Do the benefits stop improving at some point?

[ZetsuM]

My weight loss seems to have stalled too.

For close to 3 weeks I've been sitting at about 87.5 kg.

How I've dosed each week:

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

During week 2 I dropped a large amount of water weight (roughly 5 kg), and after that I kept shedding about 0.5 kg every few days until it came to an abrupt halt.

At 2.5 mg I can still definitely feel Reta working. A few additional side effects have also begun to show up, though none of them are serious.

Given that I'm still in a calorie deficit and the food noise, hunger, and cravings remain absent, I don't see much point in increasing the dose at the moment.

I'm getting enough water, taking electrolytes, meeting my protein target, and eating vegetables. Carbs stay mostly restricted to days when I work out or run.

It's annoying, but I'll ride it out. In the meantime I've gone back to working out (gym), so perhaps that will trigger a stronger fatburn effect.

 

[mrblu]

ZetsuM said:

My weight loss seems to have stalled too.

For close to 3 weeks I've been sitting at about 87.5 kg.

How I've dosed each week:

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

During week 2 I dropped a large amount of water weight (roughly 5 kg), and after that I kept shedding about 0.5 kg every few days until it came to an abrupt halt.

At 2.5 mg I can still definitely feel Reta working. A few additional side effects have also begun to show up, though none of them are serious.

Given that I'm still in a calorie deficit and the food noise, hunger, and cravings remain absent, I don't see much point in increasing the dose at the moment.

I'm getting enough water, taking electrolytes, meeting my protein target, and eating vegetables. Carbs stay mostly restricted to days when I work out or run.

It's annoying, but I'll ride it out. In the meantime I've gone back to working out (gym), so perhaps that will trigger a stronger fatburn effect.

A lot of people appear to hold a given dose for a month or longer, which lets their reta blood levels properly stabilize (I think the half-life is 6 days, so after your first bump in dose, blood levels won't reach their peak if that tracks)

Keep up the calorie tracking and the lifting for sure. To me this is a tool that helps with lifestyle change, not the answer on its own

That said, I've felt incredible on this, and wow does it make overhauling your lifestyle so so so much simpler

 

[ZetsuM]

mrblu said:

ZetsuM said:

My weight loss seems to have stalled too.

For close to 3 weeks I've been sitting at about 87.5 kg.

How I've dosed each week:

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

During week 2 I dropped a large amount of water weight (roughly 5 kg), and after that I kept shedding about 0.5 kg every few days until it came to an abrupt halt.

At 2.5 mg I can still definitely feel Reta working. A few additional side effects have also begun to show up, though none of them are serious.

Given that I'm still in a calorie deficit and the food noise, hunger, and cravings remain absent, I don't see much point in increasing the dose at the moment.

I'm getting enough water, taking electrolytes, meeting my protein target, and eating vegetables. Carbs stay mostly restricted to days when I work out or run.

It's annoying, but I'll ride it out. In the meantime I've gone back to working out (gym), so perhaps that will trigger a stronger fatburn effect.

A lot of people appear to hold a given dose for a month or longer, which lets their reta blood levels properly stabilize (I think the half-life is 6 days, so after your first bump in dose, blood levels won't reach their peak if that tracks)

Keep up the calorie tracking and the lifting for sure. To me this is a tool that helps with lifestyle change, not the answer on its own

That said, I've felt incredible on this, and wow does it make overhauling your lifestyle so so so much simpler

My decision to begin with a small dose came from wanting to ease myself gradually into whatever side effects might appear. So far, none showed up. It was only after injecting 2.5 that anything became noticeable.

Given that the trials used 2 mg as their starting dose, I don't think I went overboard. My aim was simply to avoid side effects as much as possible.

Beyond feeling full fast and no longer wanting junk food, I can't say I really 'feel' it.

For a stretch I had some difficulty with bowel movements, though reduced food intake could explain that too. There's also been some anhedonia and a sense of flatness. Gaming is still something I do, so the dopamine hasn't completely gone away.

