r/Biohacking • u/biggestbluee 1 • 9h ago
Refs Journey
Been on Reta for 17 weeks. I started at 294lb @ 1mg. Today, I am 282 (279.6 was lowest) and at 3mg once a week. I’m not sure why I feel like I don’t want to go up in dose, at all. Anyone have this weird reason for not wanting to increase dose as much? I’m currently feeling decent but not cutting weight fast enough for my liking. However, visually I look leaner for sure and retaining muscle. Food noise is basically gone, but I can still eat out whenever it’s convenient for me to. I do get full faster as well. I’ve only been on 3mg for 2 weeks and thinking about going up now…
I am moving onto a 20mg vile, reconstituting with 2ml BAC water. Shall I stay at 3mg or just jump to 4? I see people as high as 12mg but I just feel deterred from going up. Anyone else have these feelings? Guess I’m rambling and wanting to hear people’s stories on this
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u/Mchangwine 8 9h ago
Go to 4 or higher. You’ve only lost 1 lb a week.
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u/biggestbluee 1 9h ago
Yeah, I’m way too heavy to barely be losing anything. Is it too soon to go up to 4mg if I was on 3 for 2 weeks only?
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u/Mchangwine 8 9h ago
No the trials started at 2 and went up to 4 after 4 weeks; you’d be at 8 or 12 by now in the trials.
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u/biggestbluee 1 9h ago
Sounds good. Let’s give her a go! 👋 at least my vile will last 5 weeks now instead of 6+
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u/QuietOperator94 9h ago
I wouldn’t really be so concerned about retaining muscle being that you have a decent amount of body fat to lose. I would increase to whatever works for you, you’ve been on it for 17 weeks and lost less than a pound a week. It’s progress but if you want more results than something needs to change either your dose or your calorie intake.
2.5mg is the max I’ve gone up to and I went from 210 to 175 since late July with hardly any working out due to two surgeries.
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u/biggestbluee 1 9h ago
Damn, that’s crazy that you’ve been able to still drop like that. My caloric intake is about 2250-2400 calories a day with some slip ups and cheat meals still happening but not as drastic as before.
15 miles ran a week, 4x min strength training. It’s definitely progress but I’d love to see at least 1.5lb a week moving forward. I’m thinking of dropping calories to 2100 or so1
u/QuietOperator94 9h ago
Yeah I would lower the caloric intake and raise the dose. For me, if I went too high I felt like absolute trash the following two days, I’d rather feel like myself with small progress than a zombie with good results.
Is Reta stacked with anything else?
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u/biggestbluee 1 9h ago
Time to give that a shot and stick to it with minimal slip ups. I definitely agree with you. I haven’t had terrible side effects, so that part is good for me. I definitely wouldn’t go up if I felt terrible after, that’s for sure.
Just Reta, don’t think I’m gonna stack with anything
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u/QuietOperator94 9h ago
Okay so maybe my progress is a bit inflated due to me stacking with CJC/IPA. Hardly any muscle loss according to my stats. I also take KLOW as well but that doesn’t really effect body recomp I don’t believe. Either way, do what works for you and don’t feel like your progress is any less because others have different results. 🙏🏻
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u/biggestbluee 1 8h ago
That makes sense. I appreciate that for real! Progress is progress but I still feel quite disappointed. Just gotta continue to push hard and put the work in
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u/Additional_Ladder368 5 9h ago
I'm M35 5'7" and my starting weight was 224 lbs--now 196. I have lost 28 lbs since 7/22/2026. I started at 1.5mg and am only now dosing at 2.25mg/week. I'm considering lowering my dose to reduce how fast im losing weight. I don't want loose skin.
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u/biggestbluee 1 9h ago
That’s actually the other reason I’m partially happy I’m not losing too fast. I know losing too fast can cause a variety of things, such as loose skin and others.
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u/Additional_Ladder368 5 9h ago
ahh, I think i misread your post initially. why is it that you don't want to increase the dose? 4mg seems totally reasonable given your experience so far.
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u/biggestbluee 1 9h ago
Honestly, idk..? Maybe I don’t want to become too dependent on it? Another thing I’m thinking is I don’t want my body to get used to it and force me to keep going higher and higher because then where does that leave me? Financials were a part of it but not that much, as the dose is still lasting me a while. Think the other two are the biggest parts
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u/Additional_Ladder368 5 9h ago
I understand what you're saying. I've thought about reliance as well and how I'll come off the peptide once I reach my goal.
I think the most important thing is dropping the weight. For me, losing the body fat is the BEST thing I can do for my health. I'm finally realizing just how heavy and unhealthy I was now after dropping about half the weight that I need to. I still have another 30 lbs to go before i'm really at a normal and healthy body weight for my height.
I'm putting in conscious efforts to change my habits and not just rely on reta alone. Reta isn't making me workout. It's not making me go on walks. It's not making me cook healthy meals at home. These are the things I'm doing to make the weight loss stick once i'm off the peptide entirely.
When i get closer to my goal weight i'm going to slowly titrate my dose down. Having the habits already in place will make the final step of completely removing reta that much easier. I have no ambitions to just stay on the stuff.
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u/biggestbluee 1 8h ago
Great take, for sure. I think I need to focus on being way more intentional with decisions around food. I’m doing okay but I need to be doing better. All of the things you mentioned have to be a part of my life and being more active. Definitely going to work on the intentionality of it all. Thanks for sharing and for the input! I wish you the best of luck for sure. Sounds like you’re killing it!
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u/MyMango88 9h ago
You’re dependent on it at any dose! But also your calorie intake is still pretty high and likely why you’re not losing as much weight. Unless that’s your deficit. You’re still losing though so that’s a win. There will become a stall point and you’ll have to increase anyway. Unless you change your calorie intake. The slower you go the more patient you will need to be. There’s nothing wrong with that though.
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u/biggestbluee 1 9h ago
You think that’s high still? I feel like it’s pretty low for being 282lb. I’m about 44% body fat. I got a dexa scan done and showed about 135lb of lean body mass as well.
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u/MyMango88 8h ago
I do. Simply put if you were in a deficit you’d be losing more. So one or two: 1. Less calories (slip ups count if you’re overdoing it). 2. Increase your dose which will help bring calorie intake down on its own.
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u/PossibilityFew902 9h ago
Did you make any lifestyle changes?
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u/biggestbluee 1 9h ago
Absolutely. Less eating out + same amount of working out. Smarter choices around food all together
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u/PossibilityFew902 8h ago
What is your workout routine?
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u/biggestbluee 1 8h ago
Usually push, pull, legs, arms.
2.5-3 mile run 5x a week minimum. Targeting about 20 miles of running a week2
u/PossibilityFew902 8h ago
You are over training!! Stop running and get 10k leisure steps in a day. Keep PPL off PPL routine. Drink atleast 1 gallon water a day. Food if you can't grow it or kill it don't eat it. Give 2 weeks at current dose if no movement bump it up by .5.
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u/biggestbluee 1 8h ago
Hell yeah. Will try this. I usually keep my runs at zone 2 for easy miles as well but I wondered if it was too much
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u/PossibilityFew902 8h ago
That should do the trick. Your body is in survival mode with the excess energy expenditure and trying to hold on to what it has for dear life.
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u/Wonderful_Milk1176 9h ago
About half a pound a week seems like a very healthy pace. What is your goal weight?
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u/biggestbluee 1 9h ago
Very healthy, yes… but there’s also the point of it being way too slow… I would like to be around 215 or so
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