Semaglutide weight loss dosage chart — what to take to lose

Better known by the brand names Wegovy and Ozempic, semaglutide mimics a natural hormone that helps regulate appetite and blood sugar levels. Semaglutide can be transformative for weight loss, but using the right dose matters. That’s why we put together a detailed semaglutide weight loss dosage chart.

This guide to semaglutide doses for weight loss can help you navigate your weight loss journey with confidence. And it includes the information you need to discuss your goals with your healthcare provider. 

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Available forms of semaglutide

Semaglutide is the active ingredient in the brand-name drugs Wegovy, Ozempic, and Rybelsus. It’s also available as compounded semaglutide. All forms of semaglutide are glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) agonist medications. GLP-1 receptor agonists, including those that contain semaglutide, should be used with a reduced-calorie diet and increased physical activity.

Wegovy

Wegovy is a once-weekly injectable medication that’s U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved for weight loss in people with a body mass index (BMI) of 30 or higher or 27 or higher and with a weight-related health problem like heart disease, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, or type 2 diabetes. Wegovy is also FDA-approved to lower the risk of major cardiovascular events (including heart attack, stroke, or death) in adults with known heart disease and obesity or overweight.

Ozempic

Ozempic is also a once-weekly injectable medication. It’s FDA-approved to improve blood sugar (glucose) levels in adults with type 2 diabetes. It’s also FDA-approved to lower the risk of major cardiovascular events in adults with known heart disease and type 2 diabetes. It’s not approved for weight loss or weight management. But people who take it for blood sugar control may lose weight.

Rybelsus

Rybelsus (semaglutide) is a daily oral tablet that’s FDA-approved to improve blood glucose control in people with type 2 diabetes.  Like Ozempic, it’s not approved for weight loss or weight management. But people who take it for blood sugar control with type 2 diabetes may lose weight.

Compounded semaglutide

There is no generic available for Wegovy, Ozempic, or Rybelsus. But you can get compounded semaglutide at a compounding pharmacy if your provider prescribes it. Compounded semaglutide is a custom-made medication that can be tailored to your specific needs or personal preferences. Reasons you might choose compounded semaglutide over brand-name Wegovy, Ozempic, or Rybelsus include personal preference, allergies, cost, and trouble finding a brand-name drug in stock. 

Talk to your healthcare provider about your weight loss goals. They can help you determine whether oral semaglutide vs injection is best for your weight loss or type 2 diabetes treatment needs.

Semaglutide weight loss dosage chart 

Here’s a semaglutide dosage chart for weight loss that outlines the typical dosing schedule for semaglutide. Your dosing schedule may vary depending on how you tolerate the medication and your provider’s recommended dose adjustments. 

💉Potential maintenance dose. **Dose will vary depending on condition treated, provider instructions, and pharmacy used.

* Ozempic is FDA-approved to improve glycemic control in people with type 2 diabetes, but a provider may legally prescribe it for weight loss off-label at their discretion.

The target maintenance dose for Wegovy is 1.7 or 2.4 milligrams each week. For Ozempic, the recommended dosage is 1.0 or 2.0 milligrams a week. Clinical trials show that people lose more weight on the higher doses of semaglutide in Wegovy. For example:

• In a 68-week trial to assess semaglutide for treating obesity and overweight, people taking 2.4 milligrams of semaglutide lost 13.2% of their body weight, while people taking 1.7 milligrams lost 9.6%. 
• In a separate 40-week trial assessing semaglutide for treating type 2 diabetes, people taking 2 milligrams of semaglutide lost more than 15 pounds, while people taking 1 milligram lost just over 13 pounds.

If you’re using Wegovy semaglutide for weight loss, you’ll likely take a higher dose. But, if you struggle to tolerate a higher dose, your healthcare provider may have you titrate back down to a lower dose.

Understanding semaglutide dosing — from first dose to titration to maintenance

Whatever form of semaglutide you take for your needs — Ozempic vs Wegovy, Rybelsus, or compounded — your healthcare provider will start you at a lower dose. For injectable semaglutide, this is 0.25 milligrams. For oral Rybelsus, it’s 3 milligrams once a day. Then, every 4 weeks or so, your healthcare provider has you increase your daily dose until you reach your ideal maintenance dose.

Starting at a low dose and gradually increasing over time lets your body adjust to each dose of semaglutide. This helps minimize common gastrointestinal (GI) side effects of Ozempic or Wegovy, which can include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and constipation. The target maintenance doses tend to be the 2 highest doses of each medication shown in the following table. 

