How to maintain weight loss results long-term without rebound?
For tirzepatide (Mounjaro, Zepbound) one randomised trial tested it directly. In SURMOUNT-MAINTAIN, 378 adults with obesity who had taken the full dose (10 or 15 mg a week) for 60 weeks were then assigned, for one more year, to keep that dose, step down to 5 mg, or switch to a placebo injection. Nobody knew which they were getting. Body weight from the very start to week 112, counting everyone randomised: 21.9% lower on the full dose, 16.6% lower on 5 mg, 9.9% lower on placebo. From week 84, anyone who had regained more than half of the lost weight could be given the drug back: 8% on the full dose (11 of 138), 25% on 5 mg (35 of 142) and 67% on placebo (60 of 90).
Most effective medically supervised strategies for sustainable weight loss.
In this trial, staying on the full dose held the most weight off, and the 5 mg dose held more than stopping did. These are averages from one trial at 20 US sites, published in The Lancet in 2026 and funded by Eli Lilly, the maker. The paper carries a published correction (the placebo count for the drug given back); the figures here are the corrected ones.
Mounjaro vs Ozempic, every trial number:
Sources: Horn et al., The Lancet 2026;407:2305-2318 (doi 10.1016/S0140-6736(26)00656-2), with its correction, Lancet 2026;407:2290; ClinicalTrials.gov NCT06047548.
Opening video: Andres Ayrton via Pexels. Photos: RDNE Stock project, Pavel Danilyuk, Gustavo Fring, Annushka Ahuja and SHVETS production via Pexels.
Educational information from CureMed’s PharmD-led review team. Not personal medical advice. Mounjaro and Zepbound are prescription medicines; do not stop or change a dose without your prescriber. Trial averages; individual results vary.
Subscribe to CureMed for one trial-checked answer a day.
#Shorts #mounjaro #stoppingmounjaro #zepbound #tirzepatide #weightregain #glp1 #weightloss #weightmaintenance #surmount #obesity #clinicaltrials #pharmacist #curemed
source