Do effects plateau?

[ZetsuM]

I feel like my weight loss has plateaued now as well.

I've been around 87.5 kg for almost 3 weeks.

Weekly dosages:

Week 1: 0.5 mg

Week 2: 1 mg

Week 3: 1.5 mg

Week 4: 2 mg

Week 5: 2 mg

Week 6: 2.5 mg

I lost a lot of water weight in week 2 (around 5 kg), then continued losing roughly 0.5 kg every few days until it suddenly stopped.

I can still clearly feel the effects of Reta at 2.5 mg. I have started noticing a few more side effects as well, although nothing major.

I don't think titrating up would make much sense right now, since I'm still in a calorie deficit and the food noise, hunger, and cravings are still gone.

I'm drinking plenty of water, using electrolytes, hitting my protein intake, and eating vegetables. I keep carbs mostly limited to workout/run days.

Frustrating, but i'll wait it out. Meanwhile is started working out again (gym) so maybe that'll kickstart a better fatburn effect.

 

[mrblu]

ZetsuM said:


I feel like my weight loss has plateaued now as well.

I've been around 87.5 kg for almost 3 weeks.

Weekly dosages:

Week 1: 0.5 mg

Week 2: 1 mg

Week 3: 1.5 mg

Week 4: 2 mg

Week 5: 2 mg

Week 6: 2.5 mg

I lost a lot of water weight in week 2 (around 5 kg), then continued losing roughly 0.5 kg every few days until it suddenly stopped.

I can still clearly feel the effects of Reta at 2.5 mg. I have started noticing a few more side effects as well, although nothing major.

I don't think titrating up would make much sense right now, since I'm still in a calorie deficit and the food noise, hunger, and cravings are still gone.

I'm drinking plenty of water, using electrolytes, hitting my protein intake, and eating vegetables. I keep carbs mostly limited to workout/run days.

Frustrating, but i'll wait it out. Meanwhile is started working out again (gym) so maybe that'll kickstart a better fatburn effect.

Click to expand...

Most seem to stay on a dosage for at least a month or more, that way their reta levels in their blood can actually stabilize (half life is 6 days I believe, so levels in blood wont hit their highest level after your first increased dose if that makes sense)

Definitely keep calorie counting and lifting, I think of this stuff as an aid in changing lifestyle rather than the solution itself

That being said, I have been feeling amazing on this stuff and damn does it make changing lifestyle so so so much easier

 

[ZetsuM]

mrblu said:


Most seem to stay on a dosage for at least a month or more, that way their reta levels in their blood can actually stabilize (half life is 6 days I believe, so levels in blood wont hit their highest level after your first increased dose if that makes sense)

Definitely keep calorie counting and lifting, I think of this stuff as an aid in changing lifestyle rather than the solution itself

That being said, I have been feeling amazing on this stuff and damn does it make changing lifestyle so so so much easier

Click to expand...

I started at low dosage because i wanted to slowly 'step into' the side effects. Up untill now i had none. Only when i pinned 2.5 i started to feel some.

Since the starting dose for the trials were 2 mg i don't feel i overdid it. Again i just wanted to be safe from the side effects.

Other than being full quickly, and not craving junk food anymore i don't really 'feel' it.

I've had a little trouble shitting for a while, but that could also be because of much lower food intake. Some anhedonia and flatness. I still game so the dopamine hasn't worn off completely.

 

[mrblu]

ZetsuM said:


I started at low dosage because i wanted to slowly 'step into' the side effects. Up untill now i had none. Only when i pinned 2.5 i started to feel some.

Since the starting dose for the trials were 2 mg i don't feel i overdid it. Again i just wanted to be safe from the side effects.

Other than being full quickly, and not craving junk food anymore i don't really 'feel' it.

I've had a little trouble shitting for a while, but that could also be because of much lower food intake. Some anhedonia and flatness. I still game so the dopamine hasn't worn off completely.

Click to expand...

Yep, let your blood levels get up, just to show you directly what I mean, it takes weeks for your blood levels to actually stabilize even on the same dose every single week

The below is effectively what you'd see if the half life lined up perfectly with one week, but the point is all the same at 6 weeks

Keep dialing in your calories + keep excercising. It's ultimately still a game of calories in - calories out, Reta just makes it much easier to reduce calories in and actually gives the metabolism a boost

 

[ZetsuM]

mrblu said:


Yep, let your blood levels get up, just to show you directly what I mean, it takes weeks for your blood levels to actually stabilize even on the same dose every single week

The below is effectively what you'd see if the half life lined up perfectly with one week, but the point is all the same at 6 weeks

Keep dialing in your calories + keep excercising. It's ultimately still a game of calories in - calories out, Reta just makes it much easier to reduce calories in and actually gives the metabolism a boost

Click to expand...

I don't plan on increasing my dosage yes, as i benefit from this dosage, i'm full really quickly and have zero cravings. I'm around 1500 kcals a day, more on days i work out for obvious reasons, maintenance should be sitting at 2200 rn. As long as i don't start to gain weight again i'm willing to be a bit patient.

