My Reta Experience: Approach and Perspective

[birdwhacker]

The text below is an exact copy of what I sent back to someone new here. Does my reasoning have any holes? It was clear this newcomer had been using Semaglutide before. I get that people who favor the schedules for dosing that Eli Lilly proposed and carried out might not care for this, but it seems to be working VERY well for me so far... And as someone who used to be an addict, I know better than most that nothing comes without a cost.

_______________________

Week 3 of reta has just begun for me. I'm about to step on the scale and find out what week 2 took off.

Both semaglutide and tirzepetide are powerful suppressors of appetite. People who used GLP drugs before (like you) probably need a larger reta dose before appetite gets suppressed and momentum builds.

How I see it: you (and I) only have so much time to reach our targets. Over time, retatrutide's effects will fade and then flatten out – or, once we push past 6+mg, we'll hit side effects we can't tolerate.

The research shows: aggressive retatrutide dosing (starting higher at 4mg) plus (steeper monthly increases of +2mg each month) was PROVEN CONCLUSIVELY to produce greater weight loss... as long as side effects stay tolerable. The therapeutic maintenance doses studied were 8mg, 12mg, and lower, depending on side effects.

But: we aren't cavemen. The methods Eli Lilly chose to test or not test don't have to bind us. This drug's half-life is six days, meaning 50% is still in the bloodstream six days after a dose. For me, appetite suppression starts fading 2-4 days after the last dose. Dosing several times per week has worked great for me.

Who I am: a 235lb, 6' tall white American male with a metabolism that's mostly good, serious discipline and overeating problems, and serious mental health problems.

What I did

-------

Week 1:

0.5mg injected on Monday

Very mild appetite suppression showed up, sense of smell slightly sharper, very minor muscle twitching, minor skin sensitivity, sleep disruptions

0.5mg injected on Wednesday

Appetite suppression got stronger, very minor skin sensitivity, sleep disruptions

0.5mg injected on Friday

Essentially no side effects, appetite hard to control

0.5mg injected on Sunday

Appetite suppression reached, side effects mostly gone.

THE EFFECT: I essentially began at 2mg while dodging every side effect that comes from a first-timer injecting 2mg all at once. If anything, I wish I'd moved faster.

4.5lbs gone in 7 days. Running daily, 100g protein daily.

---------

Week 2:

1mg injected on Wednesday

Feeling really good by then, appetite is basically gone. Workouts improve. Fruit and protein during the day, protein and veggies at night. 500-1000 calorie deficit (target of 1500 to 2000 calories daily).

1mg injected on Sunday

The reason for dosing late: appetite suppression held up really well through saturday, though I did snack more on Saturday. Looking back, I wish I'd injected a day sooner.

THE EFFECT: dosing twice a week lets me raise my weekly amount by two milligrams by adding 1mg per shot, and my blood levels stay steady. My plan is to remain at 1mg per 3 days until it stops feeling as effective. I'm going to tighten my diet toward much more protein and fibre with fewer carbs and fat. 3-4 meals daily, 30g protein per meal.

TODAY: Monday morning. Tonight I'll weigh myself and I suspect 5+lbs will be gone. I look great and feel really good about myself.

My advice for you: Go up slowly, quickly, until you feel good. If you had 1mg yesterday, and the munchies hit late tonight, inject 0.5mg instead of snacking. If hunger remains, do another 0.5 or 1. Keep an effective dose. Track your calories and your protein. Eat first thing in the morning. Exercise.

Consider adding a small amount of tirzepetide if you feel you cannot manage appetite.

 

[ronin365]

What I did was push the dose up quickly until I hit the point where side effects showed up. That meant starting at 2mg in week 1, reaching 4 mg within a month, then staying there until it seemed like the benefits were wearing off. After you locate that first sweet spot, the goal is to put off increasing the dose for as long as possible.

My schedule is 1 injection per week. Feeling somewhat hungry before the next shot doesn't bother me, since I believe some refeeding is necessary to prevent the thyroid from dropping.

When it comes to stacking Tirz with Reta, that logic has never made sense to me. Reta is built to raise glucose, whereas Tirz is trying to lower it. If you bring glucose down, Reta doesn't work as well.

 

[birdwhacker]

ronin365 said:

What I did was push the dose up quickly until I hit the point where side effects showed up. That meant starting at 2mg in week 1, reaching 4 mg within a month, then staying there until it seemed like the benefits were wearing off. After you locate that first sweet spot, the goal is to put off increasing the dose for as long as possible.

My schedule is 1 injection per week. Feeling somewhat hungry before the next shot doesn't bother me, since I believe some refeeding is necessary to prevent the thyroid from dropping.

When it comes to stacking Tirz with Reta, that logic has never made sense to me. Reta is built to raise glucose, whereas Tirz is trying to lower it. If you bring glucose down, Reta doesn't work as well.

This is useful, ronin. When it comes to titration, we're on the same page. Since I expect side effects to show up on the earlier side as I titrate, my plan is to squeeze as much benefit from it as I can.

My diet and exercise are nearly where they need to be. Sleep is the next thing I have to work on.

So tirz is out, then? How about reta and sema?

 

[deleted.user.16]

Appreciate you laying out your protocol. Right after you inject, does the hunger blunting kick in quickly for you? For me, the day of the shot feels like nothing, and the strongest suppression shows up the following day. If only I could inject and have zero appetite right away, that would be way easier lol.

It has only been a month for me, but I am leaning toward injecting whenever hunger shows up rather than sticking to a fixed weekly amount. My reta weight loss has been really strange. During week 1 I used 2.5mg and dropped 10 lbs. In week 2, at the same dose, I stalled. In week 3 I went to 4mg and felt wildly hungry and put weight on. These last two weeks I have been completely off all meds (because I have a filler appointment coming up), yet I have zero hunger and still shed 3 lbs. Today I ate just a small handful of nuts and hardly have any desire to eat. Is anyone else injecting only when hungry? I would like to know whether anyone has had success with this method over the long term. Or is there a reason this could be a bad approach?

 

[ronin365]

birdwhacker said:

ronin365 said:

What I did was push the dose up quickly until I hit the point where side effects showed up. That meant starting at 2mg in week 1, reaching 4 mg within a month, then staying there until it seemed like the benefits were wearing off. After you locate that first sweet spot, the goal is to put off increasing the dose for as long as possible.

