Reta Begins - Blog

[UnusualLLama]

Here we go then..

A little background first: I'm a guy in his 40's, generally in good health, and for more than 10 years I've been consistently hitting the gym and staying active. Getting lean, though, has never worked out for me.

Strength and size come easily enough, but lean is a different story. My genetics seem to prefer a softer look than I'd choose (right now I'm sitting at roughly 20-22% bf), so I looked into GLP's, and once Reta caught my eye, I was basically decided.

My approach - the smallest possible dose, just enough to nudge things in the right direction.

My current weight and bf% have been stable for some time and it's not unmanageable, but leaning out is the goal, and I'm hoping reta takes on some of that heavy lifting. So I figured I'd share weekly observations here as things progress, since similar posts from others have been genuinely useful to me.

Basic stats

Male

Mid-40's

5'10/178cm

This morning's weight - 79kg/174.165lbs

Body fat estimate - 20-22% (withings scale, not the most accurate I know, but I'm tracking trends)

Resting heart rate average - 44-46

Blood pressure average - 110/71

Starting dose: 1mg reta

Initial thoughts and observations

Well, that first time definitely gets the heart going a bit. After way too many videos on reconstituting reta, plus reading up on injections and everything else, I finally went ahead and did it.

Mistake number one: every syringe I own is 1ml, and I wanted 2ml of BAC water in my reta vial, which holds 20mg reta. That meant 2 injections of BAC into the vial, and I briefly thought I'd ruined everything because a few small lumps of reta remained after I'd rolled it around, though they did dissolve in the end.

Then came drawing the right dose. I'm starting at 1mg, and somehow I'd talked myself into believing it would probably fill the syringe, taking 2 minutes just to get it all in during 1 go, but when I actually pulled it to the target amount it was tiny.

Tiny tiny tiny, 10 units.

So a part of me is sitting there thinking "Surely not, that can't really do anything, can it. That tiny little sliver of fluid?"

Regardless, off we went and I pinned it with no problems.

I'd half expected some big dramatic reaction, maybe someone bursting out of a closet with a trumpet and party poppers, but no, that was it. In and done.

Nothing much sensation-wise after pinning either, perhaps a slight bit of heat? Though I suspect that's my head more than anything else.

Now the waiting begins. I'm still trying to work out what, exactly, this is going to feel like. That's the tricky part for me at the moment, not knowing what to expect on that front. Maybe it's because being hungry and having cravings is such a normal state half the time that the thought of possibly not feeling that as much is a strange concept?

I dunno, we'll see how it goes, I'm mostly hoping that a combination of reduced snacking (especially at the weekends) and a slight boost to my metabolism (I spend most of my days in front of a computer, so the 2 hours in the morning when I'm working out is the majority of my daily activity) will help turn this perpetual state of maintenance into a steady deficit, but I know some people can react differently to others so time will tell.

But that's it for now, I'll probably update again on the next pin (doing once weekly), unless there are any other interesting observations I notice between now and then.

 

[Smiter]

UnusualLLama said:

Here we go then..

A little background first: I'm a guy in his 40's, generally in good health, and for more than 10 years I've been consistently hitting the gym and staying active. Getting lean, though, has never worked out for me.

Strength and size come easily enough, but lean is a different story. My genetics seem to prefer a softer look than I'd choose (right now I'm sitting at roughly 20-22% bf), so I looked into GLP's, and once Reta caught my eye, I was basically decided.

My approach - the smallest possible dose, just enough to nudge things in the right direction.

My current weight and bf% have been stable for some time and it's not unmanageable, but leaning out is the goal, and I'm hoping reta takes on some of that heavy lifting. So I figured I'd share weekly observations here as things progress, since similar posts from others have been genuinely useful to me.

Basic stats

Male

Mid-40's

5'10/178cm

This morning's weight - 79kg/174.165lbs

Body fat estimate - 20-22% (withings scale, not the most accurate I know, but I'm tracking trends)

Resting heart rate average - 44-46

Blood pressure average - 110/71

Starting dose: 1mg reta

Initial thoughts and observations

Well, that first time definitely gets the heart going a bit. After way too many videos on reconstituting reta, plus reading up on injections and everything else, I finally went ahead and did it.

Mistake number one: every syringe I own is 1ml, and I wanted 2ml of BAC water in my reta vial, which holds 20mg reta. That meant 2 injections of BAC into the vial, and I briefly thought I'd ruined everything because a few small lumps of reta remained after I'd rolled it around, though they did dissolve in the end.

Then came drawing the right dose. I'm starting at 1mg, and somehow I'd talked myself into believing it would probably fill the syringe, taking 2 minutes just to get it all in during 1 go, but when I actually pulled it to the target amount it was tiny.

Tiny tiny tiny, 10 units.

So a part of me is sitting there thinking "Surely not, that can't really do anything, can it. That tiny little sliver of fluid?"

Regardless, off we went and I pinned it with no problems.

I'd half expected some big dramatic reaction, maybe someone bursting out of a closet with a trumpet and party poppers, but no, that was it. In and done.

Nothing much sensation-wise after pinning either, perhaps a slight bit of heat? Though I suspect that's my head more than anything else.

