INTRO Former competitive athlete, seeking knowledge!

ShadowKH

ShadowKH

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Joined
Jan 4, 2026
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Allentown, PA
Hey everyone! I used to compete as an athlete, but these days my body tells a different story. Instead of clinging to the 'just work harder' approach, I'm switching to a 'work smarter' strategy with GLP-1s. My goal is to get my health back, and I'm eager to hear from those who've already been at this for a while. If you could go back to Day 1, what's the single piece of wisdom you'd want to have known? Glad to join you all!
 
TheDarkKnight said:

Greetings. With the glp1's, I'm hoping you return to your athletic days
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Thanks! Cheers to dropping the next 40 lbs, improving my VO2 Max, and finding more happiness in my body!
 
Ondansatron can be picked up from your preferred Indian pharmacy and kept ready, since nausea is a genuine issue. Address that nausea so you don't quit the GLP.

Be ready for either constipation or the runs. Constipation hits most people, so think about beginning colase every day along with some fiber.

Make protein the priority at your first meal: protein smoothies, bars, meat, eggs.

Losing weight slowly works best. Stay on the lowest effective dose and remain consistent. If nothing changes for 3 weeks, then increase the dose, but keep to the lowest dose for at least 1 month.

My newb advice
 
ShadowKH said:

Hey everyone! I used to compete as an athlete, but these days my body tells a different story. Instead of clinging to the 'just work harder' approach, I'm switching to a 'work smarter' strategy with GLP-1s. My goal is to get my health back, and I'm eager to hear from those who've already been at this for a while. If you could go back to Day 1, what's the single piece of wisdom you'd want to have known? Glad to join you all!
Click to expand...
To begin with, welcome ShadowKH! It's great that you're here.

Right now I'm in the very same boat. Peptides have been on my research radar for roughly 6 months, and I've been actually using them for 5 weeks.

A few things I wish I'd handled differently when I started out:

1. Before touching anything, get blood work. My blood panel happened 3 weeks after beginning Tirz. Having a baseline from day 1 would have been better. Still, 3 weeks isn't terrible.

2. Figure out your full supply list ahead of time. Some choices will only become clear once you're underway, but it helps to have a rough inventory: syringes, luer lock/reg, needles, filters, vials, alcohol and spray bottles, sharps container, a container for supplies, peptide storage. Etc. Amazon saw a lot of trips over those weeks.

3. Read up on peptide filtering. In my opinion it's a simple step that adds a bit of safety. Worth doing.

4. Look into rotating injection sites. With 8 shots a week, I had to think harder about this to steer clear of any negative side effects.

Things I think went well:

1. I put a considerable amount of time into researching peptides. Learning how grey and compounding differ.

2. I focused spent a considerable amount of time browsing vendors on this site, and whenever they had telegram groups, I watched the behavior and comments there.

3. I committed to only sourcing research that came with COAs I could re-verify on Janoshik site.

4. I made a plan and am sticking with it. Not stacking peptides that catch my attention.

5. Grasping reconstitution basics.

Happy to connect anytime to talk more in depth about my early journey so far.

Wishing you the best of luck!
 
DustAndDignity said:

ShadowKH said:

Hey everyone! I used to compete as an athlete, but these days my body tells a different story. Instead of clinging to the 'just work harder' approach, I'm switching to a 'work smarter' strategy with GLP-1s. My goal is to get my health back, and I'm eager to hear from those who've already been at this for a while. If you could go back to Day 1, what's the single piece of wisdom you'd want to have known? Glad to join you all!
Click to expand...
To begin with, welcome ShadowKH! It's great that you're here.

Right now I'm in the very same boat. Peptides have been on my research radar for roughly 6 months, and I've been actually using them for 5 weeks.

A few things I wish I'd handled differently when I started out:

1. Before touching anything, get blood work. My blood panel happened 3 weeks after beginning Tirz. Having a baseline from day 1 would have been better. Still, 3 weeks isn't terrible.

2. Figure out your full supply list ahead of time. Some choices will only become clear once you're underway, but it helps to have a rough inventory: syringes, luer lock/reg, needles, filters, vials, alcohol and spray bottles, sharps container, a container for supplies, peptide storage. Etc. Amazon saw a lot of trips over those weeks.

3. Read up on peptide filtering. In my opinion it's a simple step that adds a bit of safety. Worth doing.

4. Look into rotating injection sites. With 8 shots a week, I had to think harder about this to steer clear of any negative side effects.

Things I think went well:

1. I put a considerable amount of time into researching peptides. Learning how grey and compounding differ.

2. I focused spent a considerable amount of time browsing vendors on this site, and whenever they had telegram groups, I watched the behavior and comments there.

