Once you meet your goal - Cycle off or find a maintenance amount and cruise...

I've stopped completely in the past to avoid relying on outside compounds. Only 10-15 pounds ever returned during periods of poor eating, skipped workouts, or high stress, and I handled it with another brief round. The real maintenance target isn't a fixed number but the weight your body holds without constant struggle. Too much effort signals the goal isn't realistic long term. Lower body fat gets tougher to hold without strict routines, plus the hormone problems like ongoing high cortisol, thinning hair, or lost cycles in women. What's your view?

I'll stay on it for good. Too many upsides to quit. Plus I enjoy the sense of control around food.

I'll know in six months. People I know, and my doctor, stopped and only used it occasionally when needed. Oops, just saw this is in the Reta section. Never mind.

It fixed my IBS-C so I'm staying on it indefinitely. The weight loss is secondary; I'm using it for that benefit.

I'm working out a balance right now by stretching the time between shots and adjusting the amount. Sitting at 2.2 mg every five days and will keep tweaking. No plans to try quitting entirely.

I've been in maintenance mode for six months and still haven't nailed the right amounts and timing. I used tirz for two years and went from 255 down to 190 without ever going past 5 mg because low doses worked well for me. Now trying 2.5 every five days but still adjusting. I've only gained a couple pounds at most and lost them again easily. I doubt I'll ever fully stop a glp. Everyone's different depending on which one they're on or if they're combining them, so finding maintenance takes time until it feels right.

This drug optimizes metabolism so I'm not cycling off. My A1c is solid, fasting insulin stays low, and my egfr is the best it's been. I'm at goal. Some people have luck dropping the dose to hold steady but that hasn't worked for me.

The dose that got me here is probably the one that will keep me here. I just made what I hope is my final bump up to 9 mg and have only six pounds left. I do intend to drop the survo though. I added it mainly to counter tirz fatigue, and after six months I might not have that issue anymore. Or maybe I never really did and was just worn out from not eating enough for my larger body. Also the sudden disappearance of compulsive habits left me without much drive to do anything but sit until my brain readjusted. Now that it has, I'm fairly sure stopping the survo won't bring the tiredness back.

Nothing beats a solid blast and cruise approach.

Even without needing to keep off more than half my original body weight, I'd stay on forever to lower risks of heart attacks, stroke, heart failure, diabetes, and likely cancer. My risk is probably above average, but so is that of many people with long-term obesity.

The takeaway from SURMOUNT-4 is that results across drug classes point to obesity as a chronic metabolic issue that usually needs ongoing treatment. A lot of the early gains in heart and metabolic risk markers reversed once tirzepatide was stopped.

I reached my goal on reta and am now lowering the dose to locate a maintenance level. If I can't find one I might quit altogether.

For anyone with serious long-term obesity who lost weight on these drugs, stopping afterward is mostly wishful thinking. Trying is fine especially with better habits in place, but restarting sooner rather than later if weight creeps up avoids falling back into yo-yo cycles. I agree that if keeping weight off requires nonstop mental effort to eat less than your body wants, it's not sustainable because that kind of effort eventually runs out. For milder or more recent cases it's less clear cut, though similar issues tend to show up. Regaining 10 or 20 kg isn't ideal but far less damaging than BMIs in the 40s or higher. The real strength of these drugs is helping hold the weight off.

Most people probably can't hold the loss without some ongoing small dose to stay consistent, myself included. I've found 1 mg reta plus 1 to 1.5 mg tirz works well to keep the old urges in check. I've battled this my whole life like most folks. I'm down about 400 pounds thanks to surgery and a GLP-1. It takes roughly six weeks to clear the system. I've gone off three times and the weight came right back like clockwork. Still feels a bit like failing. So

My rough theory is that if your metabolism was already impaired you'll likely need it ongoing. If you simply ate too much and needed a nudge with willpower, you might be able to stop. I lost the same 5-10 pounds before with diet and exercise alone, and now with reta I've lost nearly 20 pounds on roughly the same routine I was already doing.

Good question. I was considering starting a thread on maintenance dosing and frequency for tirz and was also curious about the others. I'm not close to that stage yet.

If I had more say over the food at home I might never have needed these drugs, but age and other factors make it uncertain. I was normal BMI until marrying at 35. I never kept mayo or chips around and rarely had donuts or brownie mix. My lean spouse has a serious sweet tooth though, and right now there's an 870-calorie slice of carrot cake sitting on the counter. On these meds I might take one or two bites. Without them I'm in trouble even when I try to keep temptations out of sight. Every kitchen ends up reflecting the bigger food environment with ads for new pizzas keeping the mental battle going.

Started at 232.6 pounds on June 6 after already dropping 10 from 245 on willpower alone which was miserable. Hit my original goal of 190 last October and took off another 5 for good measure. I was on 7.5 mg tirz and 1.8 mg survo then and have stayed there since. Haven't gone above 190 since and average 187.5 for months. I eat whatever I want whenever I want, which is much healthier than before June 2025, and I actually enjoy exercising now including walking and stairs. Still love being able to climb stairs without total exhaustion. These gray sources are inexpensive and I see no point in judging myself for taking care of my health or buying into old ideas about moral effort and character flaws around willpower. Wasting time and energy on proving something to anyone is pointless.

From going on and off these for over two years, I've found it's tough to keep all the weight off after reaching goal, but with solid lifestyle upgrades like clean eating and steady exercise I won't regain everything. Others here have said the same and I agree: if I'd stay on other meds for life without hesitation, why expect these to be any different?

If I stop wearing my glasses after a year, will my nearsightedness be permanently fixed? Doesn't make sense.