Reta for 4 months, 12 kg lost

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Januza

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Here's a bit of background... I'm 50. My reason for starting reta was to get leaner. Between a heavy workload, travel, stress, snacking and too much wine, the weight had crept up. I've gone from 85 kg down to 73 kg, and I'm 184 cm tall. For the last 3 months I've taken 1mg of Reta every 5 days. At this point I'm already fairly lean, and from the very first day I've stayed active with band-based 'weight training' plus pilates 2-3 times a week.

A gym recently opened across from the office, so now I'm training there 3-4 times a week over lunch. Each session generally runs a solid 60-70 min. I log everything with ChatGPT and Hevy. Ever since I began these gym sessions, my appetite has shot up..

Since starting reta I've quit drinking, cut out snacks, and been sitting around 1500 calories a day.. I just had no appetite. With my appetite now back, I'm going back and forth with myself and Chatgpt about what my calorie intake ought to be. My food is clean: beef, chicken, veggies and rice or potatoes. Given how active I am with lifting, pilates and walking my dogs, Chat suggests 2500-2800 calories a day, which works out to roughly 180-200 grams of protein and 250-300 grams of carbs. Over these past 2 weeks I've been at about 23-2500 calories a day.

My new goal now is to add more muscle. I've been on TRT 150mg per week for a while, along with 2iu HGH five times per week.

Any sharp minds here who could point me in the right direction? All I'm after is a lean look at my age with some solid muscle gain over the nexy many months.

My brain keeps telling me I'm eating too much, since I spent 3.5 months in a deficit. I can eat fine, and honestly after eating more, especially with the hard workouts, I get really hungry.

So appetite isn't the issue, it's more that I'm unsure how much I should actually be eating. I know I need fuel to grow, but I also don't want to overdo it, and I'm no longer a spring chicken ( only in heart and mind )and my wife keeps asking me to put on some weight too 😉

Hope someone can chime in
 
Posting height and a rough body fat estimate would make your weight numbers easier to interpret.

On the food side, try holding at 23-2500 for 2 weeks before changing anything, then move it either direction based on what you see.

Should 1mg/wk of reta be holding back your gains, drop it to 0.5mg/wk.
 
Honestly, it sounds like you're headed toward body dysmorphia in later life. You're already lean and you're hungry, yet you're so afraid of putting on any fat that you keep taking a weight loss treatment and stay in a caloric deficit for no good reason.

In a deficit you won't build any muscle. Get protein in, have some carbs, keep fats low.

Protein and carbs are inefficient when it comes to being stored as fat, so energy is lost during conversion. In an energy surplus, dietary fat can be stored as fat efficiently.

Are you tracking blood markers? Lipids, A1C, IGF, and blood pressure are what you should be keeping an eye on. If a stroke leaves half your face paralyzed, your look will be ruined.
 
GLiPtest said:

Honestly, it sounds like you're headed toward body dysmorphia in later life. You're already lean and you're hungry, yet you're so afraid of putting on any fat that you keep taking a weight loss treatment and stay in a caloric deficit for no good reason.

In a deficit you won't build any muscle. Get protein in, have some carbs, keep fats low.

Protein and carbs are inefficient when it comes to being stored as fat, so energy is lost during conversion. In an energy surplus, dietary fat can be stored as fat efficiently.

Are you tracking blood markers? Lipids, A1C, IGF, and blood pressure are what you should be keeping an eye on. If a stroke leaves half your face paralyzed, your look will be ruined.
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That's a fair point. Bloodwork was done 2 weeks ago, and the numbers came back solid. What I want to know from you is this: what ratio of protein to carbs works well? Should it be 200 grams of protein alongside 200 grams of carbs? Fewer carbs? Or a higher total overall? That's roughly what I'm after. Here's my breakfast from today: a shake plus eggs, adding up to 850 calories, with 70 grams of protein and 80 grams of carbs.
 
Troposphere said:

Posting height and a rough body fat estimate would make your weight numbers easier to interpret.