My schedule is 1 injection per week. Feeling somewhat hungry before the next shot doesn't bother me, since I believe some refeeding is necessary to prevent the thyroid from dropping.

When it comes to stacking Tirz with Reta, that logic has never made sense to me. Reta is built to raise glucose, whereas Tirz is trying to lower it. If you bring glucose down, Reta doesn't work as well.

This is useful, ronin. When it comes to titration, we're on the same page. Since I expect side effects to show up on the earlier side as I titrate, my plan is to squeeze as much benefit from it as I can.

My diet and exercise are nearly where they need to be. Sleep is the next thing I have to work on.

So tirz is out, then? How about reta and sema?

I'm not claiming to be an authority here, but glucose behaves in a comparable way when you're on Sema. Still, my take is that going overboard on appetite suppression with Reta isn't wise, since the compound is ramping up energy expenditure.

At first I worried that my appetite wasn't being blunted much once the early effects wore off, but over time I've decided that's actually a plus rather than a flaw. It's understood that Reta works better when you include a reasonable serving of carbs. Before I switched up my health regimen last year, I was doing Keto/Carnivore, so that's something I'd never have touched back then.

Compared with when I first began, I'm now taking in somewhat more food, yet I'm still dropping about a pound each week. Since late October last year, I've lost 47 pounds.

 

[ronin365]

No matter which GLP-1 we're talking about, the point I always land back on is this: get enough calories in, put protein first, and lift weights. If you push your caloric deficit too far and skip strength training, the body will break down muscle and bone, and your thyroid will tank. That's exactly why you hear all that talk about GLP-1s destroying your bones. People drop huge amounts of weight without altering their lifestyle at all. Then they're shocked when they end up with minimal muscle, osteoporosis, and an underactive thyroid.

 

[birdwhacker]

deleted.user.16 said:

Appreciate you laying out your protocol. Right after you inject, does the hunger blunting kick in quickly for you? For me, the day of the shot feels like nothing, and the strongest suppression shows up the following day. If only I could inject and have zero appetite right away, that would be way easier lol.

It has only been a month for me, but I am leaning toward injecting whenever hunger shows up rather than sticking to a fixed weekly amount. My reta weight loss has been really strange. During week 1 I used 2.5mg and dropped 10 lbs. In week 2, at the same dose, I stalled. In week 3 I went to 4mg and felt wildly hungry and put weight on. These last two weeks I have been completely off all meds (because I have a filler appointment coming up), yet I have zero hunger and still shed 3 lbs. Today I ate just a small handful of nuts and hardly have any desire to eat. Is anyone else injecting only when hungry? I would like to know whether anyone has had success with this method over the long term. Or is there a reason this could be a bad approach?

Sort of, but not entirely. There are times when I notice a mild shift right after injecting, though I typically take a low-calorie cheese stick alongside my late-night shot. The following day is clearly when the effect peaks, which is exactly why I've settled on injecting late at night. Waking up already in control is what I prefer.

Regarding what you described with dosing and hunger, I wouldn't boil it down to simply injecting whenever hunger hits... That said, for me reta's suppression of appetite holds for roughly 3-5 days. Pinning once every 6 or 7 days doesn't sound workable – is that your current schedule?

My guess is that your hungry stretch came from some nutrient you were lacking. I've had to be extremely disciplined about macros, and also make sure I take in enough good carbs to fuel my activity, while avoiding excessive glucose spikes (I buffer the carbs using psilium husk).

As I mentioned, I'm still early in this so I can't give you certainty, but my view is that a split dose every 3 days beats a single dose every six or seven days. Naturally, stay at whatever dose works for as long as possible. Personally, I'm aiming to get a great deal out of 1 mg every 3 days.

ronin365 said:

birdwhacker said:

ronin365 said:

What I did was push the dose up quickly until I hit the point where side effects showed up. That meant starting at 2mg in week 1, reaching 4 mg within a month, then staying there until it seemed like the benefits were wearing off. After you locate that first sweet spot, the goal is to put off increasing the dose for as long as possible.

My schedule is 1 injection per week. Feeling somewhat hungry before the next shot doesn't bother me, since I believe some refeeding is necessary to prevent the thyroid from dropping.

When it comes to stacking Tirz with Reta, that logic has never made sense to me. Reta is built to raise glucose, whereas Tirz is trying to lower it. If you bring glucose down, Reta doesn't work as well.

This is useful, ronin. When it comes to titration, we're on the same page. Since I expect side effects to show up on the earlier side as I titrate, my plan is to squeeze as much benefit from it as I can.

My diet and exercise are nearly where they need to be. Sleep is the next thing I have to work on.

So tirz is out, then? How about reta and sema?

I'm not claiming to be an authority here, but glucose behaves in a comparable way when you're on Sema. Still, my take is that going overboard on appetite suppression with Reta isn't wise, since the compound is ramping up energy expenditure.

At first I worried that my appetite wasn't being blunted much once the early effects wore off, but over time I've decided that's actually a plus rather than a flaw. It's understood that Reta works better when you include a reasonable serving of carbs. Before I switched up my health regimen last year, I was doing Keto/Carnivore, so that's something I'd never have touched back then.

Compared with when I first began, I'm now taking in somewhat more food, yet I'm still dropping about a pound each week. Since late October last year, I've lost 47 pounds.

Thanks for sharing that useful information. I'll be cautious with carbs, and I'll do my best not to overdo it once hunger returns. Losing my appetite suppression scares me, because I can eat enormous amounts.

Putting away 1600 calories in one sitting is no problem for me. Back when I began reta, I hadn't learned that protein absorption caps at 30 to 50 g per sitting, so I'd eat three or four apples and bananas across the day and then finish with something like 1 lb of beef plus five eggs at dinner.

ronin365 said:

No matter which GLP-1 we're talking about, the point I always land back on is this: get enough calories in, put protein first, and lift weights. If you push your caloric deficit too far and skip strength training, the body will break down muscle and bone, and your thyroid will tank. That's exactly why you hear all that talk about GLP-1s destroying your bones. People drop huge amounts of weight without altering their lifestyle at all. Then they're shocked when they end up with minimal muscle, osteoporosis, and an underactive thyroid.

