You’ve reached your weight loss goals. You feel better every day. And now you’re considering reducing or stopping your weekly fat loss injections.

As you make this decision, it’s important to take thoughtful steps to maintain the progress you’ve worked so hard for. This phase is all about reinforcing healthy habits, supporting your metabolism and embracing long-term strategies that will help you sustain your results and continue feeling your best.

Note: We reference “Ozempic” often throughout this article. However, these tips and insights are designed to help any patient seeking to maintain their weight loss results, whether they’re using Ozempic or any other weight loss injection. 

How To Stop Post-Ozempic Food Cravings

• Prioritize Protein: Keeps you fuller longer and curbs hunger — 30% of caloric intake coming from protein is a good goal.
• Plan Meals Ahead: Structure your macro-balanced meals to reduce impulsive snacking.
• Increase Fiber Intake: Helps regulate digestion and keeps you satisfied as gastric emptying returns to normal.
• Stay Active: Physical activity reduces stress, limits emotional eating and puts your calories to work for you.
• Distract & Delay: Engage in another activity when cravings hit – they often pass within 15 minutes, especially late at night.
• Practice Mindful Eating: Slow down, turn your phone off and truly enjoy your meals to feel more satisfied.
• Get Spicy With It: Spices like cardamom, turmeric, coriander, ginger and cayenne pepper can help increase satiety and reduce cravings.
• Avoid Alcohol: Beyond the empty calories, alcohol reduces self-control and causes your body to hold onto fat.

Introduce Strength Training & Increase Protein

One of the strongest ways to support your metabolism post-Ozempic is to build lean muscle. Resistance training not only enhances your body composition but also boosts your resting metabolic rate, helping you burn more calories even at rest.

Starting a consistent strength routine while still on Ozempic ensures a smoother transition and can make maintaining your results much easier. Pair this with a higher protein intake to support muscle growth and prevent muscle loss during the transition.

Stay Hydrated, Prioritize Sleep & Reduce Stress

Hydration and quality sleep are fundamental yet often overlooked components of weight maintenance. Dehydration can sometimes be mistaken for hunger, leading to unnecessary snacking. Similarly, poor sleep disrupts hunger hormones, increasing cravings and reducing self-control.

Aim for at least 7 hours of rest each night and drink roughly 64 ounces of water a day.

What Happens If I Start To Gain Weight Back?

Weight regain doesn’t mean failure – it’s often part of the journey.

If you notice the scale creeping up, return to the basics of balanced meals, regular exercise and self-awareness. Avoid restrictive diets or extreme measures, as they can lead to burnout and a relapse to past poor eating habits. Progress takes time, and consistency will always yield better long-term results than perfection.

“Once you’ve reached this point, my role is to offer emotional and educational support — everything you need to keep moving forward. Together, we can reinforce the positive changes you’ve made and adjust your lifestyle plan to match this next phase.” 

– Colleen Bush, IFNCP

Exploring The Different Approaches To Professional Nutrition Care

By prioritizing science-backed solutions and offering tailored dietary strategies, both functional and conventional dietitians empower their patients to optimize daily nutrition, make informed health decisions and enhance their overall well-being. Both functional medicine and conventional medicine play essential roles in the healthcare landscape, and patients can greatly benefit from understanding the strengths and limitations of each approach.

In contrast, conventional dietitians typically follow guidelines for managing specific medical conditions, offering standardized nutritional recommendations within the traditional healthcare framework, where shorter consultations often limit personalized care.

“As a functional medicine dietitian, I’m not here to hand you a meal plan and send you on your way. I look at your whole lifestyle — from stress levels and sleep habits to exercise routines and your existing medical history. After all, what good is a meal plan if your body isn’t absorbing the nutrients the way it should?”

-Colleen Bush, RDN

The Role Of A Functional Medicine Dietitian

• Adopt a holistic and personalized approach to nutrition
• Create a comprehensive assessment of dietary habits, lifestyle and health history
• Focus on the interplay between diet, lifestyle and overall well-being
• Identify and address the root causes of health concerns, especially those that are difficult to diagnose or aren’t severe enough to qualify for a formal diagnosis
• Curate tailored interventions that consider the individual’s lifestyle, along with their unique biochemical and genetic makeup

The Role Of A Conventional Dietitian

• Use Evidence-based guidelines for managing specific already diagnosed medical conditions through diet (e.g., diabetes, hypertension)
• Provide standardized nutritional recommendations that address acute health concerns and symptoms.
• Offer shorter consultations that are often driven by insurance reimbursement models, which may limit personalized care
• Operate within the framework of traditional healthcare systems

Conventional Medicine Takes A Reactive Stance

Conventional dietitians often focus on addressing acute symptoms as they arise, which can be effective for some patients but may lead to a cycle of treatment without fully exploring the underlying causes of health issues for others. This approach typically involves limited follow-up, which may leave patients feeling overlooked or inadequately managed.

