Fitness HEALTH Women's Health October 4, 2025 0 Comments

How She Lost 90 Pounds on Zepbound and Discovered the Unexpected Hack to Keep It Off—No Meds Needed!

So you’ve danced with Zepbound, Ozempic, Wegovy, or Mounjaro—the slick hormone-boosting meds promising to crush your appetite and shred up to 26% of your body weight. Sounds like the dream, right? But here’s the kicker—more than half the people jump ship because of the sticker shock, pesky side effects, or just life throwing a curveball. Now, the million-dollar question buzzing in everyone’s mind: How do you keep that hard-won weight off once you ditch the meds? Spoiler alert: Yes, it’s totally doable. A breakthrough study in Frontiers in Nutrition reveals that combining therapeutic carb reduction with smart strength training not only staves off weight regain but can push your progress even further—imagine losing almost as much after quitting as you did while on the pills! And guess what? You even save big bucks—like a whopping $14,700 a year. For those who are still popping these meds, this combo turbocharges results. And if meds aren’t your thing or your budget’s tighter than a snare drum, this plan’s your golden ticket. Ready to break free from the cycle and take control like a champ? Let’s dive in. LEARN MORE

Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro, Zepbound—this new wave of medications boosts levels of the hormone GLP-1, dramatically shrinking appetite, improving blood sugar and reducing body weight by up to 26 percent. Experts say results can be life-changing. Yet research more than half of users discontinue the meds due to high cost, side effects or other reasons. It’s a phenomenon that has left millions wondering how to maintain weight loss after Zepbound, Ozempic or any GLP-1 drug. Is it possible? Absolutely.

A recent study in Frontiers in Nutrition demonstrated that former GLP-1s users adopting a plan that includes therapeutic carb reduction and strength training not only prevented regain, they could also continue losing significant weight, with one participant losing almost as much after GLP-1s as they did while taking them drug. Also impressive: There was also a cost savings of $14,700 per person in year.

Also very cool: This approach doesn’t just work if you quit GLP-1s. It can make results better and faster while you take the medication. Plus, “for women who don’t want or can’t afford GLP-1s, this is one of the best options available,” says Tro Kalayjian, D.O., a New York obesity expert and part of the team who carried out the research.

Eat like this to prevent regain (or keep losing!) after Zepbound

The first piece of any weight-loss puzzle is diet, and folks in the recent study saw great results with therapeutic carb reduction or TCR. While any any form of lowering carb intake to manage a health condition is therapeutic carb reduction, the study’s basic guideline allowed for 30 grams of carbs per day, with carbs in non-starchy veggies not counted.

How do you feel about GLP-1 meds like Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro and Zepbound?

What are the therapeutic benefits? Well, keep in mind that a typical modern diet causes blood-sugar issues, inflammation linked to rapid weight gain and a zillion health problems. TCR gives the body a break from carb-triggered sugar spikes and helps soothe inflammation, says Dr. Kalayjian, who goes by Dr. Tro. Like GLP-1s, it is linked to lower appetite. Plus, with less sugar available as fuel, we burn excess fat about 7.5 times faster, per findings in the journal Diabetes & Metabolic Syndrome.

All of that helps with both losing and maintaining. But TCR’s impact on muscle may be most important over the long term.

Muscle is the #1 way to maintain weight loss after Zepbound

Since we almost always replace carbs with extra protein, therapeutic carb reduction floods our bodies with amino acids that help protect muscle during weight loss. This is key, because if we skimp on protein as we eat less (due to GLP-1s, illness or for any reason), the body breaks down muscle to get protein. And muscle revs metabolism, helps keep blood sugar steady, protects mobility and boosts quality of life. Dr. Tro says that protecting and building muscle is absolutely crucial to big weight-loss results that last—whether you use GLP-1s or not.

And it’s not just about diet. Strength training is also crucial to protecting muscle, says Dr. Tro. And it doesn’t have to be complicated or involve a gym. Brook Vaughan, whose story we share below, uses a Pilates program she downloaded to her phone. Beginners can also search “free chair workouts” on YouTube. Dr. Tro recommends using the free Toward Health app, which includes strength training exercises, therapeutic carb reduction guidelines, support and more.

“The speed of weight loss using the Toward approach with no GLP-1 med is comparable to what we see in studies with GLP-1 meds,” he says.

How to maintain after Zepbound: Brook Vaughan, down 90 lbs and still losing

For years, when PCOS sufferer Brook Vaughan, 42, went on a diet, “I’d gain weight eating the exact same things as other people who were losing,” recalls the Tennessee mom.

Her weight climbing up, up, up, she went for a check-up and learned she had developed prediabetes. “My doctor thought Zepbound was a good fit for me,” says Brook. He explained that the drug would quiet her constant thoughts about food and make healthy eating easier. Plus, GLP-1 meds help stabilize blood sugar and have other effects on the body, helping to control or reverse prediabetes while also speeding fat burn.

Even so, Brook worried about the out-of-pocket cost. “And I don’t like taking medicine,” she adds. “I didn’t want to take it forever.” So her doctor suggested she use Zepbound as a tool to form good habits to carry her through after she stopped the meds. So Brook began injections. The internet led her to therapeutic carb reduction.

The processed and fast foods Brook once obsessed over became easy to skip. “I was able to stay between 30 and 60 grams of carbs a day,” says Brook, who ate things like cheese, meat, produce and Quest protein chips. “After some sugar withdrawal, the more weight I lost, the more energy I had.” She was soon using her muscles to do more work around her family farm. Then she added Pilates, using an app on her phone.

Between August 2024 and May 2025, Brook shed 73 pounds. As her progress slowed, her doctor prescribed a higher dose of Zepbound. It meant a jump from $440 to $700 a month. “Since I only had about 30 pounds to go, I decided to try losing on my own,” she shares.

For support and structure, she joined WeightWatchers. She kept working her muscles, watching carbs and emphasizing protein. Her food noise didn’t return in full force. “It’s more like static,” she says. If she hears it, she just takes a walk or finds a little distraction.

Not only has she lost 17 more pounds, “my blood pressure is amazing now,” she says. As for her prediabetes, “I started with fasting blood sugar of 120. I recently tested it and it was in the 70s!” She’s happy, strong, healthy and thrilled with her success. “I give props to my primary care physician, who was so encouraging and told me I could do this without taking meds forever,” says Brook, down 90 pounds and counting. “I feel phenomenal!”

A quick guide to maintaining or losing after Zepbound

A very simple option: Use a smartphone app like Toward Health to keep carbs under 30 grams and protein over 100 grams each day. Don’t count the carbs in nonstarchy veggies. Avoid processed food most of the time, but it’s fine to enjoy low-carb treats (like Brook’s favorite Quest chips). Dr. Tro strongly suggests adding at least three resistance training workouts per week.

This content is not a substitute for professional medical advice or diagnosis. Always consult your physician before pursuing any treatment plan.