SheMed vs Second Nature

Jump to: Quick comparison | How each service works | Clinical evidence | Support and coaching | Medication options | Pricing | Who should choose each | Frequently asked questions | Take home message

SheMed is a women-focused prescription service that pairs GLP-1 medication with blood testing, app-based check-ins, and a 10-week support programme. Second Nature is a dietitian-led weight management programme that combines medication with ongoing one-to-one coaching, group sessions, AI support, and structured behaviour change support.

The biggest difference between the two is the type of programme that’s provided alongside the medication, and how you’re supported during treatment.

SheMed’s model centres on clinical oversight, with baseline blood tests and periodic follow-ups, weekly app check-ins, and a side-effect care package.

Second Nature pairs medication with registered dietitian coaching, a behavioural programme based on the COM-B model, peer support groups, and a structured plan for maintaining weight loss after medication.

Second Nature has been commissioned by the NHS since 2017 and has published 12-month outcomes in a peer-reviewed journal.¹ SheMed has a clinical trial in progress but has not yet published programme-specific outcomes data.

SheMed has a 4.1/5 Trustpilot rating from over 6,500 reviews. Second Nature has a 4.6/5 rating from over 8,100 reviews spanning eight years of operation.

This guide was written by Second Nature, so it naturally reflects our perspective. We’ve aimed to present SheMed’s offering as fairly and accurately as possible.

SheMed also has a male-focused sister brand, HeMed (hemed.com), which offers a similar programme for men.

SheMed vs Second Nature: quick comparison

Trustpilot ratings and review counts checked on 15 October 2026.

How each service works

SheMed: women-focused prescription service

SheMed is a UK-based online platform marketed primarily at women, though its support page states the programme is open to all genders. Their sister brand, HeMed, offers a similar programme for men.

The process starts with a two-minute online quiz covering BMI and health conditions.

If you’re potentially eligible, SheMed sends an at-home blood test kit. The blood test measures markers including cholesterol, liver function, thyroid activity, and diabetes risk.

Once a clinician reviews your results, they prescribe and deliver your medication, along with a side-effect care package containing sharps bins, needles, and over-the-counter medicines for common side effects.

Nurse Rachael Joy (BSc Hons, NIP, ACP) and Dr Matthew Noble lead SheMed’s clinical team.

Prescribing and clinical services are provided through eMed, a CQC-registered provider with a GPhC-registered pharmacy partner.

After starting, you complete weekly check-ins through the SheMed app, covering weight, mood, and symptoms.

The app also provides clinician-written content on diet, exercise, and women’s health, including webinars. SheMed publishes a 10-week support programme covering habits, nutrition, exercise, sleep, and weight maintenance. The programme includes additional blood tests at 6 and 12 months.

Second Nature: programme provider with medication

Second Nature pairs medication with a structured behaviour change programme. You’re assigned a registered dietitian or nutritionist available five days a week through in-app messaging and placed in a small peer support group.

The programme runs across four phases using the COM-B behaviour change model, covering nutrition (using a balanced plate model rather than calorie counting), physical activity, sleep, and the psychological aspects of eating behaviour. Daily educational content is delivered through the app.¹

Everything is bundled into a single monthly fee: medication, delivery, one-to-one coaching, webinars, AI support, app access, and peer support.

Clinical evidence

Second Nature

Second Nature has published programme-specific outcomes in peer-reviewed journals. Our 2025 study in JMIR Formative Research found¹:

• 19.1% average weight loss at 12 months for active subscribers (around 20 kg)
• 77.7% of those with 12-month weight data achieved at least 10% weight loss
• 61.5% of those with 12-month weight data achieved at least 15% weight loss
• 69% of survey respondents reported no side effects at month 12

These results do not include everyone who started: 341 people joined the study, 179 provided weight data at 12 months, and 135 remained active subscribers. The side-effect figure comes from 116 survey respondents.

An NHS England-funded evaluation also reported outcomes across providers in the digital NHS Diabetes Prevention Programme.² These were results from diabetes prevention services, rather than GLP-1 medication programmes.

SheMed

SheMed has not published programme-specific weight-loss outcomes in a peer-reviewed journal.

Their website references clinical trial data from the manufacturers of Wegovy and Mounjaro, including the STEP UP trial for Wegovy 7.2 mg and the SURMOUNT-5 head-to-head trial.

These are important studies, but they reflect the medication’s efficacy in controlled trial settings, not SheMed’s specific programme outcomes.

SheMed has stated on its website that it’s conducting a clinical study, which is a positive step. As a growing service, this is not unusual. It does mean there’s no independently published data on how SheMed’s specific model compares to medication alone.

Support and coaching

This is the most significant difference between the two services.

Second Nature

You’re assigned an HCPC-registered dietitian or AfN-registered nutritionist for one-to-one support, available five days a week via in-app messaging. Coaches receive specific training in GLP-1 side-effect management. You’re placed in a small peer support group within the app.¹

Your membership includes one-to-one coaching, human-led webinars, and AI support for everyday food and habit questions. AI can provide quick answers between conversations with your coach.