Now the waiting begins. I'm still trying to work out what, exactly, this is going to feel like. That's the tricky part for me at the moment, not knowing what to expect on that front. Maybe it's because being hungry and having cravings is such a normal state half the time that the thought of possibly not feeling that as much is a strange concept?

I dunno, we'll see how it goes, I'm mostly hoping that a combination of reduced snacking (especially at the weekends) and a slight boost to my metabolism (I spend most of my days in front of a computer, so the 2 hours in the morning when I'm working out is the majority of my daily activity) will help turn this perpetual state of maintenance into a steady deficit, but I know some people can react differently to others so time will tell.

But that's it for now, I'll probably update again on the next pin (doing once weekly), unless there are any other interesting observations I notice between now and then.

Wow, you're the 2nd person I've come across on here.. what's the origin of you soulless cyborgs?

 

[UnusualLLama]

Smiter said:

UnusualLLama said:

Here we go then..

A little background first: I'm a guy in his 40's, generally in good health, and for more than 10 years I've been consistently hitting the gym and staying active. Getting lean, though, has never worked out for me.

Strength and size come easily enough, but lean is a different story. My genetics seem to prefer a softer look than I'd choose (right now I'm sitting at roughly 20-22% bf), so I looked into GLP's, and once Reta caught my eye, I was basically decided.

My approach - the smallest possible dose, just enough to nudge things in the right direction.

My current weight and bf% have been stable for some time and it's not unmanageable, but leaning out is the goal, and I'm hoping reta takes on some of that heavy lifting. So I figured I'd share weekly observations here as things progress, since similar posts from others have been genuinely useful to me.

Basic stats

Male

Mid-40's

5'10/178cm

This morning's weight - 79kg/174.165lbs

Body fat estimate - 20-22% (withings scale, not the most accurate I know, but I'm tracking trends)

Resting heart rate average - 44-46

Blood pressure average - 110/71

Starting dose: 1mg reta

Initial thoughts and observations

Well, that first time definitely gets the heart going a bit. After way too many videos on reconstituting reta, plus reading up on injections and everything else, I finally went ahead and did it.

Mistake number one: every syringe I own is 1ml, and I wanted 2ml of BAC water in my reta vial, which holds 20mg reta. That meant 2 injections of BAC into the vial, and I briefly thought I'd ruined everything because a few small lumps of reta remained after I'd rolled it around, though they did dissolve in the end.

Then came drawing the right dose. I'm starting at 1mg, and somehow I'd talked myself into believing it would probably fill the syringe, taking 2 minutes just to get it all in during 1 go, but when I actually pulled it to the target amount it was tiny.

Tiny tiny tiny, 10 units.

So a part of me is sitting there thinking "Surely not, that can't really do anything, can it. That tiny little sliver of fluid?"

Regardless, off we went and I pinned it with no problems.

I'd half expected some big dramatic reaction, maybe someone bursting out of a closet with a trumpet and party poppers, but no, that was it. In and done.

Nothing much sensation-wise after pinning either, perhaps a slight bit of heat? Though I suspect that's my head more than anything else.

Now the waiting begins. I'm still trying to work out what, exactly, this is going to feel like. That's the tricky part for me at the moment, not knowing what to expect on that front. Maybe it's because being hungry and having cravings is such a normal state half the time that the thought of possibly not feeling that as much is a strange concept?

I dunno, we'll see how it goes, I'm mostly hoping that a combination of reduced snacking (especially at the weekends) and a slight boost to my metabolism (I spend most of my days in front of a computer, so the 2 hours in the morning when I'm working out is the majority of my daily activity) will help turn this perpetual state of maintenance into a steady deficit, but I know some people can react differently to others so time will tell.

But that's it for now, I'll probably update again on the next pin (doing once weekly), unless there are any other interesting observations I notice between now and then.

Wow, you're the 2nd person I've come across on here.. what's the origin of you soulless cyborgs?

I'm a soulless ginger with a machine for a heart!

But honestly, it all comes down to how consistent I am with training. 5 days a week, I do 60-70 minutes of brisk walking or light running plus 60-75 minutes of strength work.

Then 2 days a week, it's 60-70 minutes of brisk walking along with a 20-30-minute high intensity cardio session (intervals, time efforts, etc.).

My RHR and my consistency clearly go hand in hand. When I had an injury that kept me away from the gym for a bit, my average began creeping into the low-50's after just a little over a week off, and once I'm consistent again, it drops back down quickly.

 

[5byfive]

My resting heart rate sat around the lower to mid 40s. A testosterone test I had done (for unrelated reasons) came back very low, so I began TRT, after which it rose to the low 50s. Given the trouble you're having getting lean, it could be worth investigating if you haven't done so yet.

 

[UnusualLLama]

5byfive said:

My resting heart rate sat around the lower to mid 40s. A testosterone test I had done (for unrelated reasons) came back very low, so I began TRT, after which it rose to the low 50s. Given the trouble you're having getting lean, it could be worth investigating if you haven't done so yet.

Once a year I have a comprehensive blood panel run, and my testosterone levels come back fine — there's nothing pointing to why leaning out is such a struggle. They're also far above the threshold that would qualify someone for TRT in Sweden (mine sit in the upper-mid range).

