Peptide Spotlight: Weight Loss - Semaglutide

Semaglutide (active ingredient of Ozempic and Wegovy)

Primary Benefit:  Weight loss, boosted metabolism, improved blood sugar, reduced cardiovascular risk.

Dosing: Once a week. Half-life of Semaglutide is 5 days, effects become greater over time as the product builds up in your system.

Benefits:

• Improved wound healing and injury repair

• Boosted metabolism

• GLP-1 receptor agonist helps with the hunger hormone Ghrelin

• FDA-approved for the treatment of type 2 diabetes as well as obesity

• Increases secretion of insulin and inhibits glucagon by the pancreas, thereby improving glucose (sugar) metabolism

• Regulates hunger and delays gastric emptying, leading to improved control of eating

• Reduced cravings and suppressed appetite

• Weight loss as well as significant improvement in Hemoglobin A1c and cardiovascular risk scores.

• May help with alcohol cravings

Bottom line: You will eat less because you feel less hungry.  Semaglutide affects the hunger hormone, ghrelin and is especially helpful when you are intermittent fasting. You may want to include fasting when starting on the peptide. How long you want to stay on Semaglutide is very individual based. The peptide also helps alter food and snack cravings, making it easier to stay away from carbs and sugar. Create new healthy eating habits in the process, and the weight loss is more likely to stay off.

Dosage:  Start with .12mg for the first dose.  If you have no side effects, do .12 mg again in 2 days.  That’s your first week’s dose, just spread over a couple days so that side effects are less!   Stick with .25mg once per week for a month (4 doses), then consider trying .5 mg for a month. You can increase monthly until you get to 2.4 mg a week maximum.  However, significant benefits and less side effects have been shown while staying at lower doses for a longer period.  If you experience side effects, decrease to the last dose that didn’t bother you.  

Side Effects: Constipation, diarrhea, slowed gut motility, feeling overly full after a medium size meal, nausea, delayed gastric emptying. DO NOT take if you have a history or family history of blood clots.  DO NOT take this peptide and then eat a huge meal later that day.   Stick with smaller amounts until you are sure how it will affect you.  

Want to learn more? The STEP 5 trial of Semaglutide showed an average weight loss of 15% over 2 years. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41591-022-02026-4

Here’s a great Reddit article diving into the real differences between the 3 weight loss peptides:

https://www.reddit.com/r/Mounjaro/comments/189eheq/comparing_the_big_3_semaglutide_tirzepatide_and/

Weight Loss Peptide Comparisons:

Semaglutide study participants lost about 15% of their body weight after six months on the medication.

Tirzepatide study participants lost up to 23% of their body weight.

Retatrutide study participants have lost over 30% of their body weight.

Weight Loss Peptide actions:

Semaglutide (Ozempic) is a single agonist; is it works on the glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1).  

Tirzepatide (Mounjaro) is a dual agonist; it combines GLP-1 with a glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide (GIP).  

Retatrutide is a triple agonist; it acts on GLP-1 and GIP, as well as glucagon. Glucagon burns more energy and raises metabolism.