 

[mrblu]

ZetsuM said:

mrblu said:

ZetsuM said:

My weight loss seems to have stalled too.

For close to 3 weeks I've been sitting at about 87.5 kg.

How I've dosed each week:

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

During week 2 I dropped a large amount of water weight (roughly 5 kg), and after that I kept shedding about 0.5 kg every few days until it came to an abrupt halt.

At 2.5 mg I can still definitely feel Reta working. A few additional side effects have also begun to show up, though none of them are serious.

Given that I'm still in a calorie deficit and the food noise, hunger, and cravings remain absent, I don't see much point in increasing the dose at the moment.

I'm getting enough water, taking electrolytes, meeting my protein target, and eating vegetables. Carbs stay mostly restricted to days when I work out or run.

It's annoying, but I'll ride it out. In the meantime I've gone back to working out (gym), so perhaps that will trigger a stronger fatburn effect.

A lot of people appear to hold a given dose for a month or longer, which lets their reta blood levels properly stabilize (I think the half-life is 6 days, so after your first bump in dose, blood levels won't reach their peak if that tracks)

Keep up the calorie tracking and the lifting for sure. To me this is a tool that helps with lifestyle change, not the answer on its own

That said, I've felt incredible on this, and wow does it make overhauling your lifestyle so so so much simpler

My decision to begin with a small dose came from wanting to ease myself gradually into whatever side effects might appear. So far, none showed up. It was only after injecting 2.5 that anything became noticeable.

Given that the trials used 2 mg as their starting dose, I don't think I went overboard. My aim was simply to avoid side effects as much as possible.

Beyond feeling full fast and no longer wanting junk food, I can't say I really 'feel' it.

For a stretch I had some difficulty with bowel movements, though reduced food intake could explain that too. There's also been some anhedonia and a sense of flatness. Gaming is still something I do, so the dopamine hasn't completely gone away.

Right — give your blood levels time to rise. To illustrate exactly what I'm getting at: even when you inject the same amount weekly, it takes several weeks before those levels truly level off.

The chart below basically shows what you'd get if the half-life matched 1 week exactly, though at 6 weeks the takeaway is identical.

Keep fine-tuning your calorie intake and stay consistent with exercise. In the end it still comes down to calories in versus calories out — Reta simply makes cutting calories far less difficult and does provide a metabolism boost.

 

[ZetsuM]

mrblu said:

ZetsuM said:

mrblu said:

ZetsuM said:

My weight loss seems to have stalled too.

For close to 3 weeks I've been sitting at about 87.5 kg.

How I've dosed each week:

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

During week 2 I dropped a large amount of water weight (roughly 5 kg), and after that I kept shedding about 0.5 kg every few days until it came to an abrupt halt.

At 2.5 mg I can still definitely feel Reta working. A few additional side effects have also begun to show up, though none of them are serious.

Given that I'm still in a calorie deficit and the food noise, hunger, and cravings remain absent, I don't see much point in increasing the dose at the moment.

I'm getting enough water, taking electrolytes, meeting my protein target, and eating vegetables. Carbs stay mostly restricted to days when I work out or run.

It's annoying, but I'll ride it out. In the meantime I've gone back to working out (gym), so perhaps that will trigger a stronger fatburn effect.

A lot of people appear to hold a given dose for a month or longer, which lets their reta blood levels properly stabilize (I think the half-life is 6 days, so after your first bump in dose, blood levels won't reach their peak if that tracks)

Keep up the calorie tracking and the lifting for sure. To me this is a tool that helps with lifestyle change, not the answer on its own

That said, I've felt incredible on this, and wow does it make overhauling your lifestyle so so so much simpler

My decision to begin with a small dose came from wanting to ease myself gradually into whatever side effects might appear. So far, none showed up. It was only after injecting 2.5 that anything became noticeable.

Given that the trials used 2 mg as their starting dose, I don't think I went overboard. My aim was simply to avoid side effects as much as possible.

