First Cycle, Goal Weight Reached — What Now? A Newbie Looking for Guidance

Nerker

Nerker

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Hello. Male, 52 years old, 5'9".

My starting point was 208.6 lbs; I'm now at 182.8 lbs, so 26.4 lbs dropped overall.

Muscle mass began at 121.5 lbs and sits at 109.8 lbs now — a drop of 11.7 lbs. That works out to 44.32% of the total loss coming from muscle.

The smart scale reports my muscle rate as 60.1%.

Strength hasn't left me. Weekends have been for skiing, yoga has been constant throughout, and I haven't noticed feeling "weaker." For me, those constants are the only yardstick for strength.

Target weight: 175 lbs (possibly lower — at 175 lbs I suspect there will still be fat to lose).

Since Jan 10, 2026, I've been dosing 2mg once weekly.

Week 11 on the Reta just wrapped up.

Appetite is still present. Meals go down fine. Snacks and ice cream hold no appeal.

Whole macros, protein shakes and powders, plus micros supplements make up my intake.

Low carb//high protein eating, hydration, and the quiet mind all suit me. Mild resistance work has been steady (yoga, walking, some PT-prescribed resistance), though only last week did I start lifting 3x weekly. I'm enjoying it. Across the entire run I've stayed in a 300-600 deficit.

Here's my dilemma: more fat loss without sacrificing muscle. The conventional line is that a deficit blocks gains. Yet when I research it, newbies (which I am) supposedly can gain while in deficit. The science isn't firm, and I accept I might be wrong.

Long-term, I want strength, retained muscle, and fitness for my later years. I'm committed to this path.

So what path or paths exist? As a newbie I'm open to anything, but I lack a plan or foundation to lean on.

Should I halt Reta once I hit goal weight, then build muscle, then cut fat with Reta while resistance training protects the muscle?

Getting my Test checked and adding TRT is something I want. For the 50 and up club, Reta plus TRT looks really promising.

Should Tesamorelin go in for the belly VAT?

Stacking repair peptides (Wolverine) appeals to me.

I know this community doesn't spoon feed one another, and I'm all over Meso and elsewhere piecing information together as I learn.

Hoping those with more experience can give me some basic direction.
 
Building muscle fiber while eating at a deficit is difficult.

I’m 6’1-2”, and according to Dexa numbers last week I was 238.7lb with 153lb of lean mass.

Back on 1/30/26 I weighed 257.5lb and also had 153lb of lean mass, which served as my baseline about 50 days late.

HMB-FA, TRT (120mg/week across that stretch), and Reta are what I’m using.

I make an effort to hit my protein, fit in some cardio, and do a bit of weight lifting, though compared with Jan/Feb I was pretty inconsistent with it in March.

My plan once I reach goal weight is to eat at maintenance calories, maybe even a surplus, and put the focus on gaining more muscle.
 
At 55, standing 5'7", I find myself in a pretty similar spot. Last year I began at 245, and for the last 2 weeks or so I've been hovering near 194. Each week I take 6 mg of Tirz stacked with 1 mg of Reta, though progress on the scale has clearly stalled as of late.

The concern about muscle loss versus fat loss makes total sense to me. Despite resistance training and adequate protein, figuring out what is really going on internally is tough. My approach is simply to keep showing up for resistance work, let the medication manage appetite, and work out what the long-term strategy should be.

Sorting through the "what comes next" stage is something you're facing alongside others. Count me in that group — strength remains the thing I want to protect, even while fat loss is still catching up.
 
Nerker said:

Hello. Male, 52 years old, 5'9".

My starting point was 208.6 lbs; I'm now at 182.8 lbs, so 26.4 lbs dropped overall.

Muscle mass began at 121.5 lbs and sits at 109.8 lbs now — a drop of 11.7 lbs. That works out to 44.32% of the total loss coming from muscle.

The smart scale reports my muscle rate as 60.1%.

Strength hasn't left me. Weekends have been for skiing, yoga has been constant throughout, and I haven't noticed feeling "weaker." For me, those constants are the only yardstick for strength.

Target weight: 175 lbs (possibly lower — at 175 lbs I suspect there will still be fat to lose).

Since Jan 10, 2026, I've been dosing 2mg once weekly.

Week 11 on the Reta just wrapped up.

Appetite is still present. Meals go down fine. Snacks and ice cream hold no appeal.

Whole macros, protein shakes and powders, plus micros supplements make up my intake.

Low carb//high protein eating, hydration, and the quiet mind all suit me. Mild resistance work has been steady (yoga, walking, some PT-prescribed resistance), though only last week did I start lifting 3x weekly. I'm enjoying it. Across the entire run I've stayed in a 300-600 deficit.

Here's my dilemma: more fat loss without sacrificing muscle. The conventional line is that a deficit blocks gains. Yet when I research it, newbies (which I am) supposedly can gain while in deficit. The science isn't firm, and I accept I might be wrong.

Long-term, I want strength, retained muscle, and fitness for my later years. I'm committed to this path.

So what path or paths exist? As a newbie I'm open to anything, but I lack a plan or foundation to lean on.

Should I halt Reta once I hit goal weight, then build muscle, then cut fat with Reta while resistance training protects the muscle?

Getting my Test checked and adding TRT is something I want. For the 50 and up club, Reta plus TRT looks really promising.

Should Tesamorelin go in for the belly VAT?

Stacking repair peptides (Wolverine) appeals to me.

I know this community doesn't spoon feed one another, and I'm all over Meso and elsewhere piecing information together as I learn.

Hoping those with more experience can give me some basic direction.
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Good morning, and well done on the progress you've made so far! I'm certainly watching for any feedback people might offer. My circumstances are quite close to yours, only a few years apart. The big thing weighing on me is that my first hip replacement is scheduled within the next few months, with the second to follow eventually, so I'm deliberately aiming well below my goal weight. My thinking is that during the stretch when I have to be much less mobile and active, I can even back out and still hold my original target. I'm getting ready to put in a long term reta order, and I plan to add Tesamorelin and MOTS-C into the stack during the period before surgery, with visceral fat as the specific focus.

One piece of feedback I can offer, once you've had your test measured: rather than going straight TRT, I chose the enclo route because I was low myself, and I've been very happy with it. 12.5mg every 2/3 days, 0 sides, and an AI once a week. I hope it's useful, though again it's just what works for me.
 
Appreciate everyone's input. My worry is that chasing 170-175 lbs will cost me too much muscle, and once it's gone I won't be able to put it back on — as if, at my age, beginner gains are off the table.

My guess is that bumping up to maintenance calories would let me add muscle.
 
Trt and hgh along with Reta will get you what you are looking for. Im 52, test levels around 1000 (without looking things up and going into free testosterone levels), I use 1.5 to 2iu of hgh nightly before bed. I’m 5’8” on a good day and just shy of that most days. For comparison according to my scale Lean body mass is 147, muscle mass is 137 and I weigh 185. I want to get to 175. I do yoga 3 days a week, and in the gym with weights 3 days a week also but only like 15 or 20 minutes. I’ll do 1 warm up set and 1 work set on several exercises and then I’m done. A vertical and horizontal push/pull/legs with a few accessories without the warmups then smith machine squats and rdl another day. I don’t want more muscle, I just want to hold the line as I age as best I can. You may not add muscle in a deficit with the test and hgh who knows? But it should keep you from losing much more.
 
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