The Ultimate Guide to Today’s Top Weight Loss Medications: Your Questions Answered

Written by Monique Gutierrez on July 8, 2025. Posted in Semaglutide Weight Loss, Weight Loss.

Over the past few years, new medications for weight loss have gained widespread attention — especially semaglutide (Ozempic®/Wegovy®), tirzepatide (Mounjaro®/Zepbound™), and the newest contender, retatrutide. These medications work differently from traditional diet and exercise alone, offering powerful tools for those struggling with obesity or weight-related conditions.

If you’re curious about how these medications compare, how they work, and whether one might be right for you, here are answers to the most common questions people ask.

How do semaglutide, tirzepatide, and retatrutide work?

All three belong to a class of medications that mimic hormones in your body to help regulate appetite, insulin, and blood sugar.

Semaglutide is a GLP-1 receptor agonist. It mimics the hormone GLP-1, which helps you feel fuller longer, slows digestion, and improves insulin sensitivity.

Tirzepatide is a dual GIP and GLP-1 receptor agonist. This means it targets both GLP-1 and another hormone, GIP (glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide), which may further enhance weight loss and blood sugar control compared to semaglutide.

Retatrutide is currently in clinical trials and shows even more promise. It’s a triple agonist — targeting GLP-1, GIP, and glucagon receptors — which may result in greater energy expenditure and weight loss than the other two.

Why eating protein and strength training is important

While medications like semaglutide, tirzepatide, and retatrutide can help you lose significant weight by reducing your appetite and calorie intake, it’s important to understand that not all weight loss is equal.

Without the right nutrition and exercise, some of the weight you lose may come from muscle, not just fat — and preserving your muscle is crucial for your health, strength, and metabolism.

Here’s why eating enough protein and including weight training in your routine matter:

Protects Your Muscle Mass

These medications help you eat less, but when you’re in a calorie deficit, your body may break down muscle along with fat.
Adequate protein intake and resistance training signal your body to hold onto muscle while burning fat.

Supports a Healthy Metabolism

Muscle burns more calories at rest than fat does. Losing too much muscle can slow your metabolism and make it harder to keep the weight off long term. Strength training helps maintain or even build muscle as you lose weight.

Improves Strength and Function

Keeping your muscles strong ensures you can continue to move well, stay active, and reduce your risk of injury — all of which are especially important as you lose weight.

Helps With Satiety and Recovery

Protein-rich meals help you feel fuller longer and support recovery after workouts, which is important since these medications may already reduce your appetite and make it harder to get enough nutrients.

By combining weight loss medication with a solid nutrition and exercise plan, you’re not just losing weight — you’re building a stronger, healthier, and more resilient body.

What are the side effects?

Like any medication, these have side effects — most often gastrointestinal, such as:

Nausea
Vomiting
Diarrhea or constipation
Reduced appetite

Side effects tend to be dose-dependent, often lessen as your body adjusts, and vary by person.

How long do I need to stay on the medication?

These medications work as long as you continue taking them. Stopping the medication often leads to regaining weight. That’s why they’re usually prescribed alongside lifestyle changes like improved nutrition, physical activity, and behavior therapy for long-term success.

Which medication is right for me?

There’s no one-size-fits-all answer. Factors to consider include:

Your medical history
Weight loss goals
How well you tolerate each medication

Discuss your options with your healthcare provider — they can guide you toward the best fit based on your unique situation. Remember, what works well for your friend may not be the right choice for you — and that’s perfectly okay!

Our commitment to quality: lab-grade medications

At Tucson Wellness MD we prioritize your safety and effectiveness above all else. That’s why we use only lab-grade weight loss medications sourced directly from trusted manufacturers.

We do not use compounded medications or products from compounding pharmacies. Compounded medications are custom-mixed formulations that may vary in quality, potency, and safety.

By choosing lab-grade medications, we ensure you receive:

Consistent, reliable dosing
The highest manufacturing standards
Proven safety and efficacy

Your health and results matter to us. This commitment helps us provide you with the best care possible on your weight loss journey.

