Hi everyone — an introduction from me, plus a request for thoughts or advice.
40-year-old male, and weight has come and gone for the past 12 years. February 2025 marks when diet, exercise, and general habits really got locked in. Turning 40 with a wife and daughter in my life made the goal simple: get healthier and stick around for them long term.
About 55 lbs is gone so far, all without GLP-1s — only diet, training, and a few basics (vitamins and creatine). Funny thing is, until this past year I'd never really trained or lifted in my adult life. Basketball and sports filled my childhood, but structured workouts and lifting were entirely new territory. To my surprise I've come to enjoy it, and each week I look forward to it.
The progress made naturally so far is something I'm genuinely proud of. As the pounds came off and body recomposition became the focus, my goals moved a little, and now I'd like to see whether I can push further and reach around 13–14% body fat.
RETA is where that train of thought led, since it keeps appearing in my feeds. Users at all sorts of stages in their health and fitness journeys seem to be on it.
What I'm really after is feedback on whether RETA (or something in the same family) makes sense as help getting across the finish line. Lifting happens about 4x per week, calories get tracked, and my diet has been very consistent. Appetite suppression isn't something I need, and staying on anything long-term isn't the plan — more a potential short-term tool for the last bit of fat, followed by natural maintenance.
My estimate is 5–10 lbs left to lose, though I'm flexible depending on how things look and feel. Stage-lean isn't the aim — a flatter stomach, less body fat, and maybe some light ab visibility is.
Some photos went up for reference. The beach photo was around 218 lbs, and the others were taken a couple days ago at 164 lbs (some right after a workout and some first thing in the morning).
Alongside all this, my wife has been on a low-dose semaglutide and has shed a good amount of weight too. Continuing her progress interests her, and whether switching to RETA would suit her as well is something I've been wondering about.
General thoughts or experiences from others who've been down this road would be very welcome.
Thanks!
40-year-old male, and weight has come and gone for the past 12 years. February 2025 marks when diet, exercise, and general habits really got locked in. Turning 40 with a wife and daughter in my life made the goal simple: get healthier and stick around for them long term.
About 55 lbs is gone so far, all without GLP-1s — only diet, training, and a few basics (vitamins and creatine). Funny thing is, until this past year I'd never really trained or lifted in my adult life. Basketball and sports filled my childhood, but structured workouts and lifting were entirely new territory. To my surprise I've come to enjoy it, and each week I look forward to it.
The progress made naturally so far is something I'm genuinely proud of. As the pounds came off and body recomposition became the focus, my goals moved a little, and now I'd like to see whether I can push further and reach around 13–14% body fat.
RETA is where that train of thought led, since it keeps appearing in my feeds. Users at all sorts of stages in their health and fitness journeys seem to be on it.
What I'm really after is feedback on whether RETA (or something in the same family) makes sense as help getting across the finish line. Lifting happens about 4x per week, calories get tracked, and my diet has been very consistent. Appetite suppression isn't something I need, and staying on anything long-term isn't the plan — more a potential short-term tool for the last bit of fat, followed by natural maintenance.
My estimate is 5–10 lbs left to lose, though I'm flexible depending on how things look and feel. Stage-lean isn't the aim — a flatter stomach, less body fat, and maybe some light ab visibility is.
Some photos went up for reference. The beach photo was around 218 lbs, and the others were taken a couple days ago at 164 lbs (some right after a workout and some first thing in the morning).
Alongside all this, my wife has been on a low-dose semaglutide and has shed a good amount of weight too. Continuing her progress interests her, and whether switching to RETA would suit her as well is something I've been wondering about.
General thoughts or experiences from others who've been down this road would be very welcome.
Thanks!