On the food side, try holding at 23-2500 for 2 weeks before changing anything, then move it either direction based on what you see.

Should 1mg/wk of reta be holding back your gains, drop it to 0.5mg/wk.
Click to expand...
Good call. I’ve made the change. My height is 184cm.
 
My TRT is also 150mg per week, and HGH is part of my routine too. After my training volume increased, I noticed that staying close to maintenance calories while getting enough protein worked better for me than trying to push a larger surplus. Given your height, 180–200g protein is sufficient; since you train at lunch, don't cut carbs, and let 2300–2500 ride for 2 weeks before you conclude it's excessive.
 
If your weight-loss phase wrapped up at 1,500 kcal, my suggestion would be to begin at 2,200 kcal and track how things go. In all likelihood, over the coming 2–3 weeks your weight will either stay the same or could keep falling. Continue watching it and keep increasing calories.
 
Yes, I’ll try to keep it near 2500 daily. After I started going to the gym, my hunger seems to be returning.
 
Troposphere said:

Posting height and a rough body fat estimate would make your weight numbers easier to interpret.

On the food side, try holding at 23-2500 for 2 weeks before changing anything, then move it either direction based on what you see.

Should 1mg/wk of reta be holding back your gains, drop it to 0.5mg/wk.
Click to expand...
What makes you say that?
 
BNLFL said:

Troposphere said:

Posting height and a rough body fat estimate would make your weight numbers easier to interpret.

On the food side, try holding at 23-2500 for 2 weeks before changing anything, then move it either direction based on what you see.

Should 1mg/wk of reta be holding back your gains, drop it to 0.5mg/wk.
Click to expand...
What makes you say that?
Click to expand...
I'm guessing it's appetite
 
BNLFL said:

Troposphere said:

Posting height and a rough body fat estimate would make your weight numbers easier to interpret.

On the food side, try holding at 23-2500 for 2 weeks before changing anything, then move it either direction based on what you see.

Should 1mg/wk of reta be holding back your gains, drop it to 0.5mg/wk.
Click to expand...
What makes you say that?
Click to expand...
Is your question about how his muscle-building capacity is affected by not eating?
 
Troposphere said:

BNLFL said:

Troposphere said:

Posting height and a rough body fat estimate would make your weight numbers easier to interpret.

On the food side, try holding at 23-2500 for 2 weeks before changing anything, then move it either direction based on what you see.

Should 1mg/wk of reta be holding back your gains, drop it to 0.5mg/wk.
Click to expand...
What makes you say that?
Click to expand...
Is your question about how his muscle-building capacity is affected by not eating?
Click to expand...
No, I mean the change from 1mg down to .5mg. I realize you have to eat.
 
Januza said:

Here's a bit of background... I'm 50. My reason for starting reta was to get leaner. Between a heavy workload, travel, stress, snacking and too much wine, the weight had crept up. I've gone from 85 kg down to 73 kg, and I'm 184 cm tall. For the last 3 months I've taken 1mg of Reta every 5 days. At this point I'm already fairly lean, and from the very first day I've stayed active with band-based 'weight training' plus pilates 2-3 times a week.

A gym recently opened across from the office, so now I'm training there 3-4 times a week over lunch. Each session generally runs a solid 60-70 min. I log everything with ChatGPT and Hevy. Ever since I began these gym sessions, my appetite has shot up..

Since starting reta I've quit drinking, cut out snacks, and been sitting around 1500 calories a day.. I just had no appetite. With my appetite now back, I'm going back and forth with myself and Chatgpt about what my calorie intake ought to be. My food is clean: beef, chicken, veggies and rice or potatoes. Given how active I am with lifting, pilates and walking my dogs, Chat suggests 2500-2800 calories a day, which works out to roughly 180-200 grams of protein and 250-300 grams of carbs. Over these past 2 weeks I've been at about 23-2500 calories a day.

My new goal now is to add more muscle. I've been on TRT 150mg per week for a while, along with 2iu HGH five times per week.