Trust me, each time those results arrive I've gone through the whole blood test looking for some clue that could explain why getting leaner is so difficult, and I've found nothing. My guess is it comes down to a mix of stubborn genetics and willpower that isn't quite perfect.

 

[Smiter]

UnusualLLama said:

5byfive said:

My resting heart rate sat around the lower to mid 40s. A testosterone test I had done (for unrelated reasons) came back very low, so I began TRT, after which it rose to the low 50s. Given the trouble you're having getting lean, it could be worth investigating if you haven't done so yet.

Once a year I have a comprehensive blood panel run, and my testosterone levels come back fine — there's nothing pointing to why leaning out is such a struggle. They're also far above the threshold that would qualify someone for TRT in Sweden (mine sit in the upper-mid range).

Trust me, each time those results arrive I've gone through the whole blood test looking for some clue that could explain why getting leaner is so difficult, and I've found nothing. My guess is it comes down to a mix of stubborn genetics and willpower that isn't quite perfect.

At this point it's obvious.. Genetics hold the answer, more precisely race.. You people are completely without compassion. Nothing else could account for it. Still, when it comes to burning fat, have you given a thermogenic fat burner a shot? Or maybe Lipo-C?

 

[UnusualLLama]

Smiter said:

UnusualLLama said:

5byfive said:

My resting heart rate sat around the lower to mid 40s. A testosterone test I had done (for unrelated reasons) came back very low, so I began TRT, after which it rose to the low 50s. Given the trouble you're having getting lean, it could be worth investigating if you haven't done so yet.

Once a year I have a comprehensive blood panel run, and my testosterone levels come back fine — there's nothing pointing to why leaning out is such a struggle. They're also far above the threshold that would qualify someone for TRT in Sweden (mine sit in the upper-mid range).

Trust me, each time those results arrive I've gone through the whole blood test looking for some clue that could explain why getting leaner is so difficult, and I've found nothing. My guess is it comes down to a mix of stubborn genetics and willpower that isn't quite perfect.

At this point it's obvious.. Genetics hold the answer, more precisely race.. You people are completely without compassion. Nothing else could account for it. Still, when it comes to burning fat, have you given a thermogenic fat burner a shot? Or maybe Lipo-C?

Back when I gave fat burners a shot, the results were basically nonexistent for me.

Regarding lipo-c, I've done some reading (plus looking into other peptides and such), and should the reta trial not take me to my goal, it could be something I'd explore. But right now, I'm fully committed to the reta path and eager to find out where it leads.

 

[Fusoya]

I'm 41 and a long distance runner - roughly a month into Reta, and my BP and RHR were already low to begin with.

My resting heart rate shot way up on Reta, high enough to set off anxiety I already have naturally, though my body is starting to adjust.

Holding Z2 during my runs at the pace I like has ranged from tough to basically not happening, but I'm hoping it settles down eventually.

Have you seen any heart rate changes on your end?

 

[UnusualLLama]

Fusoya said:

I'm 41 and a long distance runner - roughly a month into Reta, and my BP and RHR were already low to begin with.

My resting heart rate shot way up on Reta, high enough to set off anxiety I already have naturally, though my body is starting to adjust.

Holding Z2 during my runs at the pace I like has ranged from tough to basically not happening, but I'm hoping it settles down eventually.

Have you seen any heart rate changes on your end?

Amusing that you bring that up, since I'd been going back and forth on whether to write an update now or hold off until next week's injection like I'd initially intended.

A couple of the things I'd been "worried" about (and I say that loosely — more like things I figured I'd likely have to live with to some extent) were the reported rises in RHR/HR and sleep getting thrown off (I'm aware how much good quality sleep matters, and I've dealt with problems there before, so I really didn't want to disturb things too much, so to speak).

To start with, and this is merely a day after my first dose @ 1mg;

RHR dropped 1 beat versus yesterday (45 this morning, 46 yesterday), though it's still inside my usual 44-46 reference range, so I can't honestly read that as anything meaningful beyond "it hasn't risen". BP estimate came in a touch lower too.

Sleep genuinely felt good. Really good — I even looked at my whoop and it showed a bit more deep sleep than I normally get. One to keep an eye on for sure (anecdotally, I've also come across reports that reta can actually "fix" sleep for some people, curious either way).

Now here's where it gets interesting for me. You said you couldn't stay in Z2, and my gym session this morning was cardio, so time on the treadmill.

Two things stood out: first, it was hella easy to break a sweat, even at lighter efforts. Second, my HR climbed into working zones much faster than it usually does.

The catch is, I can't really treat a single workout/day as a metric for sorting out what's from the reta and what isn't. As you probably know, or anyone who's put in consistent gym work or training in general, you can get 2 separate days where you feel completely fine, and on one of them you might be hitting PR's like it's nothing while on the other you might be struggling even during warmups.

It's just one of those things — some days you smash it, other days not so much, even if nothing feels much different at first.

So yeah.. it's definitely one to watch.

What dose reta are you on?

 

[UnusualLLama]

Oh yeah, one more item — likely the single biggest point when it comes to reta itself: appetite and hunger.

Hunger is still very much present for me. My stomach growls once it starts emptying, and I'm aware I ought to eat (those macros and targets aren't going to hit themselves), yet the pull to grab a snack just isn't there.

