Reta first-timer: diet, deficit, training, supplements?

[Locken]

Took my first Reta dose today. About 12 months back I ran Tirz, ramped the dose up way too fast, and the experience was rough enough that I stopped it completely. Because of that history, I’m starting this first week at 1mg to see how it treats me.

For maintaining or cutting, keto has always been my go-to. Lately though I keep running into claims that keto or low carb shouldn’t be combined with this, so my main question is: what diet should I actually begin with? And how big should the deficit be?

On the training side, I’m hoping to lift 3x per week, though my schedule is packed right now so realistically it may only happen 2x.

Are there any supplements you consider must-haves, side effects that deserve real caution, anything like that?

If this goes smoothly and I stay on it, are there other peps worth adding? My aims are fat loss, strength gains, and all that superhuman stuff. lol

Also, might just be paranoia, but I swear my stomach already feels warmer. It’s been roughly 60 minutes since I injected, and there’s also a weird acidic sensation in my throat. shrugs

 

[trey915]

1) An app named MacroFactor is something I’ve just begun using. Beyond tracking calories, key nutrients and similar metrics, it lets you set a goal weight plus a target date, which tells you the deficit needed to reach that goal on schedule.

2) Tirzepatide is what I currently take, though my suggestion for you would be adding Tesamorelin, or alternatively CJC1295 no dac combined with Ipamorelin. Fat burning and muscle preservation are what this supports.

3) MOTS-c is another one I’d suggest, since it can help you get more out of training sessions and amplify the results.

 

[BNLFL]

Give the guy a chance to begin before you treat him like a lab rat. Simply beginning Reta can be bewildering.

 

[HRH_IceQueen]

When it comes to Reta, titration is key: start low and increase slowly. If you're on a higher dose and experiencing unpleasant side effects, try splitting it into 2 doses per week. For me, a single weekly dose of 4mg was too much, so I switched to 2mg twice a week and now have no side effects.

Regarding keto, because your body is already used to it, I'd recommend continuing, but don't be too strict. I still follow keto, but I also do a carb refeed 1x/wk. So far, I've dropped 20lbs on Reta (over about 7 months) while combining keto and IF. Ultimately, pay attention to what your body tells you. Best of luck on your journey.

 

[Flash-BCR]

BNLFL said:

Give the guy a chance to begin before you treat him like a lab rat. Simply beginning Reta can be bewildering.

Am I right?...He won't have a clue whether he's coming or going, or which pep is responsible for what...

Still, Reta is a strong pick!...

 

[lessthanhalf]

trey915 said:

1) An app named MacroFactor is something I’ve just begun using. Beyond tracking calories, key nutrients and similar metrics, it lets you set a goal weight plus a target date, which tells you the deficit needed to reach that goal on schedule.

2) Tirzepatide is what I currently take, though my suggestion for you would be adding Tesamorelin, or alternatively CJC1295 no dac combined with Ipamorelin. Fat burning and muscle preservation are what this supports.

3) MOTS-c is another one I’d suggest, since it can help you get more out of training sessions and amplify the results.

To address that point: choosing to run additional peptides is completely up to you. My advice would be to avoid stacking several new peptides simultaneously, and hold off on introducing any until you've settled into reta, titrated the dose upward somewhat, and can see whether it's helping or producing side effects. Otherwise, figuring out which peptide is responsible for what, or what's triggering side effects, becomes essentially impossible. Also, if you plan to experiment with the growth hormone system, baseline labs are necessary — at minimum blood sugar and IGF-1. I realized this is just an expanded version of what I said above.

 

[trey915]

lessthanhalf said:

trey915 said:

1) An app named MacroFactor is something I’ve just begun using. Beyond tracking calories, key nutrients and similar metrics, it lets you set a goal weight plus a target date, which tells you the deficit needed to reach that goal on schedule.

2) Tirzepatide is what I currently take, though my suggestion for you would be adding Tesamorelin, or alternatively CJC1295 no dac combined with Ipamorelin. Fat burning and muscle preservation are what this supports.

3) MOTS-c is another one I’d suggest, since it can help you get more out of training sessions and amplify the results.

To address that point: choosing to run additional peptides is completely up to you. My advice would be to avoid stacking several new peptides simultaneously, and hold off on introducing any until you've settled into reta, titrated the dose upward somewhat, and can see whether it's helping or producing side effects. Otherwise, figuring out which peptide is responsible for what, or what's triggering side effects, becomes essentially impossible. Also, if you plan to experiment with the growth hormone system, baseline labs are necessary — at minimum blood sugar and IGF-1. I realized this is just an expanded version of what I said above.