Begin your weight loss journey with Tucson Wellness MD

Semaglutide, tirzepatide, and the upcoming retatrutide represent exciting advances in the treatment of obesity and metabolic disease. While they’re not magic bullets, they can provide significant support alongside lifestyle changes.

If you’re interested in learning more about these options or finding out which is right for you, schedule a consultation with a qualified provider who can help you weigh the benefits, risks, and costs.

F.A.A.L.L in Love with Yourself: 5 Benefits of Semaglutide

Written by Monique Gutierrez on September 3, 2024. Posted in Semaglutide Weight Loss.

If you’re having difficulty achieving your weight loss goals, have encountered a plateau, or just struggling to keep lost weight off, Tucson Wellness MD can help. As the season changes, don’t just appreciate yourself—fall in love with yourself.

Fine-tune Your Blood Pressure

Semaglutide can be a real game-changer, offering more than just weight management. Many people taking semaglutide find that their blood pressure drops, which can be a game-changer for those dealing with hypertension or worried about heart health. This added benefit helps keep blood pressure in check and supports overall cardiovascular well-being.

Amazing Sleep Quality

As you tackle your weight and rev up your metabolic health, you might find another delightful surprise: your sleep quality improves. With reduced sleep apnea symptoms and a healthier body overall, you could start enjoying deeper, more restful nights. It’s like your health transformation is giving you sweet dreams as an added bonus!

Advanced Insulin Sensitivity

Semaglutide doesn’t just help with insulin production; it also enhances your body’s insulin sensitivity. Imagine your cells becoming superstars at responding to insulin, making glucose management a breeze. It’s like upgrading your body’s internal system for effortless blood sugar control! This is especially beneficial for individuals with type 2 diabetes.

Lifted Mood and Mental Well-being

Shedding pounds and stabilizing blood glucose levels can do wonders for your mood and mental well-being. Many people on semaglutide therapy find themselves bursting with energy, enjoying sharper mental clarity, and feeling more emotionally balanced. It’s not just about physical health; it’s a boost for your mind and spirit too!

Lighter Body Weight

Semaglutide acts like a pro at mimicking GLP-1, skillfully taming your appetite and cravings. This smart strategy leaves you feeling fuller and more satisfied, making it a breeze to stick to your health goals. Plus, our experts boost your results by focusing on muscle preservation with exercise and high protein, so you’ll see and feel amazing changes in your health and energy!

“While semaglutide is not recommended for use with rare cancers, clinical trials have demonstrated its potential in preventing and improving outcomes in certain cancers and Alzheimer’s disease.”
– Dr. Kellams

Weight Loss at Tucson Wellness MD

Our goal is to help you become a healthier version of yourself and live a fulfilling life, no matter your age. Our team of experts are committed to helping you reach your goals and maintain them through consistent lifestyle changes. Fall in love with yourself this season—let semaglutide support your weight loss journey and help you shed those extra pounds. Reach out to us by phone or online to learn more about semaglutide or our other weight loss services!

Semaglutide Weight Loss Results

Written by Tucson Wellness on June 22, 2022. Posted in Semaglutide Weight Loss.

Obesity is a major public health issue with an increasing prevalence worldwide. Excess body fat is associated with various comorbidities, as well as increased overall mortality risk.

The benefits of weight loss are evident by the reductions in morbidity and mortality. The foundation for most weight loss programs involves strict lifestyle modification, including dietary change and exercise.

Unfortunately, many individuals struggle with weight loss and chronic weight management due to difficulty adhering to long-term lifestyle modification and the metabolic adaptations that promote weight regain. The use of adjunctive pharmacotherapy has been employed to help patients not only achieve greater weight loss than lifestyle modification alone, but also to assist with long-term weight management.

Historically, anti-obesity drugs have produced only modest weight loss and required at least once daily administration. Semaglutide or Glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1), a hormone with significant effects on glycemic control, appetite, and weight regulation, is a new therapy being used for weight loss.

