7 Months Off Zepbound: The Truth

Added: 2026-05-09

[00:00:00]If you clicked on this video, you're probably someone who was thinking about possibly coming off of your GLP-1 medication at some point. And so, I really just wanted to make this video and sort of share what that experience looked like for me. But before we go any further, if you're new here, hello. My name is Jill, and I've been sharing my Zepbound weight loss journey on this channel for the past 2 years. And I've done it pretty openly and honestly, and really not holding back a whole lot. So, I've pretty much shared like the bad, and the ugly. And not just um like the weight loss phase of things, but also what happens when you decide to come off of these medications. When I stopped Zepbound, I did not do it in the way that I had planned, but uh life just threw me for a loop, and I was forced to quit cold turkey. And we'll talk about that a little bit later, but even still, I really did feel like I was ready. I thought I was prepared. What I was not expecting though was how um when your body and your stress levels and your metabolism all change at the same time, it's basically a recipe for disaster. And so, unfortunately, 7 months later, I found that I had gained 20 lbs back. And um looking looking back on it, I can trace it to four very specific uh mistakes. I guess that's what they were.

[00:01:27]They were mistakes. And these were small decisions that at the moment seemed to make a lot of sense. At least they did to me. And so, um you know, in hindsight though, I can see that this is kind of where things really started to go off track. So, several months before stopping Zepbound, I was within striking distance of hitting my goal. And so, I was really giving a lot of thought into my exit strategy. I wanted to make sure that it was something um that I was going about it like the smart way. I didn't I definitely did not want to start stop cold turkey. And so, I came up with a strategy that I thought was very um gradual and subtle. I definitely did not want to do anything drastic because my main goal my main my main concern was setting myself up for success and I did not want to lose um the progress that I had made. But, life has a way of laughing at you when you think you're in control and you have things figured out.

[00:02:32]And so, because of a health issue and a subsequent surgery that I had, I had to quit cold turkey. Of course, I was, you know, pretty worried about it cuz it was like the exact opposite of how I wanted to do things. But, I kind of just told myself that I could always get back on the medication and then slowly, you know, wean myself off the way I had planned. But, by the time I had healed from my surgery and was starting to feel a little bit more like myself, um it had already been a couple of months. And so, I just kind of thought to myself like it's been this long already. Like, does it even make sense to go back on the medication only to, you know, taper back off. And so, I didn't. I didn't go back on.

[00:03:17]But, what I didn't realize is that by switching course like that, I was basically giving up the main support that I was going to rely on during my transition.

[00:03:31]And that might not have been such a big deal if everything in my life stayed, you know, the same. Although, come to think of it, that's pretty big. Like, quitting cold turkey is not a good idea.

[00:03:43]Um but, things didn't stay the same. And so, basically at the same time that I was giving up my lifeline, so to speak, my life was getting really stressful and hectic. And so, you know, I was dealing with, you know, a lot of family issues. I was still recovering from my surgery.

[00:04:06]Um my kids were starting school again, which is always a really stressful time of year. Um and my routine was just completely thrown off and I was just really trying to get through get through the day. And this is where things really started to go sideways because it wasn't just that I wasn't following my plan. It was that I don't have a plan. My body is still recovering. I'm under a tremendous amount of stress. My routine is off.

[00:04:35]It was just nuts. And on top of that, I had been eating very little leading up to this because I just wasn't feeling well. And so, my metabolism took a huge hit and it was basically like so slow, like super, super slow.

[00:04:55]So, when I finally started feeling a little bit better and I started eating a little bit more, I kind of expected my body to respond the way it had before. I didn't even give it a second thought.

[00:05:06]But it didn't. It definitely didn't. And it was because my body was kind of coming out of this state of chronic undereating. And so, it was just trying to recalibrate. What ended up happening was that there was like a huge change in my hunger. The interesting thing is that my hunger did not come back all at once.

[00:05:28]Um it was really subtle, which made it pretty easy to miss. I think actually, if my hunger had come back all at once, I probably would have gotten on Zepbound uh much sooner cuz I would have been more aware of it. But it was very, very subtle and I just wasn't really that aware of it. And I kind of remember thinking like, you know, I'm still eating pretty light.

[00:05:57]I'm not really dealing with a whole lot of food noise.

[00:06:00]I got this. Like, you know, I think I could manage. And really it was a false sense of security because what was happening is that there were little changes going on that I just was not aware of. My body was not in the same um like metabolic state that it had been in because of months of under eating when I wasn't feeling well. And so, I really do think that the reason why I gained the 20 lb as quickly as I did is because at that point since my metabolism had really slowed down, it did not take a whole lot of extra energy for my body to hold on to that. Um So, this is why if you've watched any of my other videos, I am constantly talking about protecting your metabolism because it's super important of course on a weight loss journey, but it's equally as important when you're in your maintenance phase. You need your metabolism to be functioning properly so that you don't gain weight by just looking at food, you know? Basically, all of that made one thing even more important, something that I had been doing before, but basically just gave up on it when I needed it the most, and that was strength training. So, during my weight loss phase, I was actually pretty consistent with it. I wasn't perfect, but it was definitely something that I tried to um you know, make time for. But when everything just started falling apart, like my health and my stress and just like all everything, um strength training was like the first thing to fall by the wayside. And at the time, it felt justified. Like, it was totally understandable. Like I honestly was really just trying to get through my day. I did not have the mental or physical energy to even think about lifting weights.

[00:07:53]But looking back, that's actually when it mattered the most. And what I should have done was instead of just like stopping altogether, I should have tried to do at least one, maybe even two like 20-minute sessions a week. That would have been better than just completely stopping. Um yeah, I I really I really do regret that because without strength training, I basically lost the one thing that could have helped me stabilize my metabolism.

[00:08:27]Strength training really is one of the biggest things you can do to um support your weight loss, especially if you're coming off of a medication that curbs your appetite. It just felt like I had so many things working against me and that's what makes it such a shame that I gave up strength training because it really could have been the one thing that, you know, could have helped me. But hindsight is 20/20, right? So when I think back at these four mistakes, I realize how connected they truly were and how they all sort of converged to make the perfect storm. Um right? It was like the recovery from my surgery, the dealing with stress, the slower metabolism, and my routine basically becoming non-existent. Um I think it's important to realize that when you come off of a GLP-1 medication, it's not just about a plan, willpower, or discipline. Um sometimes it's about timing and sometimes it's about what's happening in your body kind of unbeknownst to you, like underneath the surface. So yes, come up with a plan and come up with systems that are sustainable and work on your routines and habits that are going to help you as you transition off of this medication and beyond.

[00:09:53]But, give yourself grace and remember that your maintenance journey is exactly that, it's a journey. And there's going to be hiccups, there's going to be ups and downs. It's really no different than your weight loss journey, right? It's very rarely linear and smooth.

[00:10:12]Um and that's okay. So if you found this video helpful, please don't forget to hit the like button, subscribe if you haven't already, comment, share, all the things, and let me know in the comments if you have a exit strategy or maybe you don't, maybe you just want to be on this medication long-term. That's fine, too.

[00:10:30]I'll see you guys in the next one. Bye.