Down only 4 lbs in 2 months — is that a poor result?

[sunnygirl]

Hey everyone! I began reta in may, and it's july now. The scale has moved just 4 pounds. I want to stay optimistic about this journey, but 4lbs seems low for 2 months. Should I be considering a switch to triz already, or is it too soon and I should stick with it longer?

Here's my dosing so far, taken once a week:

first dose: 0.5 mg

Second dose, 0.5 mg

Third dose, 1.0 mg

Fourth dose, 1.0 mg

Fifth dose, 1.0 mg

Sixth dose, 1.5 mg

Seventh dose, 1.5 mg

 

[ladyj779]

It really comes down to the weight you started at. When someone is overweight, the goal should be dropping .5-1% of body weight each week.

If that pace isn't happening for you, cutting your calories is the next step.

Get the loseit app, choose sedentary as your setting, and don't eat back the calories you burn exercising.

These meds make staying in a calorie deficit easier to handle, but it's completely possible to eat past them.

 

[HouseCat]

I'm not on reta myself, though plenty of my reta pals call 4mg the magic number for weight loss ( though of course it varies between people).

 

[Habibibi]

sunnygirl said:

Hey everyone! I began reta in may, and it's july now. The scale has moved just 4 pounds. I want to stay optimistic about this journey, but 4lbs seems low for 2 months. Should I be considering a switch to triz already, or is it too soon and I should stick with it longer?

Here's my dosing so far, taken once a week:

first dose: 0.5 mg

Second dose, 0.5 mg

Third dose, 1.0 mg

Fourth dose, 1.0 mg

Fifth dose, 1.0 mg

Sixth dose, 1.5 mg

Seventh dose, 1.5 mg

Given the doses you're on, that result is fine — those doses are subtherapeutic. Most trials begin at 2mg, and a few start at 4mg. Want to drop more weight? Then take more. Want to drop less? Then take less.

 

[Builderman]

Keep in mind that the doses you're on are on the low side. In the clinical trials, dosing begins at 2mg. That means you're still under the level the trials started at. Bump it up to 2mg and see how it goes from there. After you've titrated your way up to 3 or even 4mg, well, then maybe it's worth looking into other choices if nothing has changed.

On top of that, how much are you moving around? If reta is all you're doing and you're not exercising, then 4 pounds could be reasonable given how low the dosing is.

 

[Skidude]

sunnygirl said:

Hey everyone! I began reta in may, and it's july now. The scale has moved just 4 pounds. I want to stay optimistic about this journey, but 4lbs seems low for 2 months. Should I be considering a switch to triz already, or is it too soon and I should stick with it longer?

Here's my dosing so far, taken once a week:

first dose: 0.5 mg

Second dose, 0.5 mg

Third dose, 1.0 mg

Fourth dose, 1.0 mg

Fifth dose, 1.0 mg

Sixth dose, 1.5 mg

Seventh dose, 1.5 mg

Not everyone reacts the same way — some people get a stronger response than others.

Have you noticed any unwanted side effects?

Like I mentioned earlier, your total body weight is relevant here — do you have a high BMI?

Your starting dose was quite low, and that could be contributing to the problem.

The usual principle is to begin at a level that produces weight loss while keeping side effects to a minimum; it's possible you simply need to titrate up..

About TRIUMPH-1 and the TRIUMPH clinical trial program

TRIUMPH‑1 (NCT05929066) is a Phase 3, 80‑week, randomized, double‑blind, placebo‑controlled master trial comparing the efficacy and safety of retatrutide with placebo in adults with obesity or overweight. TRIUMPH-1 included a master trial for obesity and two basket trials for knee osteoarthritis pain or moderate-to-severe obstructive sleep apnea. The study randomized 2,339 participants in a 1:1:1:1 ratio to receive either retatrutide 4 mg, 9 mg, 12 mg, or placebo. Participants randomized to retatrutide initiated treatment with 2 mg once weekly and increased the dose in a step-wise approach every four weeks until reaching the target dose of 4 mg (via one step at 2 mg), 9 mg (via steps at 2 mg, 4 mg and 6 mg) or 12 mg (via steps at 2 mg, 4 mg, 6 mg and 9 mg). TRIUMPH-1 included a pre-specified extension period of 104 weeks. The extension period enrolled 532 participants with BMI ≥35 at week 0 who completed the main 80-week study and tolerated their assigned dose of medication. Participants received retatrutide once weekly for an additional 24 weeks, including a blinded escalation to maximum tolerated dose (9 mg or 12 mg). Data described in this press release refer to the master trial and extension period; analyses of the two basket trials for knee osteoarthritis pain and moderate-to-severe obstructive sleep apnea will be released subsequently.

