Stalled in the 240s after a 70 lb loss

S

StraightCancer

Explorer
Joined
Sep 26, 2025
Messages
3
Reaction score
0
Location
Indiana
I used Reta for 3 months, during which I dropped 70lbs. Sure, that’s amazing, and sure, I’m thankful. A few of you have followed what I’ve been doing.

By month 4, the weight loss stopped. I titrated up to 8mg. Since 8 mg wasn’t giving me much, I chose to pause for 6 weeks.

Across those 6 weeks off, I put back on only around 6lbs, going from 250 to 256. After restarting Reta, I went from 256 down to 244 pretty fast. Now I’ve hit another plateau, and it’s lasted the past couple weeks. I have no idea what to try next. Eating less would probably put me below 1200 calories daily, since my goal is to stay under 2000.

Has anyone else gone through this?
 
From what I’ve been through, the initial weight drops quickly and aggressively, but afterward things slow down considerably and happen more steadily.

Over the past 2 weeks or so, has the scale stayed completely still, or is it just moving much more slowly? Also, have you noticed an increase in how much you’re eating or in food noise?
 
Defcon said:

From what I’ve been through, the initial weight drops quickly and aggressively, but afterward things slow down considerably and happen more steadily.

Over the past 2 weeks or so, has the scale stayed completely still, or is it just moving much more slowly? Also, have you noticed an increase in how much you’re eating or in food noise?
Click to expand...

There was a stretch — maybe 7 days, maybe just 2 or 3 — when I actually went up by 1 lb.

On top of that, the food noise has come back much stronger than it was at the beginning, which is 1 of the reasons I decided to take that 6 week pause. And yeah, I'm eating more now than I was when I first started. Still, it isn't much.
 
70lbs is amazing, so keep that in mind even while the scale won't budge. Hitting a plateau is annoying, sure, but it's also fairly common once you've had a stretch like that.

A few things worth checking...do you actually log your food at the moment? I mean weighing and recording it, not eyeballing. Underestimating how much you eat happens easily, particularly when hunger is low and portions seem smaller than they really are. On the other hand, too few calories can stall you too. Aiming for roughly 1600-1700 calories with a strong protein focus is likely a smarter goal than simply eating as little as you can.

Is your protein intake high enough? It supports keeping muscle during weight loss and helps you stay satisfied. Also, are you doing any exercise at all? Something as simple as regular walking adds up more than people usually think.

CICO may not tell the whole story and other things matter too, but knowing what you take in versus what you burn is still a useful starting point when progress stops. A week of strict tracking could be worthwhile just to see your real numbers before changing your protocol in any bigger way.
 
I'm completely on board with what was said earlier — plugging your info into a tdee calculator can give you a solid idea of how many calories, along with protein, fats, and carbs, you should be aiming for.
 
With warmer weather arriving, head outside for a walk, take pleasure in the progress you have made, and push past this plateau. Eventually you need to get active.
 
StraightCancer said:

I used Reta for 3 months, during which I dropped 70lbs. Sure, that’s amazing, and sure, I’m thankful. A few of you have followed what I’ve been doing.

By month 4, the weight loss stopped. I titrated up to 8mg. Since 8 mg wasn’t giving me much, I chose to pause for 6 weeks.

Across those 6 weeks off, I put back on only around 6lbs, going from 250 to 256. After restarting Reta, I went from 256 down to 244 pretty fast. Now I’ve hit another plateau, and it’s lasted the past couple weeks. I have no idea what to try next. Eating less would probably put me below 1200 calories daily, since my goal is to stay under 2000.

Has anyone else gone through this?
Click to expand...

StraightCancer said:

I used Reta for 3 months, during which I dropped 70lbs. Sure, that’s amazing, and sure, I’m thankful. A few of you have followed what I’ve been doing.

By month 4, the weight loss stopped. I titrated up to 8mg. Since 8 mg wasn’t giving me much, I chose to pause for 6 weeks.

Across those 6 weeks off, I put back on only around 6lbs, going from 250 to 256. After restarting Reta, I went from 256 down to 244 pretty fast. Now I’ve hit another plateau, and it’s lasted the past couple weeks. I have no idea what to try next. Eating less would probably put me below 1200 calories daily, since my goal is to stay under 2000.

Has anyone else gone through this?
Click to expand...

What does your daily movement look like at the moment? On reta, or any GLP-1, resistance work — heavy lifting — is something I would urge you to build in, since it protects muscle mass. A solid protein target matters too; think 0.8g per pound of bodyweight as the floor.

