GLP1 to kickstart - then drop off??

A few exceptions exist but it rarely works that way. Excess weight is a chronic issue like diabetes or high blood pressure so treatment usually needs to continue long term. The positive side is that gray market sources make these far cheaper than pharmacy prices and therefore sustainable.

Results vary by person but if overeating was an issue before then the food noise tends to return. Once I hit my target I intend to lower to a maintenance level and may try stopping entirely. I've already built better eating and exercise routines. Most people seem to regain some weight after quitting.

This subject is sensitive. I look at body fat in a detached way. My default eating pattern often pushes me into obesity and I regain due to food addictions. Most people probably need these drugs for life. After reaching goal weight a person can reduce to a maintenance dose. I plan to drop the majority of fat then lower or stop so I can eat in surplus and add muscle. That view draws pushback in some places. If weight climbs again I would resume.

Some who only need to lose 20-40 pounds and do not truly have obesity as a disease might use these short term as a tool and then stop. Most here though have dealt with this long term and not just after a temporary life event so until a cure exists the medication will likely be needed ongoing.

What does kick start mean in your case? Drop ten pounds with the drug then handle the remaining forty without it?

That is not the intended use. It might differ for purely vanity weight but most will need long term treatment even at reduced doses. Stopping and restarting often means a higher dose is required to get the same effect as before.

These drugs offer many health benefits separate from weight loss plus the benefits of reaching a healthy weight so I would stay on them regardless.

From what I have read these lower the body's set point. Since your weight has been stable that long it would be your current set point so any loss from the drug would likely return once you stop.

Thinking these will be temporary is a common starting idea. For most it does not work that way and lifelong use is the reality. The meds provide ongoing health value. I once planned six to eight months of use then stopping but now expect to continue indefinitely and am stocking up.

Follow up question. Your first post was in April so how are those ideas holding up six months later?

The full stop part does not work but tapering down does for many. I will probably reduce to a lower level though not to zero even if I wanted to.

Many talk about tapering once at goal yet in the tirzepatide maintenance study only those who stayed at the highest dose kept most of their loss. Lowering the dose or switching to oral sema led to some regain.

I started wanting exactly the short term kickstart approach but ended up increasing the dose instead. Once the strong effects show up the initial hesitation fades fast.