If you take a few moments and read this it may help



https://pep-pedia.org/peptides/retatrutide

 

[woundcarping]

On 5/1/26 I weighed 229lb, and this morning the scale read 207lb.

A 4lb drop would leave me pretty unsatisfied, but since I switched from Tirz to Reta, the 7mg I've used in a single week (split over 6 shots) matches what you've used across 2.5 months, so I'd keep expectations in check given that.

 

[Mochizuki0124]

The first 2 months I dropped roughly 4lbs, and honestly it doesnt bother me much since my body has gone through a lot of recomposition.

My waist has gotten noticeably smaller, my strength hasnt dropped at all — if anything it went up — and my dose is actually higher than yours. What Reta mostly did for me was keep me at my calorie maintenance while making it easier to focus on my diet rather than just stuffing whatever into my mouth.

Obviously our goals might not be the same, so my suggestion is to just be more agressive with your titration. According to studies, the Glucagon component doesnt really become fully active until 4mg. That means at this point youre essentially on a low dose of tirz.

 

[sunnygirl]

Builderman said:

Keep in mind that the doses you're on are on the low side. In the clinical trials, dosing begins at 2mg. That means you're still under the level the trials started at. Bump it up to 2mg and see how it goes from there. After you've titrated your way up to 3 or even 4mg, well, then maybe it's worth looking into other choices if nothing has changed.

On top of that, how much are you moving around? If reta is all you're doing and you're not exercising, then 4 pounds could be reasonable given how low the dosing is.

I hit the gym 3 times per week. Still, thanks — I get it now that the dose is on the low side

 

[Skidude]

sunnygirl said:

Builderman said:

Keep in mind that the doses you're on are on the low side. In the clinical trials, dosing begins at 2mg. That means you're still under the level the trials started at. Bump it up to 2mg and see how it goes from there. After you've titrated your way up to 3 or even 4mg, well, then maybe it's worth looking into other choices if nothing has changed.

On top of that, how much are you moving around? If reta is all you're doing and you're not exercising, then 4 pounds could be reasonable given how low the dosing is.

I hit the gym 3 times per week. Still, thanks — I get it now that the dose is on the low side

Remember that due to the half-life, it accumulates in your body, so what's in your system right now exceeds the 1.5mg you dosed — meaning a big increase wouldn't be wise.

If you haven't experienced any adverse effects, consider 2mg for your next dose.

You can use the plotter linked in my signature to work out how much has already built up in your system.

Each dose stacks on top of the ones before it.

The elimination half-life of retatrutide is roughly 6 days. Given this pharmacokinetic behavior, the investigational drug is formulated for convenient subcutaneous injections taken once per week.

When a substance has a 6-day half-life, roughly 30 days (that is, 5 half-lives) are needed for it to almost entirely clear from your system. By then, over 97% of the substance has been eliminated, although trace amounts may remain depending on the dosage and the testing methods used

 

[sunnygirl]

Skidude said:

sunnygirl said:

Hey everyone! I began reta in may, and it's july now. The scale has moved just 4 pounds. I want to stay optimistic about this journey, but 4lbs seems low for 2 months. Should I be considering a switch to triz already, or is it too soon and I should stick with it longer?

Here's my dosing so far, taken once a week:

first dose: 0.5 mg

Second dose, 0.5 mg

Third dose, 1.0 mg

Fourth dose, 1.0 mg

Fifth dose, 1.0 mg

Sixth dose, 1.5 mg

Seventh dose, 1.5 mg

Not everyone reacts the same way — some people get a stronger response than others.

Have you noticed any unwanted side effects?

Like I mentioned earlier, your total body weight is relevant here — do you have a high BMI?

Your starting dose was quite low, and that could be contributing to the problem.

The usual principle is to begin at a level that produces weight loss while keeping side effects to a minimum; it's possible you simply need to titrate up..