3. I committed to only sourcing research that came with COAs I could re-verify on Janoshik site.

4. I made a plan and am sticking with it. Not stacking peptides that catch my attention.

5. Grasping reconstitution basics.

Happy to connect anytime to talk more in depth about my early journey so far.

Wishing you the best of luck!
Click to expand...
On GLPs, which blood work results did you typically anticipate would shift?
 
Welcome!

My route went Zepbound, then compounded Tirz, and finally grey Reta. Looking back, neither the journey nor the cash I burned getting to grey is something I regret.

Starting with baseline bloodwork makes sense to me, and I did get some done, though I'd handle it differently if I could redo it. What I should have done was skip straight to Labcorp and get a full workup through a normal venous draw.

The first telemed GLP doctor I saw went with a capillary draw, hoping to satisfy insurance. That was an easy way for them to pocket money; a 5 second check of the formulary makes clear Zepound isn't covered by my plan. My plan had been to use Rythm or SiPhox for bloodwork every month... but it turns out capillary results aren't especially helpful because they aren't the standard. You can compare them against the same lab's numbers, yet they won't line up with a venous draw. Bad data isn't worth the cost.

Another thing I regret is not getting a Dexa scan sooner. I called in December, but the soonest slot was 1/30. By then I'll be 20-22lb lighter than at the start. I'm still going through with it, though I'm not happy about the baseline being thrown off.

A lot seems to have been done the right way. The sole side effect has been greater sensitivity to cold, which would probably show up in any non GLP accelerated weight loss path with speed. So far, across the 6 week span since I began, I'm dropping an average of 1.1% per week.

  • Learned and learning loads across the space (not limited to just what I'm doing at the moment)
  • Purposeful hydration from the start
  • Purposeful fiber intake from the start
  • Purposeful protein intake from the start
  • Now that I'm primarily Reta, making sure I get enough carbs as well
  • Daily exercise, starting 3 weeks in
  • Macro tracking, starting 5 weeks in
  • Being willing to deviate from studies and conventional cookie cutter dosing/prescriptive titration schedules. Split dosing to lower symptoms, not moving up because the calendar says it's time (mainly on Tirz).
 
woundcarping said:

Welcome!

My route went Zepbound, then compounded Tirz, and finally grey Reta. Looking back, neither the journey nor the cash I burned getting to grey is something I regret.

Starting with baseline bloodwork makes sense to me, and I did get some done, though I'd handle it differently if I could redo it. What I should have done was skip straight to Labcorp and get a full workup through a normal venous draw.

The first telemed GLP doctor I saw went with a capillary draw, hoping to satisfy insurance. That was an easy way for them to pocket money; a 5 second check of the formulary makes clear Zepound isn't covered by my plan. My plan had been to use Rythm or SiPhox for bloodwork every month... but it turns out capillary results aren't especially helpful because they aren't the standard. You can compare them against the same lab's numbers, yet they won't line up with a venous draw. Bad data isn't worth the cost.

Another thing I regret is not getting a Dexa scan sooner. I called in December, but the soonest slot was 1/30. By then I'll be 20-22lb lighter than at the start. I'm still going through with it, though I'm not happy about the baseline being thrown off.

A lot seems to have been done the right way. The sole side effect has been greater sensitivity to cold, which would probably show up in any non GLP accelerated weight loss path with speed. So far, across the 6 week span since I began, I'm dropping an average of 1.1% per week.

  • Learned and learning loads across the space (not limited to just what I'm doing at the moment)
  • Purposeful hydration from the start
  • Purposeful fiber intake from the start
  • Purposeful protein intake from the start
  • Now that I'm primarily Reta, making sure I get enough carbs as well
  • Daily exercise, starting 3 weeks in
  • Macro tracking, starting 5 weeks in
  • Being willing to deviate from studies and conventional cookie cutter dosing/prescriptive titration schedules. Split dosing to lower symptoms, not moving up because the calendar says it's time (mainly on Tirz).
Click to expand...
Good point about getting a DEXA scan. Those numbers give you such a psychological boost.

On top of that, water, protein, and fiber really matter. Solid input @woundcarping — I left those basics out, and they're absolutely essential. 👌🏾
 
jambomb said:

DustAndDignity said:

ShadowKH said:

Hey everyone! I used to compete as an athlete, but these days my body tells a different story. Instead of clinging to the 'just work harder' approach, I'm switching to a 'work smarter' strategy with GLP-1s. My goal is to get my health back, and I'm eager to hear from those who've already been at this for a while. If you could go back to Day 1, what's the single piece of wisdom you'd want to have known? Glad to join you all!
Click to expand...
To begin with, welcome ShadowKH! It's great that you're here.

Right now I'm in the very same boat. Peptides have been on my research radar for roughly 6 months, and I've been actually using them for 5 weeks.