Correct. Also I take supplements. I consistently take a broad range of B vitamins and minerals, and on top of that I have 12 years of trial and error behind me. Injecting this stuff while relying only on a grocery store multivitamin is something I can't picture.

Whey protein isolate is on its way to me, and my diet is nearly dialed in. Sleep is the last piece I need to sort out.

I wish I were in better shape. Running gives me no trouble, but outside of a gym I have no clue what to do. Push-ups are something I can do, yet I fucking hate them, and squats strike me as pointless when you're running a few miles everyday. A gym membership isn't possible for me at the moment.

 

[ronin365]

birdwhacker said:

deleted.user.16 said:

Appreciate you laying out your protocol. Right after you inject, does the hunger blunting kick in quickly for you? For me, the day of the shot feels like nothing, and the strongest suppression shows up the following day. If only I could inject and have zero appetite right away, that would be way easier lol.

It has only been a month for me, but I am leaning toward injecting whenever hunger shows up rather than sticking to a fixed weekly amount. My reta weight loss has been really strange. During week 1 I used 2.5mg and dropped 10 lbs. In week 2, at the same dose, I stalled. In week 3 I went to 4mg and felt wildly hungry and put weight on. These last two weeks I have been completely off all meds (because I have a filler appointment coming up), yet I have zero hunger and still shed 3 lbs. Today I ate just a small handful of nuts and hardly have any desire to eat. Is anyone else injecting only when hungry? I would like to know whether anyone has had success with this method over the long term. Or is there a reason this could be a bad approach?

Sort of, but not entirely. There are times when I notice a mild shift right after injecting, though I typically take a low-calorie cheese stick alongside my late-night shot. The following day is clearly when the effect peaks, which is exactly why I've settled on injecting late at night. Waking up already in control is what I prefer.

Regarding what you described with dosing and hunger, I wouldn't boil it down to simply injecting whenever hunger hits... That said, for me reta's suppression of appetite holds for roughly 3-5 days. Pinning once every 6 or 7 days doesn't sound workable – is that your current schedule?

My guess is that your hungry stretch came from some nutrient you were lacking. I've had to be extremely disciplined about macros, and also make sure I take in enough good carbs to fuel my activity, while avoiding excessive glucose spikes (I buffer the carbs using psilium husk).

As I mentioned, I'm still early in this so I can't give you certainty, but my view is that a split dose every 3 days beats a single dose every six or seven days. Naturally, stay at whatever dose works for as long as possible. Personally, I'm aiming to get a great deal out of 1 mg every 3 days.

ronin365 said:

birdwhacker said:

ronin365 said:

What I did was push the dose up quickly until I hit the point where side effects showed up. That meant starting at 2mg in week 1, reaching 4 mg within a month, then staying there until it seemed like the benefits were wearing off. After you locate that first sweet spot, the goal is to put off increasing the dose for as long as possible.

My schedule is 1 injection per week. Feeling somewhat hungry before the next shot doesn't bother me, since I believe some refeeding is necessary to prevent the thyroid from dropping.

When it comes to stacking Tirz with Reta, that logic has never made sense to me. Reta is built to raise glucose, whereas Tirz is trying to lower it. If you bring glucose down, Reta doesn't work as well.

This is useful, ronin. When it comes to titration, we're on the same page. Since I expect side effects to show up on the earlier side as I titrate, my plan is to squeeze as much benefit from it as I can.

My diet and exercise are nearly where they need to be. Sleep is the next thing I have to work on.

So tirz is out, then? How about reta and sema?

I'm not claiming to be an authority here, but glucose behaves in a comparable way when you're on Sema. Still, my take is that going overboard on appetite suppression with Reta isn't wise, since the compound is ramping up energy expenditure.

At first I worried that my appetite wasn't being blunted much once the early effects wore off, but over time I've decided that's actually a plus rather than a flaw. It's understood that Reta works better when you include a reasonable serving of carbs. Before I switched up my health regimen last year, I was doing Keto/Carnivore, so that's something I'd never have touched back then.

Compared with when I first began, I'm now taking in somewhat more food, yet I'm still dropping about a pound each week. Since late October last year, I've lost 47 pounds.

Thanks for sharing that useful information. I'll be cautious with carbs, and I'll do my best not to overdo it once hunger returns. Losing my appetite suppression scares me, because I can eat enormous amounts.

Putting away 1600 calories in one sitting is no problem for me. Back when I began reta, I hadn't learned that protein absorption caps at 30 to 50 g per sitting, so I'd eat three or four apples and bananas across the day and then finish with something like 1 lb of beef plus five eggs at dinner.

ronin365 said:

No matter which GLP-1 we're talking about, the point I always land back on is this: get enough calories in, put protein first, and lift weights. If you push your caloric deficit too far and skip strength training, the body will break down muscle and bone, and your thyroid will tank. That's exactly why you hear all that talk about GLP-1s destroying your bones. People drop huge amounts of weight without altering their lifestyle at all. Then they're shocked when they end up with minimal muscle, osteoporosis, and an underactive thyroid.

Correct. Also I take supplements. I consistently take a broad range of B vitamins and minerals, and on top of that I have 12 years of trial and error behind me. Injecting this stuff while relying only on a grocery store multivitamin is something I can't picture.

Whey protein isolate is on its way to me, and my diet is nearly dialed in. Sleep is the last piece I need to sort out.

I wish I were in better shape. Running gives me no trouble, but outside of a gym I have no clue what to do. Push-ups are something I can do, yet I fucking hate them, and squats strike me as pointless when you're running a few miles everyday. A gym membership isn't possible for me at the moment.

Gym attendance is something I get—it was a struggle on my end too, largely due to feeling drained, and at the outset I was severely unfit. Still, once cardio passes the 30-minute mark it turns catabolic and won't build muscle the way resistance training can. My own routine: 3-4 gym sessions weekly, heavy lifting. Cardio gets capped at 30 minutes afterward, and I aim to keep my heart rate between 125-135 bpm.

No matter how tough the gym is to get to for you, nothing compares to reaching a point of feeling strong—strength that shows up in your core and your limbs. Walking, running, or even yoga never gave me that sensation. For me, the biggest shifts in recomposition and total strength have come from compound movements paired with accessory work.