Any sharp minds here who could point me in the right direction? All I'm after is a lean look at my age with some solid muscle gain over the nexy many months.

My brain keeps telling me I'm eating too much, since I spent 3.5 months in a deficit. I can eat fine, and honestly after eating more, especially with the hard workouts, I get really hungry.

So appetite isn't the issue, it's more that I'm unsure how much I should actually be eating. I know I need fuel to grow, but I also don't want to overdo it, and I'm no longer a spring chicken ( only in heart and mind )and my wife keeps asking me to put on some weight too 😉

Hope someone can chime in
Click to expand...

BNLFL said:

Troposphere said:

BNLFL said:

Troposphere said:

Posting height and a rough body fat estimate would make your weight numbers easier to interpret.

On the food side, try holding at 23-2500 for 2 weeks before changing anything, then move it either direction based on what you see.

Should 1mg/wk of reta be holding back your gains, drop it to 0.5mg/wk.
Click to expand...
What makes you say that?
Click to expand...
Is your question about how his muscle-building capacity is affected by not eating?
Click to expand...
No, I mean the change from 1mg down to .5mg. I realize you have to eat.
Click to expand...
That's the reason I proposed lowering the dose
 
Troposphere said:

Januza said:

Here's a bit of background... I'm 50. My reason for starting reta was to get leaner. Between a heavy workload, travel, stress, snacking and too much wine, the weight had crept up. I've gone from 85 kg down to 73 kg, and I'm 184 cm tall. For the last 3 months I've taken 1mg of Reta every 5 days. At this point I'm already fairly lean, and from the very first day I've stayed active with band-based 'weight training' plus pilates 2-3 times a week.

A gym recently opened across from the office, so now I'm training there 3-4 times a week over lunch. Each session generally runs a solid 60-70 min. I log everything with ChatGPT and Hevy. Ever since I began these gym sessions, my appetite has shot up..

Since starting reta I've quit drinking, cut out snacks, and been sitting around 1500 calories a day.. I just had no appetite. With my appetite now back, I'm going back and forth with myself and Chatgpt about what my calorie intake ought to be. My food is clean: beef, chicken, veggies and rice or potatoes. Given how active I am with lifting, pilates and walking my dogs, Chat suggests 2500-2800 calories a day, which works out to roughly 180-200 grams of protein and 250-300 grams of carbs. Over these past 2 weeks I've been at about 23-2500 calories a day.

My new goal now is to add more muscle. I've been on TRT 150mg per week for a while, along with 2iu HGH five times per week.

Any sharp minds here who could point me in the right direction? All I'm after is a lean look at my age with some solid muscle gain over the nexy many months.

My brain keeps telling me I'm eating too much, since I spent 3.5 months in a deficit. I can eat fine, and honestly after eating more, especially with the hard workouts, I get really hungry.

So appetite isn't the issue, it's more that I'm unsure how much I should actually be eating. I know I need fuel to grow, but I also don't want to overdo it, and I'm no longer a spring chicken ( only in heart and mind )and my wife keeps asking me to put on some weight too 😉

Hope someone can chime in
Click to expand...

BNLFL said:

Troposphere said:

BNLFL said:

Troposphere said:

Posting height and a rough body fat estimate would make your weight numbers easier to interpret.

On the food side, try holding at 23-2500 for 2 weeks before changing anything, then move it either direction based on what you see.

Should 1mg/wk of reta be holding back your gains, drop it to 0.5mg/wk.
Click to expand...
What makes you say that?
Click to expand...
Is your question about how his muscle-building capacity is affected by not eating?
Click to expand...
No, I mean the change from 1mg down to .5mg. I realize you have to eat.
Click to expand...
That's the reason I proposed lowering the dose
Click to expand...
Alright, advice to lower the dose isn't something you come across often. My own view is that it won't do any good, though that's just my take and it's okay. These tiny doses never made sense to me in the first place.
 
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