Answering the narrow version, because the broad one does not have a single answer. Steady state is the thing most people miss. The terminal half-life is about a week, so every dose step takes four to five weeks to fully express itself. Judging a step at day ten is judging the ascent, not the plateau, and it is the single commonest reason people escalate before they needed to.

Dr.ObesityLA said:

Steady state is the thing most people miss.

Dr.ObesityLA has the substance of this right. The condition it depends on is worth stating. The mechanism that matters here is not stomach emptying, it is central. GLP-1 receptor agonism in the arcuate nucleus stimulates POMC neurons and suppresses AgRP/NPY signalling, which is why the effect is appetite and food salience rather than physical fullness. Delayed gastric emptying largely tachyphylaxes over the first months; the appetite effect does not.

hank_denver said:

I have been on semaglutide for nine months, currently holding 1.7mg rather than pushing to 2.4mg, and the last two dose steps bought me much less than…

That holds for the injectable. The oral formulation has different absorption behaviour and the dose numbers are not interchangeable, which is worth saying out loud because people quote them as if they were.

If somebody has the primary source to hand I would rather cite it than paraphrase it.

Adding the clinical framing, because it changes how the question reads.

hank_denver said:

...but the FDA says semaglutide...

Interesting point. I want to add some regulatory nuance: the FDA labeling reflects the specific clinical trial data submitted for approval. Real-world clinical practice often extends beyond the FDA label based on emerging evidence and clinical judgment.

Example: semaglutide was first approved for diabetes (Ozempic), then obesity (Wegovy). The molecule didn't change — our understanding of its applications expanded. Similarly, semaglutide may evolve as more data accumulates.