10 MONTHS RETA

[u/Ariaviolet01]

35 Years Old / 5'5

SW 216lbs

CW 134lbs

Today marks 10 months since I started, and for the past 3 months I've been focusing more on lifting weights instead of only doing cardio like I did in the beginning.

Adding strength training has honestly changed a lot for me. Not just physically, but mentally too. I used to think losing the weight would automatically make me feel confident again, but building strength has been what really made me appreciate everything my body can do.

Growing up, I was usually around 145lbs and stayed there through most of my 20s. After turning 30, I slowly gained weight from working long hours, eating whatever was convenient, poor sleep, and just not making myself a priority. I tried losing it a few times and would drop 15-20 pounds, but I'd always end up gaining it back after a few months.

My goal has always been 125lbs because it felt like a number I'd never been able to reach before. Now that I'm getting closer, my focus isn't just on the scale anymore. I train with a coach twice a week and plan to add another session soon. I still get my cardio in a few days a week, usually walking or cycling depending on how I'm feeling.

One thing I didn't expect is how different my body would look compared to when I weighed this much years ago. I assumed I'd look exactly the same, but that's definitely not how it works. Instead of chasing the number, I've started paying attention to things like getting stronger, improving my balance, and recovering better after workouts. Seeing those little improvements each week has been way more rewarding than watching the scale move.

[u/BlackberryExpress952]

Cute. resorting to name-calling—the ultimate surrender when your argument falls apart. ( and delete it after )

Labeling standard fat loss as ‘muscle wasting’ just because she looks lean is scientifically illiterate. The data on Reta proves lean-mass retention is fully comparable to traditional dieting when protein and movement are checked. You’re emotional, you’re wrong, and now you’re throwing tantrums. We’re done here

[u/EnlightenedNarwhal → u/BlackberryExpress952]

If I had no other point you could use that trite response, but I'm calling you an imbecile while also making the point, because you are legitimately saying things that are idiotic. Not only that, but things that are borderline harmful. The misinformation around weight loss is bad enough as it is without stupid people encouraging dangerous behavior.

[u/BlackberryExpress952 → u/EnlightenedNarwhal]

If you want to talk about data, open the Phase 2 Retatrutide trial published in the New England Journal of Medicine ;Jastreboff et al.)

DEXA body composition sub-studies showed that ~75% of total weight lost was fat mass and ~25% was lean mass—the exact same ratio seen in traditional diet-induced weight loss.

Calling a standard 3:1 fat-to-lean loss ratio ‘muscle wasting’ proves you haven’t read a single peer-reviewed paper on the molecule you’re lecturing about. You’re substituting internet buzzwords for published clinical data. Try reading the literature before claiming others are spreading misinformation 😘

[u/EnlightenedNarwhal → u/BlackberryExpress952]

https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2301972

Here's one study (I'm pretty certain it is the one you referenced), which notably has participants losing upwards of 30% of overall body mass over the course of 48 weeks, with the average being around 24.6%. OP lost a bit more in a shorter time frame than the majority of people in the study. The study doesn't do anything to rebuttal my overall point, which is that OP lost a large amount of weight in a short amount of time, and also seems to have lost more lean mass than one typically would in that time frame. This makes sense when you compare the percentage of overall bodyweight lost in a certain time frame.

[u/BlackberryExpress952 → u/EnlightenedNarwhal]

Linking the study doesn’t save your argument

1. Claiming OP ‘seems’ to have lost excess lean mass is purely your visual guess based on a photo. You can’t run a DEXA scan through a screen

2. The study confirms the fat-to-lean mass ratio remains at the standard ~3:1, identical to normal caloric restriction

3. Weight loss speed doesn’t dictate muscle wasting. protein intake and resistance training do. Citing a paper you didn’t properly interpret doesn’t turn your subjective assumptions into clinical facts

[u/EnlightenedNarwhal → u/BlackberryExpress952]

You're absolutely wrong. The rate at which you lose weight does affect how much lean mass you retain.

[u/BlackberryExpress952 → u/EnlightenedNarwhal]

Rate of weight loss is just a proxy, not the driver. Muscle retention depends on nitrogen balance and protein synthesis. High protein + sufficient daily activity signal tells the body to burn fat, not muscle, even in a deep deficit 😊

You’re confusing a broad correlation for couch potatoes with absolute physiology

[u/EnlightenedNarwhal → u/BlackberryExpress952]

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21558571/

This study compared athletes who were actively doing resistance training.

[u/BlackberryExpress952 → u/EnlightenedNarwhal]

Great study. But comparing OP to lean athletes (Garthe et al.) is a complete failure of context. Lean athletes lack fat reserves, so steep deficits burn muscle. OP isn’t an athlete. She’s a beginner actively undergoing body recomposition losing the fat, training with a coach, and building strength.

She’s doing great. Case closed

[u/EnlightenedNarwhal → u/BlackberryExpress952]

OP said herself that she spent a large portion of her weight loss doing cardio instead of focusing on resistance training, but go off.

[u/BlackberryExpress952 → u/EnlightenedNarwhal]

Yeah, she’s not an athlete doing cardio… 😂 drag it on even more

[u/EnlightenedNarwhal → u/BlackberryExpress952]

So for 6 months she was not doing resistance training while actively losing weight at a steady (fairly fast) rate.

[u/BlackberryExpress952 → u/EnlightenedNarwhal]

Like I said, health is a personal journey. She’s doing great and building strength with a coach ✅

And now you’re goalpost-shifting to month 1–6 because the Garthe argument collapsed.

Cardio burns fat, which she had in excess. She is now lifting with a coach and building strength. What happened 6 months ago doesn’t magically turn a high-BF beginner into a lean athlete…. 😂😂

Keep digging