Have you been steadily losing weight, only to hit a frustrating standstill? If you’re using Ozempic or Wegovy (semaglutide) as part of your weight loss journey, you might find yourself a what’s called a “weight loss plateau.” This is a common experience, and understanding why it happens can help you take the next steps to keep moving toward your health goals.
Why Does Weight Loss Plateau Happen?
As you can see in the figure below from the Step 1 Extension Trial, the amount of weight loss on Ozempic varies considerably between individuals. However, they all hit a plateau even though they are still obese, and they all regained most of their weight back when they quit taking the drug. So, why does this Ozempic plateau happen? What is going on?
One possible reason is that your body has adapted. As you lose weight, your metabolism can slow down. Your body becomes more efficient at using energy, which means you burn fewer calories than before. This is a natural survival mechanism, but it can be frustrating when you’re trying to lose more weight.
Another reason could be related to toxins stored in fat. Fat cells help protect your body by holding onto toxins, keeping them away from vital organs. When you start losing fat, your body may need to address these toxins before continuing to release more fat.
Finally, emotions and habits around eating can play a role. If emotional eating or stress eating hasn’t been addressed, it can be harder to maintain momentum in your weight loss journey.
What to Do When You Hit an Ozempic Plateau
If you’ve hit a plateau, it doesn’t mean you’re stuck forever. Here are some practical steps to take:
Focus on Diet and Lifestyle
Ozempic works best when combined with a lower-calorie diet and physical activity. Take a fresh look at your eating habits. Are you sticking to your plan, or have extra calories crept in? Consider working with a dietitian or coach to fine-tune your nutrition and ensure it aligns with your goals. Are you getting enough plant protein in? Are you getting a lot, like way more, fresh vegetables than previously? Fiber is key to satiety and a healthy gut microbiome.
Physical activity, especially resistance training, is crucial. It helps preserve muscle mass while you lose fat, which can keep your metabolism from slowing down too much. Muscle burns more calories than other tissue, even when resting, so you want to preserve muscles to keep losing weight sustainably. But maybe you just need to move more throughout the day, not just when you go to the gym. You can’t really make up for 8-10 hours of sedentary work by an hour at the gym.
Another often-overlooked factor is the role of gut microbes. The balance of different microbes in your gut can affect your ability to lose weight. Some gut bacteria are considered “obesogenic” because they promote weight gain, while others help maintain normal weight (Davis, 2016). Supporting a healthy gut through fiber-rich foods, prebiotics, probiotics, and minimizing processed food intake can make a significant difference in your weight loss journey.
Prioritize Quality Sleep
Getting 7–9 hours of sleep each night is essential for breaking through a weight loss plateau. Sleep affects hormones that control hunger and satiety, such as ghrelin and leptin. When you’re sleep-deprived, you’re more likely to feel hungry and make poor food choices. And your body has worse blood glucose control when you are sleep-deprived. Additionally, proper sleep supports your metabolism and helps your body recover from exercise. Create a consistent bedtime routine, limit screen time before bed, and ensure your sleep environment is cool, dark, and quiet to improve sleep quality. Have trouble sleeping? Magnesium can help, as can our Liposomal Sleep formula.
Address Emotional Eating
Take time to explore the emotional side of eating. Are stress, boredom, or other feelings influencing your choices? Journaling, mindfulness, working with a therapist, or just talking to a good friend, can help you uncover patterns and develop healthier coping strategies.
Support Detoxification
If toxins in your body are contributing to the plateau, supporting detoxification can help. Focus on foods and habits that encourage your body’s natural detox systems, like staying hydrated, eating lots of fiber-rich vegetables, using supplements which bind up toxins from the body, and sweating through exercise or saunas.
Wrap-Up
Plateaus happen to everyone trying to lose weight. But remember, you are not just trying to lose weight—you are building a new, healthy lifestyle and eating pattern. When you hit a plateau, resist the urge to return to old habits. Instead, forge ahead and stick to your goals. Take this time to re-evaluate your diet choices, your movement throughout the day, the amount of hard physical activity you engage in during a week, your quality of sleep, your emotional state when eating, and how you are handling stress. The journey is a process, and you can’t learn all the lessons you need for your new lifestyle by taking shortcuts. So, bear with the process, be patient, and stay persistent.