It's not a dramatic shift, and I keep asking myself how much of this comes from some corner of my brain going [[Q1]] versus how much is actually the reta doing the work — either way, it's an odd sensation.

Not a bad odd, just... unfamiliar.

That said, discipline usually holds up pretty well for me during the week. Weekends are where my willpower cracks and the progress I've built over the week gets wiped out, so the real test is going to be this weekend.

 

[Smiter]

Now I want to find out what Reta does to a handful of unfeeling folks here. According to them, their hearts tick along at roughly 40 beats each minute. Come on, that's nonsense—it's plainly some kind of robotic contraption. Today I injected my 2nd Reta dose, and my RHR sits near 76 at this point, up from 68 earlier. My workout intentions got derailed by the flu.

 

[domin8brix]

UnusualLLama said:

Smiter said:

UnusualLLama said:

Here we go then..

A little background first: I'm a guy in his 40's, generally in good health, and for more than 10 years I've been consistently hitting the gym and staying active. Getting lean, though, has never worked out for me.

Strength and size come easily enough, but lean is a different story. My genetics seem to prefer a softer look than I'd choose (right now I'm sitting at roughly 20-22% bf), so I looked into GLP's, and once Reta caught my eye, I was basically decided.

My approach - the smallest possible dose, just enough to nudge things in the right direction.

My current weight and bf% have been stable for some time and it's not unmanageable, but leaning out is the goal, and I'm hoping reta takes on some of that heavy lifting. So I figured I'd share weekly observations here as things progress, since similar posts from others have been genuinely useful to me.

Basic stats

Male

Mid-40's

5'10/178cm

This morning's weight - 79kg/174.165lbs

Body fat estimate - 20-22% (withings scale, not the most accurate I know, but I'm tracking trends)

Resting heart rate average - 44-46

Blood pressure average - 110/71

Starting dose: 1mg reta

Initial thoughts and observations

Well, that first time definitely gets the heart going a bit. After way too many videos on reconstituting reta, plus reading up on injections and everything else, I finally went ahead and did it.

Mistake number one: every syringe I own is 1ml, and I wanted 2ml of BAC water in my reta vial, which holds 20mg reta. That meant 2 injections of BAC into the vial, and I briefly thought I'd ruined everything because a few small lumps of reta remained after I'd rolled it around, though they did dissolve in the end.

Then came drawing the right dose. I'm starting at 1mg, and somehow I'd talked myself into believing it would probably fill the syringe, taking 2 minutes just to get it all in during 1 go, but when I actually pulled it to the target amount it was tiny.

Tiny tiny tiny, 10 units.

So a part of me is sitting there thinking "Surely not, that can't really do anything, can it. That tiny little sliver of fluid?"

Regardless, off we went and I pinned it with no problems.

I'd half expected some big dramatic reaction, maybe someone bursting out of a closet with a trumpet and party poppers, but no, that was it. In and done.

Nothing much sensation-wise after pinning either, perhaps a slight bit of heat? Though I suspect that's my head more than anything else.

Now the waiting begins. I'm still trying to work out what, exactly, this is going to feel like. That's the tricky part for me at the moment, not knowing what to expect on that front. Maybe it's because being hungry and having cravings is such a normal state half the time that the thought of possibly not feeling that as much is a strange concept?

I dunno, we'll see how it goes, I'm mostly hoping that a combination of reduced snacking (especially at the weekends) and a slight boost to my metabolism (I spend most of my days in front of a computer, so the 2 hours in the morning when I'm working out is the majority of my daily activity) will help turn this perpetual state of maintenance into a steady deficit, but I know some people can react differently to others so time will tell.

But that's it for now, I'll probably update again on the next pin (doing once weekly), unless there are any other interesting observations I notice between now and then.

Wow, you're the 2nd person I've come across on here.. what's the origin of you soulless cyborgs?

I'm a soulless ginger with a machine for a heart!

But honestly, it all comes down to how consistent I am with training. 5 days a week, I do 60-70 minutes of brisk walking or light running plus 60-75 minutes of strength work.

Then 2 days a week, it's 60-70 minutes of brisk walking along with a 20-30-minute high intensity cardio session (intervals, time efforts, etc.).

My RHR and my consistency clearly go hand in hand. When I had an injury that kept me away from the gym for a bit, my average began creeping into the low-50's after just a little over a week off, and once I'm consistent again, it drops back down quickly.

TEAM SOULLESS MACHINE!

 

[Smiter]

domin8brix said:

UnusualLLama said:

Smiter said:

UnusualLLama said:

Here we go then..

A little background first: I'm a guy in his 40's, generally in good health, and for more than 10 years I've been consistently hitting the gym and staying active. Getting lean, though, has never worked out for me.

Strength and size come easily enough, but lean is a different story. My genetics seem to prefer a softer look than I'd choose (right now I'm sitting at roughly 20-22% bf), so I looked into GLP's, and once Reta caught my eye, I was basically decided.

My approach - the smallest possible dose, just enough to nudge things in the right direction.

My current weight and bf% have been stable for some time and it's not unmanageable, but leaning out is the goal, and I'm hoping reta takes on some of that heavy lifting. So I figured I'd share weekly observations here as things progress, since similar posts from others have been genuinely useful to me.

