Saxenda (liraglutide): the daily injection, and when it is the right call

Saxenda (liraglutide): the daily injection, and when it is the right call

Saxenda is an older GLP-1, taken once a day rather than once a week. It is gentler in some hands and still does a real job. Here is who it suits, and who it does not.

LM
LoveMyLife Weight Management team
14 June 2026 6 min read

Saxenda is the brand name for liraglutide, a GLP-1 medication for weight management. It is the same family as Wegovy and Mounjaro, and it works the same way: it acts on the appetite signals in your brain so you feel full sooner and eat less without forcing it. The difference is in the detail. Saxenda is a once-daily injection rather than once-weekly, and it has been in use for longer than either of the newer drugs.

How well it works

You can expect to lose around 5 to 10% of your body weight over a year on Saxenda, when the medication is paired with sensible eating and regular movement. That is a real result. It is also less than the weekly injectables tend to deliver, and we will not pretend otherwise. If maximum weight loss is the only thing that matters to you, and there is no reason to avoid them, Mounjaro or Wegovy will usually be the stronger choice.

So when do we reach for it?

A few reasons. Some people do not get on with the newer drugs, or cannot get hold of them when supply is tight. Some tolerate liraglutide better. Some prefer the rhythm of a small daily dose to a single larger weekly one. And Saxenda has the longest track record of any GLP-1 used for weight, which counts for something if you like a well-trodden path. Where one of those is true, Saxenda earns its place.

How you take it

Saxenda is a once-daily injection under the skin of your stomach, thigh, or upper arm, using a prefilled pen. We start low, at 0.6mg a day, and step the dose up each week to 3mg over about five weeks. The slow build is deliberate. It gives your body time to settle and keeps side effects down.

Side effects

The common ones are the same as the rest of the family: nausea, constipation, and a reduced appetite, which is part of how it works. They are usually worst when you start or move up a dose, and they usually settle within a week or two. Starting low and going slow is how we keep them manageable.

Who should not take it

Saxenda is not for everyone. We will not prescribe it in pregnancy or breastfeeding, where there is a personal or family history of medullary thyroid cancer or the MEN 2 syndrome, or where you have had pancreatitis, among a few other specific situations. The assessment screens for all of this before anything is prescribed.

Starting Saxenda

If you think Saxenda might suit you, begin with the assessment. It takes about ten minutes and tells you whether it is the right choice, or whether something else would serve you better. If we prescribe it, it is dispensed and delivered by us to your door.

SR
Clinically reviewed
Dr Seth Rankin
MBChB MRCGP, Founder, LoveMyLife

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Ready to start?

If this has helped you think it through, the next step is a short assessment with one of our weight-management doctors. It takes about ten minutes and tells you whether medication is right for you. Begin your assessment.