Additionally, there is often a high reliance on pharmaceuticals, which may not always align with a patient’s broader health goals or support long-term well-being.

“Feeling overwhelmed by daily stress? Can’t get to the gym enough? Struggling to fall asleep — and stay asleep? These issues can all manifest as symptoms like fatigue, mood swings and brain fog. If left untreated or uncorrected, they can even evolve into autoimmune conditions.”

-Colleen Bush, RDN

When Is The Conventional Approach Preferred?

Conversely, the conventional approach may be more appropriate for:

• Acute medical situations, such as injuries or sudden illnesses that require immediate attention.
• Diagnoses requiring rapid intervention, where standardized protocols can provide quick relief.
• Specialized treatment, particularly in acute care settings or emergencies, where traditional methods have been proven effective.

About The Author

Colleen Bush, RDN, is a registered functional medicine dietitian in Columbus, Ohio. She leverages her unique personal experiences and her specialized training in nutrition care to help patients alleviate symptoms related to autoimmune disorders, chronic illnesses and food allergies. Colleen believes in getting to the root cause of health concerns before curating a completely customized treatment plan that combines lifestyle interventions, functional medicine testing and dietary modifications to improve a patient’s overall well-being.

You’re in the gym. You’re getting good sleep. You’re following the ideal diet down to the macro. However, the pounds just aren’t coming off — or they are not coming off evenly throughout your body. As frustrating as it may be, fat loss patterns are complex and weight loss is not always proportionate due to a variety of physiological, genetic and lifestyle factors that influence how and where the body stores and burns fat.

Having a firm grasp of what causes disproportionate fat loss can help you adjust your ongoing lifestyle plan to address some of the overlooked components throughout this journey.

While individual vitamins and minerals play essential roles in the body, their effectiveness can be amplified when strategically combined. The following are examples of specific vitamins and minerals that complement each other, which can lead to enhanced absorption of each nutrient and better health outcomes. 

A Quick Note About Getting Your Nutrition From Supplements vs. Food

While supplements help fill nutritional gaps, we often urge patients to obtain their vital vitamins and minerals from whole foods. Whole foods provide a complex matrix of nutrients, fiber and beneficial compounds that work together to promote overall health. Supplements should be seen as a temporary solution and not a substitute for a balanced diet rich in fruits, vegetables, lean proteins and whole grains — unless otherwise suggested by your healthcare provider. 

1. Magnesium & Vitamin D

• Benefits: Magnesium assists in the activation of Vitamin D, enhancing its benefits for heart health, mood stabilization and sleep.
• Food Combo: Blackened salmon salad with berries and pecans.

2. Vitamin D & Calcium

• Benefits: Vitamin D enhances calcium absorption, crucial for bone health. Vitamin K2 further helps by directing calcium to bones and away from arteries.
• Food Combo: Grilled tofu with kale and sesame seeds, a meal rich in both nutrients.

4. Vitamin B12 & Folate

• Benefits: Both are essential for red blood cell formation and DNA synthesis, and they work together to maintain proper brain function.
• Food Combo: Whole grain cereal with fortified soy milk or just a few free-range eggs. 

5. Omega-3 Fatty Acids & Vitamin D

• Benefits: Omega-3s can enhance Vitamin D’s absorption, promoting better heart and immune health.
• Food Combo: Sardines with a side of avocado and leafy greens.

7. Selenium & Vitamin E

• Benefits: Selenium enhances the antioxidant effects of Vitamin E, protecting cells from damage and reducing inflammation.
• Food Combo: Turkey avocado wrap with spinach or simply a handful of Brazil nuts which contain an ample amount of both nutrients. 

8. Vitamin C & Vitamin E

• Benefits: These antioxidants negate free radicals damage and regenerate each other, enhancing their effectiveness in protecting cells from oxidative stress. 
• Food Combo: Mixed fruit salad with citrus fruits and nuts.

10. Potassium & Magnesium

• Benefits: Both minerals work together to support cardiovascular health by maintaining normal blood pressure and muscle function. 
• Food Combo: Bananas with a handful of almonds or salmon with roasted sweet potato and asparagus.

Vitamins & Minerals to Combine Sparingly

• Calcium & Iron: These minerals compete for absorption in the intestines, which can reduce the efficacy of both; this competition can also result in constipation, diarrhea or other gastrointestinal symptoms.
• Zinc & Copper: High levels of zinc can interfere with copper absorption and vice versa, which can lead to numbness and weakness in the arms and legs. 
• Vitamin E & Vitamin K: High doses of Vitamin E can potentially interfere with Vitamin K’s role in blood clotting.