It is the blockbuster drug known to shift weight fast – even in those who’ve been struggling to slim down, and failing, for years. 

But this week, reports came to light that would suggest weight loss on Ozempic is not a given. In fact, you could gain extra pounds while taking the drug. 

Comedian Tracy Morgan told Jimmy Fallon on a recent Tonight Show episode that he gained 40 pounds while injecting the medicine, which surpresses hormones that make you feel hungry. 

The comedian, who first mentioned he’d used the drug in August 2023, seemed in good spirits about life despite it, making jokes in his typical manner.

But Morgan’s experience seems at odds with the weight loss transformation stories that have long been linked to the drug, including that of Oprah, who has shed more than 40lbs while taking it.

Oprah Winfrey is one famous advocate for Ozempic, losing around 40lbs with the help of the drug.

Comedian and actor Tracy Morgan said he stil managed to gain weight on Ozempic because he ‘out-ate’ its impact on his appetite.

But what’s the truth – is weight gain possible?

Ozempic contains a drug called semaglutide, which is part of a family of medications called  GLP-1 receptor agonists. They work by supressing the activity of a hormone called GLP-1, which is responsible for making us feel hungry. 

However, experts say it is still possible to gain weight on the drug – or fail to lose any. 

Gastroenterologist Dr. Steven Batash told Forbes that after a person initially loses weight on Ozempic, ‘the body adjusts, progress may slow or temporarily stall.’

So you still need to make deliberate diet and exercise choices in order to lose or maintain your weight while using Ozempic, the International Association for Physicians in Aesthetic Medicine wrote on a forum for the drug. 

If you’re eating a very calorie dense diet, you might actually begin to gain weight, said Dr. Sharon Giese. 

This appears to be the case for Tracy Morgan, who told Fallon he’d ‘out-ate Ozempic’. 

In the interview, Morgan mentions his love for cooking, and his plans for dinner after the show. 

‘You know what I’m gunna have for dinner tonight? Lasagna,’ the comedian told Fallon.

Everyone who takes this drug will eventually hit a weight loss plateau, because ‘you can’t lose weight forever’, Dr. Robert Gabbay from the American Diabetes Association told the New York Times. 

Experts also say that those who have some insulin resistance may see a plateau sooner than others. 

Another reason you could gain weight on the drug has to do with dosage. 

If your dose is too low, then you might not get much of the appetite suppressing effects from the drug, and could continue normal patterns, Dr Batash told Business Insider. 

He’s seen this is in his own practice. With some patients noticing, ‘this dosage that used to really do its magic is no longer doing the trick. And I’m starting to revert to my old bad habits, and I find that the hunger suppression is not as effective.’

One study posted in the New England Journal of Medicine found participants taking small doses of semaglutide, between .25 mg and .5 mg, gained weight.

The rest of the cohort, who were dosed with 2.4 mg of the drug, lost nearly 15 percent of their body weight. 

Across the board, it’s much more common for people to lose weight on Ozempic than gain it. Studies have shown that over 86 percent of patients do.

So if you’re plateauing, there may be ways to personalize your weight loss plan to make it work for you, Dr. Todd Worley, a bariatric surgeon, told Healthline. 

‘Treating each patient as an individual, with a personalized treatment plan, means that all patients are wired individually and may need a different treatment regimen.’