Wegovy is slow to take effect, but you may see some weight-loss results in the first month (4 weeks) of treatment. After a year, adults who took Wegovy lost 15%. A large scale clinical trial involving more than 1900 adults found that Wegovy produced an average weight loss of 14.9% and 33.7 pounds in 68 weeks (about a year and a half). Those who took a placebo lost only 2.4% and 5.7% pounds in the same period of time.
After 10 months on Wegovy, this user successfully lost 80 pounds (36.3 kg), going from 250 pounds (113.4 kg) to 170 pounds (77.1 kg). After successfully reaching their ideal weight, they felt good in their bodies again and began to enjoy physical activity and sports. Both drugs act like the natural glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP) hormone, which is produced after eating. By suppressing hunger signals in the brain, they cause the body to digest food more slowly, feel full and eat less.
Over the course of 68 weeks, a clinical study looked at the effects of Wegovy in overweight adults with related health problems who followed a low-calorie diet and exercised. 83% of the study participants lost 5% or more of their starting weight, 66% lost 10%, and 48% lost 15% or more. Only 31 percent of participants who didn't receive Wegovy, but followed a low-calorie diet and exercised, lost 5% or more of their starting weight. Wegovy works best in combination with a low-calorie diet and regular exercise; it works better than diet and exercise on their own.
Everyone responds to treatment differently, so your results may not be exactly the same as your friend's. Wegovy follows an adjustment program that lasts approximately 17 weeks before reaching the maximum dose of 2.4 mg. Whatever the reasoning, treating weight loss as if it were a marathon rather than a sprinting race is the most effective approach. Remember that the signs of weight loss may take a while to become apparent, so try to keep the faith as much as possible. Over time, they successfully dropped to 166 pounds (75.3 kg), exceeding their initial weight-loss goal, which meant they had to set a new, lower goal.
But are they safe? What are the possible side effects of long-term use? Semaglutide, the active ingredient in Ozempic and Wegovy, was originally approved to treat type 2 diabetes mellitus as Ozempic, and was later approved for the treatment of obesity as Wegovy. Beverly Tchang, MD, DABOM, is Ro's obesity medicine consultant and triple certified endocrinologist. A long-term study published in 2024, involving 17,604 adults, found that weight loss with semaglutide continued for 65 weeks and that participants maintained their weight loss for up to 4 years. A smaller percentage of participants who used semaglutide had lost between 15 and 25% of their weight or more at this time in the trial.
Another clinical trial, called SELECT, found that Wegovy produced clinically significant weight loss after 208 weeks. In addition, since Wegovy delays gastric emptying, alcohol may have a stronger or longer effect, increasing the risk of side effects such as nausea, dizziness, or low blood sugar levels. The most effective GLP-1 drug for weight loss today (as of mid-2002) is tirzepatide, which is marketed under the names Zepbound (for weight loss) and Mounjaro (for diabetes). It supports weight loss by mimicking the action of the native GLP-1 hormone, which activates and binds to receptors, suppresses appetite and delays gastric emptying.
Each person's experience is different and unique for each person, so as long as you follow your regime, in the end you will achieve your goals. In the STEP 1 clinical trial, for example, the average weight loss over 68 weeks was almost 15%, but this was not achieved with weekly Wegovy injections alone.
