INTRO Hi from Belgium

[rodrom82]

Male, 44 years old, from Belgium. 1.93mtr, 138kg, 304lbs. Weight has gone up and down for the majority of my life, and by 2020 I had reached 136/138kg. When Corona hit, I began swimming as a way to shed pounds, and it actually helped — after 6 months I was down to 105kg.

Then my shoulder began to hurt (Rotary cuf inflammation). The doctor explained it came from using only 2 large muscle groups, which created an imbalance. To fix that, I took up fitness training. Instead, the pain worsened, my motivation crashed because of it, and within a few months I had to stop everything.

After a series of injections into the rotator cuff, I eventually ended up having surgery on it.

2 years later, every kilo is back. (And yes, the fault is mine — every pound I've put in my own mouth.) The shoulder still hurts, and there are other weight-related problems too.

YouTube introduced me to this experimental substance, and after going through the test trial documentation, I started thinking it might be worth trying.

Introduction aside:

I've had the bloodwork done and a full screening by the doctor (and got approved for Mounjaro).

I want to start with Reta. What's the best way to go about this?

My educated guess was to begin with 1–2mg Reta, and to quiet my food noise add 0.5mg Cagrilitide, with 3 days between each injection (Friday – Monday).

Beyond that, I have no clue how to restart training.

 

[tcpnomad]

If Mounjaro got the green light from your insurer, chances are Reta will get the same treatment once it hits the market. A few months of waiting is all it takes, right?

 

[skaylife]

tcpnomad said:

If Mounjaro got the green light from your insurer, chances are Reta will get the same treatment once it hits the market. A few months of waiting is all it takes, right?

In Belgium, Mounjaro isn't reimbursed by insurance. A doctor is able to recommend it and write a prescription. However, the patient must cover the entire cost out of pocket. For 5 mg, I paid €240/month across 7 months. Reimbursement is limited to GLP-1 agonists such as oezempic and Wegovy, and only for type 2 diabetes patients, who pay €1/month. For his weight, I'd guess it will be 10mg, which would run 398/month.

 

[BBA1969]

Jup, indeed!

Chinese Tirzepatide comes in at under 10% of that monthly cost, all accessories like syringes, swabs, etc included.

 

[HansKazan]

Cagrilitide ought to assist with the food noise. And make sure you drink plenty of water, particularly given how much body volume you have.

A starting dose of reta at 1mg / week is what's advised. Too many folks I've observed have taken shortcuts by beginning at 2mg, only to be hit with unpleasant side effects. Starting low and titrating upward is the best approach.. think of it as a marathon, not a sprint.

At the moment I divide reta into 3 doses of 2mg each week. Should you have any questions, just get in touch.

 

[skaylife]

rodrom82 said:

Male, 44 years old, from Belgium. 1.93mtr, 138kg, 304lbs. Weight has gone up and down for the majority of my life, and by 2020 I had reached 136/138kg. When Corona hit, I began swimming as a way to shed pounds, and it actually helped — after 6 months I was down to 105kg.

Then my shoulder began to hurt (Rotary cuf inflammation). The doctor explained it came from using only 2 large muscle groups, which created an imbalance. To fix that, I took up fitness training. Instead, the pain worsened, my motivation crashed because of it, and within a few months I had to stop everything.

After a series of injections into the rotator cuff, I eventually ended up having surgery on it.

2 years later, every kilo is back. (And yes, the fault is mine — every pound I've put in my own mouth.) The shoulder still hurts, and there are other weight-related problems too.

YouTube introduced me to this experimental substance, and after going through the test trial documentation, I started thinking it might be worth trying.

Introduction aside:

I've had the bloodwork done and a full screening by the doctor (and got approved for Mounjaro).

I want to start with Reta. What's the best way to go about this?

My educated guess was to begin with 1–2mg Reta, and to quiet my food noise add 0.5mg Cagrilitide, with 3 days between each injection (Friday – Monday).

Beyond that, I have no clue how to restart training.

My advice would be to begin with just tirz(2,5mg) or reta(1~2mg) at a low dose. Your body needs that first month to adjust. After that, double it. If by the close of month 2 you feel it isn't working, you can still introduce cag at 0.5mg. From what I gather, constantly forcing your body to its limits only brings unwanted downsides in the end. That weight didn't appear overnight, and it won't disappear overnight either. Stay patient and you'll discover what suits your body best. This isn't a race.

 

[BigBiceps]

Welcome!