Starving yourself of calories is the other trap. 1,200 calories is very low — at your weight, if that is the whole of your intake, I would push you to eat more. Hypothetical number or not, fuelling your body properly still matters. Take in closer to 2,000 calories, keep moving through the day, and progress should come.

Push your daily movement up — 10,000 steps a day is the target — and be consistent with training. Three weight sessions a week is a reasonable baseline if that is not happening yet. Take a 250 lbs example: around 220g of protein, structured lifting three times weekly, and 10k steps every day is a strong plan.

2,000 calories or so sounds like a sensible figure, though everybody differs, so tune it to how your body answers.
 
RENjutsu said:

StraightCancer said:

I used Reta for 3 months, during which I dropped 70lbs. Sure, that’s amazing, and sure, I’m thankful. A few of you have followed what I’ve been doing.

By month 4, the weight loss stopped. I titrated up to 8mg. Since 8 mg wasn’t giving me much, I chose to pause for 6 weeks.

Across those 6 weeks off, I put back on only around 6lbs, going from 250 to 256. After restarting Reta, I went from 256 down to 244 pretty fast. Now I’ve hit another plateau, and it’s lasted the past couple weeks. I have no idea what to try next. Eating less would probably put me below 1200 calories daily, since my goal is to stay under 2000.

Has anyone else gone through this?
Click to expand...

StraightCancer said:

I used Reta for 3 months, during which I dropped 70lbs. Sure, that’s amazing, and sure, I’m thankful. A few of you have followed what I’ve been doing.

By month 4, the weight loss stopped. I titrated up to 8mg. Since 8 mg wasn’t giving me much, I chose to pause for 6 weeks.

Across those 6 weeks off, I put back on only around 6lbs, going from 250 to 256. After restarting Reta, I went from 256 down to 244 pretty fast. Now I’ve hit another plateau, and it’s lasted the past couple weeks. I have no idea what to try next. Eating less would probably put me below 1200 calories daily, since my goal is to stay under 2000.

Has anyone else gone through this?
Click to expand...

What does your daily movement look like at the moment? On reta, or any GLP-1, resistance work — heavy lifting — is something I would urge you to build in, since it protects muscle mass. A solid protein target matters too; think 0.8g per pound of bodyweight as the floor.

Starving yourself of calories is the other trap. 1,200 calories is very low — at your weight, if that is the whole of your intake, I would push you to eat more. Hypothetical number or not, fuelling your body properly still matters. Take in closer to 2,000 calories, keep moving through the day, and progress should come.

Push your daily movement up — 10,000 steps a day is the target — and be consistent with training. Three weight sessions a week is a reasonable baseline if that is not happening yet. Take a 250 lbs example: around 220g of protein, structured lifting three times weekly, and 10k steps every day is a strong plan.

2,000 calories or so sounds like a sensible figure, though everybody differs, so tune it to how your body answers.
Click to expand...
Honestly, around month 3 on Reta I quit lifting — barely eating left me with zero energy. Oddly enough, that lines up with when my weight loss slowed down.

My old routine was roughly 40 minutes per session, aiming for 3 times a week minimum. I think it made a big difference.

As of today, though, I'm at 240. What ended the stall, I can't say. I have no explanation. The 2nd week at 8mg appeared to hit hard.

For everyone asking: my diet is far from great. Even so, I'm definitely below maintenance. Every item I eat gets tracked. Usually it's 1 meal a day. Still, a trip to The meat locker is probably overdue.
 
StraightCancer said:

RENjutsu said:

StraightCancer said:

I used Reta for 3 months, during which I dropped 70lbs. Sure, that’s amazing, and sure, I’m thankful. A few of you have followed what I’ve been doing.

By month 4, the weight loss stopped. I titrated up to 8mg. Since 8 mg wasn’t giving me much, I chose to pause for 6 weeks.

Across those 6 weeks off, I put back on only around 6lbs, going from 250 to 256. After restarting Reta, I went from 256 down to 244 pretty fast. Now I’ve hit another plateau, and it’s lasted the past couple weeks. I have no idea what to try next. Eating less would probably put me below 1200 calories daily, since my goal is to stay under 2000.

Has anyone else gone through this?
Click to expand...

StraightCancer said:

I used Reta for 3 months, during which I dropped 70lbs. Sure, that’s amazing, and sure, I’m thankful. A few of you have followed what I’ve been doing.

By month 4, the weight loss stopped. I titrated up to 8mg. Since 8 mg wasn’t giving me much, I chose to pause for 6 weeks.

