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How long can you stay on Mounjaro?

Robbie Puddick
Written by

Robbie Puddick

Medically reviewed by

Fiona Moncrieff

4 min read
Last updated December 2024
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Jump to: How long should I stay on Mounjaro? | How long will I continue to lose weight on Mounjaro? | What happens when you stop Mounjaro? | Second Nature’s medication programmes

If you’ve purchased the medication privately, you can stay on Mounjaro for life if you can tolerate the medication and it doesn’t lead to any adverse side effects that inhibit your quality of life.

For example, if you meet our eligibility criteria, you can purchase Mounjaro from Second Nature as part of our Mounjaro weight-loss programme.

The programme is designed to support you in building healthy habits so you can maintain your weight loss in the long term.

Some people will choose to come off Mounjaro when they reach their weight loss goal; others will wish to remain on the medication to help maintain weight loss.

As long as this is approved and appropriate with our clinical team, then you could effectively stay on Mounjaro for life if that’s the best approach to managing your weight.

However, if you’ve been prescribed Mounjaro via the NHS, the current NICE recommendations don’t approve taking the drug beyond 2 years.

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How long should I stay on Mounjaro?

How long you should stay on Mounjaro will depend on your weight loss goals and how well you tolerate the medication.

Research suggests that Mounjaro can support weight loss of around 26% of body weight after 88 weeks, with 94% of participants tolerating the medication enough to stay on it for the duration of the trial.

Additionally, over 92% of individuals in this trial lost more than 10% of their body weight and 70% greater than 20%. This suggests the majority of people taking Mounjaro will achieve significant weight loss after 88 weeks on the medication.

So, it’s likely that most people would be able to reach their weight loss goals within 1-2 years after starting Mounjaro.

However, you may wish to stay on the medication for longer to maintain weight loss.

How long will I continue to lose weight on Mounjaro?

Data from randomised controlled trials suggests that weight loss tends to plateau after around 18 months on the medication.

The average weight loss on Mounjaro after 18 months is around 26%, after this, it tends to plateau and maintain at this level.

However, as this is an average, it doesn’t accurately predict how much weight loss each individual will achieve. Some may lose 10%, while others 25%+.

The amount of weight you can lose on Mounjaro doesn’t just depend on the medication but the healthy habits you’re able to develop and maintain.

If you develop a healthier lifestyle while on Mounjaro, you’ll likely reach your weight loss goals and be able to maintain this weight loss in the long term.

What happens when you stop Mounjaro?

Based on data from a randomised controlled trial (RCT), you’ll likely regain some of the weight you lose on Mounjaro after stopping the treatment if you haven’t made the necessary lifestyle changes to help you maintain weight loss.

In the RCT mentioned above, 670 participants were placed on an intervention to receive a Mounjaro weight-loss injection once a week.

Average weight loss at 36 weeks was ~21%. At this stage, the participants were randomised to continue on the medication or start receiving a placebo to investigate the impact of stopping Mounjaro on weight loss.

After 88 weeks (one year after the groups were split), the results showed that the group who stopped Mounjaro had lost 9.5% of their body weight on average, showing they regained 11.5% of the weight they’d lost after 36 weeks in the trial.

After almost two years, losing 9.5% of body weight is still a significant achievement, and it’s highly likely that the health of the participants improved compared to the start of the trial.

However, the trend in this group indicates that the weight continued to be regained over time.

In comparison, the group that stayed on Mounjaro continued to lose weight and lost another 5% of their body weight on average, losing nearly 26% after 88 weeks.

Mounjaro isn’t a magic pill

Weight-loss injections are most effective when combined with a healthier lifestyle. They can help kickstart weight loss while you commit to developing healthier habits.

Mounjaro and other weight loss injections, like Ozempic and Wegovy, can allow you to make lifestyle changes to support long-term weight loss.

These medications can help silence food-related thoughts and give you a boost of confidence with more immediate weight-loss results.

They can also buy you the time and headspace to understand why your body may have struggled to lose weight and build new long-term healthy habits.

The core focus of our medication programmes is to calm down the feeling of food noise, lower your cravings, and allow you to build healthier habits to keep the weight off for good.

The ultimate goal is to make losing weight feel second nature.

Second Nature’s medication programmes

Second Nature has two medication-supported programmes: a Wegovy weight-loss programme and a Mounjaro weight-loss programme.

Why should you choose Second Nature over other medication providers if you’ve decided to try Mounjaro or Wegovy (assuming you’re eligible)?

For peace of mind.

Second Nature has worked with the NHS for over 6 years, providing weight-loss programmes across the UK.

While our Mounjaro and Mounjaro weight-loss programmes are private and not currently used by the NHS, we’ve built the programmes focusing on scientific evidence, patient safety, and data security.

We hope that our 6+ years of working with the NHS and building a track record of effective weight-loss results will give you peace of mind to give us a try.

Medication-assisted weight loss with a future focus

Start with Wegovy or Mounjaro, transition to habit-based health with our support

Mounjaro pen
Wegovy pen
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