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GLP-1s

How Mounjaro works for weight loss

Robbie Puddick
Written by

Robbie Puddick

Medically reviewed by

Fiona Moncrieff

4 min read
Last updated October 2024
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Jump to: What is Mounjaro? | How much weight can you lose on Mounjaro | Mounjaro isn’t a magic pill | Second Nature’s Mounjaro programme

Mounjaro supports weight loss by mimicking two hormones in the body, GLP-1 and GIP, that communicate with the brain’s appetite control centre, the hypothalamus, to lower hunger and food-seeking behaviour.

By lowering hunger and our desire to eat, Mounjaro helps us eat fewer calories to achieve a calorie deficit.

A calorie deficit is when we consume fewer calories than our body needs to fuel its essential functions, like digestion, blood flow, and brain function.

By creating a calorie deficit, our bodies will ‘burn’ the excess fat that we have stored for energy, and we’ll lose weight.

Mounjaro also slows down the rate at which we digest food so that our stomach and gut send signals to the brain to signal the feeling of fullness.

So, Mounjaro supports weight loss by making us feel less hungry through two mechanisms:

  1. Communicating with the brain’s appetite control centre
  2. Slowing the rate that food is digested

Medication-assisted weight loss with a future focus

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

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What is Mounjaro?

Mounjaro is a dual-function medication for individuals living with type 2 diabetes and obesity. The drug in Mounjaro is tirzepatide.

Tirzepatide is sold under the brand name Mounjaro in the UK, or Zepbound for obesity in the U.S., and manufactured by the pharmaceutical company Eli Lily.

Tirzepatide mimics two hormones in the body: GLP-1 and glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide (GIP).

When we eat food, our gut releases a hormone that helps the body regulate hunger and blood sugar levels. This hormone is called GLP-1 (glucagon-like peptide-1).

The actions of GLP-1 are the target of Mounjaro and other medications like Wegovy, Saxenda, and Ozempic.

This class of medications are known as GLP-1 receptor activators (GLP-1s). They mimic the actions of the hormone GLP-1 to activate the GLP-1 receptors.

GLP-1s improve insulin function to lower blood sugar levels and delay gastric emptying, decreasing appetite. GLP-1s also communicate with the brain’s appetite control centre, the hypothalamus, to reduce food-seeking behaviour.

Separately from GLP-1s, the other hormone that Mounjaro mimics is called GIP.

GIP is a hormone released in response to food that helps regulate blood sugar levels and helps our fat cells ‘absorb’ more excess energy, preventing fat from being stored in the liver or pancreas.

GIP also has receptors in the brain, similar to GLP-1, and scientists believe it’s also involved in regulating appetite.

The medications that mimic GIP are known as GIP mimetics. These additional actions are Mounjaro’s target.

So, tirzepatide has a dual function that mimics two hormones in the body that support blood glucose levels and weight loss.

How much weight can you lose on Mounjaro?

Research suggests that Mounjaro leads to an average weight loss of around 25% after one year. If you weighed 100 kg, that would be a weight loss of 25kg.

This research also showed the percentage of participants on Mounjaro achieving more than 10% weight loss is incredibly high. 92% of participants on Mounjaro achieved more than 10% weight loss, with 84% achieving more than 15%.

Achieving over 10% weight loss is associated with clinically significant reductions in risk of chronic conditions such as type 2 diabetes and heart disease.

Mounjaro isn’t a magic pill

Weight-loss injections are designed as additional tools for weight management interventions and shouldn’t be considered lifelong medications.

Instead, they should be used to help you kickstart your weight loss and healthy journey while you commit to living a healthier lifestyle.

Consider the use of antidepressants for people living with depression. They’re not designed to cure the condition. Instead, they’re designed to allow room for therapy to treat the condition’s underlying cause.

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

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

This helps to buy you the time and headspace to understand why your body may have struggled to lose weight previously, and to 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-supported programmes

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

If you’ve made the decision to try Wegovy or Mounjaro (assuming you’re eligible), why should you choose Second Nature over other medication providers?

For peace of mind.

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

Whilst our Wegovy and Mounjaro weight-loss programmes are private and not currently used by the NHS, we’ve built the programmes with a focus 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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