EN
Home/Start here/A few kilos, or before an event
Reading path3 guides, in order

I want to lose a few kilos before an event. Should I try a GLP-1?

An honest answer for anyone eyeing a weight-loss injection before a wedding, Eid, a holiday or a big day.

GLP Guidebook teamUpdated 12 Oct 20263 min read14 sourcesWritten from published sources
The short answer

Probably not. GLP-1 medicines are meant for type 2 diabetes, and for obesity or overweight with a related health problem, not for a few kilos. They take months to reach full dose, often upset the stomach, and the weight usually returns when you stop. There are better ways to feel good on the day.

Read this page first. It covers why these medicines aren't meant for a few kilos, what happens after, the fakes and what works instead. At the end, three guides take you further, in order.
On this page
  1. Why it isn't meant for this
  2. Would it work in time?
  3. After the event
  4. The fakes problem
  5. What works instead
  6. What to read next
  7. Sources

Why isn't it meant for this?

These medicines treat a disease. They aren't meant for fine-tuning your weight.

Wanting to look and feel your best on a big day is completely normal. But GLP-1 medicines aren't approved for that.

In the US, Wegovy's label covers adults with obesity, or with overweight plus a weight-related health problem.1

Dubai's guideline says a doctor may consider these medicines from a BMI (body mass index, your weight compared with your height) over 30, or 27 with a condition like diabetes or high blood pressure, and only after a lifestyle programme.2 Abu Dhabi's standard starts at 30 with a weight-related condition.3 Ozempic is approved in the UAE for type 2 diabetes, so using it for weight is off-label, meaning it isn't approved for that use.4 And all of them need a prescription from a UAE-licensed doctor.5

Would it even work in time?

Not really. The dose goes up slowly, over about 4 months.

Wegovy starts at 0.25 mg and steps up every 4 weeks. It reaches the full dose of 2.4 mg after 16 weeks.1

Feeling sick and diarrhoea were the most common side effects in STEP 1, the main semaglutide weight trial. People there got either the medicine or a dummy injection with no medicine in it. More people stopped because of stomach effects on the medicine.6

Out of every 100 people, how many stopped because of stomach effects:

STEP 1Semaglutide 2.4 mg (Wegovy), weekly

1,961 adults with obesity or overweight and no diabetes, 68 weeks.6

Semaglutide4.5 in 100
Dummy injection0.8 in 100

Bars are drawn on a scale up to 10 in 100.

Not ideal in the weeks before a celebration.

What happens after the event?

The weight usually comes back once you stop.

A year after stopping semaglutide, people followed up from STEP 1 had regained about two-thirds of the weight they lost.7 Most of their gains in blood pressure, sugar and cholesterol faded too.7

What about the fakes?

Fake pens exist. Buying without a prescription, from unverified sellers, raises the risk of getting one.

The WHO has found falsified Ozempic in Brazil, the UK and the US.8 Fakes may be missing the medicine, or contain a different one, such as insulin.8 In the UAE, fake Mounjaro and Ozempic have been sold through social media, and a Sharjah court fined people for selling Mounjaro that way without a licence.9,10 These medicines aren't sold without a prescription.9 "Peptides" such as retatrutide sold online are not approved at all.11

Get help now. If you've injected a pen of unknown origin and feel shaky, confused or faint, call 998 for an ambulance, or 999.12

So what works instead?

A plan built around food and movement, started as early as you can.

The WHO says medicines alone won't solve weight problems. Healthy eating and physical activity remain the base of treatment.13 Guide 3: Your options sets out what the evidence says about each option.

And if your weight is affecting your health, that's a different conversation. Guide 1: Weight, diabetes and health helps you check where you stand.

Your optionsConsidering it for weightStopping

What to read next, in order

These three guides go deeper. Each one ends with a link to the next, so you can read them one after another.

  1. 1Should I consider a GLP-1? And when not toGuide 4 of 9DecideThe section on losing a few kilos: who these medicines are for, and who they're not for.
  2. 2Your options, and where medicines fitGuide 3 of 9DecideFood, activity and other options, with what the evidence says about each.
  3. 3Stopping and the long termGuide 9 of 9Live with itWhat happens to weight, and to your body, when people stop.
Was this page easy to understand?