Those are all solid points. I realize I didn’t phrase my suggestions well. They assumed you would first titrate up on Reta, rather than adding everything at the same time. You definitely want to introduce one at a time, titrating slowly and carefully.

 

[skaylife]

trey915 said:

1) An app named MacroFactor is something I’ve just begun using. Beyond tracking calories, key nutrients and similar metrics, it lets you set a goal weight plus a target date, which tells you the deficit needed to reach that goal on schedule.

2) Tirzepatide is what I currently take, though my suggestion for you would be adding Tesamorelin, or alternatively CJC1295 no dac combined with Ipamorelin. Fat burning and muscle preservation are what this supports.

3) MOTS-c is another one I’d suggest, since it can help you get more out of training sessions and amplify the results.

The combination of Ipa and CJC1295 No Dac is helpful for maintaining muscle during weight loss and for supporting muscle growth. However, when it came to fat burning, I saw nothing. I ran this stack for 4 months. My muscles responded far better to training. Even though I dropped 31kg and got down to 71kg body weight, the fat on my belly remained. Once I began Eloralintide anfd teamorelin, the fat tissue became much softer and showed promise for halp dissolving and clearing out fat.

 

[trey915]

skaylife said:

trey915 said:

1) An app named MacroFactor is something I’ve just begun using. Beyond tracking calories, key nutrients and similar metrics, it lets you set a goal weight plus a target date, which tells you the deficit needed to reach that goal on schedule.

2) Tirzepatide is what I currently take, though my suggestion for you would be adding Tesamorelin, or alternatively CJC1295 no dac combined with Ipamorelin. Fat burning and muscle preservation are what this supports.

3) MOTS-c is another one I’d suggest, since it can help you get more out of training sessions and amplify the results.

The combination of Ipa and CJC1295 No Dac is helpful for maintaining muscle during weight loss and for supporting muscle growth. However, when it came to fat burning, I saw nothing. I ran this stack for 4 months. My muscles responded far better to training. Even though I dropped 31kg and got down to 71kg body weight, the fat on my belly remained. Once I began Eloralintide anfd teamorelin, the fat tissue became much softer and showed promise for halp dissolving and clearing out fat.

Within that combo, visceral fat is what the Ipamorelin portion goes after—though tesamorelin hits it harder.

 

[Huffingnpuffing]

I dose twice weekly and it took me 6 months to reach 4mg.

Maybe I missed chances for quicker progress, but I haven't experienced any adverse effects at all. Even so, I dropped 10-12 kgs from 100kg, so I'm content.

 

[Locken]

Alright, 3 weeks in now. The first 2 weeks were at 1mg, and yesterday I moved up to 2mg. Appetite suppression is definitely there and I’m eating less—probably around 1200-1500 calories a day—plus I lift weights 3-4 times per week. Even so, no weight loss yet. I picked a vendor that gets decent reviews here, so now I’m second-guessing whether what I got is actually legit.

Back when I began Mounjaro, doing the same routine I’m on now, I believe I dropped 10lbs within that first month.

My plan is to remain at 2 for as long as possible, hoping the earlier dose was simply too low.

Klow has my attention—if it could help me hold onto muscle and bounce back quicker, that seems like a solid addition, but I’ll hold off until I’ve got more time on this.

Appreciate all the responses, they’re genuinely useful and precisely the kind of feedback I was after!

 

[ladyj779]

When the scale isn't moving, the usual reason is that your intake is above 1200-1500 calories—except in the case of a petite, older woman.

 

[Locken]

ladyj779 said:

When the scale isn't moving, the usual reason is that your intake is above 1200-1500 calories—except in the case of a petite, older woman.

Nope, I’ve genuinely stuck with it. I log everything I eat and weigh my food before it goes in. It feels like I’ve hit a wall, though hitting one this soon doesn’t really add up.

On top of that, every night brings super intense dreams, my sleep has gotten worse, and I’m dealing with awful headaches. Tirz gave me the same issues, just not this badly. I take electrolytes, a daily vitamin, and drink 128oz of water every day.

Even with the scale not moving, my pants are fitting better, which I did notice. The bloating has dropped a lot as well. I’ll stay patient and keep watching things.

 

[Troposphere]

That thread name brought "Don't Do What Donny Don't Does" to mind.

 

[lessthanhalf]

Age, height and starting weight are unknown to me. Since you're hitting the gym with goals of gaining strength and dropping fat rather than shedding a large amount of weight, my guess is you aren't severely obese.

