The published trial record is the cleanest place to answer this question. In STEP 1, semaglutide 2.4 mg produced an average weight loss of 14.9 percent at 68 weeks against 2.4 percent for placebo. In SURMOUNT-1, tirzepatide produced 15.0 percent at the 5 mg dose, 19.5 percent at 10 mg and 20.9 percent at 15 mg at 72 weeks against 3.1 percent for placebo. OASIS 1, the trial behind Wegovy Tablets, reported 13.4 percent for oral semaglutide 50 mg at 68 weeks. Those are the averages the 2026 conversation should be built on. Every one of them carries individual variation that no headline number can promise.
- Semaglutide 2.4 mg averaged 14.9 percent weight loss at 68 weeks in STEP 1 against 2.4 percent for placebo.
- Tirzepatide averaged 20.9 percent at the 15 mg dose at 72 weeks in SURMOUNT-1 against 3.1 percent for placebo.
- Oral semaglutide 50 mg averaged 13.4 percent at 68 weeks in OASIS 1.
- Averages are protocol results. The titration, the monitoring and the coaching produce them. The vial alone does not.
- Our fee is $299 a month for the doctor and the labs. The pharmacy bills the medicine separately at cost with zero markup.
Average weight loss by GLP-1 medication, trial by trial
The table below pulls the headline result from each pivotal trial as it was published. Every figure is an average across a large randomized population, which is a different thing from the result any one person should expect.
| Trial | Medication and dose | Duration | Average weight change | Placebo |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| STEP 1 (New England Journal of Medicine, 2021) | Semaglutide 2.4 mg weekly | 68 weeks | 14.9 percent | 2.4 percent |
| SURMOUNT-1 (New England Journal of Medicine, 2022) | Tirzepatide 5 mg weekly | 72 weeks | 15.0 percent | 3.1 percent |
| SURMOUNT-1 | Tirzepatide 10 mg weekly | 72 weeks | 19.5 percent | 3.1 percent |
| SURMOUNT-1 | Tirzepatide 15 mg weekly | 72 weeks | 20.9 percent | 3.1 percent |
| OASIS 1 (2023) | Oral semaglutide 50 mg daily (Wegovy Tablets) | 68 weeks | 13.4 percent | 2.3 percent |
Two things are visible in the table at a glance. First, tirzepatide sits at the top of the efficacy range and published analyses of the SURMOUNT-1 data report reductions of up to about 22.5 percent in the highest dose group. Second, the injectable and oral forms of semaglutide land close together, so the needle versus the tablet is rarely the deciding variable. Dose, adherence and the protocol around the medication are what separate the averages.
What an average actually contains
An average weight loss of 15 percent does not mean you will lose 15 percent. Inside every one of these trials, participants were spread across a wide range around the mean. Some lost more than 25 percent and a small share lost very little even while adherent. Responders and non-responders sit in the same average, which is why we treat the first Biomarker Audit and the ninety day recheck as the real forecast of your personal trajectory rather than any published number.
The other thing the average contains is the protocol. Trial participants were titrated on a schedule, monitored at fixed intervals and supported on nutrition and activity. When people take the same medication outside a protocol, outcomes scatter far wider than the trial averages. This is the honest reason the average is not a promise. The molecule is the same everywhere. The protocol around it is not. The protocol is where the average comes from.
Why the higher average is not automatically the right dose
The highest average in the table came from the highest dose and it is tempting to read the table as an argument for always titrating to the top. We read it the other way. The clinical goal is the lowest effective dose that achieves the maximum sustainable result, because a dose that outruns your life is a dose you will abandon. In our protocols the titration is guided by the quarterly panel and by symptoms together, never by the scale alone and never by a price ladder.
This is also where our fee structure does quiet work. One flat fee of $299 per month covers the clinician relationship and four Biomarker Audits a year. It never rises with the dose. The pharmacy bills the medication separately at its own cost, with no markup and no molecule upcharge on our side. Nobody in this model earns more when your dose climbs, which is exactly why we are comfortable titrating to the least medicine that gets you the most result.