Beyond feeling full fast and no longer wanting junk food, I can't say I really 'feel' it.

For a stretch I had some difficulty with bowel movements, though reduced food intake could explain that too. There's also been some anhedonia and a sense of flatness. Gaming is still something I do, so the dopamine hasn't completely gone away.

Right — give your blood levels time to rise. To illustrate exactly what I'm getting at: even when you inject the same amount weekly, it takes several weeks before those levels truly level off.

The chart below basically shows what you'd get if the half-life matched 1 week exactly, though at 6 weeks the takeaway is identical.

Keep fine-tuning your calorie intake and stay consistent with exercise. In the end it still comes down to calories in versus calories out — Reta simply makes cutting calories far less difficult and does provide a metabolism boost.

No, I won't be raising my dose. This amount is working for me: I get full very fast and have no cravings at all. Most days I eat about 1500 kcals, and on workout days I eat more, which makes sense. Right now maintenance is around 2200. If my weight doesn't start climbing back up, I'm okay with waiting a while.

 

[Pete369]

mrblu said:

pughster25 said:

reta worked really well for me right away. over the course of 6 months i worked my way up to 6mg, and the pounds came off gradually. then it stalled. i held at 6 for 3 months and the scale didn't budge. what i did notice was that food and alcohol noise got louder. so i bumped it to 8mg and the gradual loss kicked in again. i'm not going above 8. when i hit another plateau, i'll take a few weeks off and then either restart tirz or give elora a shot

Pete369 said:

Looks like it. Today I went from 8mg up to 10mg, hoping that gets things moving again. That said, around November I'll pause for a winter bulk, so my hope is that by March I'll have resensitized and can resume next year on a smaller dose.

Has reta led any of you to make big lifestyle changes? In my case, diet has gotten a lot better without much effort, which is great. Right now I'm putting together a home gym too, so I can burn more from that side and keep the muscle I have

Nope — right now I'm a touch under the lowest I hit last year, and this year I've added Reta into the mix. From April through October of last year I ran a cut using an EC stack, diet, weight training, and a ton of cardio. This March I began Reta, with no EC and only a little cardio. My hope is that by increasing cardio over the coming months I can continue losing and dip under 200lbs before a break and a winter bulk become necessary. Reta beats EC (ephedrine/caffeine) for me because my blood pressure doesn't rise, I don't get short tempered, and it brought me to the same point EC did without needing loads of cardio.

My end goal is roughly 185, then I'll reassess (currently 210), though in the past I took the fast route and ended up losing most of my muscle and wrecking my metabolism — this time it's been a slow, steady, multi year process.

As for your question, I suppose the answer is that my lifestyle changed 5 years ago when I weighed 300lbs, and Reta is simply smoothing the path to my ultimate goal weight.

 

[lessthanhalf]

ZetsuM said:

My weight loss seems to have stalled too.

For close to 3 weeks I've been sitting at about 87.5 kg.

How I've dosed each week:

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

During week 2 I dropped a large amount of water weight (roughly 5 kg), and after that I kept shedding about 0.5 kg every few days until it came to an abrupt halt.

At 2.5 mg I can still definitely feel Reta working. A few additional side effects have also begun to show up, though none of them are serious.

Given that I'm still in a calorie deficit and the food noise, hunger, and cravings remain absent, I don't see much point in increasing the dose at the moment.

I'm getting enough water, taking electrolytes, meeting my protein target, and eating vegetables. Carbs stay mostly restricted to days when I work out or run.

It's annoying, but I'll ride it out. In the meantime I've gone back to working out (gym), so perhaps that will trigger a stronger fatburn effect.

My take is that what you're seeing probably isn't a genuine plateau. Shifts in body water can move things around a fair amount, and that's the more plausible culprit for the scale stalling, provided we're not talking about many months here. When I went from 145kg down to 75kg, I certainly ran into stretches where nothing moved on the scale for over 4 weeks at a time, but since I knew a calorie deficit was still present, I simply didn't trust the scale, and eventually the loss appeared.