Across those 6 weeks off, I put back on only around 6lbs, going from 250 to 256. After restarting Reta, I went from 256 down to 244 pretty fast. Now I’ve hit another plateau, and it’s lasted the past couple weeks. I have no idea what to try next. Eating less would probably put me below 1200 calories daily, since my goal is to stay under 2000.

Has anyone else gone through this?
Click to expand...

What does your daily movement look like at the moment? On reta, or any GLP-1, resistance work — heavy lifting — is something I would urge you to build in, since it protects muscle mass. A solid protein target matters too; think 0.8g per pound of bodyweight as the floor.

Starving yourself of calories is the other trap. 1,200 calories is very low — at your weight, if that is the whole of your intake, I would push you to eat more. Hypothetical number or not, fuelling your body properly still matters. Take in closer to 2,000 calories, keep moving through the day, and progress should come.

Push your daily movement up — 10,000 steps a day is the target — and be consistent with training. Three weight sessions a week is a reasonable baseline if that is not happening yet. Take a 250 lbs example: around 220g of protein, structured lifting three times weekly, and 10k steps every day is a strong plan.

2,000 calories or so sounds like a sensible figure, though everybody differs, so tune it to how your body answers.
Click to expand...
Honestly, around month 3 on Reta I quit lifting — barely eating left me with zero energy. Oddly enough, that lines up with when my weight loss slowed down.

My old routine was roughly 40 minutes per session, aiming for 3 times a week minimum. I think it made a big difference.

As of today, though, I'm at 240. What ended the stall, I can't say. I have no explanation. The 2nd week at 8mg appeared to hit hard.

For everyone asking: my diet is far from great. Even so, I'm definitely below maintenance. Every item I eat gets tracked. Usually it's 1 meal a day. Still, a trip to The meat locker is probably overdue.
Click to expand...
Before and after lifting sessions I began carb cycling: 70 beforehand, 130 afterward. That means 2 rice cakes, 1 banana, and maple syrup pie. Once a week I also do 1 carb load day with all-you-can-eat sushi. Switching from years of keto to letting myself enjoy carbs again was tough. Now my eating is aimed at lifting.
 
I get that your calorie intake is on the lower side, but do you feel hungry, or is eating a struggle for you? Have you weighed and tracked every single item you consume for a stretch, just to confirm your calorie estimates are accurate? At that body weight, even after dropping 70 lbs, 1200 kcal/day ought to put you in a calorie deficit and in theory should still be producing at least some weight loss.

Is there any particular reason you haven't raised the reta dose? Sure, it might blunt appetite further, but it would also drive additional weight loss through mechanisms separate from food intake, thanks to the metabolic actions of all the agonists it contains, particularly the glucagon component.
 
StraightCancer said:

RENjutsu said:

StraightCancer said:

I used Reta for 3 months, during which I dropped 70lbs. Sure, that’s amazing, and sure, I’m thankful. A few of you have followed what I’ve been doing.

By month 4, the weight loss stopped. I titrated up to 8mg. Since 8 mg wasn’t giving me much, I chose to pause for 6 weeks.

Across those 6 weeks off, I put back on only around 6lbs, going from 250 to 256. After restarting Reta, I went from 256 down to 244 pretty fast. Now I’ve hit another plateau, and it’s lasted the past couple weeks. I have no idea what to try next. Eating less would probably put me below 1200 calories daily, since my goal is to stay under 2000.

Has anyone else gone through this?
Click to expand...

StraightCancer said:

I used Reta for 3 months, during which I dropped 70lbs. Sure, that’s amazing, and sure, I’m thankful. A few of you have followed what I’ve been doing.

By month 4, the weight loss stopped. I titrated up to 8mg. Since 8 mg wasn’t giving me much, I chose to pause for 6 weeks.

Across those 6 weeks off, I put back on only around 6lbs, going from 250 to 256. After restarting Reta, I went from 256 down to 244 pretty fast. Now I’ve hit another plateau, and it’s lasted the past couple weeks. I have no idea what to try next. Eating less would probably put me below 1200 calories daily, since my goal is to stay under 2000.

Has anyone else gone through this?
Click to expand...

What does your daily movement look like at the moment? On reta, or any GLP-1, resistance work — heavy lifting — is something I would urge you to build in, since it protects muscle mass. A solid protein target matters too; think 0.8g per pound of bodyweight as the floor.

Starving yourself of calories is the other trap. 1,200 calories is very low — at your weight, if that is the whole of your intake, I would push you to eat more. Hypothetical number or not, fuelling your body properly still matters. Take in closer to 2,000 calories, keep moving through the day, and progress should come.