 

[Pete369]

mrblu said:


Have you all used reta to change lifestyle much? So far diet has improved for me significantly with little struggle which is awesome. Currently building out a home gym as well to get the furnace burning from the other end as well and hold onto that muscle

Click to expand...

No, I’m slightly below my lowest weight last year adding in Reta this year. Think I cut from April until October last year with EC stack, diet, weight training, and lots of cardio. I started with Reta in March of this year, no EC, very low cardio. Hoping by ramping up cardio these next few months I can keep dropping and get down below 200lbs before it’s time to take a break and winter bulk. I prefer Reta over EC (ephedrine/caffeine) as it doesn’t increase my blood pressure and make me short tempered and has gotten me to where I was with EC without loads of cardio.

Ultimately I want to be around 185 and reassess (210 atm) but I’ve done it the quick way before and lost most muscle and destroyed my metabolism, this time it’s been a slow and steady multi year journey.

I guess to answer your question, I changed my lifestyle 5 years ago when I was 300lbs, Reta is just making it easier to get to my ultimate goal weight.

 

[lessthanhalf]

ZetsuM said:


I feel like my weight loss has plateaued now as well.

I've been around 87.5 kg for almost 3 weeks.

Weekly dosages:

Week 1: 0.5 mg

Week 2: 1 mg

Week 3: 1.5 mg

Week 4: 2 mg

Week 5: 2 mg

Week 6: 2.5 mg

I lost a lot of water weight in week 2 (around 5 kg), then continued losing roughly 0.5 kg every few days until it suddenly stopped.

I can still clearly feel the effects of Reta at 2.5 mg. I have started noticing a few more side effects as well, although nothing major.

I don't think titrating up would make much sense right now, since I'm still in a calorie deficit and the food noise, hunger, and cravings are still gone.

I'm drinking plenty of water, using electrolytes, hitting my protein intake, and eating vegetables. I keep carbs mostly limited to workout/run days.

Frustrating, but i'll wait it out. Meanwhile is started working out again (gym) so maybe that'll kickstart a better fatburn effect.

Click to expand...

I would guess that this is not a real plateau. Body water composition fluctuates up and down quite a bit, and this is more likely the reason for no progress on the scales assuming it has not gone on for months. I definitely had periods of a month of no measurable weight loss for more than 4 weeks while getting from 145kg to 75kg, but given there was still a definite calorie deficit I just refused to believe the scales and it showed up eventually.

Unless your calorie counting is way off now when it was not earlier, if you have a calorie deficit you are likely losing fat, and if your diet is the same as when you were losing weight there is no reason for weight loss to stop. You have probably had a slight energy expenditure drop from weight loss, ( not sure how much ) but it is way too early to get a drop in calories used per day from long term caloric restriction yet. The fact that you are happy with your dietary intake and do not want to increase doses is pretty good evidence you are still in a calorie deficit, and the effects will show up eventually. If you are only on 1500 kcal/day I find it hard to believe you could put on muscle and lose fat with that deficit , even if doing a lot of lifting, but it is another possible explanation. You can try measuring waist circumference instead but it really is not accurate enough to help in the short term, as it can be off by centimeters depending on how tight or loose it is.

 

[miss-sanne]

I remember this, being on edge because the weight didn't budge for a few weeks in the beginning.

It's looks fine, your body is catching up, keep going, track your calories, do the exercise.

For me, often I was the same weight for a few weeks, and then the 'whoosh' 1-2 kg loss came.

I lost slowly, 0,5 kg per week overall. Almost there, 28 % loss.

Remember weight loss is not linear.

You are doing great.

 

[ZetsuM]

lessthanhalf said:


I would guess that this is not a real plateau. Body water composition fluctuates up and down quite a bit, and this is more likely the reason for no progress on the scales assuming it has not gone on for months. I definitely had periods of a month of no measurable weight loss for more than 4 weeks while getting from 145kg to 75kg, but given there was still a definite calorie deficit I just refused to believe the scales and it showed up eventually.

Unless your calorie counting is way off now when it was not earlier, if you have a calorie deficit you are likely losing fat, and if your diet is the same as when you were losing weight there is no reason for weight loss to stop. You have probably had a slight energy expenditure drop from weight loss, ( not sure how much ) but it is way too early to get a drop in calories used per day from long term caloric restriction yet. The fact that you are happy with your dietary intake and do not want to increase doses is pretty good evidence you are still in a calorie deficit, and the effects will show up eventually. If you are only on 1500 kcal/day I find it hard to believe you could put on muscle and lose fat with that deficit , even if doing a lot of lifting, but it is another possible explanation. You can try measuring waist circumference instead but it really is not accurate enough to help in the short term, as it can be off by centimeters depending on how tight or loose it is.

Click to expand...

Also, I'm not training nearly enough to put on muscle. I do run three times a week, which could lead to some water retention. I went to the gym, but the intensity was very low because I could really feel the calorie deficit. It's also been hot for the past 2–3 weeks, which, according to ChatGPT, could cause my body to retain more water as well.

So I'll wait a little longer. Like I said, I'm still eating well below my maintenance calories, and I'm active enough. I'm just very impatient. I've quit a lot of hobbies and sports because I didn't see results quickly enough.