About TRIUMPH-1 and the TRIUMPH clinical trial program

TRIUMPH‑1 (NCT05929066) is a Phase 3, 80‑week, randomized, double‑blind, placebo‑controlled master trial comparing the efficacy and safety of retatrutide with placebo in adults with obesity or overweight. TRIUMPH-1 included a master trial for obesity and two basket trials for knee osteoarthritis pain or moderate-to-severe obstructive sleep apnea. The study randomized 2,339 participants in a 1:1:1:1 ratio to receive either retatrutide 4 mg, 9 mg, 12 mg, or placebo. Participants randomized to retatrutide initiated treatment with 2 mg once weekly and increased the dose in a step-wise approach every four weeks until reaching the target dose of 4 mg (via one step at 2 mg), 9 mg (via steps at 2 mg, 4 mg and 6 mg) or 12 mg (via steps at 2 mg, 4 mg, 6 mg and 9 mg). TRIUMPH-1 included a pre-specified extension period of 104 weeks. The extension period enrolled 532 participants with BMI ≥35 at week 0 who completed the main 80-week study and tolerated their assigned dose of medication. Participants received retatrutide once weekly for an additional 24 weeks, including a blinded escalation to maximum tolerated dose (9 mg or 12 mg). Data described in this press release refer to the master trial and extension period; analyses of the two basket trials for knee osteoarthritis pain and moderate-to-severe obstructive sleep apnea will be released subsequently.

If you take a few moments and read this it may help



https://pep-pedia.org/peptides/retatrutide

At the moment I'm not dealing with any side effects. My BMI sits at 28.3, which puts me in the overweight range. Still, thanks to you and everyone else who weighed in on the dosing question. I'll try moving up to a higher dose.

 

[Seasonal1]

HouseCat said:

I'm not on reta myself, though plenty of my reta pals call 4mg the magic number for weight loss ( though of course it varies between people).

This week, a well-known obesity doctor on YouTube released a video making that very point. According to him, any dose below 4mg is just pricey Tirz.

 

[Redz]

You need a bigger calorie deficit. I'd also raise the dose. I'm in week 4 and just moved up to 2.6mg/week, but I've only got 20-25 to lose, even though I'm 275lbs right now. If I had more to lose, I'd definitely be increasing the dose faster.

 

[Zelmar702]

Just so you know — over on YT there's a physician who also uses GLP meds, Dr. Kevin Joseph, and he put out a video covering exactly this topic not long ago. The main takeaways are:

• Turning On the Glucagon Receptor: Retatrutide works as a triple agonist, hitting GIP, GLP-1, and glucagon [00:53]. Below 4 mg, only GIP and GLP-1 get activated, so it basically behaves like a pricey Tirzepatide [01:42]. The glucagon receptor, which drives greater fat burning and liver clearing, needs a higher concentration before it switches on, and clinical markers indicate it kicks in exactly at the 4 mg threshold [01:31, 03:35].
  
• Evidence That It's Active: According to Dr. Joseph, the mild effects that show up at 4 mg — a particular tingling of the skin (dysesthesia), a small rise in heart rate, and a 57% reduction in liver fat — act as clinical confirmation that the glucagon receptor is now engaged [02:15, 03:23].
  
• Remarkably Well Tolerated: Side effects at 4 mg of Retatrutide are extremely uncommon. In the trials, only 4.1% of participants dropped out because of side effects at 4 mg (practically the same as the 4.9% seen in the placebo arm), while the 12 mg dose had an 18% dropout rate [04:12, 04:29].

His overall message is that pushing the dose as high as possible isn't always necessary; at 4 mg a patient gets the distinct advantages of all three receptor targets safely, and tolerability stays on par with placebo [04:42, 05:40].

 

[sunnygirl]

Zelmar702 said:

Just so you know — over on YT there's a physician who also uses GLP meds, Dr. Kevin Joseph, and he put out a video covering exactly this topic not long ago. The main takeaways are:

• Turning On the Glucagon Receptor: Retatrutide works as a triple agonist, hitting GIP, GLP-1, and glucagon [00:53]. Below 4 mg, only GIP and GLP-1 get activated, so it basically behaves like a pricey Tirzepatide [01:42]. The glucagon receptor, which drives greater fat burning and liver clearing, needs a higher concentration before it switches on, and clinical markers indicate it kicks in exactly at the 4 mg threshold [01:31, 03:35].
  
