The trial averages are around fifteen percent of body weight over roughly sixty-eight weeks on semaglutide, and around twenty percent on tirzepatide. Those are averages over more than a year, not a promise, and the shape of the curve matters as much as the endpoint.
Month one is small, because the dose is still a settling dose. Months two and three are usually where a clear downward trend appears and where clothes start fitting differently.
Months four to six tend to be the steepest stretch, since you are at a therapeutic dose and the reduced intake has had time to accumulate. This is where most people notice other people noticing.
Months six to twelve flatten. The rate slows, plateaus appear, and the work shifts from losing to holding. That flattening is expected and is not a sign the medication has stopped working. The detail sits in What to expect, Dosing and titration and Stopping medication.
The curve
Reading it
How to read your own timeline
Judge in months
Any single week is noise. A month gives you a trend, and a trend is the only thing worth reacting to.
Expect plateaus
Several weeks of no movement is a normal feature of the curve, not a failure. They usually resolve without changing anything.
Measure more than weight
Waist, how clothes fit, blood pressure and blood sugar all move. Weight alone under-reports what is happening.
Ask when it truly stalls
A genuine multi-month stall at a stable dose is worth reviewing. That is a different thing from a three-week plateau.
Variation
Why your results may differ from the average
Averages hide a wide spread. Some people lose considerably more than the trial figure and some considerably less, and starting weight, other medication, sleep, activity and how much protein you manage all feed into it.
How much, how fast, plateaus, and how long people stay on it.
Trial averages are around fifteen percent of body weight on semaglutide and around twenty percent on tirzepatide, measured over roughly sixty-eight weeks. Individual results vary widely around those averages.
Usually months three to six, once you are at a therapeutic dose and the reduced intake has accumulated. That is also when other people tend to notice.
Plateaus of a few weeks are a normal feature of the curve and usually resolve on their own. A genuine stall lasting months at a stable dose is worth reviewing.
Many stay on a maintenance dose long term, because the appetite effect only lasts while the medication does. That is a decision to make with your clinician rather than a fixed rule.
No. Very rapid loss raises gallbladder risk and costs more lean mass. A steady rate holds better and is easier to live with.
