Liraglutide Dosage, half-life & reference guide

Week by week.

What to expect in the first 8 weeks

1. Day 1–14 · 0.6 mgRCT

   Starting dose — GI is the main thing

   You're on 0.6mg — the starter dose, designed to get your gut used to delayed emptying, not to drive weight loss yet. Expect nausea, maybe early satiety, maybe loose stools. The GI stuff usually settles within the first 7–10 days.

   The science

   Liraglutide is a GLP-1 receptor agonist with 97% homology to native GLP-1 but half-life extended to ~13hrs via fatty acid acylation. The titration schedule (0.6 → 1.2 → 1.8 → 2.4 → 3.0mg weekly) exists specifically to reduce GI side effect intensity. SCALE trials used this schedule.

   Sources

   • Pi-Sunyer et al. (SCALE) (2015)

   Updated Apr 2026

2. Day 14–42RCT

   Titrating up — appetite really drops

   You're climbing the dose ladder now. Commonly reported: "food noise" quiets, the background hunger chatter fades, meals end sooner, and you're not thinking about food as much. Weight loss usually becomes measurable by week 4.

   The science

   SCALE trial (n=3731, 56 weeks) showed progressive weight loss with dose escalation: mean 8.0% body weight loss on 3.0mg at 56 weeks vs 2.6% placebo. Liraglutide acts on appetite centres in the brain, including the arcuate nucleus (animal studies).

   Sources

   • Pi-Sunyer et al. (SCALE) (2015)

   Updated Sep 2026

3. Day 42–168RCT

   Steady loss at target dose

   Full 3.0mg dose, steady pattern. In the main trial, about two in three people lost at least 5% within a year on this dose, and one in three lost more than 10% — a slower arc than semaglutide, but real and well-studied. Plateau is normal; the rate of loss slows after the first 4 months.

   The science

   The pivotal SCALE trial measured 8% mean weight loss at 56 weeks. LEADER trial (n=9340) showed cardiovascular risk reduction in T2D patients independent of weight effect. Daily injection cadence matters for effect stability — missing doses drops exposure faster than with semaglutide.

   Sources

   • Pi-Sunyer et al. (SCALE) (2015)
   • Marso et al. (LEADER) (2016)

   Updated Sep 2026

4. Any dayRCT

   What Liraglutide is built on

   Liraglutide has one of the longest clinical track records of any GLP-1 — FDA approval for T2D (Victoza 2010) and obesity (Saxenda 2014), plus the LEADER cardiovascular outcomes trial. Daily injection is the main trade-off vs weekly semaglutide.

   The science

   Developed by Novo Nordisk. SCALE obesity program was the regulatory pathway for Saxenda. LEADER trial (2016) established cardiovascular risk reduction in T2D. Since eclipsed in market share by semaglutide (Ozempic/Wegovy) and tirzepatide, but with some of the longest real-world safety data in the class.

   Sources

   • Pi-Sunyer et al. (SCALE) (2015)
   • Marso et al. (LEADER) (2016)

   Updated Sep 2026

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After week 8

1. Day 168–365RCT

   Maintenance and long game

   Past 6 months, this is a long-term tool. Most clinical practice is either continued use for maintenance or transition to semaglutide/tirzepatide if convenience becomes the priority. Weight regain is likely if you stop cold — taper with lifestyle lock-in.

   The science

   In the 3-year SCALE trial in people with prediabetes, weight loss held with continued dosing (−6.1% vs −1.9% at week 160), though about half of participants withdrew (le Roux 2017). Post-discontinuation regain is well-documented across the GLP-1 class — the mechanism (appetite modulation) reverses when drug exposure stops.

   Sources

   • Pi-Sunyer et al. (SCALE) (2015)
   • le Roux et al. (2017)

   Updated Sep 2026

Mixing and a typical run.

Safety.

Compared with.

• Liraglutide vs Semaglutide

Questions people ask.

Research.

Reference.

Cadence

Daily

Daily SubQ

Half-life

~13 hours

Research basis

●●● Established

Clinical trials or FDA-approved use exists