I know how tempting it is to go up in dose when the scale slows down or stops completely. You start second-guessing everything. I've been there more times than I can count.
When I first started, my prescription said to go up and my doctor said to go up, so I did. But what nobody told me is that more meds don't necessarily mean more results. For me, dosing up came with some brutal side effects.
When I started: I followed the schedule exactly
I started semaglutide in March 2023. Back then, there wasn't a lot of social media guidance. I followed my prescription exactly, assuming faster dosing meant faster weight loss. And at first, it worked, until it didn't.
The moment I hit 0.5mg, the side effects kicked in: diarrhea, sulfur burps, and complete exhaustion. As a teacher, I couldn't be running to the bathroom every 30 minutes. Still, I pushed through. At 1mg, it became unbearable.
So I did something that felt wrong at the time: I dosed back down.
The lowest effective dose
That's when it clicked. This isn't a race. More medication doesn't mean more weight loss, and for some of us it just means more side effects.
More meds don't mean more magic.
The goal isn't to max out. It's to find the lowest effective dose that works for your body. Nobody told me that when I started, but now I know it's one of the most important lessons I've learned.
The mental spirals were harder than the side effects
Once I lowered my dose, I felt physically better, but the scale slowed way down. That's when the comparison started. Everyone on social media seemed to be dropping weight fast and leveling up their dose without any issues.
Why couldn't I? Why did my body react differently?
Comparison doesn't give you clarity. It steals it. You don't know what's going on behind someone else's camera, and you don't need to do it their way to be successful.
Switching meds (and making the same mistake)
After about 9 months on semaglutide, I switched to tirzepatide. I told myself I'd go slow this time. But the second I saw other people dropping weight faster, I panicked again and started dosing up.
At 5mg, the same side effects came back. I pushed through and made it to 10mg before I finally asked myself: what am I doing?
So I went back down, and I experimented. I found my sweet spot: 2.5mg per week. It works. It's sustainable. It feels good.
What I focused on instead of a higher dose
Instead of chasing a higher dose, I asked what kind of life I wanted to build. At any moment, this medication could be taken away, and I want habits that last. So I decided to use the lowest dose that quiets the food noise and focus on five core habits:
- Eating breakfast every morning. Protein coffee, smoothies, anything with substance.
- Increasing protein and fiber. For satiety, digestion, and muscle maintenance.
- Adding movement. I'm not perfect, but I'm working toward 3 times a week.
- Tracking what I eat. Not obsessively, just consistently through the month.
- Weekly weigh-ins. No more daily spirals, just steady accountability.
These aren't perfect, but they're real. Some weeks I hit them all. Other weeks I don't. And that's okay.
Final thoughts
Stalls will happen. Side effects will happen. Mental spirals will happen. But more meds won't fix any of that.
You don't have to rush your dose just because the scale slowed down. You are not behind. You are not broken. And you don't need to be perfect to see progress.
Talk it out with women who get it
Stalls, side effects, and comparison spirals are exactly what we talk about every day in Girl Code Daily. Come ask your questions and celebrate the small stuff.