What is Semaglutide?

Semaglutide, a GLP-1 receptor agonist (GLP-1RA), was recently approved by the Food and Drug Administration for chronic weight management in adults with obesity or who are overweight. The approval came after the publication of the Semaglutide Treatment Effect in People with Obesity (STEP) clinical trials. In these 68-week trials, semaglutide was associated with significantly greater weight loss compared to placebo. Semaglutide differs from other GLP-1RAs by having a longer half-life and producing greater weight loss.

For Those Who Struggle With Chronic Weight Management

As a chronic and relapsing disease, obesity impairs metabolism and causes cardiovascular disease. Although behavioral modification is important for the treatment of obesity, it is difficult to achieve an ideal weight or sustain the process of long-term weight loss.

Therefore, the obesity control guidelines strongly recommend lifestyle interventions along with medical treatment for patients who are overweight and in need of clinically significant weight loss to reduce cardiometabolic risk factors. There is sufficient evidence supporting that pharmacotherapy in combination with behavior-based interventions can result in significant weight loss and improved cardiometabolism, lessening cardiovascular risk factors.

Diabetes

Semaglutide is used along with a diet and exercise program to control blood sugar levels in adults with type 2 diabetes (condition in which the body does not use insulin normally and therefore cannot control the amount of sugar in the blood) when other medications did not control the sugar levels well enough.

Semaglutide is not used to treat type 1 diabetes (condition in which the body does not produce insulin and therefore cannot control the amount of sugar in the blood) or diabetic ketoacidosis (a serious condition that may develop if high blood sugar is not treated).

Semaglutide is in a class of medications called incretin mimetics. It works by helping the pancreas to release the right amount of insulin when blood sugar levels are high. Insulin helps move sugar from the blood into other body tissues where it is used for energy. Semaglutide also works by slowing the movement of food through the stomach.

Overweight According to the Body Mass Index

You can find an estimated body fat percentage by utilizing your height, baseline body weight, and a current BMI (Body Mass Index) chart. Once you know your body fat percentage, you can more easily calculate your lean body mass relative to that percentage.

Body Mass Index (BMI) is a person’s weight in kilograms (or pounds) divided by the square of height in meters (or feet). A high BMI can indicate high body fatness. BMI screens for weight categories that may lead to health problems, but it does not diagnose the body fatness or health of an individual.

Understanding Your BMI

A high or low BMI may be an indicator of poor diet, varying activity levels, or high stress. Just because someone has a ‘normal BMI’ does not mean that they are healthy.

BMI doesn’t take account of body composition, for example, muscle, fat, bone density. Sex and other factors which can impact your weight can also lead to an inaccurate reading. As such a BMI calculation is not a suitable measure for some people including children and young people under 18, pregnant women and athletes.

BMI ranges

Your BMI will fit into one of 5 bands:

under 18.5 – This is described as underweight.
between 18.5 and 24.9 – This is described as the ‘healthy range’.
between 25 and 29.9 – This is described as overweight
between 30 and 39.9 – This is described as obesity
40 or over – This is described as severe obesity

Reaching Your Ideal Body Weight

For those who have suffered with weight gain and weight maintenance, possibilities as extreme as bariatric surgery may have been considered. Semaglutide, administered at a dose of 2.4 mg, helped most people with obesity in a clinical trial lose at least 10 percent of their body weight, and more than half of them reduced their weight by at least 15 percent, according to the study results, which were published in February 2021 in the New England Journal of Medicine.

People taking semaglutide also experienced greater improvements in cardiovascular risk factors like BMI, waist circumference, blood pressure, and blood sugar than participants given a placebo.

Semaglutide with Tucson Wellness MD

At Tucson Wellness we are dedicated to helping you be better in everything you do. Excess weight can hurt your overall health and cause disease and injury that might otherwise be prevented. We use safe, natural, and effective methods to help with weight loss and keep it off.

Learn if you might be a good candidate with a consultation with our Master Medical Nutritionist. Learn more and contact us today by continuing to explore our website.