider coming off Mounjaro, even when it’s working well to support weight loss and maintain healthy eating habits.
Cost is the biggest factor for most people. At £200-300 monthly, the long-term expense adds up quickly. Many start the medication hoping to lose weight and then maintain their progress without ongoing costs.
Reaching your target weight naturally raises questions about continued use. Once you’ve hit your goal, it’s normal to wonder whether you still need the medication or can manage on your own.
Side effects prompt some people to look for alternatives. While most tolerate Mounjaro well, persistent nausea or digestive issues can make stopping feel like the better option.
Life changes sometimes require breaks from medication. Planning a pregnancy, other medical procedures, or drug interactions may mean temporary or permanent discontinuation.
Wanting independence from medication motivates many decisions. Some people feel uncomfortable relying on long-term medication and want to test their ability to maintain weight loss naturally.
Supply problems occasionally force unexpected breaks. When shortages or prescription issues interrupt treatment, some use the opportunity to stop permanently rather than restart.
Understanding why you want to stop helps determine the best timing and approach for coming off the medication.
What happens in your body when you stop suddenly
When you stop taking Mounjaro suddenly, your body may go through sudden changes as it adjusts to functioning without the medication.
Your appetite comes back. Mounjaro works by mimicking hormones that control hunger and fullness.
When Mounjaro gradually leaves your system, you’ll likely notice your hunger and appetite increasing.
If you stop taking Mounjaro suddenly and haven’t developed healthy habits, it’s possible that the hunger, cravings, and food noise can return to what it was like before starting the medication.
Your stomach empties faster again. While on Mounjaro, your stomach empties more slowly, helping you feel full longer. This effect reverses when you stop, which can initially cause some digestive discomfort as your system returns to normal.
Your blood sugar regulation changes. Even if you don’t have diabetes, you might notice energy swings as your blood sugar control adjusts to working without medication support. This response will largely depend on whether you’re maintaining healthy eating habits.
Mood and energy can shift. The appetite control and steady energy that Mounjaro provides often improve people’s day-to-day well-being. Some may experience irritability or anxiety around food when this support disappears.
The timeline of Mounjaro’s effects stopping. Mounjaro stays in your system for about 25-30 days after your last injection. Most people notice appetite changes within the first week, with the full effects becoming clear by the one-month mark.
The slow approach versus stopping suddenly
How you stop Mounjaro significantly affects your chances of maintaining weight loss.
Gradual reduction works better because it gives your hunger hormones time to readjust slowly rather than rebound dramatically all at once.
Your digestive system also adapts more smoothly when the change happens gradually, reducing uncomfortable side effects during the transition.
Most importantly, tapering slowly lets you test and strengthen your healthy habits while you still have some medication support.
You can work out which strategies help you manage hunger and portion sizes before losing that support entirely.
Stopping suddenly creates bigger challenges. Many people describe becoming “ravenously hungry” in a way that makes sticking to healthy eating extremely challenging.
Quick weight regain often follows the sudden stopping of Mounjaro, especially in the first few weeks when appetite rebounds are strongest.
The psychological impact of rapid regain can create discouragement, making long-term success even harder.
A practical tapering schedule might involve reducing your dose of Mounjaro by 2.5 mg every 4-8 weeks, depending on how you feel and whether your weight stays stable.
For Mounjaro, this could mean transitioning from 15mg to 12.5mg, staying at this dose for 1 months, then reducing to 10mg for another 1-2 months, and continuing the downward trend.
The key is moving slowly enough that you can maintain your weight and eating patterns at each dose level before reducing further.
If you start regaining weight or struggling with hunger at a particular dose, you might need to stay there longer.
Managing hunger and cravings naturally
Healthy eating habits can help you come off Mounjaro and manage your cravings naturally.
Here are our top recommendations for managing hunger naturally when coming off of Mounjaro.
Protein becomes your best friend
Aim for 30-40 grams of protein at each meal, that’s roughly a piece of chicken or fish the size of your open hand.
Protein from whole foods provides the biggest reduction in hunger levels compared to any other nutrient.
Fibre helps replace some of Mounjaro’s effects
Fill half your plate with non-starchy vegetables like broccoli, spinach, and peppers. These high-fibre foods help you feel fuller longer and slow down digestion naturally.
Add 1-3 servings of fruit daily, like berries with breakfast or an apple with lunch. Seeds like chia or flaxseed, when mixed into yoghurt or smoothies, provide extra fibre along with protein and fat.
Meal timing becomes crucial
Without Mounjaro’s effect, eating at regular times helps to maintain lower hunger levels throughout the day.
Stick to three balanced meals daily, and include protein-rich snacks if you have more than 3-5 hours between meals. Tinned salmon on crackers or apple slices with peanut butter works well.
Sleep affects hunger hormones, too
Poor sleep increases your hunger hormone ghrelin and makes you crave energy-dense foods.
