Peptides AcademyGLP-1 Taper Planner
Step-down schedules from every dose of Zepbound, Wegovy, Ozempic and Mounjaro, a protein target for your body weight, and a week-by-week calendar for the first 16 weeks. Print it and take it to your prescriber: it is a draft for that conversation, not a prescription.
To keep a copy, use your browser's Print → Save as PDF.
How the schedules work
- Each step lasts about 4 weeks, the same as each step on the way up.
- Gradual visits every lower dose on the label ladder. Shorter visits every other one.
- Both finish on the start-up dose, the one your body first adapted to, and then stop.
- Stopping outright is also an option. With half-lives of 5–7 days, levels fall over 4–5 weeks after the last dose anyway.
- No randomized trial has shown that tapering leads to less regain than stopping. Tapering slows the return of appetite and can show whether a lower dose holds your weight.
Zepbound taper schedule
Zepbound doses: 2.5 mg, 5 mg, 7.5 mg, 10 mg, 12.5 mg, 15 mg once weekly. Half-life about 5 days, so it clears in about 4 weeks after the last injection. More on stopping Zepbound
| Current dose | Gradual step-down | Shorter step-down |
|---|---|---|
| 15 mg | 12.5 mg → 10 mg → 7.5 mg → 5 mg → 2.5 mg → stop20 weeks | 10 mg → 5 mg → 2.5 mg → stop12 weeks |
| 12.5 mg | 10 mg → 7.5 mg → 5 mg → 2.5 mg → stop16 weeks | 7.5 mg → 2.5 mg → stop8 weeks |
| 10 mg | 7.5 mg → 5 mg → 2.5 mg → stop12 weeks | 5 mg → 2.5 mg → stop8 weeks |
| 7.5 mg | 5 mg → 2.5 mg → stop8 weeks | 2.5 mg → stop4 weeks |
| 5 mg | 2.5 mg → stop4 weeks | 2.5 mg → stop4 weeks |
Wegovy taper schedule
Wegovy doses: 0.25 mg, 0.5 mg, 1 mg, 1.7 mg, 2.4 mg once weekly. Half-life about 1 week, so it clears in about 5 weeks after the last injection. More on stopping Wegovy
| Current dose | Gradual step-down | Shorter step-down |
|---|---|---|
| 2.4 mg | 1.7 mg → 1 mg → 0.5 mg → 0.25 mg → stop16 weeks | 1 mg → 0.25 mg → stop8 weeks |
| 1.7 mg | 1 mg → 0.5 mg → 0.25 mg → stop12 weeks | 0.5 mg → 0.25 mg → stop8 weeks |
| 1 mg | 0.5 mg → 0.25 mg → stop8 weeks | 0.25 mg → stop4 weeks |
| 0.5 mg | 0.25 mg → stop4 weeks | 0.25 mg → stop4 weeks |
Ozempic taper schedule
Ozempic doses: 0.25 mg, 0.5 mg, 1 mg, 2 mg once weekly. Half-life about 1 week, so it clears in about 5 weeks after the last injection. More on stopping Ozempic
| Current dose | Gradual step-down | Shorter step-down |
|---|---|---|
| 2 mg | 1 mg → 0.5 mg → 0.25 mg → stop12 weeks | 0.5 mg → 0.25 mg → stop8 weeks |
| 1 mg | 0.5 mg → 0.25 mg → stop8 weeks | 0.25 mg → stop4 weeks |
| 0.5 mg | 0.25 mg → stop4 weeks | 0.25 mg → stop4 weeks |
Mounjaro taper schedule
Mounjaro doses: 2.5 mg, 5 mg, 7.5 mg, 10 mg, 12.5 mg, 15 mg once weekly. Half-life about 5 days, so it clears in about 4 weeks after the last injection. More on stopping Mounjaro
| Current dose | Gradual step-down | Shorter step-down |
|---|---|---|
| 15 mg | 12.5 mg → 10 mg → 7.5 mg → 5 mg → 2.5 mg → stop20 weeks | 10 mg → 5 mg → 2.5 mg → stop12 weeks |
| 12.5 mg | 10 mg → 7.5 mg → 5 mg → 2.5 mg → stop16 weeks | 7.5 mg → 2.5 mg → stop8 weeks |
| 10 mg | 7.5 mg → 5 mg → 2.5 mg → stop12 weeks | 5 mg → 2.5 mg → stop8 weeks |
| 7.5 mg | 5 mg → 2.5 mg → stop8 weeks | 2.5 mg → stop4 weeks |
| 5 mg | 2.5 mg → stop4 weeks | 2.5 mg → stop4 weeks |
How much protein to eat
1.2–1.6 g per kg of body weight a day, split across three meals, is a common target for holding on to muscle during and after weight loss. With a BMI above 30, use the row for your goal weight. If you have kidney disease, agree a target with your clinician first.
| Body weight | Protein per day | Per meal (3 meals) |
|---|---|---|
| 130 lb / 59 kg | 70–95 g | 25–30 g |
| 150 lb / 68 kg | 80–110 g | 25–35 g |
| 170 lb / 77 kg | 95–125 g | 30–40 g |
| 190 lb / 86 kg | 105–140 g | 35–45 g |
| 210 lb / 95 kg | 115–150 g | 40–50 g |
| 230 lb / 104 kg | 125–165 g | 40–55 g |
| 250 lb / 113 kg | 135–180 g | 45–60 g |
| 270 lb / 122 kg | 145–195 g | 50–65 g |
| 290 lb / 132 kg | 160–210 g | 55–70 g |
Roughly 30 g of protein: 100 g (3.5 oz) of cooked chicken breast; a 250 g (1 cup) pot of plain Greek yogurt with 30 g of nuts; or 4 eggs with 30 g of cheese.