If your calorie tracking isn't suddenly far less accurate than it used to be, then a calorie deficit should still mean fat loss, and if your eating hasn't changed from when you were dropping weight, there's no obvious reason for it to halt. You've likely seen a small decline in energy expenditure as a result of the weight loss (how large, I can't say), but it's far too soon for a reduction in daily calories burned caused by prolonged restriction to have kicked in. The fact that you're content with how much you're eating and don't feel the need to raise your dose is fairly strong evidence that you're still in a deficit, and the results will turn up sooner or later. If you're only taking in 1500 kcal/day, I struggle to see how you could build muscle while losing fat on that kind of deficit, even with heavy lifting, though that remains another possibility. Measuring your waist is an alternative, but it simply isn't precise enough to be useful over a short window, since it can vary by centimeters depending on how tightly or loosely you measure.

 

[miss-sanne]

I recall that feeling — early on, when the scale refused to move for a few weeks, it really put me on edge.

Everything appears okay. Your body is simply catching up. Stick with it, keep an eye on your calories, and continue exercising.

In my own case, I frequently stayed at the same weight for several weeks, and then suddenly a 'whoosh' of 1-2 kg came off.

My loss was gradual, 0,5 kg per week in total. Nearly finished, 28 % loss.

Keep in mind that weight loss doesn't follow a straight line.

You're doing great.

 

[ZetsuM]

lessthanhalf said:

ZetsuM said:

My weight loss seems to have stalled too.

For close to 3 weeks I've been sitting at about 87.5 kg.

How I've dosed each week:

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

During week 2 I dropped a large amount of water weight (roughly 5 kg), and after that I kept shedding about 0.5 kg every few days until it came to an abrupt halt.

At 2.5 mg I can still definitely feel Reta working. A few additional side effects have also begun to show up, though none of them are serious.

Given that I'm still in a calorie deficit and the food noise, hunger, and cravings remain absent, I don't see much point in increasing the dose at the moment.

I'm getting enough water, taking electrolytes, meeting my protein target, and eating vegetables. Carbs stay mostly restricted to days when I work out or run.

It's annoying, but I'll ride it out. In the meantime I've gone back to working out (gym), so perhaps that will trigger a stronger fatburn effect.

My take is that what you're seeing probably isn't a genuine plateau. Shifts in body water can move things around a fair amount, and that's the more plausible culprit for the scale stalling, provided we're not talking about many months here. When I went from 145kg down to 75kg, I certainly ran into stretches where nothing moved on the scale for over 4 weeks at a time, but since I knew a calorie deficit was still present, I simply didn't trust the scale, and eventually the loss appeared.

If your calorie tracking isn't suddenly far less accurate than it used to be, then a calorie deficit should still mean fat loss, and if your eating hasn't changed from when you were dropping weight, there's no obvious reason for it to halt. You've likely seen a small decline in energy expenditure as a result of the weight loss (how large, I can't say), but it's far too soon for a reduction in daily calories burned caused by prolonged restriction to have kicked in. The fact that you're content with how much you're eating and don't feel the need to raise your dose is fairly strong evidence that you're still in a deficit, and the results will turn up sooner or later. If you're only taking in 1500 kcal/day, I struggle to see how you could build muscle while losing fat on that kind of deficit, even with heavy lifting, though that remains another possibility. Measuring your waist is an alternative, but it simply isn't precise enough to be useful over a short window, since it can vary by centimeters depending on how tightly or loosely you measure.

On top of that, my training volume is nowhere near what's needed for building muscle. Running 3 times per week is part of my routine, and that might make me hold onto some water. I did go to the gym, but I kept the intensity really low since the calorie deficit was hitting me hard. The last 2–3 weeks have also been hot, and ChatGPT told me that could make the body hold extra water too.

So I'll give it more time. As I mentioned, my intake is still far under maintenance, and I'm moving around enough. The problem is I have zero patience. Plenty of hobbies and sports got dropped along the way just because results weren't showing up fast enough.