**Dose will vary depending on condition treated, provider instructions, and pharmacy used.

Learn more about Wegovy doses and Ozempic doses.

How to inject semaglutide

• If taking Ozempic or Wegovy, you use a pen device to inject yourself subcutaneously (under the skin) of your stomach, upper arm, or thigh each week. If taking compounded semaglutide, you’ll use a normal needle and get your medication in a vial. You’ll draw your dose into the needle from the vial. 
• It’s best to rotate your injection site each week. Don’t use the very same spot each week.
• Inject yourself on the same day of the week each week. 
• Take semaglutide at any time of day, with or without a meal.
• Before administering your injection, wash your hands with soap and water and clean the injection site with a swab of alcohol. 
• If taking Ozempic or Wegovy, before removing the pen from the injection site, wait for the yellow bar on the pen to stop moving (Wegovy) or count for 6 seconds (Ozempic).
• If you have trouble with the subcutaneous injection or see medicine leaking onto your skin, choose a firmer injection area, such as your upper thigh or arm. If injecting yourself in the stomach, try standing up.
• For more tips on how to inject semaglutide, consult your healthcare provider, pharmacist, or the Novo Nordisk website (the maker of Ozempic and Wegovy).

Possible side effects of semaglutide

The most common side effects of Wegovy, Ozempic, and Rybelsus are nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, constipation, and abdominal pain. Others can also occur. Side effects tend to be more common at the beginning and during dose escalation. 

Wegovy, Ozempic, and Rybelsus can also less-commonly cause serious side effects, including allergic reactions, low blood sugar (hypoglycemia), kidney damage, gallbladder problems, pancreatitis, rapid heartbeat, vision changes or diabetic retinopathy in people with type 2 diabetes, depression or suicidal thoughts, and ileus (inability of the intestines to contract normally). 

They all carry an FDA-boxed warning for the risk of thyroid tumors and cancers, such as medullary thyroid carcinoma. If used, they should only be used with caution in people with a personal or family history of medullary thyroid cancer or multiple endocrine neoplasia type 2 (MEN 2).

Drugs like Wegovy, Ozempic, and Rybelsus go through clinical trials before they’re FDA-approved. Compounded medications aren’t FDA-approved even though the pharmacies that make them are regulated by the FDA. Compounded semaglutide from a reputable compounding pharmacy uses pharmaceutical-grade semaglutide. As such, the side effects of compounded semaglutide can be expected to be similar to those of FDA-approved medications with semaglutide as the active ingredient. 

Read more about the potential side effects of semaglutide. 

Tips for managing side effects on semaglutide

Don’t increase your dose more than once every 4 weeks or as instructed by your provider. Increasing your dose too fast can increase the chance of side effects on Wegovy or the side effects of Ozempic, which are comparable to those of Rybelsus. 

If you have unpleasant side effects like nausea, try the following:

• Eat smaller meals
• Eat bland foods, like toast, crackers, or rice
• Avoid fatty or fried foods
• Stop eating when you feel full
• Drink plenty of water
• Avoid lying down right after you eat

Semaglutide for weight loss dosage

When prescribed for weight loss, the starting dose of Wegovy (semaglutide) is typically 0.25 milligrams weekly. Then, every 4 weeks, your healthcare provider will have you increase your dose until you reach your maintenance dose. The maintenance dose is a dose that produces weight loss while keeping side effects manageable. The maximum maintenance doses of semaglutide for weight loss are 1.7 or 2.4 milligrams weekly.

Wegovy comes in 5 different strengths. Each strength comes in a prefilled single-use pen. You take it just once each week. So for a month, you need 4 pens. 

Available Wegovy doses are:

• 0.25 milligrams per 0.5 milliliters 
• 0.50 milligrams per 0.5 milliliters
• 1.0 milligrams per 0.5 milliliters
• 1.7 milligrams per 0.75 milliliters
• 2.4 milligrams per 0.75 milliliters

Semaglutide for blood sugar control dosage

When prescribed for blood sugar control for people with type 2 diabetes, Ozempic (semaglutide) comes in 4 dosage strengths: 0.25 milligrams, 0.5 milligrams, 1.0 milligrams, and 2.0 milligrams. Typically, you’ll start at 0.25 milligrams weekly. Then, your healthcare provider will have you increase your dose every 4 weeks until you reach a maintenance dose that effectively controls your blood sugar levels. 