A few things I wish I'd handled differently when I started out:

1. Before touching anything, get blood work. My blood panel happened 3 weeks after beginning Tirz. Having a baseline from day 1 would have been better. Still, 3 weeks isn't terrible.

2. Figure out your full supply list ahead of time. Some choices will only become clear once you're underway, but it helps to have a rough inventory: syringes, luer lock/reg, needles, filters, vials, alcohol and spray bottles, sharps container, a container for supplies, peptide storage. Etc. Amazon saw a lot of trips over those weeks.

3. Read up on peptide filtering. In my opinion it's a simple step that adds a bit of safety. Worth doing.

4. Look into rotating injection sites. With 8 shots a week, I had to think harder about this to steer clear of any negative side effects.

Things I think went well:

1. I put a considerable amount of time into researching peptides. Learning how grey and compounding differ.

2. I focused spent a considerable amount of time browsing vendors on this site, and whenever they had telegram groups, I watched the behavior and comments there.

3. I committed to only sourcing research that came with COAs I could re-verify on Janoshik site.

4. I made a plan and am sticking with it. Not stacking peptides that catch my attention.

5. Grasping reconstitution basics.

Happy to connect anytime to talk more in depth about my early journey so far.

Wishing you the best of luck!
Click to expand...
On GLPs, which blood work results did you typically anticipate would shift?
Click to expand...
Appreciate the question @jambomb

My reason for getting labs drawn beforehand was to have hard data to compare against once tirzepatide and tesamorelin were underway, rather than relying only on subjective impressions.

What I plan to check:

  • A1C, as a way to follow longer-term glucose control
  • Fasting glucose, establishing a lower starting blood sugar level
  • Fasting insulin, showing better insulin sensitivity and reduced hyperinsulinemia
  • Triglycerides, because this lipid marker tends to move the most
  • LDL cholesterol, expecting modest but steady decreases
  • HDL cholesterol, hoping for a slight favorable bump
  • ALT and AST, when elevated, to see whether liver health improves and fatty liver may reverse
Because tesamorelin is also part of the plan:

  • IGF-1, giving me a baseline to verify a suitable rise later on
Hopefully that makes my reasoning clearer.
 
ShadowKH said:

Hey everyone! I used to compete as an athlete, but these days my body tells a different story. Instead of clinging to the 'just work harder' approach, I'm switching to a 'work smarter' strategy with GLP-1s. My goal is to get my health back, and I'm eager to hear from those who've already been at this for a while. If you could go back to Day 1, what's the single piece of wisdom you'd want to have known? Glad to join you all!
Click to expand...
Glad you're here! That smarter-not-harder mindset is a great one to have. If I could go back to Day 1, my advice to myself would be: don't build up a stockpile of compounded meds. Right now I've got roughly 2 years' worth sitting in my stash. Had I discovered grey sooner, I'd have paid just a fraction of that. So my plan is to use up a good chunk of it while soaking up everything I can from here and a few other sources, and only then make my first buy.
 
Welcome!! Which sport or activity did you compete in, and what do you want to get out of supplementing with peps? Improved recovery, managing weight, or help with a long-term injury?
 
ShadowKH said:

Hey everyone! I used to compete as an athlete, but these days my body tells a different story. Instead of clinging to the 'just work harder' approach, I'm switching to a 'work smarter' strategy with GLP-1s. My goal is to get my health back, and I'm eager to hear from those who've already been at this for a while. If you could go back to Day 1, what's the single piece of wisdom you'd want to have known? Glad to join you all!
Click to expand...
If I could go back to day one, I'd tell myself to actually read the "Introduce Yourself" thread properly instead of skimming it while thinking I already knew everything. Another thing: I shouldn't have rushed and increased my dosage so quickly. That mistake cost me a couple months...
 
Someone who used to compete athletically. I also want to get my V02max back up and lower my absurdly high RHR.

I'm on board with the baseline bloodwork and DEXA that were brought up earlier.

If only I'd known back then to "handle one problem at a time." I was carrying 25 extra lbs, inflammation, the heart thing, and a few injuries that hurt. I was pinning as many as 7 times per day, and my signaling was so excessive that I was actually making my situation worse. These days I've scaled back to Reta and Tesa, with the occasional Glut. added every few days. Naturally, my vanity led me to tackle the weight first, and to pick the absolute worst GLP for someone dealing with a high HR. But you live, you learn, and Reta is the best! 😆

Welcome to the club!
 
Don't go overboard combining different GLPs such as tirz/reta or reta/cag... Just begin with 1, following the clinical dosing as your reference, and stick to weekly injections rather than beginning with microdosing. Be patient and observe how the clinical approach performs for a couple months before designing your own regimen based on internet advice. Results will come. KEEP IT SIMPLE!
 
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