Assuming your calorie tracking is on point, fat loss should be happening regardless of what the scale shows. The only exceptions would be something like a prior 100kg loss or being very petite — otherwise those calories simply cannot be maintenance. Should bloating have decreased, waist circumference may have shrunk too, which can serve as another fat-loss indicator, though it's far from precise and digestive problems such as bloating can throw it off.

That said, your reta dose is quite low. Research showed 1mg produced 9% weight loss across a year, which points to a fairly gradual pace overall. Many people see little to no response at 2mg, and that becomes noticeably less common at 4mg. So either you wait it out or increase the dose before learning how well it suits you. Given that tirz gave you trouble — and tirz tends to have gentler side effects than reta — a slow titration is likely the smarter route.

 

[Skidude]

lessthanhalf said:

Age, height and starting weight are unknown to me. Since you're hitting the gym with goals of gaining strength and dropping fat rather than shedding a large amount of weight, my guess is you aren't severely obese.

Assuming your calorie tracking is on point, fat loss should be happening regardless of what the scale shows. The only exceptions would be something like a prior 100kg loss or being very petite — otherwise those calories simply cannot be maintenance. Should bloating have decreased, waist circumference may have shrunk too, which can serve as another fat-loss indicator, though it's far from precise and digestive problems such as bloating can throw it off.

That said, your reta dose is quite low. Research showed 1mg produced 9% weight loss across a year, which points to a fairly gradual pace overall. Many people see little to no response at 2mg, and that becomes noticeably less common at 4mg. So either you wait it out or increase the dose before learning how well it suits you. Given that tirz gave you trouble — and tirz tends to have gentler side effects than reta — a slow titration is likely the smarter route.

In Triumph, just like the Tirzepatide trials, a daily 500 calorie deficit was required of participants.

On that measure by itself, someone dropping 1lb weekly would average 52lbs over a year.

To lose 10% or 52lbs in a year, the person would need to weigh 500lb (with 10% used as an approximation for simple math).

Wouldn’t it be fair to say the placebo group would achieve some degree of success from calorie deficit alone?

Trial Protocol and Diet Guidelines

• • Lifestyle Counseling: Protocols by Eli Lilly required participants to receive regular counseling on a healthy diet and physical activity (typically targeting a moderate daily deficit of around 500 calories), rather than enforcing a computer-calculated, universal BMR ceiling. [1, 2]
  • Natural Deficit: Because retatrutide acts as a triple-hormone receptor agonist (GLP-1, GIP, and glucagon), profound appetite suppression naturally drove a reduced energy intake without needing rigid daily calorie tracking. [1, 2]
  • Energy Expenditure Impact: The addition of glucagon receptor activation natively increases daily energy expenditure and resting metabolic rate by an estimated 100 to 200 calories per day, countering the typical metabolic slowdown seen during weight loss

Click to expand...

 

[Shittersfull]

Plenty of solid guidance in this thread. Figure out what suits you. Pick a way of eating you can maintain, and a workout routine you'll actually keep up. Also, adjust your dose at a speed that feels right for you. My suggestion is to think long term. If the scale stops moving, look again at your food, rest and training before you think about raising your dose. Move up only when or if you need extra support, and when or if you do move up, take it in small steps. Reta might be something you stay on for the rest of your life, so there's no need to hurry.

 

[lessthanhalf]

A calorie deficit always produces weight loss. The issue is that most people are awful at tracking calories, and even worse at keeping up a low calorie diet over the long haul, particularly if GLP drugs aren’t involved. My guess is that those on placebo would drop some weight, particularly in the beginning, but would likely regain it across a year or so; how much would hinge heavily on how intense the dietary guidance and support were. Intensive diet-and-exercise weight loss programs can certainly be effective—and the more intensive they are, the better they tend to work—but whether they can help people hold onto those losses long term is far less certain, especially after the intensive support and monitoring stop. In most GLP trials, the placebo groups showed a few percent weight loss.

 

[lastresort]

Cardio alone won’t get you to weight loss. That lesson came the hard way for me. From 2024 to 2025, I was at 240lb, taking in 1600kcal, and doing 60 minutes of cardio on alternate days. The scale stayed exactly where it was. I quit wondering why.

 

[Troposphere]

lastresort said:

Cardio alone won’t get you to weight loss. That lesson came the hard way for me. From 2024 to 2025, I was at 240lb, taking in 1600kcal, and doing 60 minutes of cardio on alternate days. The scale stayed exactly where it was. I quit wondering why.

While getting ready for a marathon, my weight went up. That really opened my eyes.

I felt starving constantly and consumed a lot. Nowadays I focus far more on calories coming in than on calories being burned.