Oral Rybelsus (semaglutide) comes in 3 dosage strengths: 3 milligrams, 7 milligrams, and 14 milligrams. Typically, healthcare providers prescribe a starting dose of 3 milligrams a day for 30 days. Then, they’ll have you increase your dose to 7 milligrams daily. If you need more blood sugar control, they’ll have you increase the dose to 14 milligrams after you’ve spent at least 30 days on the 7-milligram dose.

What to do if you miss a dose of semaglutide

It’s best to give yourself your semaglutide injection on the same day each week or to remember to take oral semaglutide each day at about the same time. This helps you stay on track with your semaglutide treatment. It also ensures you have an effective amount of medication in your body. 

If you do miss a dose, your next steps will depend on which form of semaglutide you’re taking for weight loss or blood sugar control. 

• Wegovy: If it’s been less than 2 days since you missed your dose (48 hours), take the missed dose as soon as you remember. If it’s been more than 2 days (48 hours) since you missed your dose, skip it and take your next dose as scheduled. 
• Ozempic: If it’s been less than 5 days since you missed your dose, take the missed dose as soon as you remember. If it’s been more than 5 days since you missed your dose, skip it and take your next dose as scheduled. 
• Rybelsus: If you miss a dose, skip it and take your next dose as scheduled.
• Compounded semaglutide: Follow your healthcare provider’s medical advice.

Example missed semaglutide dosage chart for weight loss

Important! Never take 2 doses of semaglutide at the same time or within 2 days of each other. Taking too much is considered an overdose and can be harmful. If you miss 2 doses in a row, call your provider to talk about what to do. 

Tips to avoid missing a dose of semaglutide

To help yourself remember to take your semaglutide dose on time, try these tips:

• Set a reminder or alert on your phone or digital calendar. 
• Post a note somewhere you’ll see it, such as on your medicine cabinet.
• Pair your dose with another activity that’s consistent, such as a podcast release or grocery trip.

What to do if you take too much semaglutide

Taking extra semaglutide won’t make you lose more weight or lose weight faster or offer any better blood sugar control. It can, however, cause serious side effects such as severe nausea, vomiting, or hypoglycemia (low blood sugar). If for any reason you take too much semaglutide, call your healthcare provider or the Poison Control Center (1-800-222-1222) for advice on what to do. 

How to change when you inject your semaglutide

Do you need to change the day you inject semaglutide? You can change the day of your weight loss injection, as long as it’s been at least 2 days (48 hours) since your last dose. 

So, if you’ve been taking semaglutide on Saturday and you want to switch it to Sunday, you would take your dose on Saturday, then wait a full week and 1 day to take it the following Sunday. Just make sure you don’t take 2 doses within 2 days (48 hours) of each other.

If you have questions about how to safely switch the day you take semaglutide, reach out to your healthcare provider.

How to get a prescription for semaglutide

Wegovy, Ozempic, Rybelsus, and compounded semaglutide are only available by prescription. You can only get a prescription for semaglutide when you talk to a licensed healthcare provider. And they determine that the medication is medically necessary for you.  

You can meet with your primary care provider (PCP) or a healthcare professional who specializes in weight loss or type 2 diabetes treatment. To get a prescription for weight loss online or to help treat type 2 diabetes, find a provider on a telehealth platform like Klarity Health. The Klarity Health platform connects you with licensed providers who can create a tailored weight loss plan or type 2 diabetes treatment plan that includes medication if needed. 

If your provider starts you on semaglutide for weight loss or to help control your blood sugar, make sure you understand all potential side effects as well as the contradictions and warnings. You can get these from your provider, pharmacist, or the medication’s package insert. You can also read reviews of different forms of semaglutide online, including Wegovy reviews.

Key takeaways

• Semaglutide dosage for weight loss or blood sugar control varies depending on which form of semaglutide you’re taking and for what reason. 
• Typically, doses start low and increase every 4 weeks to reduce the risk of side effects and give your body time to adjust to the medication.
• Higher doses lead to more weight loss but may not be tolerable for everyone.
• The maximum doses of Wegovy with semaglutide for weight loss are 1.7 or 2.4 milligrams.

Find out if semaglutide is right for you in 24 hours*

Wondering if semaglutide can help you reach your weight loss goals? Find a licensed healthcare provider on Klarity Health today. They can assess whether weight loss medication is a good fit for you, and provide a personalized treatment plan. Make an appointment today and get started on your way to a healthier you.