• Evidence That It's Active: According to Dr. Joseph, the mild effects that show up at 4 mg — a particular tingling of the skin (dysesthesia), a small rise in heart rate, and a 57% reduction in liver fat — act as clinical confirmation that the glucagon receptor is now engaged [02:15, 03:23].
  
• Remarkably Well Tolerated: Side effects at 4 mg of Retatrutide are extremely uncommon. In the trials, only 4.1% of participants dropped out because of side effects at 4 mg (practically the same as the 4.9% seen in the placebo arm), while the 12 mg dose had an 18% dropout rate [04:12, 04:29].

His overall message is that pushing the dose as high as possible isn't always necessary; at 4 mg a patient gets the distinct advantages of all three receptor targets safely, and tolerability stays on par with placebo [04:42, 05:40].

That's really interesting. Thanks for sharing this.

 

[miameow]

sunnygirl said:

Hey everyone! I began reta in may, and it's july now. The scale has moved just 4 pounds. I want to stay optimistic about this journey, but 4lbs seems low for 2 months. Should I be considering a switch to triz already, or is it too soon and I should stick with it longer?

Here's my dosing so far, taken once a week:

first dose: 0.5 mg

Second dose, 0.5 mg

Third dose, 1.0 mg

Fourth dose, 1.0 mg

Fifth dose, 1.0 mg

Sixth dose, 1.5 mg

Seventh dose, 1.5 mg

Sure, 4lb sounds like not much when other people are out there saying they dropped 40lb in that same stretch. Still, when it comes to losing weight, I honestly believe the slow, steady approach is the one that pays off, because shedding pounds fast can bring hormonal and metabolic fallout along with it.

And here's another angle: if reta hadn't been in the picture, would those 4lb have come off at all in two months? I bring it up because it eventually hit me that even though my weight didn't budge across the six months I was taking reta, it didn't climb either — and before I started, it had been climbing the whole time.

That said, like other people here have pointed out, your dose is still on the low side. My advice would be not to rush the increases just to get there faster. One option is going up to 2 mg and holding at that level for four weeks, the way the trials did it, and then seeing where you stand. Good luck.

 

[Januza]

sunnygirl said:

Hey everyone! I began reta in may, and it's july now. The scale has moved just 4 pounds. I want to stay optimistic about this journey, but 4lbs seems low for 2 months. Should I be considering a switch to triz already, or is it too soon and I should stick with it longer?

Here's my dosing so far, taken once a week:

first dose: 0.5 mg

Second dose, 0.5 mg

Third dose, 1.0 mg

Fourth dose, 1.0 mg

Fifth dose, 1.0 mg

Sixth dose, 1.5 mg

Seventh dose, 1.5 mg

That's what I'm thinking. But here's the question I'd say matters more. Since starting Reta, has your body gone through any changes? Have the ways you eat shifted? Are you exercising? Is your food clean? Are you tracking your protein? Are you keeping an eye on how many calories you take in?

The reason I ask is that I'm on a low dose myself. Weight isn't something I track — instead I look at my body in the mirror. I take pictures and compare them against each other, and I keep a log in ChatGPT, which helps me stay on top of my sleep, food, workouts, injections and so on. It's genuinely a big help.

 

[Orlandolover]

Like others have told you, the race goes to the slow and steady. The doses you've been taking each week sit at the lower end of the range. Most people treat 2mg as a starting dose, though beginning as low as you did is precisely what you should have done so your body can adjust. My own view is that 2mg is actually rather high for a first dose, so I'd suggest something smaller for the opening weeks regardless.

With Reta's 6-7day half life, a 1mg shot on Monday leaves 0.5mg still circulating by Sunday. Add another 1mg the following Monday and you're carrying 1.5mg. That means it accumulates fast.

Right now I take 2.5mg weekly and have been dropping roughly 1.5ib each week, which makes me happy. So I don't plan to climb much beyond that.

Has your appetite felt smaller? Are you eating better?

Stick with it — you're doing great, and bumping the dose up a little for a few weeks will show you what's possible. What some people lose sight of is that the goal isn't reaching the biggest dose available, it's reaching the smallest dose that WORKS BEST.