Above all, it's always great to see someone making moves toward improved health and a better life!

Regarding Reta, like others have mentioned, you should absolutely begin at a low dose — both to gauge how well you tolerate it and to titrate upward.

I've heard of plenty of folks who just read the trials, spot the 12mg max dosage, and want to leap straight to it. But starting low and slowly titrating (increasing) up will help sustain the effect and keep things more affordable, since less is more at the beginning.

When it comes to particular injuries or inflammation, BPC is pretty effective too and worth looking into. For isolated spots of inflammation or injury, it's one of my personal favorites.

As for training, I'd begin with low impact and put the emphasis on consistency. Don't overdo it, particularly when there's an injury or surgery in the picture.

Being a gym rat myself, my ego often gets the better of me, yet some of my best gains have come from consistent, maintained weight that ensures proper rest and recovery.

What equipment can you use at your gym or home gym?

 

[rodrom82]

So yes — Mounjaro 2mg was prescribed to me, costing €180... Since I'm not diabetic, there's no insurance coverage for it.

Should a reliable, clean Reta source turn up, that could be my starting point. If not, Mounjaro it is — and as Skylife pointed out, that route means a serious financial burden, particularly once several months pass.

Beyond the benefits Reta might bring, cost will play a big role in the decision too.

• Getting my liver back to a healthy, reset state
  
• The "up" you get from Reta vs Tirz (and I'm young enough for the elevated heart rate)

I'd only increase the mg after 1–2 weeks of plateauing. My aim is to take just enough to get results, and I don't mind if it takes several years. Quality (and the fewest side effects) matters more to me than speed.

As for training, swimming again would be my dream. I used to cover 2.7km in one hour, and swimmer's high is genuinely real. Swimming burns calories through multiple factors — the exercise itself, thermals, and afterburn.

In Belgium, though, pools are becoming overcrowded, which pushes me out of my mental state as I'm passing so many people.

My peptide experience is limited to Semax alongside some GHK-Cu to support it (600mcg + 20mcg). I took these because of mental degradation, loss for words, typing mistakes, and mental haze.

Equipment:At home: some weights (2–5kg), resistance bands, skipping rope.

edit: spelling and grammer

 

[HouseCat]

About retraining: seeing a physiotherapist is likely a smart starting point if you haven't done so yet. They're able to assist with pain management even years after surgery, and they can provide exercise and form guidance grounded in evidence. Wishing you the best! (Also, Belgian cuisine is fantastic! Pain, limited mobility, and great food… regaining makes total sense)

 

[Buszman83]

rodrom82 said:

Male, 44 years old, from Belgium. 1.93mtr, 138kg, 304lbs. Weight has gone up and down for the majority of my life, and by 2020 I had reached 136/138kg. When Corona hit, I began swimming as a way to shed pounds, and it actually helped — after 6 months I was down to 105kg.

Then my shoulder began to hurt (Rotary cuf inflammation). The doctor explained it came from using only 2 large muscle groups, which created an imbalance. To fix that, I took up fitness training. Instead, the pain worsened, my motivation crashed because of it, and within a few months I had to stop everything.

After a series of injections into the rotator cuff, I eventually ended up having surgery on it.

2 years later, every kilo is back. (And yes, the fault is mine — every pound I've put in my own mouth.) The shoulder still hurts, and there are other weight-related problems too.

YouTube introduced me to this experimental substance, and after going through the test trial documentation, I started thinking it might be worth trying.

Introduction aside:

I've had the bloodwork done and a full screening by the doctor (and got approved for Mounjaro).

I want to start with Reta. What's the best way to go about this?

My educated guess was to begin with 1–2mg Reta, and to quiet my food noise add 0.5mg Cagrilitide, with 3 days between each injection (Friday – Monday).

Beyond that, I have no clue how to restart training.

My background sounds a lot like yours — weight going up and down for as long as I can remember. My aim is to reach a healthier range and then make lasting changes to how I live. I began at 1mg and have moved up to 1.5mg. After 1 week I can notice a difference and I feel improved. I plan to write down daily notes on how I feel, any side effects and so on, so that other people have something to compare against.

 

[rodrom82]

The deeper I dig into this forum, the less certain I become about which path suits me — particularly once I start reading and watching material on GLP. And yes, I did say my original plan was Reta, since it would bring my liver values back to normal and offer a fresh start.

I recognize that my relationship with food is not a healthy one, and that is the reason I sit at BMI 38. Plenty of diets have come and gone, with my weight bouncing up and down for essentially my entire life. Eventually the food noise takes over, even after I had managed to keep my weight under control for years at a time.