Basic stats

Male

Mid-40's

5'10/178cm

This morning's weight - 79kg/174.165lbs

Body fat estimate - 20-22% (withings scale, not the most accurate I know, but I'm tracking trends)

Resting heart rate average - 44-46

Blood pressure average - 110/71

Starting dose: 1mg reta

Initial thoughts and observations

Well, that first time definitely gets the heart going a bit. After way too many videos on reconstituting reta, plus reading up on injections and everything else, I finally went ahead and did it.

Mistake number one: every syringe I own is 1ml, and I wanted 2ml of BAC water in my reta vial, which holds 20mg reta. That meant 2 injections of BAC into the vial, and I briefly thought I'd ruined everything because a few small lumps of reta remained after I'd rolled it around, though they did dissolve in the end.

Then came drawing the right dose. I'm starting at 1mg, and somehow I'd talked myself into believing it would probably fill the syringe, taking 2 minutes just to get it all in during 1 go, but when I actually pulled it to the target amount it was tiny.

Tiny tiny tiny, 10 units.

So a part of me is sitting there thinking "Surely not, that can't really do anything, can it. That tiny little sliver of fluid?"

Regardless, off we went and I pinned it with no problems.

I'd half expected some big dramatic reaction, maybe someone bursting out of a closet with a trumpet and party poppers, but no, that was it. In and done.

Nothing much sensation-wise after pinning either, perhaps a slight bit of heat? Though I suspect that's my head more than anything else.

Now the waiting begins. I'm still trying to work out what, exactly, this is going to feel like. That's the tricky part for me at the moment, not knowing what to expect on that front. Maybe it's because being hungry and having cravings is such a normal state half the time that the thought of possibly not feeling that as much is a strange concept?

I dunno, we'll see how it goes, I'm mostly hoping that a combination of reduced snacking (especially at the weekends) and a slight boost to my metabolism (I spend most of my days in front of a computer, so the 2 hours in the morning when I'm working out is the majority of my daily activity) will help turn this perpetual state of maintenance into a steady deficit, but I know some people can react differently to others so time will tell.

But that's it for now, I'll probably update again on the next pin (doing once weekly), unless there are any other interesting observations I notice between now and then.

Wow, you're the 2nd person I've come across on here.. what's the origin of you soulless cyborgs?

I'm a soulless ginger with a machine for a heart!

But honestly, it all comes down to how consistent I am with training. 5 days a week, I do 60-70 minutes of brisk walking or light running plus 60-75 minutes of strength work.

Then 2 days a week, it's 60-70 minutes of brisk walking along with a 20-30-minute high intensity cardio session (intervals, time efforts, etc.).

My RHR and my consistency clearly go hand in hand. When I had an injury that kept me away from the gym for a bit, my average began creeping into the low-50's after just a little over a week off, and once I'm consistent again, it drops back down quickly.

TEAM SOULLESS MACHINE!

You too, Brutus

 

[Fusoya]

UnusualLLama said:

Fusoya said:

I'm 41 and a long distance runner - roughly a month into Reta, and my BP and RHR were already low to begin with.

My resting heart rate shot way up on Reta, high enough to set off anxiety I already have naturally, though my body is starting to adjust.

Holding Z2 during my runs at the pace I like has ranged from tough to basically not happening, but I'm hoping it settles down eventually.

Have you seen any heart rate changes on your end?

Amusing that you bring that up, since I'd been going back and forth on whether to write an update now or hold off until next week's injection like I'd initially intended.

A couple of the things I'd been "worried" about (and I say that loosely — more like things I figured I'd likely have to live with to some extent) were the reported rises in RHR/HR and sleep getting thrown off (I'm aware how much good quality sleep matters, and I've dealt with problems there before, so I really didn't want to disturb things too much, so to speak).

To start with, and this is merely a day after my first dose @ 1mg;

RHR dropped 1 beat versus yesterday (45 this morning, 46 yesterday), though it's still inside my usual 44-46 reference range, so I can't honestly read that as anything meaningful beyond "it hasn't risen". BP estimate came in a touch lower too.

Sleep genuinely felt good. Really good — I even looked at my whoop and it showed a bit more deep sleep than I normally get. One to keep an eye on for sure (anecdotally, I've also come across reports that reta can actually "fix" sleep for some people, curious either way).

Now here's where it gets interesting for me. You said you couldn't stay in Z2, and my gym session this morning was cardio, so time on the treadmill.

Two things stood out: first, it was hella easy to break a sweat, even at lighter efforts. Second, my HR climbed into working zones much faster than it usually does.

The catch is, I can't really treat a single workout/day as a metric for sorting out what's from the reta and what isn't. As you probably know, or anyone who's put in consistent gym work or training in general, you can get 2 separate days where you feel completely fine, and on one of them you might be hitting PR's like it's nothing while on the other you might be struggling even during warmups.

It's just one of those things — some days you smash it, other days not so much, even if nothing feels much different at first.

So yeah.. it's definitely one to watch.

What dose reta are you on?

At the moment I'm taking roughly 2mg per week.

Week 5 starts next Monday, and I'm thinking about going up to 4mg, though I haven't decided whether to split the dose.