 

[birdwhacker]

ronin365 said:

birdwhacker said:

deleted.user.16 said:

Appreciate you laying out your protocol. Right after you inject, does the hunger blunting kick in quickly for you? For me, the day of the shot feels like nothing, and the strongest suppression shows up the following day. If only I could inject and have zero appetite right away, that would be way easier lol.

It has only been a month for me, but I am leaning toward injecting whenever hunger shows up rather than sticking to a fixed weekly amount. My reta weight loss has been really strange. During week 1 I used 2.5mg and dropped 10 lbs. In week 2, at the same dose, I stalled. In week 3 I went to 4mg and felt wildly hungry and put weight on. These last two weeks I have been completely off all meds (because I have a filler appointment coming up), yet I have zero hunger and still shed 3 lbs. Today I ate just a small handful of nuts and hardly have any desire to eat. Is anyone else injecting only when hungry? I would like to know whether anyone has had success with this method over the long term. Or is there a reason this could be a bad approach?

Sort of, but not entirely. There are times when I notice a mild shift right after injecting, though I typically take a low-calorie cheese stick alongside my late-night shot. The following day is clearly when the effect peaks, which is exactly why I've settled on injecting late at night. Waking up already in control is what I prefer.

Regarding what you described with dosing and hunger, I wouldn't boil it down to simply injecting whenever hunger hits... That said, for me reta's suppression of appetite holds for roughly 3-5 days. Pinning once every 6 or 7 days doesn't sound workable – is that your current schedule?

My guess is that your hungry stretch came from some nutrient you were lacking. I've had to be extremely disciplined about macros, and also make sure I take in enough good carbs to fuel my activity, while avoiding excessive glucose spikes (I buffer the carbs using psilium husk).

As I mentioned, I'm still early in this so I can't give you certainty, but my view is that a split dose every 3 days beats a single dose every six or seven days. Naturally, stay at whatever dose works for as long as possible. Personally, I'm aiming to get a great deal out of 1 mg every 3 days.

ronin365 said:

birdwhacker said:

ronin365 said:

What I did was push the dose up quickly until I hit the point where side effects showed up. That meant starting at 2mg in week 1, reaching 4 mg within a month, then staying there until it seemed like the benefits were wearing off. After you locate that first sweet spot, the goal is to put off increasing the dose for as long as possible.

My schedule is 1 injection per week. Feeling somewhat hungry before the next shot doesn't bother me, since I believe some refeeding is necessary to prevent the thyroid from dropping.

When it comes to stacking Tirz with Reta, that logic has never made sense to me. Reta is built to raise glucose, whereas Tirz is trying to lower it. If you bring glucose down, Reta doesn't work as well.

This is useful, ronin. When it comes to titration, we're on the same page. Since I expect side effects to show up on the earlier side as I titrate, my plan is to squeeze as much benefit from it as I can.

My diet and exercise are nearly where they need to be. Sleep is the next thing I have to work on.

So tirz is out, then? How about reta and sema?

I'm not claiming to be an authority here, but glucose behaves in a comparable way when you're on Sema. Still, my take is that going overboard on appetite suppression with Reta isn't wise, since the compound is ramping up energy expenditure.

At first I worried that my appetite wasn't being blunted much once the early effects wore off, but over time I've decided that's actually a plus rather than a flaw. It's understood that Reta works better when you include a reasonable serving of carbs. Before I switched up my health regimen last year, I was doing Keto/Carnivore, so that's something I'd never have touched back then.

Compared with when I first began, I'm now taking in somewhat more food, yet I'm still dropping about a pound each week. Since late October last year, I've lost 47 pounds.

Thanks for sharing that useful information. I'll be cautious with carbs, and I'll do my best not to overdo it once hunger returns. Losing my appetite suppression scares me, because I can eat enormous amounts.

Putting away 1600 calories in one sitting is no problem for me. Back when I began reta, I hadn't learned that protein absorption caps at 30 to 50 g per sitting, so I'd eat three or four apples and bananas across the day and then finish with something like 1 lb of beef plus five eggs at dinner.

ronin365 said:

No matter which GLP-1 we're talking about, the point I always land back on is this: get enough calories in, put protein first, and lift weights. If you push your caloric deficit too far and skip strength training, the body will break down muscle and bone, and your thyroid will tank. That's exactly why you hear all that talk about GLP-1s destroying your bones. People drop huge amounts of weight without altering their lifestyle at all. Then they're shocked when they end up with minimal muscle, osteoporosis, and an underactive thyroid.

Correct. Also I take supplements. I consistently take a broad range of B vitamins and minerals, and on top of that I have 12 years of trial and error behind me. Injecting this stuff while relying only on a grocery store multivitamin is something I can't picture.

Whey protein isolate is on its way to me, and my diet is nearly dialed in. Sleep is the last piece I need to sort out.

I wish I were in better shape. Running gives me no trouble, but outside of a gym I have no clue what to do. Push-ups are something I can do, yet I fucking hate them, and squats strike me as pointless when you're running a few miles everyday. A gym membership isn't possible for me at the moment.

Gym attendance is something I get—it was a struggle on my end too, largely due to feeling drained, and at the outset I was severely unfit. Still, once cardio passes the 30-minute mark it turns catabolic and won't build muscle the way resistance training can. My own routine: 3-4 gym sessions weekly, heavy lifting. Cardio gets capped at 30 minutes afterward, and I aim to keep my heart rate between 125-135 bpm.

No matter how tough the gym is to get to for you, nothing compares to reaching a point of feeling strong—strength that shows up in your core and your limbs. Walking, running, or even yoga never gave me that sensation. For me, the biggest shifts in recomposition and total strength have come from compound movements paired with accessory work.

I'm really into working out at the gym—there's no denying that. But at the moment, I simply lack the ability to get there. I've landed myself in a rough spot, and honestly, reta, along with a secure environment and fantastic access to good food, are the only things I've got going on.

Maybe reta will end up steering me toward making wiser decisions down the line.

I get that strength training is necessary, yet it feels so strange to work out without any weights or machines, or without being in a gym. Pushups? I can't stand them.

