Victoza for weight loss: what liraglutide actually does

What did @rhondagsigler actually say?

Rhonda posted a three-week update on using Victoza (liraglutide) for weight loss, reporting she'd lost seven pounds. She described it as "not typically as effective" as semaglutide or tirzepatide, noted she was eating in a calorie deficit without obsessing, and said she planned to add daily walking. She also walked through side effects, mostly nausea in the first two weeks, and emphasized non-scale victories like how her clothes fit and how she felt in candid photos.

She was transparent about her reasons for choosing Victoza: cost. Brand-name GLP-1 options like Wegovy or Mounjaro were out of reach. Her local pharmacy offered liraglutide at an affordable price. That's an honest framing that a lot of creators skip entirely.

Does the science back this up?

Mostly, yes. Liraglutide's weight loss outcomes are real but genuinely more modest than semaglutide's. The SCALE Obesity and Prediabetes trial (Pi-Sunyer et al., 2015, NEJM) found that liraglutide 3.0 mg produced about 8% body weight loss over 56 weeks versus roughly 2.6% for placebo. That's meaningful but trails behind the STEP 1 trial data for semaglutide 2.4 mg, which showed approximately 14.9% loss (Wilding et al., 2021, NEJM).

Seven pounds in three weeks sits at the upper end of what you'd expect early on, but it's not unusual. Early weight loss on GLP-1 agonists often reflects both fat loss and water weight redistribution as appetite drops sharply. Rhonda's instinct that a slower rate is better than a dramatic early drop is actually supported by evidence. Rapid initial losses tend to include more lean mass and are associated with greater weight regain (Astrup and Rossner, 2000, Obesity Reviews).

Her point about diet and exercise being necessary for maximum effect is accurate. Liraglutide trials consistently show better outcomes when paired with lifestyle intervention.

What did they get wrong (or right)?

She got the core comparison right. Liraglutide is less potent for weight loss than semaglutide or tirzepatide. That's not opinion, it's what the trial data shows. Credit where it's due.

Where she's imprecise: calling Victoza a weight loss medication without clarifying that Victoza is FDA-approved for type 2 diabetes, not obesity. The weight loss-approved formulation is Saxenda, also liraglutide but at the 3.0 mg dose. Victoza maxes out at 1.8 mg. If she's using Victoza off-label for weight loss, her dose ceiling is lower than what the SCALE trials used, which matters for expected outcomes. She doesn't mention her dose at any point.

Her comments about loose skin and rapid weight loss causing more skin laxity are loosely supported. Skin elasticity does respond better to gradual loss (Giese et al., 2012, Aesthetic Surgery Journal), but the relationship is more complex than she implies. Age, genetics, and total amount of weight lost matter more than the pace alone.

Her framing around mental health and not obsessing over the scale reflects real clinical thinking. Rigid dietary restraint is associated with higher rates of binge eating and disordered eating patterns (Polivy and Herman, 2002, Current Directions in Psychological Science). She's not wrong to resist that.

What should you actually know?

If you're considering liraglutide for weight loss, the dose matters more than most creators discuss. Victoza (approved for diabetes) is not the same indication as Saxenda (approved for obesity), even though the active molecule is identical. The approved weight management dose is 3.0 mg daily, titrated slowly. Using a lower dose, which Victoza typically involves, means you may see less appetite suppression and less weight loss than what clinical trials reported.

Nausea in the first one to two weeks is extremely common with liraglutide. The SCALE trial reported gastrointestinal side effects in over 40% of participants, with nausea being the most frequent. It typically improves as the body adjusts, consistent with what Rhonda described.

Cost is a real barrier to GLP-1 access in the United States. Rhonda's decision to use a more affordable available option is understandable and reflects a genuine gap in the healthcare system, not a medical error. But anyone using these medications off-label should have that conversation with a licensed prescriber who knows their full history.

Bottom line

Rhonda's video is more careful than most GLP-1 content on TikTok. She didn't oversell the drug, acknowledged its limitations compared to newer agents, and flagged the importance of lifestyle alongside medication. The main gap is the Victoza-versus-Saxenda distinction and the dose question, which is clinically important and entirely absent from her update. Seven pounds in three weeks is plausible. Whether it continues at that pace depends heavily on dose, adherence, and individual response.