One thing I can say about this stuff: my urge to snack is GONE, and snacking used to be a massive issue for me. Donuts were a problem, and I used to pause my workday constantly just to eat something.

Hunger and food thoughts haven't disappeared, but they're quieter, and eating doesn't excite me the way it used to. That cuts both ways - I'm a big eater, yet almost nothing appeals to me now like it normally would.

My plan is to cut, then ideally settle onto a low maintenance dose. All in all, I'm happy with it.

Sleep got messed up at first, but it's settling down now. I already wake at 4am, so 3:30am hasn't been too terrible.

So far this week I've done a 10 mile run plus three 8 mile runs, and my heart rate is starting to return to its usual level, though it's still above what I'd normally see on easy miles.

What I have noticed is that I feel GOOD once I'm out there doing it, which is typical for me, but the last couple months my runs felt far tougher than they should - that happens, but I'm PUMPED to feel good and my legs have been solid lately.

 

[UnusualLLama]

This morning my RHR came in at 48. That sits just outside the range I currently use as a reference, and it's a number I usually only encounter when I've eaten too late, haven't hydrated enough, or have let my morning workout routine slip.

Even so, one day's reading isn't enough to pin this on reta.

On top of that, across the 2 hours of training I did this morning, my average heart-rate ran slightly above where it's sat over the past 30-days, so something could well be going on.

The upside is that any bump is tiny, extremely tiny. Had my RHR jumped 10 beats rather than 2/3, and had working HR been reaching much higher figures, I'd be more worried, but nothing here is alarming, so if a modest lift in metabolism costs me this, fine.

I'll add a little more base-cardio work (nothing high intensity, just the lower end). My usual experience is that raising that volume brings my RHR down somewhat, so watching how the two interact will be interesting.

Beyond that, everything else is okay. I can still tell without trouble when I'm genuinely hungry, yet I still don't feel much pull to act on it right away. But the weekend starts now, so this is where the real test comes.

 

[UnusualLLama]

domin8brix said:

UnusualLLama said:

Smiter said:

UnusualLLama said:

Here we go then..

A little background first: I'm a guy in his 40's, generally in good health, and for more than 10 years I've been consistently hitting the gym and staying active. Getting lean, though, has never worked out for me.

Strength and size come easily enough, but lean is a different story. My genetics seem to prefer a softer look than I'd choose (right now I'm sitting at roughly 20-22% bf), so I looked into GLP's, and once Reta caught my eye, I was basically decided.

My approach - the smallest possible dose, just enough to nudge things in the right direction.

My current weight and bf% have been stable for some time and it's not unmanageable, but leaning out is the goal, and I'm hoping reta takes on some of that heavy lifting. So I figured I'd share weekly observations here as things progress, since similar posts from others have been genuinely useful to me.

Basic stats

Male

Mid-40's

5'10/178cm

This morning's weight - 79kg/174.165lbs

Body fat estimate - 20-22% (withings scale, not the most accurate I know, but I'm tracking trends)

Resting heart rate average - 44-46

Blood pressure average - 110/71

Starting dose: 1mg reta

Initial thoughts and observations

Well, that first time definitely gets the heart going a bit. After way too many videos on reconstituting reta, plus reading up on injections and everything else, I finally went ahead and did it.

Mistake number one: every syringe I own is 1ml, and I wanted 2ml of BAC water in my reta vial, which holds 20mg reta. That meant 2 injections of BAC into the vial, and I briefly thought I'd ruined everything because a few small lumps of reta remained after I'd rolled it around, though they did dissolve in the end.

Then came drawing the right dose. I'm starting at 1mg, and somehow I'd talked myself into believing it would probably fill the syringe, taking 2 minutes just to get it all in during 1 go, but when I actually pulled it to the target amount it was tiny.

Tiny tiny tiny, 10 units.

So a part of me is sitting there thinking "Surely not, that can't really do anything, can it. That tiny little sliver of fluid?"

Regardless, off we went and I pinned it with no problems.

I'd half expected some big dramatic reaction, maybe someone bursting out of a closet with a trumpet and party poppers, but no, that was it. In and done.

Nothing much sensation-wise after pinning either, perhaps a slight bit of heat? Though I suspect that's my head more than anything else.

Now the waiting begins. I'm still trying to work out what, exactly, this is going to feel like. That's the tricky part for me at the moment, not knowing what to expect on that front. Maybe it's because being hungry and having cravings is such a normal state half the time that the thought of possibly not feeling that as much is a strange concept?

I dunno, we'll see how it goes, I'm mostly hoping that a combination of reduced snacking (especially at the weekends) and a slight boost to my metabolism (I spend most of my days in front of a computer, so the 2 hours in the morning when I'm working out is the majority of my daily activity) will help turn this perpetual state of maintenance into a steady deficit, but I know some people can react differently to others so time will tell.

But that's it for now, I'll probably update again on the next pin (doing once weekly), unless there are any other interesting observations I notice between now and then.

Wow, you're the 2nd person I've come across on here.. what's the origin of you soulless cyborgs?

I'm a soulless ginger with a machine for a heart!

But honestly, it all comes down to how consistent I am with training. 5 days a week, I do 60-70 minutes of brisk walking or light running plus 60-75 minutes of strength work.

