If you've just started treatment with Wegovy, you might be wondering whether it's safe to drink alcohol whilst taking the medication. In this guide, we'll explore how safe it is to combine alcohol with this treatment.

How does Wegovy affect weight loss?

Wegovy has been shown to lead to an average of 15% body weight loss in large clinical trials. Wegovy contains a compound called semaglutide, and belongs to a class of medications called—GLP-1 (Glucagon-like Peptide 1 analogs).

It is approved for weight management and is available from both the NHS and through a private prescription.

Wegovy is approved for the treatment of obesity in the UK, and has become a popular option for patients looking to achieve weight loss.

Semaglutide helps to delay gastric emptying

When you administer Wegovy, this treatment kicks body processes into gear that can encourage you to feel fuller for longer. This fullness is from semaglutide’s ability to reproduce the effects of incretin—a hormone naturally released when you eat. By mimicking the hormonal response, Wegovy supports food to leave the gut at a much slower pace. When gastric emptying is stalled, this leaves your stomach with more food for an extended period—limiting the need to indulge in the expected reward of eating. 

You may be able to control cravings using Wegovy

When you go about your day with a fuller stomach for longer, the ripple effect is that your cravings also become controlled. Staying filled while eating less means a lower chance of reaching for snacks, which can often work against weight loss efforts.

Over time, the compound effects of less eating and reduced snacking can lead to noticeable changes in weight. 

Wegovy can restrain hormones that encourage hunger

Your body also produces less of the hunger hormone—ghrelin, while on semaglutide. Ghrelin is widely known as the hunger hormone—its levels rise right before eating, helping to stimulate hunger sensations and pangs.  As your stomach begins to fill with food, levels of this hunger hormone decrease. 

Wegovy helps to restrict the production of ghrelin, limiting the common signals that would nudge you to overeat throughout the day. 

While these weight control benefits are more popular, we’ll remember that semaglutide is originally intended for diabetes management. This treatment supports increased insulin response after eating, and raises glucose plus fatty acid concentration in the blood. 

As an approved therapy to improve health and well-being, it’s essential to consider the effects of mixing semaglutide with other elements like drugs and alcohol.  For instance, Wegovy may slow down drug absorption because of delayed gastric emptying. The question is, what happens when this treatment is combined with alcohol?

How Does Alcohol Interact with the Effects of Wegovy?

To stay on track through your weight loss journey, practising moderation and not denial is always important. This means enjoying your favourite foods and drinks while being mindful of your ultimate goal to shed excess weight.

However, when shifting weight is supported by a drug like Wegovy, it’s important to consider any potential interactions in the body, especially with alcohol. If you regularly go on dates and dinners, or enjoy time alone accompanied with alcoholic drinks, you may need to put in a little more effort to meet your weight goals.

This is because alcoholic beverages are high in caloric content. A fun night out can add as many as 500 calories to your daily intake which could be a reason you are not losing weight on Wegovy. In particular, people with diabetes require care when consuming alcohol while on semaglutide because alcoholic drinks like cocktails and beers are often high in carbohydrates, this content can raise blood sugar levels. 

On the flip side, alcohol can also lead to low blood sugar or hypoglycemia in patients due to the burden placed on the liver during ethanol processing. Because the liver stops releasing glucose when breaking alcohol down, this can temporarily lower blood glucose levels.

In an interesting twist, however, Wegovy may be an ideal option if you want to moderate your alcohol consumption. As with food, semaglutide can limit the perceived rewards of drinking alcohol, reducing your need to reach for several glasses of wine or beers as you go about your day.

Is it safe to drink alcohol on Wegovy?

So far, there have been no recorded interactions between Wegovy and alcohol. But, this is not to say you can regularly combine both while aiming to meet weight targets. To make sure your health and weight goals continue as planned, it’s important to consult with a doctor to guide on how much alcohol consumption is safe while on Wegovy. Most times, it’s advisable to discuss these plans before beginning semaglutide treatment.

During your meeting with the professional, you can also discuss pending health issues, especially pancreatic or kidney diseases, before taking Wegovy. You can also share any medications you’re on, to receive expert guidance for use or potential counter-indications.

Tips for Using Wegovy

Wegovy has proven benefits for hitting the mark on weight targets. However, to get the full effects of this treatment, you should combine usage with a balanced diet and improved lifestyle choices to achieve healthy weight goals.

Your weight loss efforts will stand to gain from the right, controlled calorie intake. This will require prioritising nutrient-dense foods like lean proteins, whole grains, fruits, and vegetables. Likewise, weight management can get a needed boost from regular physical activity. Exercise helps you burn calories, build lean muscle, and improves your overall fitness.

Other practices like getting adequate sleep, can not only leave you feeling rested for the day, but can further regulate hormones that impact appetite. The combined benefits of these lifestyle improvements are valuable for weight management and wellbeing.