Prepperpepper
Explorer
Finally posting something here, good to be able to contribute!
I want to lay out where I'm at in case it's useful for someone else who's starting from a similar weight, or who deals with headaches, migraines, gastritis, or stomach trouble from NSAID use.
SW:160kg - Male 39 - 183cm tall
My job is in sales: 1/2 the day is spent behind the wheel, and the other 1/2 is hauling 4-8 pallets of heavy boxes onto shop floors. Most weekends I'm prospecting across steep, hilly ground, covering 6-10km while carrying 10kg of gear. I'm not fit or athletic by any stretch, but for my size I'd call myself fairly active and capable, and being 160kgs hasn't forced me to stop anything I do during the week! That said, I'm not getting any younger, and I realize this pace can't last forever.
On 4th July I took the plunge and started grey Reta. Once I found this site I did a lot of research: the trial papers read through several times, most of the Reta threads on the forum, plus countless videos across different platforms that left me more confused than informed.
My starting dose was what I saw as a low one, 1mg per week, because for the past five years I've had severe gastritis brought on by heavy anti-inflammatory use earlier in life while trying to manage headaches and migraines. Even aspirin is off the table for me, since it triggers 3-4 days of crippling heartburn from an eroded stomach lining.
Nothing happened for the first 4 days: no sides, no appetite change. I'd been thinking about splitting the dose as part of my routine so the peaks and troughs stayed closer together rather than taking one weekend shot, so on day 4 I added another 1mg. Day 5 brought the first noticeable shift: I felt full. Day 6 and day 7 were the same, though by that evening my stomach was clearly asking for more than the day before. I repeated that 3-4 day pattern the next week, and after that I was comfortable settling into a split weekly dose.
As of today, 7 weeks in, I've worked up to a weekly total of 6mg (3mg saturday and 3mg Wednesday). The scale currently reads 149.3kg, with a very steady average loss of 1.5kg a week. No adverse effects beyond the manageable ones: anhedonia, raised heart rate, feeling cold, and sleeping less. None of those bother me enough to call them intolerable. My sleep habits were poor to begin with, it's winter here so cold is expected, and honestly I find the anhedonia quite pleasant.
Beyond the weight coming off, I haven't had a single gastritis episode, and zero stomach problems overall. Headaches appear to come less often and hit with less force. Every time I've raised the weekly dose, the choice came from how my body was responding rather than from chasing a target or sticking rigidly to a schedule. My aim is a smaller weekly deficit, not dropping 70kg as fast as possible.
Apologies for the long write-up, and I genuinely hope it helps someone beginning Reta from a similar place.
I want to lay out where I'm at in case it's useful for someone else who's starting from a similar weight, or who deals with headaches, migraines, gastritis, or stomach trouble from NSAID use.
SW:160kg - Male 39 - 183cm tall
My job is in sales: 1/2 the day is spent behind the wheel, and the other 1/2 is hauling 4-8 pallets of heavy boxes onto shop floors. Most weekends I'm prospecting across steep, hilly ground, covering 6-10km while carrying 10kg of gear. I'm not fit or athletic by any stretch, but for my size I'd call myself fairly active and capable, and being 160kgs hasn't forced me to stop anything I do during the week! That said, I'm not getting any younger, and I realize this pace can't last forever.
On 4th July I took the plunge and started grey Reta. Once I found this site I did a lot of research: the trial papers read through several times, most of the Reta threads on the forum, plus countless videos across different platforms that left me more confused than informed.
My starting dose was what I saw as a low one, 1mg per week, because for the past five years I've had severe gastritis brought on by heavy anti-inflammatory use earlier in life while trying to manage headaches and migraines. Even aspirin is off the table for me, since it triggers 3-4 days of crippling heartburn from an eroded stomach lining.
Nothing happened for the first 4 days: no sides, no appetite change. I'd been thinking about splitting the dose as part of my routine so the peaks and troughs stayed closer together rather than taking one weekend shot, so on day 4 I added another 1mg. Day 5 brought the first noticeable shift: I felt full. Day 6 and day 7 were the same, though by that evening my stomach was clearly asking for more than the day before. I repeated that 3-4 day pattern the next week, and after that I was comfortable settling into a split weekly dose.
As of today, 7 weeks in, I've worked up to a weekly total of 6mg (3mg saturday and 3mg Wednesday). The scale currently reads 149.3kg, with a very steady average loss of 1.5kg a week. No adverse effects beyond the manageable ones: anhedonia, raised heart rate, feeling cold, and sleeping less. None of those bother me enough to call them intolerable. My sleep habits were poor to begin with, it's winter here so cold is expected, and honestly I find the anhedonia quite pleasant.
Beyond the weight coming off, I haven't had a single gastritis episode, and zero stomach problems overall. Headaches appear to come less often and hit with less force. Every time I've raised the weekly dose, the choice came from how my body was responding rather than from chasing a target or sticking rigidly to a schedule. My aim is a smaller weekly deficit, not dropping 70kg as fast as possible.
Apologies for the long write-up, and I genuinely hope it helps someone beginning Reta from a similar place.