Push your daily movement up — 10,000 steps a day is the target — and be consistent with training. Three weight sessions a week is a reasonable baseline if that is not happening yet. Take a 250 lbs example: around 220g of protein, structured lifting three times weekly, and 10k steps every day is a strong plan.

2,000 calories or so sounds like a sensible figure, though everybody differs, so tune it to how your body answers.
Click to expand...
Honestly, around month 3 on Reta I quit lifting — barely eating left me with zero energy. Oddly enough, that lines up with when my weight loss slowed down.

My old routine was roughly 40 minutes per session, aiming for 3 times a week minimum. I think it made a big difference.

As of today, though, I'm at 240. What ended the stall, I can't say. I have no explanation. The 2nd week at 8mg appeared to hit hard.

For everyone asking: my diet is far from great. Even so, I'm definitely below maintenance. Every item I eat gets tracked. Usually it's 1 meal a day. Still, a trip to The meat locker is probably overdue.
Click to expand...
To be honest, I think I dropped roughly 20lbs over 2 months? I was losing about 3lbs per week, having begun at 230. My intake was below maintenance—pretty aggressive—but I was only on 1mg reta, getting enough protein, and lifting. If you’re at 8mg, I’d worry less about cutting calories further and more about exercise, weights, and building muscle—you’ll get better results, especially over the long haul. Keep in mind that with this much weight loss you’re also losing muscle. Without high protein and resistance training, you might end up at a number you wanted but not with the look you expected.
 
I went roughly 2.5 weeks without any movement, and then suddenly 2.5lbs came off. You haven't switched brands or suppliers, have you?
 
StraightCancer said:

I used Reta for 3 months, during which I dropped 70lbs. Sure, that’s amazing, and sure, I’m thankful. A few of you have followed what I’ve been doing.

By month 4, the weight loss stopped. I titrated up to 8mg. Since 8 mg wasn’t giving me much, I chose to pause for 6 weeks.

Across those 6 weeks off, I put back on only around 6lbs, going from 250 to 256. After restarting Reta, I went from 256 down to 244 pretty fast. Now I’ve hit another plateau, and it’s lasted the past couple weeks. I have no idea what to try next. Eating less would probably put me below 1200 calories daily, since my goal is to stay under 2000.

Has anyone else gone through this?
Click to expand...
No mention was made of when you resumed reta. Should it be under a month, you're still in the dose-escalation phase. Following a lengthy pause, the initial 8mg injection of reta raises the amount in your system to 8mg. Once you've been at 8mg/week for a month, that same injection will put you at roughly 16mg in your body, more or less. So during that first month back on it, your actual bodily dose has been lower than what it was before.

Much of the weight you put on while not taking reta was likely a rise in inflammation showing up as water retention on the scale. Reintroducing reta probably caused a swift drop in that water retention, since clearly you didn't shed 10+ pounds of fat that quickly. When your body is shifting like that, the scale readings can't be trusted to reflect how much fat you carry.

During your initial stint with reta, you likely never hit an early "plateau" of that sort (tied to water retention flushing) because your fat loss was so fast that it overshadowed the minor water retention rebound that would have come after the rapid flush. These days your fat loss rate is probably slower, so that small rebound phase (from some water retention coming back) is keeping the scale from budging.

Naturally, this is all just my guesswork, but it's what you'd anticipate happening. And clearly, if it turns out you've already been back on reta for several months at a steady dose, then disregard all of this, as it wouldn't fit your present situation.
 
tubby said:

StraightCancer said:

I used Reta for 3 months, during which I dropped 70lbs. Sure, that’s amazing, and sure, I’m thankful. A few of you have followed what I’ve been doing.

By month 4, the weight loss stopped. I titrated up to 8mg. Since 8 mg wasn’t giving me much, I chose to pause for 6 weeks.

Across those 6 weeks off, I put back on only around 6lbs, going from 250 to 256. After restarting Reta, I went from 256 down to 244 pretty fast. Now I’ve hit another plateau, and it’s lasted the past couple weeks. I have no idea what to try next. Eating less would probably put me below 1200 calories daily, since my goal is to stay under 2000.

Has anyone else gone through this?
Click to expand...
No mention was made of when you resumed reta. Should it be under a month, you're still in the dose-escalation phase. Following a lengthy pause, the initial 8mg injection of reta raises the amount in your system to 8mg. Once you've been at 8mg/week for a month, that same injection will put you at roughly 16mg in your body, more or less. So during that first month back on it, your actual bodily dose has been lower than what it was before.