 

[ronin365]

birdwhacker said:

ronin365 said:

birdwhacker said:

deleted.user.16 said:

Appreciate you laying out your protocol. Right after you inject, does the hunger blunting kick in quickly for you? For me, the day of the shot feels like nothing, and the strongest suppression shows up the following day. If only I could inject and have zero appetite right away, that would be way easier lol.

It has only been a month for me, but I am leaning toward injecting whenever hunger shows up rather than sticking to a fixed weekly amount. My reta weight loss has been really strange. During week 1 I used 2.5mg and dropped 10 lbs. In week 2, at the same dose, I stalled. In week 3 I went to 4mg and felt wildly hungry and put weight on. These last two weeks I have been completely off all meds (because I have a filler appointment coming up), yet I have zero hunger and still shed 3 lbs. Today I ate just a small handful of nuts and hardly have any desire to eat. Is anyone else injecting only when hungry? I would like to know whether anyone has had success with this method over the long term. Or is there a reason this could be a bad approach?

Sort of, but not entirely. There are times when I notice a mild shift right after injecting, though I typically take a low-calorie cheese stick alongside my late-night shot. The following day is clearly when the effect peaks, which is exactly why I've settled on injecting late at night. Waking up already in control is what I prefer.

Regarding what you described with dosing and hunger, I wouldn't boil it down to simply injecting whenever hunger hits... That said, for me reta's suppression of appetite holds for roughly 3-5 days. Pinning once every 6 or 7 days doesn't sound workable – is that your current schedule?

My guess is that your hungry stretch came from some nutrient you were lacking. I've had to be extremely disciplined about macros, and also make sure I take in enough good carbs to fuel my activity, while avoiding excessive glucose spikes (I buffer the carbs using psilium husk).

As I mentioned, I'm still early in this so I can't give you certainty, but my view is that a split dose every 3 days beats a single dose every six or seven days. Naturally, stay at whatever dose works for as long as possible. Personally, I'm aiming to get a great deal out of 1 mg every 3 days.

ronin365 said:

birdwhacker said:

ronin365 said:

What I did was push the dose up quickly until I hit the point where side effects showed up. That meant starting at 2mg in week 1, reaching 4 mg within a month, then staying there until it seemed like the benefits were wearing off. After you locate that first sweet spot, the goal is to put off increasing the dose for as long as possible.

My schedule is 1 injection per week. Feeling somewhat hungry before the next shot doesn't bother me, since I believe some refeeding is necessary to prevent the thyroid from dropping.

When it comes to stacking Tirz with Reta, that logic has never made sense to me. Reta is built to raise glucose, whereas Tirz is trying to lower it. If you bring glucose down, Reta doesn't work as well.

This is useful, ronin. When it comes to titration, we're on the same page. Since I expect side effects to show up on the earlier side as I titrate, my plan is to squeeze as much benefit from it as I can.

My diet and exercise are nearly where they need to be. Sleep is the next thing I have to work on.

So tirz is out, then? How about reta and sema?

I'm not claiming to be an authority here, but glucose behaves in a comparable way when you're on Sema. Still, my take is that going overboard on appetite suppression with Reta isn't wise, since the compound is ramping up energy expenditure.

At first I worried that my appetite wasn't being blunted much once the early effects wore off, but over time I've decided that's actually a plus rather than a flaw. It's understood that Reta works better when you include a reasonable serving of carbs. Before I switched up my health regimen last year, I was doing Keto/Carnivore, so that's something I'd never have touched back then.

Compared with when I first began, I'm now taking in somewhat more food, yet I'm still dropping about a pound each week. Since late October last year, I've lost 47 pounds.

Thanks for sharing that useful information. I'll be cautious with carbs, and I'll do my best not to overdo it once hunger returns. Losing my appetite suppression scares me, because I can eat enormous amounts.

Putting away 1600 calories in one sitting is no problem for me. Back when I began reta, I hadn't learned that protein absorption caps at 30 to 50 g per sitting, so I'd eat three or four apples and bananas across the day and then finish with something like 1 lb of beef plus five eggs at dinner.

ronin365 said:

No matter which GLP-1 we're talking about, the point I always land back on is this: get enough calories in, put protein first, and lift weights. If you push your caloric deficit too far and skip strength training, the body will break down muscle and bone, and your thyroid will tank. That's exactly why you hear all that talk about GLP-1s destroying your bones. People drop huge amounts of weight without altering their lifestyle at all. Then they're shocked when they end up with minimal muscle, osteoporosis, and an underactive thyroid.

Correct. Also I take supplements. I consistently take a broad range of B vitamins and minerals, and on top of that I have 12 years of trial and error behind me. Injecting this stuff while relying only on a grocery store multivitamin is something I can't picture.

Whey protein isolate is on its way to me, and my diet is nearly dialed in. Sleep is the last piece I need to sort out.

I wish I were in better shape. Running gives me no trouble, but outside of a gym I have no clue what to do. Push-ups are something I can do, yet I fucking hate them, and squats strike me as pointless when you're running a few miles everyday. A gym membership isn't possible for me at the moment.

Gym attendance is something I get—it was a struggle on my end too, largely due to feeling drained, and at the outset I was severely unfit. Still, once cardio passes the 30-minute mark it turns catabolic and won't build muscle the way resistance training can. My own routine: 3-4 gym sessions weekly, heavy lifting. Cardio gets capped at 30 minutes afterward, and I aim to keep my heart rate between 125-135 bpm.

No matter how tough the gym is to get to for you, nothing compares to reaching a point of feeling strong—strength that shows up in your core and your limbs. Walking, running, or even yoga never gave me that sensation. For me, the biggest shifts in recomposition and total strength have come from compound movements paired with accessory work.

I'm really into working out at the gym—there's no denying that. But at the moment, I simply lack the ability to get there. I've landed myself in a rough spot, and honestly, reta, along with a secure environment and fantastic access to good food, are the only things I've got going on.

Maybe reta will end up steering me toward making wiser decisions down the line.

I get that strength training is necessary, yet it feels so strange to work out without any weights or machines, or without being in a gym. Pushups? I can't stand them.

Ah, I see—I got the wrong idea. Understood.

