Wegovy amounts: what each dose does and how the schedule works

Step 1, the starting amount (0.25 mg) and why it is deliberately low

The first pen you take contains 0.25 mg of semaglutide. For many people this feels anticlimactic, they expected to feel something dramatic straight away. In fact, the 0.25 mg amount has one job: settling your digestive system into the medicine. GLP-1 receptor agonists slow gastric emptying and alter appetite signals, and introducing that effect at full strength from week one would leave most people feeling genuinely unwell. Beginning low reduces the nausea, vomiting and stomach discomfort that are the most common early side effects, as documented on the NHS semaglutide medicines page. You stay at this amount for four weeks. There is no clinical target for weight loss at 0.25 mg, the prescriber is not judging your progress at this stage, only your comfort. Think of it as a runway, not the flight itself.

People sometimes contact their prescriber frustrated that nothing is changing. It is worth knowing that this pattern is normal and expected. The dose is not broken; it is doing exactly what it is supposed to do.

Step 2 (building through 0.5 mg, 1.0 mg and 1.7 mg

After the first four weeks, the amount increases to 0.5 mg, then) typically monthly, to 1.0 mg and 1.7 mg. Each step up is conditional: a clinician reviews your tolerability and response before approving the next amount. If side effects are still significant at any rung, a prescriber may hold the dose there longer rather than pushing upward. There is nothing unusual or concerning about that. The staircase exists because individual sensitivity to semaglutide varies considerably. Some people manage every increase smoothly; others need more time at 0.5 mg or 1.0 mg. The body of clinical evidence (including the STEP 1 trial published in the New England Journal of Medicine) was built on participants who followed this same graduated schedule. The semaglutide amounts for weight loss page covers how these mid-range doses relate to actual outcomes in more detail.

Keep the injection in the fridge between doses, and rotate sites (abdomen, thigh or upper arm) each week. For the exact storage window and site guidance, the Patient Information Leaflet is the definitive source.

Step 3, reaching the maintenance amount (2.4 mg, or 7.2 mg)

The standard maintenance amount is 2.4 mg once weekly. In the STEP 1 trial, participants on this dose achieved an average body-weight reduction of around 15% over 68 weeks alongside lifestyle changes. That figure is a trial average across a large group, not a personal forecast, individual results vary, and a prescriber can tell you what a realistic expectation looks like given your circumstances.

In April 2026, the MHRA approved a higher 7.2 mg maintenance dose delivered via a new dedicated single-dose pen, for adults with a BMI of 30 or above. This higher semaglutide amount is not available to everyone and is subject to prescriber assessment, it applies specifically to weight management, not the cardiovascular indication, and the titration pathway to 7.2 mg still begins at 0.25 mg. Whether a particular dose or pen format is available to you is something confirmed at consultation, not assumed.

If you are curious how the 2.4 mg maintenance amount compares with outcomes at other doses, the evidence on Wegovy weight-loss amounts goes through this in more depth. For context on what private treatment typically costs across a titration course, the Wegovy price comparison page lays out the landscape honestly.

What happens if the highest tolerated amount does not produce enough response?

NICE guidance on semaglutide (TA875) advises that treatment should be reconsidered if less than 5% weight loss has occurred after six months on the maintenance dose. That is not a cliff edge, it is a clinical checkpoint. A prescriber will review what has happened, whether the dose has been tolerated, and whether continuing makes sense for you individually. They may also consider whether a different treatment option fits better. Questions like these, and rarer situations such as what happens if a weekly injection is missed or delayed, should go to your prescribing team and the Patient Information Leaflet, not general search results.

You can find information on obtaining Wegovy through legitimate UK channels on the Wegovy over the counter page, which also covers why these medicines are only available via prescription. If you have noticed an unusual skin response during treatment, semaglutide skin sensations is worth reading. And if you want a broader picture of weight-loss treatment options available through a regulated UK pharmacy, our weight-loss overview covers what is currently licensed.