INTRO: Peptide newcomer

[Diagona]

A bit of background.... I'm completely new to peps, I'd come across the word before but never gave it much thought. A buddy of mine got a lymes diagnosis a few years back, and at some stage his doctor gave him terz for inflammation, he went deep down the research rabbit hole and eventually came across reta, dropped some weight (he wasn't obese, maybe just a touch of dad bod), felt a lot better and began filling me in on it.

Per bmi, I sit at the lower end of the obesity scale, 5'9" and as of 2 weeks ago I weighed 206lbs. I chose to try reta, began 8/7, 0.5mg on Mondays and 0.5mg on Fridays, training ~3hrs per week, a mix of weight training and cardio (mainly weight training). The lowest number I've seen this past week was 194 on 8/14, no idea how much of that is genuine fat loss rather than just fluctuation, but I've bounced around the 200-220 range for most of my adult life, even back when I was in the army doing physical training 5x a week. Never been "fit", always carried a bit of a beer belly. I don't really drink, but junk food has always been my weakness. Right now I'm trying to work out a diet that fits me, I travel for work and usually spend 4-6hrs a day driving, plus 6-10hrs a day working in facilies that don't always have break rooms/microwave/refrigerators. I've started having huel for breakfast as a quick/easy protein/fiber boost in the morning, snacking on pumpkin seeds, cashews, chomps (beef sticks), and now and then I'll bring some cottage cheese. I aim to have some kind of solid protein (meat) as the main meal for lunch and dinner.

So far I feel the reta has definitely helped me eat better, I've had a couple days where I just couldn't shake my hunger, but I've also had days where I was so busy I forgot to eat (and then tried to stuff myself before bed just to get protein intake).

Anyone got any suggestions for me, whether it's diet, excersize, or anything, to help me stay successful in my goal to lose weight, but also not lose all my muscle?

 

[96sandlapper]

Diagona said:

A bit of background.... I'm completely new to peps, I'd come across the word before but never gave it much thought. A buddy of mine got a lymes diagnosis a few years back, and at some stage his doctor gave him terz for inflammation, he went deep down the research rabbit hole and eventually came across reta, dropped some weight (he wasn't obese, maybe just a touch of dad bod), felt a lot better and began filling me in on it.

Per bmi, I sit at the lower end of the obesity scale, 5'9" and as of 2 weeks ago I weighed 206lbs. I chose to try reta, began 8/7, 0.5mg on Mondays and 0.5mg on Fridays, training ~3hrs per week, a mix of weight training and cardio (mainly weight training). The lowest number I've seen this past week was 194 on 8/14, no idea how much of that is genuine fat loss rather than just fluctuation, but I've bounced around the 200-220 range for most of my adult life, even back when I was in the army doing physical training 5x a week. Never been "fit", always carried a bit of a beer belly. I don't really drink, but junk food has always been my weakness. Right now I'm trying to work out a diet that fits me, I travel for work and usually spend 4-6hrs a day driving, plus 6-10hrs a day working in facilies that don't always have break rooms/microwave/refrigerators. I've started having huel for breakfast as a quick/easy protein/fiber boost in the morning, snacking on pumpkin seeds, cashews, chomps (beef sticks), and now and then I'll bring some cottage cheese. I aim to have some kind of solid protein (meat) as the main meal for lunch and dinner.

So far I feel the reta has definitely helped me eat better, I've had a couple days where I just couldn't shake my hunger, but I've also had days where I was so busy I forgot to eat (and then tried to stuff myself before bed just to get protein intake).

Anyone got any suggestions for me, whether it's diet, excersize, or anything, to help me stay successful in my goal to lose weight, but also not lose all my muscle?

First, full disclosure: my peptide experience is zero, and I've only done 60 days of research. I also firmly think everyone is different and that no single set of protocols fits all goals. Still, I'm glad to lay out what I use for improving health. One caveat, though: some of these tactics may turn out not to be wise while using peptides; right now, I just lack that knowledge.

Fasting is something I really favor. I know muscle preservation and protein consumption are key concerns for people on peptides, so I hope this doesn't draw criticism. Even so, the psychological gains I've gotten from putting fasting routines in place have changed my life. Over time, reducing carbs and limiting when I eat can help quiet cravings for junk food, especially sugar. You brought up protein-rich foods, so you clearly already pay attention to protein. Once your body can move easily between dietary intake and stored body fat, you've gotten past what was a big obstacle for me.

Given that, I'd think about working backward from your protein target and trying to fit it within a 16:8 fast:feed protocol.

Last, none of this may help at all. If that's true, let me offer one very minor change that I'm sure would do some good. Swap the pumpkin seeds for dry roasted edamame, and with the serving size unchanged you lose 120 calories while taking in 3 extra grams of protein

Here's hoping you do well—I would welcome the same.

 

[PegasoSeiya]

good luck! Slow and steady on Reta is the way, and keep that protein up. 150g of protein a day at minimum, which probably means 50g of supplementation. the way you keep as much muscle as possible

 

[Poopymudbutt]

Diagona said:

A bit of background.... I'm completely new to peps, I'd come across the word before but never gave it much thought. A buddy of mine got a lymes diagnosis a few years back, and at some stage his doctor gave him terz for inflammation, he went deep down the research rabbit hole and eventually came across reta, dropped some weight (he wasn't obese, maybe just a touch of dad bod), felt a lot better and began filling me in on it.

Per bmi, I sit at the lower end of the obesity scale, 5'9" and as of 2 weeks ago I weighed 206lbs. I chose to try reta, began 8/7, 0.5mg on Mondays and 0.5mg on Fridays, training ~3hrs per week, a mix of weight training and cardio (mainly weight training). The lowest number I've seen this past week was 194 on 8/14, no idea how much of that is genuine fat loss rather than just fluctuation, but I've bounced around the 200-220 range for most of my adult life, even back when I was in the army doing physical training 5x a week. Never been "fit", always carried a bit of a beer belly. I don't really drink, but junk food has always been my weakness. Right now I'm trying to work out a diet that fits me, I travel for work and usually spend 4-6hrs a day driving, plus 6-10hrs a day working in facilies that don't always have break rooms/microwave/refrigerators. I've started having huel for breakfast as a quick/easy protein/fiber boost in the morning, snacking on pumpkin seeds, cashews, chomps (beef sticks), and now and then I'll bring some cottage cheese. I aim to have some kind of solid protein (meat) as the main meal for lunch and dinner.

So far I feel the reta has definitely helped me eat better, I've had a couple days where I just couldn't shake my hunger, but I've also had days where I was so busy I forgot to eat (and then tried to stuff myself before bed just to get protein intake).

Anyone got any suggestions for me, whether it's diet, excersize, or anything, to help me stay successful in my goal to lose weight, but also not lose all my muscle?

That’s great. Would you be willing to say whether you used FDA channels or went the grey market route?

For staying on target, dropping weight, and avoiding muscle loss, I’m with the earlier reply. Shoot for 200g of protein per day; it sounds like a huge amount, but it really isn’t. I finish close to half of my daily total just with breakfast.

A portion of nonfat vanilla Greek yogurt provides 17-20g protein, and I blend in several scoops of extra protein to push it to 50-60g overall. When your protein is that high, don’t skip out on fiber either. Leaning out should come pretty easily!