Fiber, training and weigh-ins
Fiber: 25–38 g a day
About 25 g for women and 38 g for men. Increase by roughly 5 g a day each week, with enough water, to keep bloating down. Beans, lentils, oats, berries, vegetables and chia do most of the work.
Strength: 3 sessions a week
Full body each time: a squat or leg press, a hinge (Romanian deadlift or hip thrust), a push, a pull and a carry. 2–3 sets of 8–12 reps, adding weight once you reach the top of the range.
Weigh-ins: trend, not days
Weigh daily or three times a week at the same time, track the 7-day average, and look at it once a week. Water alone can move a single reading by a kilo or more.
Week by week
Week 1 is your prescriber appointment. If you step down, the dose changes from the tables above run alongside these weeks.
| Week | This week |
|---|---|
| 1 | Prescriber appointment with the Off-Ramp Checklist. Decide: step down, lower maintenance dose, or stop. Agree your regain threshold and restart rule. |
| 2 | Record your stop weight as a 7-day average and measure your waist. Put three strength sessions a week in the calendar. |
| 3 | First strength sessions: learn the movements with light weights. Hit your protein target on most days. |
| 4 | Raise fiber by about 5 g a day each week toward 25–38 g. Three strength sessions. |
| 5 | Rate hunger once a day from 1 to 10 so you notice appetite returning early. Protein first at every meal. |
| 6 | Write down your three highest-risk situations and what you will do in each. Move trigger foods out of easy reach. |
| 7 | For many people this is when hunger peaks. Eat on the plan, not on cue. Aim for 7+ hours of sleep. |
| 8 | First monthly review: 7-day average against your stop weight. Add a little weight to your lifts. |
| 9 | Keep the meal structure even on good days. Keep alcohol low; it loosens every other plan. |
| 10 | If the average is drifting up, trim portions or add a daily walk. Do not crash-diet. |
| 11 | Find your maintenance intake: the amount that holds the 7-day average flat. |
| 12 | Second monthly review. If you are near your threshold, book the prescriber now rather than later. |
| 13 | Progress your training again: more weight or one more set on the main lifts. |
| 14 | Check that the routines still fit your real week, and simplify anything you keep skipping. |
| 15 | Write your plan for after week 16: weigh-in cadence, training days, protein at each meal. |
| 16 | Prescriber review: stay off, use a maintenance dose, or restart. Compare against your stop weight and labs. |
Taper schedule questions
What is a GLP-1 taper schedule?
A plan for stepping down to lower doses before stopping, instead of stopping from your current dose. The schedules here run each drug's label titration ladder in reverse, spending about 4 weeks on each lower dose, which mirrors how the dose was built up. There is no official taper protocol for semaglutide or tirzepatide, so any schedule is a starting point to agree with your prescriber.
How do you taper off Zepbound or Mounjaro (tirzepatide)?
Tirzepatide comes in 2.5 mg steps from 2.5 to 15 mg. A gradual step-down visits each lower dose for about 4 weeks, so from 15 mg it runs 12.5, 10, 7.5, 5, 2.5 mg, then stop: 20 weeks. A shorter one visits every other dose (10, 5, 2.5 mg, then stop: 12 weeks). Because tirzepatide has a half-life of about 5 days, blood levels also fall over roughly 4 weeks after the last dose.
How do you taper off Wegovy or Ozempic (semaglutide)?
Wegovy steps are 2.4, 1.7, 1, 0.5 and 0.25 mg; Ozempic steps are 2, 1, 0.5 and 0.25 mg. A gradual step-down from Wegovy 2.4 mg visits each lower dose for about 4 weeks (16 weeks in total); a shorter one goes 1 mg, then 0.25 mg, then stop (8 weeks). Semaglutide has a half-life of about a week, so levels keep falling for around 5 weeks after the last injection.
How long should each step of a taper last?
Four weeks per step is a common default because it matches the escalation schedule on the way up. Some prescribers use shorter steps, or skip doses, when the goal is simply to stop; others hold longer at a dose that seems to keep weight stable. Hunger and the weight trend are the useful signals for adjusting the pace.
Is tapering better than stopping all at once?
It has not been tested head to head in a randomized trial. The case for it is practical: appetite comes back more slowly, you have time to build routines, and you may find a lower dose that holds your weight. Stopping outright is also a reasonable choice, especially when cost or side effects are the reason for stopping.
What if I use compounded semaglutide or tirzepatide?
The milligram steps still apply, but compounded vials come in different concentrations, so the number of syringe units for each step depends on your vial. Ask your prescriber or pharmacist to confirm each step in units; the peptide dose calculator converts milligrams to units on a U-100 syringe.
Can I print or save this plan?
Yes. Use your browser's Print command and choose Save as PDF. The site header and footer are left off the printout.
Educational content only, not medical advice. Whether and how to reduce or stop a prescription GLP-1 is a decision for you and your prescriber, especially if you take it for type 2 diabetes or take other glucose-lowering medicines. The step-down tables mirror the label dose ladders in reverse; they are a starting point for that conversation, not a prescription.