Your nutritionist or dietitian gets to know your circumstances, agrees practical changes with you, and follows up on how they’re working. This ongoing relationship provides personal accountability and professional judgement alongside the app’s daily support.

This approach reflects the clinical standards we’ve developed through our work with the NHS since 2017.

The programme delivers daily educational content covering nutrition, medication management, physical activity, sleep, and the psychological aspects of eating, including resources for emotional eating and stress.

The programme also includes structured guidance for maintaining weight loss if you decide to taper or stop medication. This matters because a 2022 study found that participants regained around two-thirds of the weight they’d lost in the year after semaglutide and the study’s lifestyle support stopped.³

SheMed

SheMed combines clinical monitoring with educational and community support. After starting, you log into the SheMed app for weekly check-ins covering weight, mood, and symptoms.

Its 10-week support programme covers habits, nutrition, exercise, stress, and weight maintenance. The app also includes webinars, and SheMed advertises community chats, monthly webinars, and events.

The blood testing is a genuine differentiator. Knowing your baseline cholesterol, liver function, and blood glucose levels can be clinically valuable, and tracking how these markers change over 12 months can provide useful data for both you and your clinician.

Most private weight-loss providers, including Second Nature, don’t currently include this as standard.

However, blood testing alone doesn’t address the behavioural side of weight management. Knowing your cholesterol level is useful; having a dietitian help you change the eating patterns that affect it is a different kind of support.

SheMed therefore offers more than medication monitoring alone. Its public programme pages don’t clearly advertise an assigned registered nutritionist or dietitian for ongoing one-to-one coaching. Second Nature includes this personal support throughout the programme, alongside webinars and AI.

Medication options

Both providers prescribe Mounjaro (tirzepatide) and Wegovy (semaglutide), the two most effective GLP-1 weight-loss medications currently available in the UK.

Both offer Wegovy 7.2 mg, the higher dose approved by the MHRA in January 2026.⁴ The STEP UP trial published in The Lancet Diabetes and Endocrinology found that this dose achieved an average weight loss of 20.7% at 72 weeks among adherent participants, with 33.2% losing at least 25% of their body weight.⁵

Neither service allows you to request a specific dose. Both follow clinical guidelines for gradual titration, starting at a lower dose and increasing based on your response and tolerance.

SheMed allows switching between Mounjaro and Wegovy mid-programme if you and your clinician agree it’s appropriate.

Pricing

Prices checked on 15 October 2026. Offers vary by medication, dose, and plan, so check each provider’s current terms.

SheMed

SheMed advertises programme pricing from £59 for the first month, then from £139/month. The price depends on the medication, dose, and offer.

The price includes medication, the app, weekly check-ins, clinical oversight, and the side-effect starter kit. Blood tests are included at baseline, 6 months, and 12 months.

SheMed also offers a 3-month commitment plan and a maintenance programme for lower doses.

Second Nature

Second Nature charges an all-inclusive monthly fee covering medication, delivery, dietitian coaching, app access, and peer support:

• Wegovy programme: from £84 for the first month on a 12-month plan, then £134–£284/month depending on dose. Flexible monthly plans cost £159–£309/month before any introductory discount. See current prices and plan terms.
• Mounjaro programme: pricing available on the Second Nature website
• Non-medication programme: from £33/month

SheMed’s introductory price is lower. Its service includes medication, clinical monitoring, blood testing, and educational resources. Second Nature’s price includes the prescription plus ongoing one-to-one dietitian or nutritionist coaching, webinars, AI support, a structured programme, and peer support groups.

Who should choose each?

SheMed may suit you if:

• You want blood testing included to track health markers over time
• You prefer a women-focused service with female-specific health content
• You’re comfortable using structured educational resources alongside medication and clinical monitoring
• You’re looking for a lower-cost entry point for the first few months of treatment
• You value the convenience of a side-effect care package delivered alongside your medication

Second Nature may suit you if:

• You want dietitian-led coaching alongside your medication from day one
• Published, peer-reviewed clinical outcomes are important to you
• You want ongoing one-to-one coaching from a registered nutritionist or dietitian included alongside webinars and AI support
• You value in-app peer support from others at a similar stage
• You want a provider with current NHS weight management partnerships and a long track record
• You want the option of a non-medication programme (from £33/month)

Frequently asked questions

Is SheMed or Second Nature more effective for weight loss?

Second Nature has published peer-reviewed research showing 19.1% average weight loss at 12 months among active subscribers receiving semaglutide and dietitian-led support.¹

SheMed has not published comparable data. Both providers prescribe the same medications, but without a direct comparison we can’t say which programme is more effective.

Is SheMed only for women?

SheMed markets itself as a women-focused service, but its support page states the programme is open to all genders. Their sister brand HeMed (hemed.com) offers a similar service specifically for men.

Does SheMed have NHS approval?