Much of the weight you put on while not taking reta was likely a rise in inflammation showing up as water retention on the scale. Reintroducing reta probably caused a swift drop in that water retention, since clearly you didn't shed 10+ pounds of fat that quickly. When your body is shifting like that, the scale readings can't be trusted to reflect how much fat you carry.

During your initial stint with reta, you likely never hit an early "plateau" of that sort (tied to water retention flushing) because your fat loss was so fast that it overshadowed the minor water retention rebound that would have come after the rapid flush. These days your fat loss rate is probably slower, so that small rebound phase (from some water retention coming back) is keeping the scale from budging.

Naturally, this is all just my guesswork, but it's what you'd anticipate happening. And clearly, if it turns out you've already been back on reta for several months at a steady dose, then disregard all of this, as it wouldn't fit your present situation.
Click to expand...
Did he open by saying? I used Reta for 3 months and dropped 70lbs.
 
CNCCurrency said:

tubby said:

StraightCancer said:

I used Reta for 3 months, during which I dropped 70lbs. Sure, that’s amazing, and sure, I’m thankful. A few of you have followed what I’ve been doing.

By month 4, the weight loss stopped. I titrated up to 8mg. Since 8 mg wasn’t giving me much, I chose to pause for 6 weeks.

Across those 6 weeks off, I put back on only around 6lbs, going from 250 to 256. After restarting Reta, I went from 256 down to 244 pretty fast. Now I’ve hit another plateau, and it’s lasted the past couple weeks. I have no idea what to try next. Eating less would probably put me below 1200 calories daily, since my goal is to stay under 2000.

Has anyone else gone through this?
Click to expand...
No mention was made of when you resumed reta. Should it be under a month, you're still in the dose-escalation phase. Following a lengthy pause, the initial 8mg injection of reta raises the amount in your system to 8mg. Once you've been at 8mg/week for a month, that same injection will put you at roughly 16mg in your body, more or less. So during that first month back on it, your actual bodily dose has been lower than what it was before.

Much of the weight you put on while not taking reta was likely a rise in inflammation showing up as water retention on the scale. Reintroducing reta probably caused a swift drop in that water retention, since clearly you didn't shed 10+ pounds of fat that quickly. When your body is shifting like that, the scale readings can't be trusted to reflect how much fat you carry.

During your initial stint with reta, you likely never hit an early "plateau" of that sort (tied to water retention flushing) because your fat loss was so fast that it overshadowed the minor water retention rebound that would have come after the rapid flush. These days your fat loss rate is probably slower, so that small rebound phase (from some water retention coming back) is keeping the scale from budging.

Naturally, this is all just my guesswork, but it's what you'd anticipate happening. And clearly, if it turns out you've already been back on reta for several months at a steady dose, then disregard all of this, as it wouldn't fit your present situation.
Click to expand...
Did he open by saying? I used Reta for 3 months and dropped 70lbs.
Click to expand...

Perhaps you skipped over the paragraph right after that. 😉

StraightCancer said:

I used Reta for 3 months, during which I dropped 70lbs. Sure, that’s amazing, and sure, I’m thankful. A few of you have followed what I’ve been doing.

By month 4, the weight loss stopped. I titrated up to 8mg. Since 8 mg wasn’t giving me much, I chose to pause for 6 weeks.

Across those 6 weeks off, I put back on only around 6lbs, going from 250 to 256. After restarting Reta, I went from 256 down to 244 pretty fast. Now I’ve hit another plateau, and it’s lasted the past couple weeks. I have no idea what to try next. Eating less would probably put me below 1200 calories daily, since my goal is to stay under 2000.

Has anyone else gone through this?
Click to expand...
 
My progress hit a standstill too. Despite consuming so little that it barely registered, the scale refused to budge. That changed when I introduced a couple of changes, both of which sped things up considerably. The first was signing up at a gym and beginning a workout routine. The second involved incorporating tesamorelin, which I administer during the evening on workout days. I must say, these additions have improved my overall quality of life.
 
Lovedog100 said:

My progress hit a standstill too. Despite consuming so little that it barely registered, the scale refused to budge. That changed when I introduced a couple of changes, both of which sped things up considerably. The first was signing up at a gym and beginning a workout routine. The second involved incorporating tesamorelin, which I administer during the evening on workout days. I must say, these additions have improved my overall quality of life.
Click to expand...
Meat-based proteins have also been beneficial in my experience. The weeks where I consume plenty of it tend to be my strongest.
 
Back
Top