Then 2 days a week, it's 60-70 minutes of brisk walking along with a 20-30-minute high intensity cardio session (intervals, time efforts, etc.).

My RHR and my consistency clearly go hand in hand. When I had an injury that kept me away from the gym for a bit, my average began creeping into the low-50's after just a little over a week off, and once I'm consistent again, it drops back down quickly.

TEAM SOULLESS MACHINE!

There's a piece of trivia that comes across as made up but is actually true: people with red hair need more anesthesia than the general population. Medical professionals factor this in when working out dosages—typically around 20% higher is administered.

I bring this up because a comparable pattern is believed to apply to many other medications, and I can't help but wonder whether reta is affected by it too?

 

[domin8brix]

UnusualLLama said:

domin8brix said:

UnusualLLama said:

Smiter said:

UnusualLLama said:

Here we go then..

A little background first: I'm a guy in his 40's, generally in good health, and for more than 10 years I've been consistently hitting the gym and staying active. Getting lean, though, has never worked out for me.

Strength and size come easily enough, but lean is a different story. My genetics seem to prefer a softer look than I'd choose (right now I'm sitting at roughly 20-22% bf), so I looked into GLP's, and once Reta caught my eye, I was basically decided.

My approach - the smallest possible dose, just enough to nudge things in the right direction.

My current weight and bf% have been stable for some time and it's not unmanageable, but leaning out is the goal, and I'm hoping reta takes on some of that heavy lifting. So I figured I'd share weekly observations here as things progress, since similar posts from others have been genuinely useful to me.

Basic stats

Male

Mid-40's

5'10/178cm

This morning's weight - 79kg/174.165lbs

Body fat estimate - 20-22% (withings scale, not the most accurate I know, but I'm tracking trends)

Resting heart rate average - 44-46

Blood pressure average - 110/71

Starting dose: 1mg reta

Initial thoughts and observations

Well, that first time definitely gets the heart going a bit. After way too many videos on reconstituting reta, plus reading up on injections and everything else, I finally went ahead and did it.

Mistake number one: every syringe I own is 1ml, and I wanted 2ml of BAC water in my reta vial, which holds 20mg reta. That meant 2 injections of BAC into the vial, and I briefly thought I'd ruined everything because a few small lumps of reta remained after I'd rolled it around, though they did dissolve in the end.

Then came drawing the right dose. I'm starting at 1mg, and somehow I'd talked myself into believing it would probably fill the syringe, taking 2 minutes just to get it all in during 1 go, but when I actually pulled it to the target amount it was tiny.

Tiny tiny tiny, 10 units.

So a part of me is sitting there thinking "Surely not, that can't really do anything, can it. That tiny little sliver of fluid?"

Regardless, off we went and I pinned it with no problems.

I'd half expected some big dramatic reaction, maybe someone bursting out of a closet with a trumpet and party poppers, but no, that was it. In and done.

Nothing much sensation-wise after pinning either, perhaps a slight bit of heat? Though I suspect that's my head more than anything else.

Now the waiting begins. I'm still trying to work out what, exactly, this is going to feel like. That's the tricky part for me at the moment, not knowing what to expect on that front. Maybe it's because being hungry and having cravings is such a normal state half the time that the thought of possibly not feeling that as much is a strange concept?

I dunno, we'll see how it goes, I'm mostly hoping that a combination of reduced snacking (especially at the weekends) and a slight boost to my metabolism (I spend most of my days in front of a computer, so the 2 hours in the morning when I'm working out is the majority of my daily activity) will help turn this perpetual state of maintenance into a steady deficit, but I know some people can react differently to others so time will tell.

But that's it for now, I'll probably update again on the next pin (doing once weekly), unless there are any other interesting observations I notice between now and then.

Wow, you're the 2nd person I've come across on here.. what's the origin of you soulless cyborgs?

I'm a soulless ginger with a machine for a heart!

But honestly, it all comes down to how consistent I am with training. 5 days a week, I do 60-70 minutes of brisk walking or light running plus 60-75 minutes of strength work.

Then 2 days a week, it's 60-70 minutes of brisk walking along with a 20-30-minute high intensity cardio session (intervals, time efforts, etc.).

My RHR and my consistency clearly go hand in hand. When I had an injury that kept me away from the gym for a bit, my average began creeping into the low-50's after just a little over a week off, and once I'm consistent again, it drops back down quickly.

TEAM SOULLESS MACHINE!

There's a piece of trivia that comes across as made up but is actually true: people with red hair need more anesthesia than the general population. Medical professionals factor this in when working out dosages—typically around 20% higher is administered.

I bring this up because a comparable pattern is believed to apply to many other medications, and I can't help but wonder whether reta is affected by it too?

That requirement for higher doses of local or general anesthesia is something I've definitely experienced too! Whenever I go through a procedure, the staff react along the lines of "ope, need a gallon for this one!" and my dentist ends up doubling the amount every time. As for these GLPs, I haven't picked up on any difference in how I respond — whether that's a strong response or a weak one.

Whether this ties back to being a redhead or is simply how I am, I can't say, but my pain tolerance tends to run pretty high as well, and I'll only reach for the "hard stuff" when there's truly no other option.

