GLP-1 Maintenance Dose: What It Is and How It Works (October 2026)

01 · The core answer

What a GLP-1 maintenance dose actually means

It is the dose at the top of your personal climb, not necessarily the top of the ladder. You start low so your body can adjust, then step up until you reach a dose that works for you.

Mounjaro (tirzepatide) starts at 2.5mg once a week. Everyone starts there, and the starting dose is about letting your body adjust, not about weight loss itself. The dose can then rise in steps of 2.5mg, with at least four weeks between steps, up to a maximum of 15mg weekly, depending on how you respond and tolerate it.¹ Many people settle at a maintenance dose of 5mg, 10mg or 15mg — higher is not automatically better, and your prescriber will guide the right pace.¹

For a deeper look at the Mounjaro side, see our complete maintenance dose guide and the average maintenance dose.

02 · Comparing the two

Mounjaro and Wegovy maintenance doses

The Wegovy ladder is fixed and the 2.4mg dose is the licensed maintenance dose for weight management.¹⁸ More detail is on our Wegovy maintenance dose page.

03 · What to do next

Working out your own maintenance dose

Your maintenance dose is decided in review, not in advance. If you are already treated with Mounjaro, your prescriber looks at your response and side effects at each step. If you are weighing up cost, the maintenance dose cost guide sets out the monthly figures, and the Mounjaro pen page shows live prices; new customers save £40 on their first order with code FIRST40, and an automatic £25 reorder discount applies to every future order (code DOSE25).

04 · Why the dose plateaus

Why maintenance exists

Tirzepatide activates two gut-hormone receptors, GIP and GLP-1, which help regulate appetite and slow how quickly the stomach empties.¹ In practice most people feel fuller sooner and less hungry between meals.

In SURMOUNT-1, people taking tirzepatide alongside diet and exercise lost on average 15% of their body weight on 5mg, 19.5% on 10mg and 20.9% on 15mg over 72 weeks, compared with 3.1% with lifestyle changes alone. These are trial averages, and individual results vary.²

05 · After weight loss

Maintenance dose after weight loss

Reaching your goal weight does not usually mean the medicine has finished its job. Mounjaro manages weight; it does not cure the biology behind it. In SURMOUNT-4, people who stopped tirzepatide after 36 weeks regained on average 14% of body weight over the following year, while those who continued treatment lost a further 5.5% on average.¹⁴

Stopping should always be planned with your prescriber, with diet and activity habits ready to carry the load.¹⁴ Our guide to maintenance after goal weight covers this in more depth.

06 · Stepping down safely

If you stop treatment

If you stop completely, tirzepatide has a half-life of about five days, so it takes roughly 4–5 weeks to clear the system; there is no way to speed this up, and nothing needs doing while it clears.¹ Read more in what counts as a tirzepatide maintenance dose, or see our weight loss clinic overview.

07 · Serious side effects

Serious side effects: when to get help straight away

Serious side effects are uncommon but need urgent attention. Seek immediate medical help for: severe, persistent stomach pain that may spread to your back, with or without vomiting (possible pancreatitis); pain in the upper right abdomen, fever or yellowing of skin/eyes (possible gallbladder problems); or signs of a severe allergic reaction such as swelling of the face or throat and difficulty breathing. If you take insulin or a sulfonylurea alongside Mounjaro, watch for low blood sugar (shakiness, sweating, confusion) — your prescriber may need to adjust those medicines.¹ Mounjaro must not be used during pregnancy, and it should be stopped at least one month before trying to conceive. If you become pregnant during treatment, stop the medicine and tell your prescriber promptly. Mounjaro slows stomach emptying, which can reduce how well oral contraceptive pills are absorbed: switch to a non-oral method, or add a barrier method (such as condoms), for 4 weeks after starting Mounjaro and for 4 weeks after each dose increase.