The Wegovy Dosing Chart: What the Semaglutide Schedule Actually Means for You

The standard semaglutide dosing chart, step by step

The licensed Wegovy titration runs in four-week blocks. Week one through four: 0.25 mg. Week five through eight: 0.5 mg. Weeks nine through twelve: 1.0 mg. Weeks thirteen through sixteen: 1.7 mg. From week seventeen onwards: 2.4 mg as the standard maintenance dose. Each step exists because semaglutide works on receptors in the gut and brain that regulate appetite; going straight to a higher dose would overwhelm those pathways and cause far more nausea than most people would tolerate.

A useful one-minute habit: before each new pen, check the dose printed on the label against your prescriber's instruction. Pens are not interchangeable between doses, and picking up the wrong strength is the kind of quiet error that is easy to avoid if you look before you inject. If you draw up doses manually rather than using a pre-filled pen, the semaglutide dosing chart in units on this site translates each stage into the measurements you will actually see on a syringe. The full semaglutide dosing chart for weight loss on this site lays the steps out in a format you can save or screenshot for reference.

Not everyone reaches 2.4 mg. If side effects are significant at a particular step, a prescriber may keep you at the lower dose for an additional four weeks or return to the previous level. That is not a failure; it is the schedule working as intended. The chart is a framework, not a timetable you must hit.

Since January 2026, a 7.2 mg dose is also part of the licensed schedule in the UK, initially delivered as three 2.4 mg pens per week. The MHRA approved a purpose-built 7.2 mg single-dose pen on 14 April 2026 for adults with a BMI of 30 or above, where the standard 2.4 mg maintenance dose has not produced sufficient response. Titration still starts from 0.25 mg; the extended schedule is confirmed at consultation. The MHRA's April 2026 announcement sets out the approval in full.

The real decision: staying on a dose versus moving up

The chart tells you what is possible. Your prescriber decides what is appropriate, and there are several factors in that call. Tolerability comes first. Gastrointestinal side effects (nausea, loose stools, reflux, fatigue in the first days after an injection) are most likely when you step up. If they are disrupting daily life, staying at the current dose for another four weeks often resolves them before the next increase. That is a clinical judgement, not a delay.

The second factor is response. If weight loss has been steady and side effects are manageable, most prescribers will recommend moving to the next rung of the Wegovy dosing schedule at the four-week mark. If progress has plateaued at a lower dose, that is the moment the 1.7 mg or 2.4 mg step becomes the priority conversation. NICE guidance on semaglutide recommends reviewing continuation if less than 5% weight loss has occurred after six months on the maintenance dose, a useful clinical benchmark, not a deadline.

Third, and worth naming plainly: the chart is not a race. People at 1.0 mg who are losing weight steadily and feeling well have no clinical reason to hurry to 2.4 mg. Faster titration does not mean more effective treatment; it often means more side effects for the same eventual result.

Where the 7.2 mg dose fits into the picture

The higher-dose semaglutide option is worth understanding even if you never reach it. Trials of semaglutide at 7.2 mg reported average weight loss of around 20.7% over 72 weeks, narrowing the gap with tirzepatide 15 mg that earlier Wegovy data had not closed. For the right patient, it represents a meaningful clinical step beyond the standard 2.4 mg ceiling.

The 7.2 mg pen is licensed specifically for adults with a BMI of 30 or above, the cardiovascular-risk indication that semaglutide also carries does not extend to this dose. As with every step on the dosing chart, reaching 7.2 mg requires a prescriber review, not simply the passage of time. If you are wondering whether the extended schedule applies to you, that conversation starts at consultation. Context on private treatment costs (and what a legitimate price actually covers) is on the Wegovy prices page if that is part of your thinking.

One practical point about all semaglutide pens: storage is refrigerated (2–8°C), with a limited period at room temperature permitted once in use. The exact window differs between pen formats and is set out in the Patient Information Leaflet; always defer to that rather than a general rule you have read online.

What a prescriber looks at before confirming your dose

A semaglutide dosing chart gives you the map; a prescriber provides the navigation. At each review, a clinician considers your current weight, the rate of change since the last pen, any side effects you have reported, and whether there are clinical reasons to hold or adjust. This is why an understanding of how semaglutide works as a medicine (rather than just the numbers on the chart) is useful background to bring to that conversation.

Eligibility for Wegovy in the UK requires a BMI of 30 or above, or 27 to 29.9 alongside a weight-related condition such as high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes or obstructive sleep apnoea. Lower BMI thresholds apply for some ethnic backgrounds under UK clinical guidance. The NHS, under NICE's appraisal TA875, restricts Wegovy to specialist weight-management services for a maximum of two years; private prescribing follows the licensed criteria and is subject to clinical assessment at every repeat. Under-18s, people who are pregnant, breastfeeding or planning a pregnancy are not suitable candidates for semaglutide. Those are absolute lines, not judgment calls.

Semaglutide is a Black Triangle medicine, meaning the MHRA actively collects safety data on it. Suspected side effects can be reported at the MHRA's Yellow Card scheme, a service worth knowing about regardless of where you are in the dosing schedule. When you are ready to talk through which step is right for you, the clinical team at nume can help.