Nutritionist Kim Pearson, writing a first-person column for Women's Health, says weight regain after stopping GLP-1 medications is common and argues that the habits built during treatment are what decide whether it happens. Her framing is blunt: hitting a goal weight is the start of a new phase, not the end of the work.

The drugs in question are the GLP-1 receptor agonists used for obesity and type 2 diabetes, including semaglutide and tirzepatide, sold under names like Ozempic, Wegovy and Mounjaro. They reduce appetite while a person is taking them, which is also the reason stopping is the hard part.

The number that frames the piece

Pearson cites a landmark semaglutide trial in which people regained around two-thirds of the weight they had lost within a year of ending treatment. She does not name the trial, which is a shame, because that single figure is doing most of the persuasive work in the article.

Why muscle gets singled out

Research shows a significant proportion of the weight lost on GLP-1 medications is muscle, Pearson writes, again without naming the studies. Her argument is that muscle is metabolically active, so losing it can reduce metabolic rate and make maintenance harder once the medication stops.

Her recommendation to people currently on a GLP-1 is to prioritize protein and strength training during treatment, aiming for around 30 grams of protein per meal. She also points to at least seven hours of sleep, managing stress-driven eating, and weighing once a week rather than avoiding the scales entirely.

Where the evidence stops

This is a practitioner's column, not a study write-up. The habits described come from Pearson's two decades of clinical practice and from her new book, The Nozempic Diet, which the piece names twice, and the only hard outcome figure in the whole article is the two-thirds regain number.

It is also worth noting that Women's Health discloses it may earn commission from links on the page. None of that makes the maintenance advice wrong, but a column that is partly a book trailer deserves to be read as one.

Bottom line

The regain problem after GLP-1s is real and widely reported, and Pearson's argument is that it is addressable rather than inevitable. What the column does not offer is trial data showing that her specific protocol prevents it.