I don't want to die (that's the feeling, not a factual statement... not yet), and it seems like GLP/medication is what I can actually do about it (and it comes across/feels like a last-ditch effort) before I end up having to go the surgery route.

While researching this (this last-ditch effort called weight loss peptides), I do feel wary about the gymbro culture surrounding these products, since it's mostly healthy individuals promoting them as though they were the holy grail.

I get that they understand stacking, diet, and protein intake well. But their focus seems to be exclusively on gymbros, not on the ordinary working person, people dealing with complicated lives and family situations, and the financial constraints of barely managing to hold onto what they already have.

What I'd prefer is to read and learn from the accounts of people facing the same predicament as me, and to figure out alongside them how to break out of this obesity cycle. (And a bit of encouragement from others, giving me motivation and the energy to keep pushing forward.)

Apologies if this comes across as a rant. I'm not claiming my rant is 100% justified, and I don't have all the research memorized (yet). These views are mine, but I'm open to learning and adapting.

Edit: spelling and grammar

 

[rodrom82]

Buszman83 said:

rodrom82 said:

Male, 44 years old, from Belgium. 1.93mtr, 138kg, 304lbs. Weight has gone up and down for the majority of my life, and by 2020 I had reached 136/138kg. When Corona hit, I began swimming as a way to shed pounds, and it actually helped — after 6 months I was down to 105kg.

Then my shoulder began to hurt (Rotary cuf inflammation). The doctor explained it came from using only 2 large muscle groups, which created an imbalance. To fix that, I took up fitness training. Instead, the pain worsened, my motivation crashed because of it, and within a few months I had to stop everything.

After a series of injections into the rotator cuff, I eventually ended up having surgery on it.

2 years later, every kilo is back. (And yes, the fault is mine — every pound I've put in my own mouth.) The shoulder still hurts, and there are other weight-related problems too.

YouTube introduced me to this experimental substance, and after going through the test trial documentation, I started thinking it might be worth trying.

Introduction aside:

I've had the bloodwork done and a full screening by the doctor (and got approved for Mounjaro).

I want to start with Reta. What's the best way to go about this?

My educated guess was to begin with 1–2mg Reta, and to quiet my food noise add 0.5mg Cagrilitide, with 3 days between each injection (Friday – Monday).

Beyond that, I have no clue how to restart training.

My background sounds a lot like yours — weight going up and down for as long as I can remember. My aim is to reach a healthier range and then make lasting changes to how I live. I began at 1mg and have moved up to 1.5mg. After 1 week I can notice a difference and I feel improved. I plan to write down daily notes on how I feel, any side effects and so on, so that other people have something to compare against.

Appreciate you setting this up.

I'm keen to follow how your journey and experience keeps developing. And pick things up along the way.

Where are you at right now in terms of progress. And what are you ultimately aiming for? How are you handling the quieter food noise and what changes did you make when it came to eating?

 

[Pubgrundy]

I began on 1mg, then increased by 0.5mg during week 3. I'm already getting results that, with mounjaro, only appeared once I reached 10mg.

 

[rodrom82]

HouseCat said:

About retraining: seeing a physiotherapist is likely a smart starting point if you haven't done so yet. They're able to assist with pain management even years after surgery, and they can provide exercise and form guidance grounded in evidence. Wishing you the best! (Also, Belgian cuisine is fantastic! Pain, limited mobility, and great food… regaining makes total sense)

Belgian cuisine leans heavily toward hearty comfort dishes. Plus there's our habit of drowning everything in sau...

You could put it this way: sauce accompanies the meal, the same way wine does elsewhere...

A Belgian classic: steak archiduc (a creamy mushroom sauce laced with cognac) served with Belgian fries. And you can't leave out Belgian creamy mayo...

It's beyond my control, but true. Eating and drinking run deep in our culture. (Desserts too.)

Food and drink are also woven into almost every social gathering.

Trying to stick to a diet... No easy task

 

[rodrom82]

tcpnomad said:

If Mounjaro got the green light from your insurer, chances are Reta will get the same treatment once it hits the market. A few months of waiting is all it takes, right?

Europe is the topic here.. the most heavily regulated area globally...

Once the U.S. gives the green light, getting through our own rules will take a minimum of 1-2 years. And there's a genuine possibility it won't make it through that process. Which would mean fresh local trials, tacking on even more years.