 

[lessthanhalf]

Zelmar702 said:

Just so you know — over on YT there's a physician who also uses GLP meds, Dr. Kevin Joseph, and he put out a video covering exactly this topic not long ago. The main takeaways are:

• Turning On the Glucagon Receptor: Retatrutide works as a triple agonist, hitting GIP, GLP-1, and glucagon [00:53]. Below 4 mg, only GIP and GLP-1 get activated, so it basically behaves like a pricey Tirzepatide [01:42]. The glucagon receptor, which drives greater fat burning and liver clearing, needs a higher concentration before it switches on, and clinical markers indicate it kicks in exactly at the 4 mg threshold [01:31, 03:35].
  
• Evidence That It's Active: According to Dr. Joseph, the mild effects that show up at 4 mg — a particular tingling of the skin (dysesthesia), a small rise in heart rate, and a 57% reduction in liver fat — act as clinical confirmation that the glucagon receptor is now engaged [02:15, 03:23].
  
• Remarkably Well Tolerated: Side effects at 4 mg of Retatrutide are extremely uncommon. In the trials, only 4.1% of participants dropped out because of side effects at 4 mg (practically the same as the 4.9% seen in the placebo arm), while the 12 mg dose had an 18% dropout rate [04:12, 04:29].

His overall message is that pushing the dose as high as possible isn't always necessary; at 4 mg a patient gets the distinct advantages of all three receptor targets safely, and tolerability stays on par with placebo [04:42, 05:40].

Apologies for drifting a bit off the main subject, but this particular guy comes up fairly often, and it looked like the OP was replying to something he'd said. In my view, what he claims isn't grounded in the science we actually have.

The notion that a drug only "turns on" once you hit some specific dose, say 4mg, is complete nonsense — that isn't how pharmacology works in general, and it isn't how incretin receptors and their agonists behave either. Holding a medical degree counts for nothing when someone gets the fundamentals of pharmacology wrong and doesn't bother reading the studies. As with every other GLP drug, reta's effects grow as the dose goes up, until a point where further increases stop adding useful benefit while possibly worsening side effects — and that point sits somewhere past 12mg.

There's nothing wrong with people sharing their personal takes on these medications, but once you're posting youtube videos and putting a Dr in front of your name, I think you take on an obligation to make sure what you're putting out there is scientifically accurate. I realize that's not really how the whole celebrity Doctor phenomenon in the US operates, where fame seems to correlate with how much BS gets said. Still, because of that Dr in front of the name, people are much more inclined to take his word for it, so it does matter.

The claim about effects only beginning at 4mg is especially strange, since reta — unlike sema or tirz — performs remarkably well at very low doses, where 1mg across a year produces an average of 9% weight loss, roughly matching the effect of 2.5-5mg of tirz. That makes reta at fairly low doses, hopefully with low side effect rates too, potentially a strong option for people using it for being overweight without needing to shed a lot of weight (as well as for those with severe obesity at higher doses). At 4mg it's more effective — no surprise there — with about 18% weight loss, and 12mg is more effective still, reaching up to 29% weight loss over a year. He isn't wrong that low doses of reta work pretty well, but the idea that glucagon receptors do nothing at 3mg and then abruptly kick in at 4mg simply isn't how the drug behaves. The examples he gives of effects that supposedly begin at 4mg are also invented out of nowhere. Dysesthesia/allodynia from reta is certainly dose related, but most people on 12mg don't experience it, and there's no particular dose at which it will or won't show up.

To answer the OP: low dose reta ( 1-4mg ) genuinely has a decent chance of getting you where you want to be, though it will take a year or a little longer. Assuming 1mg and 9% weight loss starting from a BMI of 28.3, you'd land at a bmi slightly above 25, and at 4mg with 18% you'd reach a bmi of 23. These are averages, of course, and responses to GLP drugs vary from person to person, but it's still helpful for setting reasonable expectations. Raising doses very slowly lowers the odds of sudden severe side effects, yet it can make weight loss slow enough that you feel like the progress you want to see isn't happening. Raising doses somewhat faster tends to deliver more satisfying weight loss sooner, but at the cost of greater risk of unexpected side effects. Unless you intend to climb all the way to 12mg just to fix a not-severe overweight problem a bit faster — which sounds like overkill — you're still looking at a year to get there. And if being overweight isn't causing you medical problems, staying conservative with dosing to keep risks as low as possible is probably the sensible approach.

 

[BNLFL]

I've brought this up over and over regarding what I call the baby doses. Sure, I get that some people choose them to keep side effects minimal. But it's hard to see the logic when the Lilly trials never reference these low doses at all. At 2mg, I dropped that much in water weight during the first week alone.