Sources

  1. Novo Nordisk. Wegovy (semaglutide) US prescribing information, revised June 2026. Sections 1, 2.2, 5.2, 5.3, 5.5, 8.3, 17. (US label.) PDF
  2. Dubai Health Authority. Clinical Guidelines for Virtual Management of Obesity, DHA/HRS/HPSD/CG-53, issue 2, effective 21 April 2024 (applies to DHA-licensed physicians and facilities providing telehealth; excludes emergencies and controlled medicines; drug therapy at BMI over 30, or 27 to 29.9 with comorbidities, after a comprehensive lifestyle intervention without at least 5% loss at 3 to 6 months; bariatric surgery at BMI 40 or more, or 35 to 39.9 with a serious comorbidity; Asian waist cut-offs). PDF
  3. Department of Health – Abu Dhabi. Standard for Non-Surgical Management of Obesity, DOH/ST/HPS/Non-Surgical-MO/V1/2025, February 2025 (GLP-1 starting criteria: BMI 30 or more with a weight-related comorbidity, or over 40; "The obesity certified physician determines the initiation time of pharmacological treatment"; continue beyond 6 months only with at least 5% weight loss; Asian origin and BMI over 23). Checked 12 October 2026. doh.gov.ae
  4. Daman (National Health Insurance Company). Adjudication guideline: Glucagon-like Peptide-1 (GLP-1) Receptor agonist, version 5, effective 15 January 2023, revised 19 April 2026 (table of GLP-1 brands and approved uses; diabetes cover needs HbA1c 6.5% or more, cardiovascular disease or risk factors, and at least 6 months on metformin or other agents; prior approval; first supply one month; prescribers in internal medicine, endocrinology, family medicine or cardiology; obesity medicines covered only within the Thiqa obesity programme). Checked 12 October 2026. PDF
  5. Department of Health – Abu Dhabi. Circular 48/2026, 16 March 2026, relaying an alert on fake GLP-1 products ("GLP-1 receptor agonists … are prescription-only medicines and should only be used under medical supervision"; unregistered products sold online and on social media; report to [email protected]). Summarised, not reproduced. doh.gov.ae
  6. Wilding JPH et al. Once-weekly semaglutide in adults with overweight or obesity (STEP 1). NEJM, 2021;384:989–1002. 1,961 adults without diabetes, 68 weeks. DOI
  7. Wilding JPH et al. Weight regain and cardiometabolic effects after withdrawal of semaglutide: the STEP 1 trial extension. Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism, 2022;24(8):1553–1564. 327 people followed for a year after stopping. DOI
  8. World Health Organization. WHO issues warning on falsified medicines used for diabetes treatment and weight loss. 20 June 2024. Link
  9. Department of Health – Abu Dhabi. Circular 10/2025, 4 February 2025, "Alert Against the Use of Counterfeit Version of Ozempic and Mounjaro" sold through social media; the public should not buy them without a prescription, online or through adverts. Summarised, not reproduced. doh.gov.ae
  10. Gulf News. Dh10,000 fine for selling Mounjaro injections without a licence in Sharjah (Sharjah Misdemeanours Court; selling medicines without a licence and practising pharmacy without authorisation). 31 July 2026. gulfnews.com
  11. Gulf News. UAE weight-loss drug crackdown: 71 sources, 14 influencers face action (Emirates Drug Establishment action against sellers of unapproved peptides, 14 of them registered facilities; 14 influencers referred to the National Media Office; retatrutide "remains under clinical investigation"). 25 July 2026. gulfnews.com
  12. Department of Digital Ajman. Handling emergencies (999 police, 998 ambulance, 997 civil defence). Checked 12 October 2026. ajman.ae
  13. World Health Organization. WHO issues global guideline on the use of GLP-1 medicines in treating obesity. 1 December 2025. Link
  14. Novo Nordisk. Ozempic (semaglutide) injection, US prescribing information and Medication Guide, revised May 2026. Sections 4, 5.3, 5.5, 5.6, 7.2, 8.5. (US label; the UAE label is not published online.) PDF

Last checked 12 Oct 2026 · Next review due Jan 2027

How this page was made. Written by the GLP Guidebook team from the sources above: drug labels, published trials, UAE health-authority documents and named news reports. It's general information, not medical advice. Talk to a qualified doctor before starting, stopping or changing any medicine. In a medical emergency, call 998 for an ambulance, or 999. How we write