Tirzepatide for weight loss
Tirzepatide can help you lose 21% of your body weight when paired withlifestyle change
Written by: Justin Zaghi MD
Last updated: March 17, 2024
Table of contents:
About tirzepatide
How to get started
What is tirzepatide?
Tirzepatide is the active ingredient in popular weight loss medications Mounjaro and Zepbound. Tirzepatide was FDA-approved in 2021 for type 2 diabetes under the brand name Mounjaro and was later approved for weight loss in 2023 as Zepbound. Mounjaro and Zepbound have the same active ingredient (tirzepatide).
How does tirzepatide work?
Tirzepatide mimics the actions of two hormones, GLP-1 and GIP, which work together to send signals to the appetite center in your brain to reduce hunger. By slowing down your stomach, the medicine also helps you to feel fuller. In addition, it has hormonal effects to improve your metabolism, stimulating insulin release from your pancreas.
What are the benefits of tirzepatide?
Tirzepatide has been shown to lead to sustained weight loss of about 21%1. Weight loss can have significant benefits across many domains of your health, including sleep, mood, energy, and organ function. Other benefits include:
- Improvements in diabetes and blood sugar control1
- Improvements in cholesterol and blood pressure control1
- Improvements in kidney health2
- Improvements in fatty liver disease3
In short, tirzepatide can have an incredible benefit on your health!
What side effects should I look out for?
The most common side effects are gastrointestinal in nature, including nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and constipation. When these gastrointestinal side effects happen, they are typically mild in nature and generally subside over time, usually within 2-3 weeks. Nausea is actually considered an “on target” side effect of tirzepatide because the nausea helps you to reduce your caloric intake and lose weight.
Tirzepatide may cause other less common, but more serious, side effects. These include:
- Gallstones and pancreatitis (inflammation of the pancreas), especially when the weight loss is rapid
- Low blood sugar
- Allergic reactions
- Kidney problems, especially if you’re very dehydrated
- Changes in vision
- Thyroid tumors or cancer (this has been noted in rodents, but not yet humans)
Who should avoid tirzepatide?
People with any of the following conditions should not take tirzepatide:
- A personal or family history of medullary thyroid carcinoma
- A personal history of multiple endocrine neoplasia syndrome type 2
- An allergic reaction to tirzepatide or any of its ingredients
- Pregnant women
How do I take tirzepatide?
Tirzepatide is injected under the skin in the abdomen, upper arm, or thigh. When taking tirzepatide, make sure you rotate the injection site each week. You can take tirzepatide with or without food.
You should inject tirzepatide once a week — on the same day of the week, every week. It doesn’t matter whether you take it in the morning or at night.
If you need to adjust the day you inject tirzepatide, the general rule is to avoid injecting within 2 days of a prior injection. If you forget to take a dose, make sure to take it within 4 days of when you were due.
What dose of tirzepatide should I take?
Most patients will start at the lowest dose (2. 5 mg per week) for 4 weeks, and then increase steadily every 4 weeks until you find the dose that works best for you. Typically the 10 mg, 12.5 mg and 15 mg doses are considered to be maintenance doses, though occasionally patients do perfectly well on the lower doses too! Make sure to attend your regular meeting with your Shapely provider, so that you can find the dose that works best for you.
Below is the standard, FDA-approved dosing schedule for tirzepatide:
Month 1
2.5 mg
Each week
Month 2
5.0 mg
Each week
Month 3
7.5 mg
Each week
Month 4
10 mg
Each week
Month 5
12.5 mg
Each week
Month 6
15 mg
Each week (full dose)
What should I expect while taking tirzepatide?
Because tirzepatide slows down gastric emptying and signals your brain to be less hungry, you may also feel fuller and naturally want to consume fewer calories. Many patients describe tirzepatide as having an effect of reducing “food noise” or constant chatter/thoughts about food. You may also find a decreased desire to consume alcohol.
At the lowest dose of tirzepatide, which is 2.5 mg weekly, there may be little to no weight loss. That dose is really intended to see how your body reacts to the medicine. As you increase the doses under the guidance of your Shapely team, you should expect to gradually lose weight. A healthy amount of weight loss is about 0.5-1% of your total body weight per week (usually 1-2/lb for a 200 lb person), though weight gain may be greater when starting on treatment.
What foods should I avoid while on tirzepatide?
While you don’t need to make any strict dietary changes while taking tirzepatide, most people will find that they will naturally want to consume fewer calories. In addition, improving the quality of your diet will only help to accelerate and sustain your weight loss.
Occasionally, tirzepatide can increase symptoms of heartburn. If you have a history of heartburn, it’s recommended to avoid high-fat foods, like fried or greasy foods, as well as spicy or acidic foods.
Sometimes, patients will experience constipation while on tirzepatide. As a result, it’s recommended to have a diet rich in fiber, as well as to consume plentiful water, as both can help minimize constipation.
Am I required to exercise while on tirzepatide?
Exercise is not strictly required while on tirzepatide, but it is strongly recommended! Many people who lose weight on tirzepatide may also lose muscle mass. Doing exercise regularly will help ensure that you retain muscle mass and stay healthy.
We’re excited to help you achieve the best shape of you! For any additional questions on tirzepatide, please reach out to your Shapely provider using the chat feature in Healthie. Or feel free to give us a call at 424-600-8360.
Can I take oral birth control while being on tirzepatide?
Because tirzepatide slows down digestion, it has been associated with reducing the effectiveness of birth control pills. The decrease in effectiveness of birth control pills is strongest whenever you start a new tirzepatide dose and improves over time. As a result, for women on oral birth control, it’s recommended to switch to a non-oral contraceptive method or add a barrier method of contraception for 4 weeks after initiation and for 4 weeks after each dose escalation.
We’re excited to help you achieve the best shape of you! For any additional questions on tirzepatide, please reach out to your Shapely provider using the chat feature in Healthie. Or feel free to give us a call at 424-600-8360.
References:
- Jastreboff et al.; SURMOUNT-1 Investigators. Tirzepatide Once Weekly for the Treatment of Obesity. N Engl J Med. 2022 Jul 21;387(3):205-216.
- Bosch et al. Tirzepatide and prevention of chronic kidney disease. Clin Kidney J. 2022 Dec 23;16(5):797-808.
- Gastaldelli et al. Effect of tirzepatide versus insulin degludec on liver fat content and abdominal adipose tissue in people with type 2 diabetes (SURPASS-3 MRI): a substudy of the randomised, open-label, parallel-group, phase 3 SURPASS-3 trial. Lancet Di
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