 

[Chonktodonk24]

Thanks for putting this together. You mentioned that your workouts got better—would you say that comes from an overall boost in energy, focus, or both? Over the last six months my motivation and energy for training have dropped off, so I'm hoping to regain some momentum once I begin r.

 

[birdwhacker]

Chonktodonk24 said:

Thanks for putting this together. You mentioned that your workouts got better—would you say that comes from an overall boost in energy, focus, or both? Over the last six months my motivation and energy for training have dropped off, so I'm hoping to regain some momentum once I begin r.

Hey! Putting an exact figure on it is tough, and I would not claim 100% either way. Not much is going on for me besides this right now, so finally getting my diet and fitness under control is clearly feeding the better self-esteem and the excitement.

But I have been a polysubstance addict for the long haul, and I can tell you reta does carry a pronounced focusing effect once the dose sits in the right envelope. For me that is with appetite roughly 75% suppressed – and mind you I need some carbs too! 0 carbs while on reta just wears you down.

Most days I also take a full gram of potassium, along with magnesium, and I keep zinc, copper, calcium, boron and vitamin D in balance, plus fish oil and TMG.

Hope you find some fire out there, man!

 

[rettta]

birdwhacker said:

ronin365 said:

birdwhacker said:

deleted.user.16 said:

Appreciate you laying out your protocol. Right after you inject, does the hunger blunting kick in quickly for you? For me, the day of the shot feels like nothing, and the strongest suppression shows up the following day. If only I could inject and have zero appetite right away, that would be way easier lol.

It has only been a month for me, but I am leaning toward injecting whenever hunger shows up rather than sticking to a fixed weekly amount. My reta weight loss has been really strange. During week 1 I used 2.5mg and dropped 10 lbs. In week 2, at the same dose, I stalled. In week 3 I went to 4mg and felt wildly hungry and put weight on. These last two weeks I have been completely off all meds (because I have a filler appointment coming up), yet I have zero hunger and still shed 3 lbs. Today I ate just a small handful of nuts and hardly have any desire to eat. Is anyone else injecting only when hungry? I would like to know whether anyone has had success with this method over the long term. Or is there a reason this could be a bad approach?

Sort of, but not entirely. There are times when I notice a mild shift right after injecting, though I typically take a low-calorie cheese stick alongside my late-night shot. The following day is clearly when the effect peaks, which is exactly why I've settled on injecting late at night. Waking up already in control is what I prefer.

Regarding what you described with dosing and hunger, I wouldn't boil it down to simply injecting whenever hunger hits... That said, for me reta's suppression of appetite holds for roughly 3-5 days. Pinning once every 6 or 7 days doesn't sound workable – is that your current schedule?

My guess is that your hungry stretch came from some nutrient you were lacking. I've had to be extremely disciplined about macros, and also make sure I take in enough good carbs to fuel my activity, while avoiding excessive glucose spikes (I buffer the carbs using psilium husk).

As I mentioned, I'm still early in this so I can't give you certainty, but my view is that a split dose every 3 days beats a single dose every six or seven days. Naturally, stay at whatever dose works for as long as possible. Personally, I'm aiming to get a great deal out of 1 mg every 3 days.

ronin365 said:

birdwhacker said:

ronin365 said:

What I did was push the dose up quickly until I hit the point where side effects showed up. That meant starting at 2mg in week 1, reaching 4 mg within a month, then staying there until it seemed like the benefits were wearing off. After you locate that first sweet spot, the goal is to put off increasing the dose for as long as possible.

My schedule is 1 injection per week. Feeling somewhat hungry before the next shot doesn't bother me, since I believe some refeeding is necessary to prevent the thyroid from dropping.

When it comes to stacking Tirz with Reta, that logic has never made sense to me. Reta is built to raise glucose, whereas Tirz is trying to lower it. If you bring glucose down, Reta doesn't work as well.

This is useful, ronin. When it comes to titration, we're on the same page. Since I expect side effects to show up on the earlier side as I titrate, my plan is to squeeze as much benefit from it as I can.

My diet and exercise are nearly where they need to be. Sleep is the next thing I have to work on.

So tirz is out, then? How about reta and sema?

I'm not claiming to be an authority here, but glucose behaves in a comparable way when you're on Sema. Still, my take is that going overboard on appetite suppression with Reta isn't wise, since the compound is ramping up energy expenditure.

At first I worried that my appetite wasn't being blunted much once the early effects wore off, but over time I've decided that's actually a plus rather than a flaw. It's understood that Reta works better when you include a reasonable serving of carbs. Before I switched up my health regimen last year, I was doing Keto/Carnivore, so that's something I'd never have touched back then.

Compared with when I first began, I'm now taking in somewhat more food, yet I'm still dropping about a pound each week. Since late October last year, I've lost 47 pounds.

Thanks for sharing that useful information. I'll be cautious with carbs, and I'll do my best not to overdo it once hunger returns. Losing my appetite suppression scares me, because I can eat enormous amounts.

Putting away 1600 calories in one sitting is no problem for me. Back when I began reta, I hadn't learned that protein absorption caps at 30 to 50 g per sitting, so I'd eat three or four apples and bananas across the day and then finish with something like 1 lb of beef plus five eggs at dinner.

ronin365 said:

No matter which GLP-1 we're talking about, the point I always land back on is this: get enough calories in, put protein first, and lift weights. If you push your caloric deficit too far and skip strength training, the body will break down muscle and bone, and your thyroid will tank. That's exactly why you hear all that talk about GLP-1s destroying your bones. People drop huge amounts of weight without altering their lifestyle at all. Then they're shocked when they end up with minimal muscle, osteoporosis, and an underactive thyroid.

Correct. Also I take supplements. I consistently take a broad range of B vitamins and minerals, and on top of that I have 12 years of trial and error behind me. Injecting this stuff while relying only on a grocery store multivitamin is something I can't picture.

Whey protein isolate is on its way to me, and my diet is nearly dialed in. Sleep is the last piece I need to sort out.

I wish I were in better shape. Running gives me no trouble, but outside of a gym I have no clue what to do. Push-ups are something I can do, yet I fucking hate them, and squats strike me as pointless when you're running a few miles everyday. A gym membership isn't possible for me at the moment.