 

[UnusualLLama]

A small update;

Weekend snacking had been one of my top worries. A 2000-calorie day for me could balloon into 4000-5000 calories without much effort. Do that across 2 days and suddenly all the self-control I'd maintained Monday through Friday was wiped out.

Reta shut that down completely, though.

Despite being on just this 1mg starting dose, Saturday's lunch was pretty normal for me (something along the lines of a fish soup/stew plus garlic bread, plenty of protein) and I stayed full for hours afterward. In the past, I'd have wandered into the kitchen 30 minutes later hunting for a protein bar or another snack (a habit that would usually loop all day long). That didn't happen this time.

So even if the appetite suppression isn't dramatic, what I'm definitely noticing is that food digests more slowly and keeps me satisfied longer.

 

[UnusualLLama]

Week 1 is done!

The numbers

Male

Mid-40's

5'10/178cm

This morning's weight - 77.9kg/171.7401lbs (previously 79kg/174.165lbs)

The rolling 7-day average has dropped 0.7kg/1.54324lbs

Body fat estimate - 18-20% (withings scale, aware it isn't highly precise, but I track trends - right now the trend is downward)

RHR average - 44-47 (previously 44-46)

Blood pressure average - 110/72 (previously 110/71)

Dose right now - 1mg reta

First impressions

That tiny amount of liquid (10 units) genuinely does something, doesn't it?

It still seems strange to me that it works, particularly given how few peptides are actually present in that liquid, yet here we are.

The scale shows 1.1kg less than last week, though the rolling 7-day figure is 0.7. Some of that initial drop will have been water, but only a small amount. I was basically eating at maintenance before starting and I have a solid feel for how my body holds water, so I can tell when there's a lot of it or not (for instance, the day after a heavy leg day, when my legs go stiffer than week-old bread and every movement makes the muscles yell. On those days I always carry extra water). So I figure that 0.7 is probably fat. It also looks like fat, and I can already spot a small change in a few areas.

My worry about RHR/HR going up is, for now, less of a worry and more of something I keep watching.

About 34-48 hours after pinning, RHR rose slightly by 2-3bmp, and getting my HR into working zones during cardio was definitely easier. Luckily, my interval session didn't show any rise at the top end (I hit the same max numbers I normally do in those hard sessions).

Beyond that, there really haven't been any "side-effects". Yes, 1mg is a low dose, but it's working and some people have reported sides at lower doses. Still, my energy is fine, no nausea, I had a bit of a headache one day but that came from dehydration. I suppose that counts as a side? I've also noticed being a bit thirstier, but nothing major, and I usually stay on top of hydration.

As for appetite suppression and similar things, it's odd. I keep searching for that "one physical thing I can feel" to confirm it's working, but I've realised that's the wrong approach. It's actually the absence of the physical thing that shows me it's working.

I still get hungry, I can still tell when my stomach is emptying, still hear and feel a rumble now and then. But that driving urge to immediately go and "fix" it isn't there.

Like I said in earlier comments, my weekdays tend to be very consistent and it's the weekends where the hard work gets undone. That was the breakthrough for me. This weekend came and went, I ate regular meals and stayed full for hours afterwards and felt no pull to raid the kitchen at all.

So yeah, moving in the right direction, and at a pace I'm happy with too. I want to keep as much muscle as possible, so slow and steady is the way (it's almost impossible not to lose "some" muscle-mass when you lose weight unless you're juiced to the gills, and I expect there will be a little).

On we go.

I'm curious how long this 1mg dose will last. I've read plenty of people saying they start to get "the noise" back around weeks 3-4 on their starting doses before upping them, and I'd really like to stay at the lowest effective dose for as long as possible.

Time will tell.

 

[px1984]

I'm having a good time with this since my situation is almost identical — early 40s, hitting the gym regularly, only somewhat taller and somewhat heavier than you, and definitely without your RHR. Mine sits at about 60, though honestly cardio has never been something I enjoy.

Took my initial shot on Sunday, so I'm roughly 4 days in. Weekdays are simple for me because I'm away for work and bring all my meals along, so everything is arranged while doing intermittent fasting. Early on I really wondered whether it was doing anything, since food noise still felt fairly typical, but because I fast for 16hrs I figured Reta simply doesn't erase every bit of hunger noise, plus I only used 0.5mg in week 1 and plan to move up to 1mg next week.

What I did notice was putting in a bit more effort at the gym, and sweating came much more easily, happening on lifts where that never usually occurs. Whether the extra effort is a placebo of "if you are injecting yourself you should probably put max effort in", I can't say.

My starting weight was 92.2kg on our rubbish bathroom scales on Monday morning beforehand (following a weekend away with plenty of food/drink), and this morning the scale showed 89.3kg. Truly the first time I've been under 90kg in roughly 15 years, and I definitely look different in the mirror, though I realize it will be water loss and such — still, even after days of fasting I hadn't seen that number, and I've actually eaten more good calories daily this week than I typically would.

As for sides, I definitely experienced the hydration aspect along with itchy skin and dry eyes, and had to increase to 2 electrolyte sachets daily when normally I'd just take 1 in the morning; those seem to have settled now. Food noise is quieting somewhat, but I haven't reached the weekend yet! Nothing major on RHR so far either