INTRO Long time lifter, first time researcher

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flyjox

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Hello!

Based in Ontario, Canada, and I've spent the last six months teaching myself about all of this. Four weeks into a reta journey now, and I want to explore and support others in the same space.

I'm in my 30s. Lifting since 16, but kids and COVID drained the motivation, energy and focus. Tired of handing those things over as an excuse, so I am doing yearly blood work with my doctor and I don't like how low my T levels sit. Year three of that, and the Dr now suggested a GLP to help reverse the swirl and see what can be done to get back to how things were. The hoops though — seeing a doctor, reviewing benefits, forms, etc, only to end up paying a ton for the meds — that has felt like a real disservice to people who educate themselves in this space and understand these are a temporary aid rather than a magic pill.

It started once I noticed my macro tracking, weighing and food prepping no longer worked the way they did pre covid and kids. A great nudge in the right direction, and the results so far have been great: moderate, consistent weight loss.

Personally I think the Canadian distributors taking the risk are doing great work, but the price is immense (still cheaper than the more formal routes) and I want to explore what can help me on this journey safely and more sustainably.

I'm a data nerd by nature and work in the medical space, so most of what needs knowing here is already familiar, access aside — I'm not good enough to make it myself.
 
happydappy said:

Welcome! So far, during these last 4 weeks on reta, what has your experience been like?
Click to expand...
I started out on a really small dose, since I'd read that doing so makes the GI side effects easier to handle. Week 1 was 0.5 mg and I noticed no change at all. Next I moved up to 1.0 and still had no reaction. I've now spent 2 weeks at 2.0: food noise hasn't gone away, though my hunger and cravings have fallen quite a bit. Over these past two weeks I've dropped roughly 2 lbs per week, and I'll have to wait and see how that looks once more time has passed.
 
Wow, I consider myself really lucky that my starting dose was 1 mg and the food noise dropped off right away. I'm 8 weeks in now, at 2 mg, and hunger or food noise only creeps in during the mornings, particularly following a workout.

Separately, it's annoying how sluggish the diet-and-exercise response gets with age, isn't it. Lately I've been putting a lot of effort into making recovery more efficient, and that's paid off nicely.
 
It's been quite a ride, and one thing that keeps bouncing around my head is whether the dose in the vial is actually accurate.

Prior to reta, I rarely experienced strong hunger (or fullness), yet the food noise was constantly overwhelming.

These days, when a dose doesn't seem like enough, I still don't get hungry, but the feeling of being full fades and the food noise gets louder.

That said, I completely agree—something flipped for me sometime in my early 30s, and from a fitness and diet standpoint everything just felt flat. I could slash my calories way down and still not shed any weight.
 
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