Alright, perhaps I'm being a bit of a downer. Still, my approach is to brace for the worst scenario. keep hope for the best. and take whatever falls in the middle with a smile...

 

[Casca]

rodrom82 said:

HouseCat said:

About retraining: seeing a physiotherapist is likely a smart starting point if you haven't done so yet. They're able to assist with pain management even years after surgery, and they can provide exercise and form guidance grounded in evidence. Wishing you the best! (Also, Belgian cuisine is fantastic! Pain, limited mobility, and great food… regaining makes total sense)

Belgian cuisine leans heavily toward hearty comfort dishes. Plus there's our habit of drowning everything in sau...

You could put it this way: sauce accompanies the meal, the same way wine does elsewhere...

A Belgian classic: steak archiduc (a creamy mushroom sauce laced with cognac) served with Belgian fries. And you can't leave out Belgian creamy mayo...

It's beyond my control, but true. Eating and drinking run deep in our culture. (Desserts too.)

Food and drink are also woven into almost every social gathering.

Trying to stick to a diet... No easy task

Good to know I'm not alone in my love for the sauce addiction haha. With a scoop or a piece of steak, there's nearly more sauce than the food itself.

Still, I figure loading up on sauce (the creamy pepper one is my pick) beats taking in way too much sugar.

 

[Buszman83]

rodrom82 said:

Buszman83 said:

rodrom82 said:

Male, 44 years old, from Belgium. 1.93mtr, 138kg, 304lbs. Weight has gone up and down for the majority of my life, and by 2020 I had reached 136/138kg. When Corona hit, I began swimming as a way to shed pounds, and it actually helped — after 6 months I was down to 105kg.

Then my shoulder began to hurt (Rotary cuf inflammation). The doctor explained it came from using only 2 large muscle groups, which created an imbalance. To fix that, I took up fitness training. Instead, the pain worsened, my motivation crashed because of it, and within a few months I had to stop everything.

After a series of injections into the rotator cuff, I eventually ended up having surgery on it.

2 years later, every kilo is back. (And yes, the fault is mine — every pound I've put in my own mouth.) The shoulder still hurts, and there are other weight-related problems too.

YouTube introduced me to this experimental substance, and after going through the test trial documentation, I started thinking it might be worth trying.

Introduction aside:

I've had the bloodwork done and a full screening by the doctor (and got approved for Mounjaro).

I want to start with Reta. What's the best way to go about this?

My educated guess was to begin with 1–2mg Reta, and to quiet my food noise add 0.5mg Cagrilitide, with 3 days between each injection (Friday – Monday).

Beyond that, I have no clue how to restart training.

My background sounds a lot like yours — weight going up and down for as long as I can remember. My aim is to reach a healthier range and then make lasting changes to how I live. I began at 1mg and have moved up to 1.5mg. After 1 week I can notice a difference and I feel improved. I plan to write down daily notes on how I feel, any side effects and so on, so that other people have something to compare against.

Appreciate you setting this up.

I'm keen to follow how your journey and experience keeps developing. And pick things up along the way.

Where are you at right now in terms of progress. And what are you ultimately aiming for? How are you handling the quieter food noise and what changes did you make when it came to eating?

Things are going well right now. The food noise has mostly quieted down, which is a positive. My goal is to reach a healthier weight range, then keep it there through changes to my lifestyle. Overeating has always been a problem for me, but at the moment it's under control — I don't have the urge to eat past what I need, and after 1 week I feel lighter and much better. For the 1st shot I took 1mg, then for the 2nd I increased to 1.5mg, and I'll remain at that dose for the time being.

 

[rodrom82]

Buszman83 said:

rodrom82 said:

Buszman83 said:

rodrom82 said:

Male, 44 years old, from Belgium. 1.93mtr, 138kg, 304lbs. Weight has gone up and down for the majority of my life, and by 2020 I had reached 136/138kg. When Corona hit, I began swimming as a way to shed pounds, and it actually helped — after 6 months I was down to 105kg.

Then my shoulder began to hurt (Rotary cuf inflammation). The doctor explained it came from using only 2 large muscle groups, which created an imbalance. To fix that, I took up fitness training. Instead, the pain worsened, my motivation crashed because of it, and within a few months I had to stop everything.

After a series of injections into the rotator cuff, I eventually ended up having surgery on it.

2 years later, every kilo is back. (And yes, the fault is mine — every pound I've put in my own mouth.) The shoulder still hurts, and there are other weight-related problems too.

