Maintenance hub
GLP-1 maintenance and reduced-dose strategies
Why maintenance matters, what the withdrawal trials show, and why it is not a fixed microdose schedule.
GLP-1 maintenance means continuing therapy after reaching a goal, because withdrawal trials show weight tends to return when the medication stops. Maintenance is not automatically a lower dose: the evidence for specific reduced maintenance doses is limited to named trials, and 'maintenance microdosing' is unproven.
What the evidence shows
- STEP 4 and SURMOUNT-4 show weight is largely maintained on continued therapy and tends to return after stopping.
- SURMOUNT-MAINTAIN provides evidence for a specific 5 mg reduced maintenance dose.
What the evidence does not show
- That an arbitrary reduced 'maintenance microdose' preserves results.
- That less-frequent dosing maintains weight — only weak signals exist.
Maintenance is not one thing
Continuing at the same dose, stepping down to a specific reduced maintenance dose, and spacing doses out are different strategies with different (and mostly limited) evidence. This site refuses to publish a universal maintenance schedule; the right approach is individual and clinician-led. See tapering and off-ramping and weight regain after stopping.
Frequently asked questions
Is maintenance always a lower dose?
No. Maintenance may continue the same dose or use a reduced dose where a clinician decides. Reduced-dose maintenance evidence is limited to specific trials.
Does less-frequent dosing maintain weight loss?
Unproven — only weak case-series and modeling exist.
Not medical advice. This page is consumer education, not medical advice, and does not recommend a dose, product, or provider. Compounded medications are not FDA approved. Talk with a licensed clinician about your situation.