The cost math people actually ask about
Prospective patients usually arrive with two numbers in mind, the monthly fee and the pharmacy price and they deserve both stated plainly. The membership is $299 a month with a two month commitment to start, which is one $598 charge at checkout covering the first two months together. From month three it is month to month and you can cancel anytime. Medication is the second charge and it comes from the pharmacy, at pharmacy cost, billed directly. We publish that structure in the same sentence everywhere we talk about price, because a fee for the doctor and a price for the medicine are two different purchases.
For a reader comparing programs, the number that matters is not the headline price of the vial. It is the total monthly cost at the dose you actually settle on, plus what happens to the fee if that dose changes. Programs that bundle a subscription price to a dose tier reprice you upward as you titrate. Under our structure the fee is the same at the lowest effective dose and the highest clinically required one, so the trial table above is read as medicine rather than as a menu.
How we use these averages in practice
At GoodLife Health the trial averages serve three practical purposes. They set the expectation band before a patient starts, so that 8 percent in the first six months is understood as within the published range for a titrating patient rather than as failure. They anchor the choice of molecule, because a patient whose priority is the strongest published efficacy and who tolerates it well may be best served by tirzepatide, while a patient managing injections poorly may do better with the oral form. And they give the quarterly Biomarker Audit a yardstick for the conversation about dose, because weight is one input and ApoB, HbA1c, fasting insulin and hs-CRP are the others.
What the averages cannot do is substitute for your own data. The person who loses 11 percent and keeps their muscle, their lipid panel and their energy may be in a better place than the person who loses 20 percent and loses lean mass with it. That comparison is exactly what a panel every 90 days is for.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the average weight loss on semaglutide?
In the STEP 1 trial, semaglutide 2.4 mg weekly produced an average weight loss of 14.9 percent at 68 weeks against 2.4 percent for placebo. Real world results vary around that average and the trial average includes both strong responders and modest ones.
What is the average weight loss on tirzepatide?
In SURMOUNT-1, tirzepatide produced average weight loss of 15.0 percent at 5 mg, 19.5 percent at 10 mg and 20.9 percent at 15 mg at 72 weeks, against 3.1 percent for placebo. Published analyses report reductions up to about 22.5 percent in the highest dose group.
How much weight can you lose on oral semaglutide?
The OASIS 1 trial reported an average of 13.4 percent weight loss at 68 weeks for oral semaglutide 50 mg daily, against 2.3 percent for placebo. The oral form lands close to the injectable average in the published record.
Are trial averages a guarantee of my result?
No. Every trial average spreads across a wide range of individual outcomes. Adherence, titration speed and the protocol around the medication all move the result. Your own ninety day Biomarker Audit is a better forecast than any published number.
Does a higher dose always mean more weight loss?
On average across trials, yes, but the clinically right dose is the lowest one that achieves a durable result with tolerable side effects. Titrating past effectiveness adds cost and side effects without adding health.
Does the GoodLife Health fee include the medication?
No and we state that plainly. The $299 monthly fee covers the clinician and the quarterly Biomarker Audit. The medication is billed by the pharmacy separately, at pharmacy cost, with zero markup. Two separate charges, one flat fee for the doctor and no markup on the medicine.
How often should weight loss be assessed on a GLP-1?
We reassess formally every 90 days at the Biomarker Audit, where weight is read together with ApoB, HbA1c, fasting insulin and hs-CRP before any dose decision is made.
One last thing
The question behind the question is usually whether the average is achievable for you. The honest answer is that the average belongs to a protocol. The only way to know your own number is to measure it properly and early. Four panels a year inside a flat $299 membership exist for exactly that reason.
Related Guides
- Medical weight loss
- The GLP-1 pricing guide: Wegovy, Zepbound, Ozempic
- Cardiometabolic optimization: the definitive guide
- What a Biomarker Audit includes
References
- Once-Weekly Semaglutide in Adults with Overweight or Obesity (STEP 1), New England Journal of Medicine, 2021. PubMed 33567185
- Tirzepatide Once Weekly for the Treatment of Obesity (SURMOUNT-1), New England Journal of Medicine, 2022. PubMed 35658024
- FDA, concerns with unapproved GLP-1 drugs used for weight loss. fda.gov
- FDA, dosing errors associated with compounded injectable semaglutide products. fda.gov