Aim for 7-9 hours nightly by going to bed at the same time, avoiding screens before bed, and getting morning sunlight.
Exercise helps your brain manage hunger more effectively
You don’t need intense workouts; even 20-30 minutes of daily walking helps regulate hunger hormones and improves mood during the transition.
Strength training twice weekly helps maintain muscle mass, which supports healthy metabolism and sends better hunger signals to your brain.
Handle cravings with specific techniques
When intense food urges hit, try the ‘urge surfing’ method – acknowledge the craving without immediately acting on it. Most intense cravings peak and fade within 10-15 minutes.
Have a list of activities ready for when cravings strike: call someone, take a walk, do a crossword puzzle. The goal is to ride out the urge without giving in to it without thought.
Protecting your weight loss progress
To maintain your weight after coming off Mounjaro, you’ll need to cement the habits you built while on the medication.
Strengthen the habits you developed. The eating patterns you built while on Mounjaro need to become automatic behaviours that don’t require constant willpower.
Practice eating slowly and paying attention to fullness cues. This becomes more important when you don’t have medication helping you feel satisfied with smaller portions.
Continue using smaller plates and measuring portions using your hands initially to maintain appropriate serving sizes without the medication’s help.
At Second Nature, we recommend using the following hand portion guide for each meal:
- A portion of protein the size of an open hand (roughly 25% of your plate)
- One fistful of complex carbohydrates (roughly 25% of your plate)
- A portion of vegetables the size of two open hands (roughly 50% of your plate)
- At least a serving of fat the size of your thumb (like a teaspoon of extra virgin olive oil)
Build your support network. Consider regular check-ins with a nutritionist, joining a weight maintenance group with friends or family, or working with a health coach who understands the challenges of maintaining weight after stopping GLP-1 medications.
Plan for challenging situations. Have strategies ready for eating out, social events, travel, and periods of stress. These situations often trigger overeating without proper planning.
Focus on whole foods over processed ones. Foods in their natural state – fruits, vegetables, meat, fish, seafood, legumes, nuts, seeds, and whole grains – will help you feeling fuller for longer and manage blood sugar levels to avoid energy crashes that often lead to overeating.
When staying on medication might be better
While many people can successfully stop Mounjaro, you might not be ready yet. Here are some things to keep in mind to determine whether you need to stay on the medication.
You’re still developing healthy habits. If you still struggle with portion control, emotional eating, or consistent healthy behaviours while on Mounjaro, you might struggle to maintain weight loss if you stop Mounjaro.
You have other health conditions. Conditions like insulin resistance or type 2 diabetes that contribute to weight gain might require ongoing medication support to manage effectively.
High stress periods aren’t ideal for stopping. Major life changes, work pressure, or relationship problems make weight maintenance harder and might not be the best time to remove the support of the medication.
Limited support systems. If you don’t have access to nutritional guidance or other weight maintenance resources, like how to maintain habits in the long run, it might not be the right time to stop Mounjaro.
Previous weight regain history indicates you might benefit from longer medication use. If you’ve repeatedly lost and regained significant weight, the factors driving the regain may not have been resolved yet.
Take home message
Successfully coming off Mounjaro can be done, but it’s essential to have developed the healthy habits that will help you keep the weight off in the long term.
Building these habits takes time, often much longer than people expect. If you’re still struggling with portion control, emotional eating, or maintaining consistent healthy behaviours while on Mounjaro, you might not be ready to stop yet.
Weight regain becomes more likely when the medication is stopped before these habits are truly established.
Research indicates that tapering off medication slowly provides the best chance of success.
People who reduce their dose gradually over several months while strengthening their habits maintain their weight loss far better than those who stop suddenly.
Remember that there’s no shame in needing medication support for longer. Some people develop sustainable habits within months, while others need a year or more.
The goal isn’t to get off medication as quickly as possible; it’s to maintain your weight loss for life.
Second Nature's Mounjaro programme
Second Nature provides Mounjaro as part of our Mounjaro weight-loss programme
Why choose Second Nature over other medication providers, assuming you’re eligible?
Because peace of mind matters.
We’ve had the privilege of working with the NHS for over eight years, helping people across the UK take meaningful steps toward a healthier, happier life.
Our programmes are designed to meet people where they are, whether that means support with weight loss through compassionate one-to-one health coaching, or access to the latest weight-loss medications (like Mounjaro) delivered alongside expert care from a multidisciplinary team of doctors, psychologists, dietitians, and personal trainers.
At the heart of everything we do is a simple belief: real, lasting change comes from building better habits, not relying on quick fixes. We’re here to support that change every step of the way.
With over a decade of experience, thousands of lives changed, and a long-standing record of delivering programmes used by the NHS, we believe we're the UK’s most trusted weight-loss programme.
We hope to offer you something invaluable: peace of mind, and the support you need to take that first step.
