Seeing results. Ozempic starts working within the first week of beginning your maintenance dose. Your blood sugar levels will start to decline during this time. Reaching the steady state can take about four to five weeks of once-a-week Ozempic doses.
Once you begin using Ozempic, some people can find it takes several weeks to see any weight loss, yet others may see some weight loss within a week or 2. While it can be difficult, try to remain patient — change looks different for everyone.
In combination with lifestyle changes like diet and exercise, Ozempic may also be prescribed off-label for weight management in people with obesity and overweight. Gastrointestinal side effects from Ozempic are common, but manageable. They include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain, and constipation.
With Calibrate, members can expect to start seeing results after a couple of weeks of tapering up on the medication. You'll likely notice some changes in appetite and reductions in food cravings within the first week.
You may need to increase your physical activity
As mentioned above, Ozempic should be used in combination with a reduced-calorie diet and increased exercise. For those starting with Ozempic, health professionals may recommend beginning with 150 minutes per week of physical activity, such as walking.
You've hit a plateau
Losing muscle along with fat slows your metabolism and can slow down your weight loss. Once your body adjusts, your weight loss journey should pick up again.
Ozempic can make some people feel tired, but this is rare, and typically resolves over time.
On average, a user can lose about 3 to 5% of their body weight after using Ozempic for a month regularly. This equates to about 4 to 6 pounds on average. Using a higher potency of the drug may result in more weight loss, but it isn't recommended that you start taking it right away.
The most common side effect with Ozempic is nausea and occurs in about 15% to 20% of people. Others include vomiting (5% to 9%), diarrhea (8%), stomach-area pain (6% to 7%), and constipation (3% to 7%).
Ozempic can cause nausea and vomiting if taken after eating foods high in fat or sugar. It is recommended that you take Ozempic before meals, rather than after, to minimise any potential side effects from eating high-fat or high-sugar foods.
So, on average, with the recommended starting Ozempic dose of 0.25 mg, a 500 to 1000 calorie reduced diet, and exercise 3 times a week, you can expect to lose 3-5 pounds in the first month of treatment, which works out to about 3% of body weight for most overweight or obese individuals.
Aim for foods and drinks that do not quickly raise or lower blood sugar. This helps keep your blood sugar steady and lets Ozempic (and other diabetes medications) work to their best ability. It's also a good idea to stick to lower fat, non-greasy foods because these are less likely to irritate the gut.
The active ingredient in Ozempic is semaglutide, which works by inducing satiety. This feeling of being satisfied or “full”, suppresses appetite. This is why it works for weight loss. Semaglutide also helps the pancreas produce insulin, which is how it helps manage type 2 diabetes.
During a 40-week study, people receiving the 1 mg Ozempic dose lost an average of 13 lbs. And people receiving the 2 mg Ozempic dose lost an average of 15 lbs.
Ozempic is also used off-label for weight loss. In particular, it can help reduce the amount of belly fat. This is because Ozempic works by making you feel fuller for longer, which can help you resist overeating by controlling cravings and hunger.
A study found that at the highest dose of Wegovy (2.4 mg), patients lost on average 15% of their total body weight after 1 year. In patients with diabetes, one study showed that taking Ozempic at the highest dose of 2 mg led to on average ~15 lbs (6.9 kg) weight loss after 40 weeks.
A dose of 0.5 to 1 mg per week (double the maximum approved diabetes dose) seems to provide the maximum weight loss benefits for many people using Ozempic off-label. At 1 mg weekly, an average weight loss of 3% (6-8 pounds) over 6 months may be achieved with lifestyle changes.
You should inject Ozempic once a week — on the same day of the week, every week. It doesn't make a big difference whether you take it in the morning or at night. It's possible to change the day of the week you inject Ozempic. The general rule is to avoid injecting it with less than 2 days in between shots.
What is the best time to take Ozempic®? Administer Ozempic® once weekly on the same day each week, at any time of the day, with or without meals.
For Ozempic, the peak time is about 2-4 days after the first dose and around 4 weeks after regular dosing. The peak time refers to the time at which the medication reaches its highest concentration in the body.
It's used to lower blood glucose (sugar) levels in adults with Type 2 diabetes. The starting dose of Ozempic is 0.25 mg injected once weekly for 4 weeks. Then, your dose is moved up to 0.5 mg once weekly.
Study 1: Patients using Ozempic 0.5 mg dose lost on average 8 lb (3.6 kg), those using 1 mg dose lost 10 lb (4.5 kg), and those taking placebo (an inactive treatment) lost 3 lb (1.4 kg). Study 2: Patients using the Ozempic 1 mg dose lost on average 12 lb (5.5 kg), and those using the 2 mg dose lost 14 lb (6.3 kg).