Stalled at 50 — how do I get past this?

Bollerhead

Bollerhead

Explorer
Joined
May 6, 2026
Messages
38
Reaction score
0
Location
Foristell, MO
I turn 50 this year, and this year I'm chasing the best shape I've ever been in. It's my #1 goal right now. I began strength training regularly in December — I've worked out my whole life but had been in a lull for a few years before that. GLP came next, titrating up to 2mg weekly. I started HRT too, since im premenopausal. But here I am almost 6 months in

and I've hit a wall. Total weight loss is 23

Lbs, but 5 went back on this week and nothing has come off in 4 weeks. Anyone else up against this, and if so, what gets you past it? Losing my motivation is the last thing I want. Diet-wise I'm doing pretty well too. Please help!
 
Hormones definitely play a role in weight, no question. That said, once 4 weeks have passed, the diet is what you need to examine. The basic rule tends to be: no weight coming off means no calorie deficit. So track those calories with real precision, and try not to lean on the numbers the apps give you. When you are 100% certain about how many calories you are taking in, cut that amount back step by step until the scale starts moving. Sure, hormones might be involved — water retention, for example — but in 99% of cases the explanation comes down to calories in versus calories out.
 
Bollerhead said:

I turn 50 this year, and this year I'm chasing the best shape I've ever been in. It's my #1 goal right now. I began strength training regularly in December — I've worked out my whole life but had been in a lull for a few years before that. GLP came next, titrating up to 2mg weekly. I started HRT too, since im premenopausal. But here I am almost 6 months in

and I've hit a wall. Total weight loss is 23

Lbs, but 5 went back on this week and nothing has come off in 4 weeks. Anyone else up against this, and if so, what gets you past it? Losing my motivation is the last thing I want. Diet-wise I'm doing pretty well too. Please help!
Click to expand...

Nice work on what you've achieved so far. Losing 23 lbs over 6 months works out to nearly 4 pounds a month, roughly a pound each week — that's impressive.

You said you're taking 2mg. If the side effects aren't bothering you, maybe it's time to increase the dose? For most peptides, that amount is likely below the therapeutic range.

@5byfive makes a good point. Spend some time logging your calories so you can be certain your diet is dialed in. And you might consider raising your protein intake as well?
 
Bollerhead said:

I turn 50 this year, and this year I'm chasing the best shape I've ever been in. It's my #1 goal right now. I began strength training regularly in December — I've worked out my whole life but had been in a lull for a few years before that. GLP came next, titrating up to 2mg weekly. I started HRT too, since im premenopausal. But here I am almost 6 months in

and I've hit a wall. Total weight loss is 23

Lbs, but 5 went back on this week and nothing has come off in 4 weeks. Anyone else up against this, and if so, what gets you past it? Losing my motivation is the last thing I want. Diet-wise I'm doing pretty well too. Please help!
Click to expand...
What GLP are you currently on? Given the dose you cited, my assumption is Retatrutide. Like others have pointed out, 2mg isn't much, so raising it gradually would probably improve your outcomes.

Another possibility is trying a different GLP. For me, Tirzepatide was incredibly effective--it wiped out my hunger and made eating less effortless. Retatrutide didn't do that. After that, I introduced a low dose of Cagrilintide, which suppressed my appetite even more. There could be plenty of paths you haven't tried yet. Also, your HRT could be causing an unwanted effect of boosting your appetite. Perhaps check with your doctor about whether lowering your HRT dose could be beneficial, at least in the near term?
 
Nice work getting this far! Even small wins matter. About hitting a wall, the first thing to check: are you writing down what you eat and keeping records? Do you have a handle on your maintenance calories? Do you know how big your deficit is? Without that info, there's no way to tell whether the answer is adjusting food or increasing dose, and so on. Also, putting on 5lbs over 7 days doesn't mean everything has shut down. Depending on timing of weigh-ins, fluid levels, training, salt intake, and so on, I can swing that much in either direction within 24 hours. That said, going 4 weeks with no drop is definitely a reason to take a closer look. It might be hormones, holding water (from harder sessions or a new routine), shifts in hydration, changes in sodium (food again), and so on. Is it possible you're under-eating to the point where your body goes into conservation mode and clings to every calorie like it's precious? Nail down your tracking so you can examine it all with data, then hold steady for another 7 days. Once your logging is solid, review food, training, fluids, and so on using concrete numbers. After that, consider bumping the medication (you haven't said which glp you're taking at 2mg...that's also relevant). Above all — keep your drive, stay the course, and log everything so you can see what's actually happening. You'll reach your target, I'm sure of it!
 
Pardon me for stating what may seem blatantly evident. It's a bit like contacting a tech support person about a computer issue and their initial advice is "did you try turning it off and back on again?" If tracking calories, adjusting your diet, and increasing intensity aren't getting you anywhere, my suggestion would be to visit your primary care physician and get some blood work done. A colleague of mine who is using a GLP-1 ran into a comparable issue, and it ended up being fluid retention tied to the kidneys. There are times when you're doing everything by the book, and your body decides to throw you a curveball.
 
Isn't it a bitch? Ugh. Getting older is nonsense. I hate it.

I can't know for certain, obviously, but my guess would be hormones, and I've no idea which HRT you're on, but that could be behind it? All I have is the cream and I HATE the stuff, so I'm terrible at keeping up with it. Still, that's what I reckon kicked off my problems last year, and tirz helped, though it may be worth nudging the dose up a unit at a time across a few weeks to see if that does anything?

Others have said this already, but if you aren't tracking your intake, start, purely so you can be sure you're not missing hidden calories in the shape of oils or dressings or whatever. I'm guilty of it -- El Meyor's cheese dip is one of those cases where you measure with your heart (is that what the one at 70 and 79 is called?) And the fitter you get, the harder you have to work for the same calorie burn, so that could be in play too--maybe your routine has become so familiar that you need to shake it up?

Have you taken body measurements as well as weighing yourself? The scale could be lying to you, and you might still be losing inches.
 
Great tips, all. Appreciate you all spending the time to reply. I'm going to bump my RT dose up by 2x and tighten up what I eat. I hadn't really upped anything since it had been delivering such good results. On top of that, I re-took my measurements and I'm down 5.5 lbs from yesterday. bMI and body fat dropped again as well. I figure a lot of it was water weight. I'll admit I was pushing fluids hard after a family party 🤷🏻‍♀️. Wild that the scale moved that much in 1 day. Whew!
 
Back
Top