Understanding Wegovy dosages for effective weight loss

The Wegovy dosage for weight loss requires you to reach and maintain the full dose for the medication to work most effectively for weight loss. It is important to take Wegovy as prescribed by your doctor. Depending on your needs, your doctor can ensure that you are safe as you gradually increase your dose to the maintenance dose of 2.4mg in 5 months or the maximum maintenance dose of 7.2mg* in 6 months.

* Wegovy 7.2mg has been authorised since 17th February 2026 and is a maintenance option like 2.4mg. However, the pen with the 7.2mg dosage has not been released yet by the manufacturer and is expected before the end of 2026.

Wegovy is available in 6 dose strengths (0.25mg, 0.5mg, 1mg, 1.7mg, 2.4mg, 7.2mg). The Wegovy dosing protocol requires that you start on the lowest dose of 0.25 mg before increasing the dose every 4 weeks until you reach the full dose of 7.2 mg.

Please note that while maintenance doses 2.4mg and 7.2mg have been clinically proven to be the most effective for weight loss results, you do not have to titrate to the 7.2mg dose. Wegovy may be effective for you on a lower maintenance dose of 2.4mg, or alternatively 1.7mg if you experience side effects, but would still like to stay on Wegovy.

Wegovy dosage chart

To help you keep on track with your doses, you can follow a Wegovy dosage chart.

It’s important to follow your Wegovy dosage schedule to allow your body to get used to the medicine. The starting dose is Wegovy 0.25 mg once a week for 4 weeks. The dose increases over 16 weeks until you reach the recommended Wegovy 2.4 mg dose. There is also a higher dose of Wegovy, 7.2 mg, which can be made available upon the recommendation of your doctor within 21 weeks. You will then inject this once per week for as long as your treatment needs to last.

The Wegovy starting dose is 0.25 mg. You’ll need to take this for 4 weeks by injecting on the same day once per week.

Can you start on 1mg of Wegovy?

No, it is important to start Wegovy on the starting dose of 0.25 mg once a week for 4 weeks to allow your body to get used to the active ingredient, semaglutide. This is the case even if you’ve been on high doses of other weight loss treatments before Wegovy.

Wegovy recommended dosage

The Wegovy recommended dosage is 2.4 mg once per week. This is also referred to as the maintenance dose. If this is not tolerated then 1.7 mg may be administered once weekly. If you find that 2.4mg is not effective for you, your doctor may recommend the maximum maintenance dose of Wegovy, 7.2 mg.

Maximum dosage of Wegovy pens

The maximum Wegovy dose is 7.2mg once per week.

Lowest dosage of Wegovy pens

The lowest dose of Wegovy is 0.25mg but this is only a starting dose and not a maintenance dose.

When to increase Wegovy dosage

Wegovy is available in 6 different doses. You start on 0.25mg once per week, increasing the dose every 4 weeks until you reach the full Wegovy maintenance dose of 2.4mg or the maximum maintenance dose 7.2mg. Your doctor should recommend the most suitable maintenance dose for you based on your personal health needs.

Can you skip doses of Wegovy?

Wegovy comes as a coloured pen. Each pen is pre-filled with 4 doses and when you need to change your dose you will change to the correct coloured pen for that dose.

The pens are:

• green (Wegovy 0.25mg)
• pink (Wegovy 0.5mg)
• brown (Wegovy 1mg)
• blue (Wegovy 1.7mg)
• black (Wegovy 2.4mg)
• 3x black (Wegovy 7.2mg)

The standalone Wegovy 7.2mg pen has not been released yet.

Wegovy is injected once per week. You should inject your Wegovy dose on the same day each week.

Note: If you are injecting the 7.2 mg dose, this is still injected once a week, but it is instead administered as 3 x 2.4 mg pens meaning you have to inject 3 times to make the full dose.

Watch the video below to find out more about Wegovy:

If you have forgotten to inject your Wegovy dose or have missed it, what you need to do depends on how many days have passed since your missed dose.

• If it has been 5 days or less, inject it as soon as you remember. You should then inject your next dose on your usual scheduled day.
• If it has been more than 5 days, you will need to skip the missed dose. Inject your next dose on your usual scheduled day. You must not take a double dose to compensate for a missed dose.

The dosing protocol for Wegovy is different to other weight loss medicines. Your doctor will always explain the correct dosage to you when they prescribe it. It is possible to switch from other weight loss medications to Wegovy under the supervision of your doctor.

It is possible to switch from Saxenda to Wegovy. Your doctor can discuss the best way to do this. The biggest difference between the 2 medications is that Saxenda is injected daily whereas Wegovy is injected once weekly.

Saxenda also contains the active ingredient liraglutide, which mimics the GLP-1 hormone, suppressing your appetite.

Wegovy and Ozempic contain the same active ingredient, semaglutide, but Wegovy contains a higher dosage. Ozempic is available off-label for weight loss but is mainly used to treat type 2 diabetes. At ZAVA we do not prescribe Ozempic off-label.

Switching from Mounjaro to Wegovy dosage

Mounjaro is another treatment for weight loss, it is a glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) and therefore works in a similar way to Wegovy by reducing your appetite and slowing your digestion. If you are currently using Mounjaro and think Wegovy is more suitable for your needs, you should first speak to your doctor, you must never switch weight loss injections without the supervision of your doctor.

To switch from Mounjaro to Wegovy you will need to wait for 1 week (7 days) after coming off Mounjaro before starting your first dose of Wegovy. You typically start on the lowest dose of Wegovy and increase gradually so that you can reduce the risk of side effects.

Like all medicines, Wegovy can cause side effects. You may experience some, none, or all of these effects.

The most common Wegovy side effects are:

• feeling sick (nausea)
• being sick (vomiting)
• diarrhoea
• constipation
• tummy pain
• headache
• feeling tired (fatigue)
• upset stomach
• dizziness
• bloatedness
• gas
• burping
• stomach flu
• heartburn
• runny nose
• sore throat

The most common Wegovy side effect is nausea. Some people also report feeling sick after injecting their first dose. There are some things you can do to help manage, like:

• eating plain or bland foods like toast or rice
• eating foods that contain water such as soup
• eat slowly
• get some fresh air outdoors

Wegovy can only be prescribed if you meet certain criteria. To get Wegovy prescribed by a ZAVA doctor you must either have a BMI of 30 or more or have a BMI of 27 and have at least 1 weight-related condition, like high blood pressure. In addition, there must be no contraindications to the use of the medication, such as allergies or interactions.