YouTube introduced me to this experimental substance, and after going through the test trial documentation, I started thinking it might be worth trying.

Introduction aside:

I've had the bloodwork done and a full screening by the doctor (and got approved for Mounjaro).

I want to start with Reta. What's the best way to go about this?

My educated guess was to begin with 1–2mg Reta, and to quiet my food noise add 0.5mg Cagrilitide, with 3 days between each injection (Friday – Monday).

Beyond that, I have no clue how to restart training.

My background sounds a lot like yours — weight going up and down for as long as I can remember. My aim is to reach a healthier range and then make lasting changes to how I live. I began at 1mg and have moved up to 1.5mg. After 1 week I can notice a difference and I feel improved. I plan to write down daily notes on how I feel, any side effects and so on, so that other people have something to compare against.

Appreciate you setting this up.

I'm keen to follow how your journey and experience keeps developing. And pick things up along the way.

Where are you at right now in terms of progress. And what are you ultimately aiming for? How are you handling the quieter food noise and what changes did you make when it came to eating?

Things are going well right now. The food noise has mostly quieted down, which is a positive. My goal is to reach a healthier weight range, then keep it there through changes to my lifestyle. Overeating has always been a problem for me, but at the moment it's under control — I don't have the urge to eat past what I need, and after 1 week I feel lighter and much better. For the 1st shot I took 1mg, then for the 2nd I increased to 1.5mg, and I'll remain at that dose for the time being.

The same problem affects me too

I tend to overeat frequently, even with good-quality food. It's like I'm eating to prepare for tough times ahead...

 

[BBA1969]

rodrom82 said:

So yes — Mounjaro 2mg was prescribed to me, costing €180... Since I'm not diabetic, there's no insurance coverage for it.

Should a reliable, clean Reta source turn up, that could be my starting point. If not, Mounjaro it is — and as Skylife pointed out, that route means a serious financial burden, particularly once several months pass.

Beyond the benefits Reta might bring, cost will play a big role in the decision too.

• Getting my liver back to a healthy, reset state
  
• The "up" you get from Reta vs Tirz (and I'm young enough for the elevated heart rate)

I'd only increase the mg after 1–2 weeks of plateauing. My aim is to take just enough to get results, and I don't mind if it takes several years. Quality (and the fewest side effects) matters more to me than speed.

As for training, swimming again would be my dream. I used to cover 2.7km in one hour, and swimmer's high is genuinely real. Swimming burns calories through multiple factors — the exercise itself, thermals, and afterburn.

In Belgium, though, pools are becoming overcrowded, which pushes me out of my mental state as I'm passing so many people.

My peptide experience is limited to Semax alongside some GHK-Cu to support it (600mcg + 20mcg). I took these because of mental degradation, loss for words, typing mistakes, and mental haze.

Equipment:At home: some weights (2–5kg), resistance bands, skipping rope.

edit: spelling and grammer

Assuming you're using a 2.5mg Mounjaro pen, that suggests you're in month 1. Once your bloodwork comes back fine, the next step is usually 5mg. That's when the pounds began coming off quickly for me: 2.5kg in the first month, then 3-3.5kg per month without much trouble.

A few pointers:

I figure you already know about the golden dose in the Mounjaro pen: make use of it over time it saves you a decent amount of money.

A Mounjaro pen can easily stay in the fridge for 2 months. After 1 month on a 5mg pen, I got my doctor to write a prescription for 10mg. Counting the golden dose, that comes to 50mg total, so 10 weeks at 5mg. Try to avoid 7.5 and 12.5 since they cost the same as 10 and 15. You'll need to look up how many clicks to use, or do what I did: work out the math and treat the pen like a vial.

That buys you time to research and prepare for your first grey order without draining your bank account in the process.

By the way: my weight loss on Mounjaro (Tirzepatide) went really well, I just added Retatrutide out of curiosity and a sense of adventure.

 

[ZetsuM]

Hey, another Belgian here

The whole yo-yo thing is something I get completely.

32M, I put on 20kg while the pandemic was going on (65 to 85 kg over just a few years), and it was partly down to quitting cigarettes and replacing them with food...

Once the pandemic was over I managed to drop some of it down to 78 kg, but it feels like merely glancing at food makes me put weight back on.

Right now I'm 95 kg at 174 cm... I'd love to get back into running, but my knee and back hurt so much that it's just not possible, so last Sunday I took my 1st dose of reta at 0.5 mg. I'm eager to find out where all of us land

Grts