Gym attendance is something I get—it was a struggle on my end too, largely due to feeling drained, and at the outset I was severely unfit. Still, once cardio passes the 30-minute mark it turns catabolic and won't build muscle the way resistance training can. My own routine: 3-4 gym sessions weekly, heavy lifting. Cardio gets capped at 30 minutes afterward, and I aim to keep my heart rate between 125-135 bpm.

No matter how tough the gym is to get to for you, nothing compares to reaching a point of feeling strong—strength that shows up in your core and your limbs. Walking, running, or even yoga never gave me that sensation. For me, the biggest shifts in recomposition and total strength have come from compound movements paired with accessory work.

I'm really into working out at the gym—there's no denying that. But at the moment, I simply lack the ability to get there. I've landed myself in a rough spot, and honestly, reta, along with a secure environment and fantastic access to good food, are the only things I've got going on.

Maybe reta will end up steering me toward making wiser decisions down the line.

I get that strength training is necessary, yet it feels so strange to work out without any weights or machines, or without being in a gym. Pushups? I can't stand them.

Do dips and pull ups / chin ups bring enjoyment, or are they more like push ups in that regard?

 

[Chonktodonk24]

birdwhacker said:

Chonktodonk24 said:

Thanks for putting this together. You mentioned that your workouts got better—would you say that comes from an overall boost in energy, focus, or both? Over the last six months my motivation and energy for training have dropped off, so I'm hoping to regain some momentum once I begin r.

Hey! Putting an exact figure on it is tough, and I would not claim 100% either way. Not much is going on for me besides this right now, so finally getting my diet and fitness under control is clearly feeding the better self-esteem and the excitement.

But I have been a polysubstance addict for the long haul, and I can tell you reta does carry a pronounced focusing effect once the dose sits in the right envelope. For me that is with appetite roughly 75% suppressed – and mind you I need some carbs too! 0 carbs while on reta just wears you down.

Most days I also take a full gram of potassium, along with magnesium, and I keep zinc, copper, calcium, boron and vitamin D in balance, plus fish oil and TMG.

Hope you find some fire out there, man!

Appreciate it, all the best to you!

 

[birdwhacker]

rettta said:

birdwhacker said:

ronin365 said:

birdwhacker said:

deleted.user.16 said:

Appreciate you laying out your protocol. Right after you inject, does the hunger blunting kick in quickly for you? For me, the day of the shot feels like nothing, and the strongest suppression shows up the following day. If only I could inject and have zero appetite right away, that would be way easier lol.

It has only been a month for me, but I am leaning toward injecting whenever hunger shows up rather than sticking to a fixed weekly amount. My reta weight loss has been really strange. During week 1 I used 2.5mg and dropped 10 lbs. In week 2, at the same dose, I stalled. In week 3 I went to 4mg and felt wildly hungry and put weight on. These last two weeks I have been completely off all meds (because I have a filler appointment coming up), yet I have zero hunger and still shed 3 lbs. Today I ate just a small handful of nuts and hardly have any desire to eat. Is anyone else injecting only when hungry? I would like to know whether anyone has had success with this method over the long term. Or is there a reason this could be a bad approach?

Sort of, but not entirely. There are times when I notice a mild shift right after injecting, though I typically take a low-calorie cheese stick alongside my late-night shot. The following day is clearly when the effect peaks, which is exactly why I've settled on injecting late at night. Waking up already in control is what I prefer.

Regarding what you described with dosing and hunger, I wouldn't boil it down to simply injecting whenever hunger hits... That said, for me reta's suppression of appetite holds for roughly 3-5 days. Pinning once every 6 or 7 days doesn't sound workable – is that your current schedule?

My guess is that your hungry stretch came from some nutrient you were lacking. I've had to be extremely disciplined about macros, and also make sure I take in enough good carbs to fuel my activity, while avoiding excessive glucose spikes (I buffer the carbs using psilium husk).

As I mentioned, I'm still early in this so I can't give you certainty, but my view is that a split dose every 3 days beats a single dose every six or seven days. Naturally, stay at whatever dose works for as long as possible. Personally, I'm aiming to get a great deal out of 1 mg every 3 days.

ronin365 said:

birdwhacker said:

ronin365 said:

What I did was push the dose up quickly until I hit the point where side effects showed up. That meant starting at 2mg in week 1, reaching 4 mg within a month, then staying there until it seemed like the benefits were wearing off. After you locate that first sweet spot, the goal is to put off increasing the dose for as long as possible.

My schedule is 1 injection per week. Feeling somewhat hungry before the next shot doesn't bother me, since I believe some refeeding is necessary to prevent the thyroid from dropping.

When it comes to stacking Tirz with Reta, that logic has never made sense to me. Reta is built to raise glucose, whereas Tirz is trying to lower it. If you bring glucose down, Reta doesn't work as well.

This is useful, ronin. When it comes to titration, we're on the same page. Since I expect side effects to show up on the earlier side as I titrate, my plan is to squeeze as much benefit from it as I can.

My diet and exercise are nearly where they need to be. Sleep is the next thing I have to work on.

So tirz is out, then? How about reta and sema?

I'm not claiming to be an authority here, but glucose behaves in a comparable way when you're on Sema. Still, my take is that going overboard on appetite suppression with Reta isn't wise, since the compound is ramping up energy expenditure.

At first I worried that my appetite wasn't being blunted much once the early effects wore off, but over time I've decided that's actually a plus rather than a flaw. It's understood that Reta works better when you include a reasonable serving of carbs. Before I switched up my health regimen last year, I was doing Keto/Carnivore, so that's something I'd never have touched back then.

Compared with when I first began, I'm now taking in somewhat more food, yet I'm still dropping about a pound each week. Since late October last year, I've lost 47 pounds.

Thanks for sharing that useful information. I'll be cautious with carbs, and I'll do my best not to overdo it once hunger returns. Losing my appetite suppression scares me, because I can eat enormous amounts.