No. SheMed is a private service only. Second Nature has been commissioned by the NHS since 2017, currently across 43 ICBs and Health Boards for weight management and type 2 diabetes prevention.²

NHS commissioning is not a requirement to prescribe weight-loss medications safely, but it does reflect an additional level of institutional validation of a provider’s clinical approach and governance standards.

Does SheMed have published clinical evidence?

Not yet. SheMed states on its website that it’s conducting a clinical study, which is a positive step. However, they have not yet published programme-specific outcomes in a peer-reviewed journal.

The clinical trial data they reference on their website (such as the STEP UP trial and SURMOUNT-5) relate to the medications themselves, not to SheMed’s programme specifically.

What qualifications do SheMed’s clinical team have?

SheMed’s team includes nurses and doctors. Their Chief Clinical and Strategy Officer is Nurse Rachael Joy (BSc Hons, NIP, ACP), and their Chief Medical Officer is Dr Matthew Noble. Clinical and prescribing services are provided through eMed, a CQC-registered provider.

SheMed’s public programme pages don’t clearly advertise an assigned dietitian or nutritionist for ongoing one-to-one coaching. Second Nature’s coaching team comprises UK-registered dietitians and nutritionists who hold HCPC or AfN registration and have specialist training in GLP-1 medication support.

Does SheMed include blood tests?

Yes. SheMed includes an at-home blood test at baseline, with additional tests at 6 and 12 months. These measure markers including cholesterol, liver function, thyroid activity, and diabetes risk.

This is a genuine strength of SheMed’s model. Most private weight-loss providers, including Second Nature, do not include blood testing as standard.

Can I switch from SheMed to Second Nature?

Yes. You can switch providers, though you’ll need a new clinical assessment. If you’re already on a stable dose, you won’t necessarily need to restart from the lowest dose. Second Nature can advise on the process.

Can I get Wegovy 7.2 mg from both providers?

Yes. Both offer the 7.2 mg dose, approved by the MHRA in January 2026.⁴ This dose may be considered for adults with obesity after at least four weeks on 2.4 mg, if their prescriber decides a higher dose is appropriate.

What happens when I stop taking medication?

Second Nature builds transition support into its programme, with your dietitian guiding you through reducing or stopping medication. Second Nature also offers a non-medication programme for continued support at £33/month.

SheMed offers a maintenance programme and includes weight maintenance in its 10-week educational programme. Its public information doesn’t clearly describe ongoing one-to-one maintenance coaching from an assigned registered nutritionist or dietitian.

Research shows that participants regained around two-thirds of the weight they’d lost in the year after semaglutide and the study’s lifestyle support stopped.³

Is SheMed regulated?

Yes. SheMed’s prescribing and clinical services are provided through eMed, which is CQC-registered. Their pharmacy partner is eMed Healthcare UK, which is GPhC-registered (registration number 9012578).

Second Nature is also CQC-registered, with a GPhC-registered pharmacy partner, Blueco Healthcare (registration number 9013068).

Compare more services in our guide to the best UK weight-loss programmes and our Voy and Second Nature comparison. We also explain private Mounjaro prescriptions and how to switch Mounjaro providers.

Take home message

SheMed and Second Nature serve different needs. SheMed offers a women-focused prescription service with blood testing, clinical monitoring, a 10-week support programme, and a lower advertised introductory price.

Second Nature combines medication with ongoing one-to-one coaching from an assigned registered dietitian or nutritionist, webinars, AI support, a four-phase behaviour change programme, peer support, and published clinical outcomes.

Baseline, 6- and 12-month blood testing is a genuine advantage of SheMed’s model that most other providers don’t include.

If you want medication with blood testing, clinical monitoring, and structured educational resources, SheMed may work for you.

If you want ongoing one-to-one support from a registered nutritionist or dietitian, plus medication, webinars, and daily AI help, Second Nature is built for that.

Second Nature's Mounjaro and Wegovy programmes

Second Nature provides Mounjaro or Wegovy as part of our Mounjaro and Wegovy weight-loss programmes.

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 and Wegovy) 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.

References

1. Richards, R., et al. (2025). A Remotely Delivered GLP-1RA-Supported Specialist Weight Management Program in Adults Living With Obesity: Retrospective Service Evaluation. JMIR Formative Research, 9, e72577.
2. Ross, J.A.D., et al. (2022). Uptake and impact of the English National Health Service digital diabetes prevention programme: observational study. BMJ Open Diabetes Research and Care, 10(3), e002736.
3. Wilding, J.P.H., et al. (2022). Weight regain and cardiometabolic effects after withdrawal of semaglutide. Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism, 24(8), 1553-1564.
4. Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency. (2026). Medicines regulator approves up to 7.2 mg dose of semaglutide (Wegovy) for patients with obesity only.
5. Wharton, S., et al. (2025). Once-weekly semaglutide 7.2 mg in adults with obesity (STEP UP): a randomised, controlled, phase 3b trial. The Lancet Diabetes and Endocrinology, 13(11), 949–963.