How Much Weight Can You Lose on Mounjaro?

Mounjaro is a weight loss injection that contains the active ingredient tirzepatide. It is one of the most effective weight loss treatments with studies showing it can help you lose up to 22.5% of your body weight over 72 weeks. However, the amount of weight you can expect to lose varies based on factors such as your starting weight, diet, and how much you stick to your treatment plan.

In this guide, we’ll break down the potential weight loss you might experience with Mounjaro week by week, what to expect while taking it including the potential side effects, and how you can maximise your results for a successful weight loss journey.

How much weight you can lose on Mounjaro will depend on several factors including your diet, exercise and dosage.

Here, we’ll explore how much weight you could lose on average and what to expect across the first 13 weeks of treatment.

While Mounjaro is highly effective for weight loss, everybody’s weight loss journey looks different which means effects can vary from person to person. The reason for this is several factors can influence how well tirzepatide works for you, including your lifestyle, age, and overall health and wellbeing.

Understanding how these factors can impact your weight loss goals is crucial so you can make adjustments to maximise your success. Below are some of the key factors that can impact your progress with Mounjaro and some tips on how you can address them.

Eating a healthy calorie controlled diet is crucial for maximising your weight loss results with Mounjaro. Your diet should focus on whole, nutrient-dense foods while avoiding processed and convenience/fast foods.

Staying hydrated by drinking plenty of water and clear fluids is important for curbing hunger, supporting your metabolism, and managing side effects like headaches and feeling sick.

Alongside dietary changes, it’s important to establish an exercise routine that works for you and your lifestyle. Ideally, you should aim for at least 150 minutes of moderate intensity exercise each week. Activities such as taking the stairs instead of the lift, and walking to work or the shops can make a real difference and count towards your exercise routine. Other activities include:

• brisk walking
• dancing
• swimming
• gardening
• water aerobics
• fitness classes

Research shows that as we age, our metabolism slows down which can lead to weight gains and an accumulation of body fat.

A slower metabolism can make it harder to lose weight, but be patient and continue making healthier lifestyle choices, including keeping on top of your diet and exercise, this will help increase and maintain the effectiveness of Mounjaro.

Some underlying health conditions can slow your weight loss progress, such as:

• depression
• thyroid disorders
• diabetes
• nutrient deficiencies

How these conditions can affect weight loss vary, and you may need some extra support or to consider extending the time it takes to reach your goals.

However, it isn’t impossible to lose weight if you have an underlying health condition with Mounjaro.Speak to your doctor if you think it is taking you longer than expected to lose weight, they may want to investigate further and find ways they can better support you.

Sleep is important for health. If you do not get enough sleep or find your sleep pattern is broken, it can increase circulating cortisol levels, a hormone linked to stress. It can also negatively affect your metabolism which can lead to weight gain.

You can improve your sleep by practicing good sleep hygiene and trying things like:

• going to bed at the same time each night
• setting an alarm to wake you at the same time each morning
• ensuring your sleep area is clean, tidy, quiet, and cool
• avoiding screens at least 2 hours before going to bed

Stress raises your cortisol levels which can promote fat storage and cause you to eat more food than you need to. You can help to limit your response to stress by identifying your triggers and practicing stress management techniques such as (but not limited to):

• yoga
• meditation
• regular exercise

You may not have reached the Mounjaro maintenance dose yet, which is the most effective dose to help you lose weight. When you begin Mounjaro treatment, you won’t start on this dose. Instead, you’ll begin with a low starting dose and gradually increase it over several weeks to allow your body to get used to the medication until you safely reach your chosen maintenance dose.

Mounjaro can effectively help you lose weight at different dosages. On average, after 72 weeks people who took:

• the 5mg dose lost 16% of their total body weight
• the 10mg dose lost 21.4% of their total body weight the highest 15mg dose lost 22.5% of their total body weight

So, if you haven’t lost as much as you would like, it may be that you’ve not reached the effective maintenance dose yet.

Mounjaro isn’t a ‘quick fix’ weight loss medication. Although it can help you to lose up to 22.5% of your starting body weight on the highest maintenance dose, this is supposed to happen gradually over a 72 week period.

Therefore, although Mounjaro will help you lose weight faster than diet and exercise alone, it is still a gradual process. It is also important that you follow and maintain the lifestyle changes necessary to make the most out of your Mounjaro treatment, such as exercising regularly and keeping on top of your healthy diet.

A weight loss plateau happens when you have been steadily losing weight over time and then suddenly stop, even though you’ve made no changes to your lifestyle to halt your weight loss. This is normal and happens to lots of people during their weight loss journey.

There are several reasons why a weight loss plateau can occur. One is that your body goes into survival mode, storing more calories as fat to make sure you have enough in reserve. However, this is usually only a temporary effect of losing weight. Another reason is that you’ve lost water weight but this isn’t fat loss.

If you think you are in a weight loss plateau, you should:

• continue with your Mounjaro treatment
• adjust your diet accordingly
• increase the amount of exercise you’re doing

Weight loss plateaus are normal but if you’re not sure why you may be experiencing one, speak to your doctor for further advice.

If Mounjaro isn’t suitable for you, there are other weight loss medications available including other injections and tablets.

If you're still unsure if Mounjaro is right for you, there are other weight loss injections available which might be more suitable.

Wegovy

Wegovy works in a similar way to Mounjaro because it reduces your appetite, slows digestion and is injected once per week, but it contains the active ingredient semaglutide. It is an effective weight loss medication and can help you to lose up to 15% of your starting body weight after 68 weeks at the highest maintenance dose. You can find out more on the difference between Wegovy and Mounjaro and how to switch from Wegovy to Mounjaro, in our guide.

Liraglutide

Liraglutide is a daily weight loss injection that contains the active ingredient liraglutide. It works in a similar way to Wegovy and Mounjaro and can help you lose on average 8% of your starting body weight after 56 weeks on the highest maintenance dose.

As well as weight loss injections, there are several weight loss pills available. At Superdrug Online Doctor we offer the following:

Orlistat/Xenical

Orlistat, the generic version of Xenical, is a weight loss pill that reduces the amount of fat your body absorbs from the food you eat. It can be taken up to 3 times a day with a meal that contains fat. Instead of being absorbed, the fat leaves your body as stool waste. Research shows that orlistat helps 37% of people lose at least 5% of their initial body weight after 12 weeks.

alli

alli works in exactly the same way as Xenical and orlistat, but it is available at a lower dose and over-the-counter without a prescription.

MySimba

MySimba contains the active ingredients naltrexone and bupropion to help reduce your appetite and suppress food cravings. It’s been shown to help people lose an average of 8.1% of their starting body weight over 56 weeks.

If you are thinking of switching from Mounjaro to any of these weight loss medications, you must consult your doctor for advice.