Putting away 1600 calories in one sitting is no problem for me. Back when I began reta, I hadn't learned that protein absorption caps at 30 to 50 g per sitting, so I'd eat three or four apples and bananas across the day and then finish with something like 1 lb of beef plus five eggs at dinner.

ronin365 said:

No matter which GLP-1 we're talking about, the point I always land back on is this: get enough calories in, put protein first, and lift weights. If you push your caloric deficit too far and skip strength training, the body will break down muscle and bone, and your thyroid will tank. That's exactly why you hear all that talk about GLP-1s destroying your bones. People drop huge amounts of weight without altering their lifestyle at all. Then they're shocked when they end up with minimal muscle, osteoporosis, and an underactive thyroid.

Correct. Also I take supplements. I consistently take a broad range of B vitamins and minerals, and on top of that I have 12 years of trial and error behind me. Injecting this stuff while relying only on a grocery store multivitamin is something I can't picture.

Whey protein isolate is on its way to me, and my diet is nearly dialed in. Sleep is the last piece I need to sort out.

I wish I were in better shape. Running gives me no trouble, but outside of a gym I have no clue what to do. Push-ups are something I can do, yet I fucking hate them, and squats strike me as pointless when you're running a few miles everyday. A gym membership isn't possible for me at the moment.

Gym attendance is something I get—it was a struggle on my end too, largely due to feeling drained, and at the outset I was severely unfit. Still, once cardio passes the 30-minute mark it turns catabolic and won't build muscle the way resistance training can. My own routine: 3-4 gym sessions weekly, heavy lifting. Cardio gets capped at 30 minutes afterward, and I aim to keep my heart rate between 125-135 bpm.

No matter how tough the gym is to get to for you, nothing compares to reaching a point of feeling strong—strength that shows up in your core and your limbs. Walking, running, or even yoga never gave me that sensation. For me, the biggest shifts in recomposition and total strength have come from compound movements paired with accessory work.

I'm really into working out at the gym—there's no denying that. But at the moment, I simply lack the ability to get there. I've landed myself in a rough spot, and honestly, reta, along with a secure environment and fantastic access to good food, are the only things I've got going on.

Maybe reta will end up steering me toward making wiser decisions down the line.

I get that strength training is necessary, yet it feels so strange to work out without any weights or machines, or without being in a gym. Pushups? I can't stand them.

Do dips and pull ups / chin ups bring enjoyment, or are they more like push ups in that regard?

Honestly... those do look like a good time, but pull ups and chin ups are something I've never managed to pull off! Perhaps once I shed a bit more weight, I'll have more to choose from haha.

I can still picture the time my dad signed me up for a gymnastics class when I was 10 or 12... The instructor told me to grab two rings and attempt to lift myself and rotate or whatever. Ugh. I had to be 200 pounds back then! According to my dad, that coach was an asshole LOL

 

[rettta]

Ring dips demand more than the standard version. Back in december, at roughly 200 lbs, my chin up count topped out near 2, and dips landed around 7. Dropping pounds while building strength changed that: today I hit 8 chin ups across 8 sets for 64 total, plus 100 dips split over multiple sets. Now I sit near 170, and the shift came fast. Not doing strength work during my first 2 years is something I regret, because it works like a cheat code. Muscles plus your glp1's will help flatten out insulin resistance. Strength training can be a grind, but shedding fat without it is a bigger grind, so pick which grind you want.

 

[birdwhacker]

rettta said:

Ring dips demand more than the standard version. Back in december, at roughly 200 lbs, my chin up count topped out near 2, and dips landed around 7. Dropping pounds while building strength changed that: today I hit 8 chin ups across 8 sets for 64 total, plus 100 dips split over multiple sets. Now I sit near 170, and the shift came fast. Not doing strength work during my first 2 years is something I regret, because it works like a cheat code. Muscles plus your glp1's will help flatten out insulin resistance. Strength training can be a grind, but shedding fat without it is a bigger grind, so pick which grind you want.

That's really great—I appreciate you posting this. I'm eager to find out what's coming down the line. At the moment we're looking to get some RT, TR, and BPC kits... With any luck, we'll be able to future proof!

 

[WeezinDaJuice]

ronin365 said:

What I did was push the dose up quickly until I hit the point where side effects showed up. That meant starting at 2mg in week 1, reaching 4 mg within a month, then staying there until it seemed like the benefits were wearing off. After you locate that first sweet spot, the goal is to put off increasing the dose for as long as possible.

My schedule is 1 injection per week. Feeling somewhat hungry before the next shot doesn't bother me, since I believe some refeeding is necessary to prevent the thyroid from dropping.

When it comes to stacking Tirz with Reta, that logic has never made sense to me. Reta is built to raise glucose, whereas Tirz is trying to lower it. If you bring glucose down, Reta doesn't work as well.

After 3 months on Reta myself — currently dosing 5mg every week — plus all the accounts I've come across, the pattern I see is that Reta brings blood glucose and A1c down. Has your own experience gone another way?

 

[ronin365]

WeezinDaJuice said:

ronin365 said:

What I did was push the dose up quickly until I hit the point where side effects showed up. That meant starting at 2mg in week 1, reaching 4 mg within a month, then staying there until it seemed like the benefits were wearing off. After you locate that first sweet spot, the goal is to put off increasing the dose for as long as possible.

My schedule is 1 injection per week. Feeling somewhat hungry before the next shot doesn't bother me, since I believe some refeeding is necessary to prevent the thyroid from dropping.

When it comes to stacking Tirz with Reta, that logic has never made sense to me. Reta is built to raise glucose, whereas Tirz is trying to lower it. If you bring glucose down, Reta doesn't work as well.

After 3 months on Reta myself — currently dosing 5mg every week — plus all the accounts I've come across, the pattern I see is that Reta brings blood glucose and A1c down. Has your own experience gone another way?

I might not have done a great job explaining that. What I was getting at is glucagon agonism — it pushes glucose levels up in the bloodstream, since its role is to free up energy. In the beginning, blood sugar may rise a little, but once Reta boosts your insulin sensitivity, your A1C gets better, and the insulin response after eating flattens out more. Part of the reason is that when glucagon becomes active, it lifts blood glucose while also oxidizing fat. Improved insulin sensitivity is one consequence of losing fat.

Is that clearer? The GLP-1 and GIP agonism are doing several things that outweigh what the glucagon agonism does.

 

[ronin365]

The fat oxidation point I brought up earlier explains why appetite suppression matters less when using Reta. It does still occur, but it does not hit you as hard as it does with the other GLP-1s.