“It’s like a switch flips and I’m instantly hungry.” That’s how Tanya Hall describes what hits her whenever she tries to stop taking weight loss injections. After a break, the constant thoughts about food rush back, louder than she remembers. For many people, these medications quiet that inner noise in a way strict diets never managed. But the bigger question is what life looks like once the injections end.
The most common drugs in this category are GLP-1 agonists, including Wegovy and Mounjaro, and they can dramatically change appetite and eating habits. People often talk about feeling free for the first time in years, because cravings ease and portions naturally shrink. The physical transformation can be huge, and so can the emotional shift that comes with it. Still, stopping can be far more complicated than simply deciding you’re “done.”
Hall, a sales manager at a major fitness company, started Wegovy partly to prove something to herself. She felt like an outsider in her industry because of her weight, and she believed she wasn’t taken seriously. After losing weight, she noticed colleagues treating her with more respect, but she also dealt with a rough start, including insomnia, ongoing nausea, headaches, and hair loss that may be tied to rapid weight change. She lost 38 kilograms, yet every attempt to quit ends the same way, with intense hunger and days where she eats so much she scares herself.
Family doctor Dr. Hussain Al-Zubaidi compares stopping abruptly to stepping off a cliff. He says he often sees patients reach their goal, then quit at the highest dose, only to feel overwhelmed almost immediately. The obsessive pull toward food can return fast, and he warns that many people regain a significant portion of the weight within one to three years. In his experience, it can be around 60 to 80 percent of what was lost.
Ellen Ogley is determined to avoid that outcome. She began Mounjaro as a last attempt to change her health after excess weight made surgery so risky she had to sign a statement acknowledging she might not survive. She described herself as an emotional eater who reached for food in every mood, and she says the medication finally muted that pattern. With the mental space it gave her, she learned more about nutrition, built healthier routines, and exercised, then tapered her dose over six weeks after 16 weeks on the drug.
Even so, Ogley noticed her weight starting to creep up after stopping, which she says rattled her confidence. Dr. Al-Zubaidi argues that what matters most is having an exit strategy and real support once treatment ends, something that is not always guaranteed for people paying privately. UK regulators have recommended at least a year of continued guidance and tailored plans after stopping. Meanwhile, Hall remains on medication, even feeling it’s less effective now, because the fear of rapid regain keeps pulling her back.
Novo Nordisk, which makes Wegovy, says treatment decisions should be made with a healthcare professional while considering side effects. Eli Lilly, the maker of Mounjaro, says patient safety is its top priority and that it continues to monitor information about the drug. Ogley, who says she’s now down 51 kilograms in total, wants others to know that maintenance after Mounjaro can be possible with the right habits and mindset.
Have you or someone you know faced the decision to stop weight loss injections, and what helped most with the transition? Share your thoughts in the comments.
