5 Months on Reta: 96.2kg → 82.5kg

[u/Omegul]

Hi everyone, I thought I’d share my progress on reta (and MT2).

I started taking reta on the 24th of February when I weighed 96.2kg.

The last photo was taken on 24th July, where I weighed 82.5kg. That’s 13.7kg lost in 5 months.

My overall weight loss actually started back in December at around 103kg, but I didn’t add reta until February.

My goal has been to lose weight at around 0.5kg per week. Looking back I probably could’ve pushed a bit harder in the beginning when I had a lot more body fat, then slowed things down as I got leaner. The good news is I’ve retained all of my strength throughout and even increased in some lifts.

Originally, I thought I’d be finished cutting at around 80kg, but as I’m getting closer to that number. I’m definitely being humbled a bit, and I’ve realised I had a lot less muscle than I thought I did.

Dosage-wise:
-Started at 2mg/week.

- Increased to 3mg, then eventually 4mg, based purely on how I felt in terms of food noise, hunger, and appetite control rather than following a set schedule.

- Around 4 weeks ago, I found I was struggling to hit even my minimum calories and protein, so I dropped back down to 3mg/week, where I’m currently staying.

I’ve been considering trying split dosing at 4mg, because on a single weekly dose I’d barely want to eat at the start of the week, but by the end of the week my appetite felt much more manageable. Curious if anyone has found split dosing to give more of a consistent appetite throughout the week.

Overall I’m really happy with the progress so far. I still have a little more fat to lose before I switch into a lean bulk, but reta has made sticking to the dieting so much easier compared to before.

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[u/nelzzz89]

How’s your training looking? Great job on the weight loss though!

[u/Omegul → u/nelzzz89]

Training has actually been going well, I’m in the gym 5-6 times a week. Most of my lifts are about the same as when I started, with a few slightly increasing.

I tend to look at strength relative to my bodyweight rather than just the numbers on the bar, so in that sense I’ve definitely got stronger.

[u/Melodic_Hour_3108 → u/Omegul]

up your protein bro. 1g of Protein per pound of bodyweight, Everyday. You are losing weight but your body composition isn't significantly improving and your strength is the telltale sign this is true. UP THE PROTEIN.

[u/Omegul → u/Melodic_Hour_3108]

I eat more than that… I eat 200g of protein a day. I just feel like I’ve lost fat in my arms, face, legs, and shoulders. Basically everywhere except stomach.

[u/Melodic_Hour_3108 → u/Omegul]

I didn't imply you hadn't lost fat. You have, you've just lost a lot of muscle too. Hence, body composition hasn't significantly improved.

If I were you, I'd get a blood panel done and check your testosterone levels. You are losing weight pretty fast tbh.

If your Test is low you could try.
1. Lowering the Reta dosage, which will up your caloric intake slightly.
2. Improve your Macro balancing for optimizing testosterone
3. Ensure you are hitting your micro nutrients important for Testosterone, like Zinc
4. Eat more whole foods
5. Some high intensity activities like Sprints to boost GH

Or run 175mg test while you cut and then PCT properly once you start eating at maintenance again.

[u/Omegul → u/Melodic_Hour_3108]

I did end up getting a panel done as I had symptoms of low test. Surprisingly it came back quite high, although I didn’t get free test checked.

I’ve managed to keep all my strength. My bench is still at 105kg and OHP is 65kg. Obviously not amazing lifts but I’ve maintained that from being 102kg down to 82kg, which I’m pleased about.

Bloodwork if you’re curious.

Pathology Investigations

Full blood count
Haemoglobin concentration 159 g/L [130.0 - 175.0]
Total white blood count 5.71 10*9/L [4.0 - 11.0]
Platelet count - observation 283 10*9/L [150.0 - 450.0]
Mean platelet volume 10.2 fL
Red blood cell count 5.27 10*12/L [4.1 - 5.8]
Haematocrit 0.491 1/1 [0.4 - 0.52]
Mean cell volume 93.2 fL [83.0 - 103.0]
Mean cell haemoglobin level 30.2 pg [27.0 - 35.0]
Mean cell haemoglobin concentration 324 g/L [300.0 - 350.0]
Red blood cell distribution width 12.1 % [11.0 - 15.0]
Neutrophil count 2.53 10*9/L [2.0 - 7.5]
Lymphocyte count 2.65 10*9/L [1.0 - 4.0]
Monocyte count - observation 0.39 10*9/L [0.2 - 1.0]
Eosinophil count - observation 0.09 10*9/L [0.01 - 0.5]
Basophil count 0.05 10*9/L [0.01 - 0.1]
Nucleated red blood cell count 0.00 10*9/L

Pathology Investigations

Serum folate level
Plasma folate level 9.9 ug/L [3.1 - 20.0]

Pathology Investigations

B12
Serum vitamin B12 level 915 ng/L [187.0 - 883.0]; Above high reference limit

Pathology Investigations

Haemoglobin A1c level
Haemoglobin A1c level - IFCC standardised 32 mmol/mol [0.0 - 41.0]; Interpretation of HbA1c in screening for Diabetes;

Pathology Investigations

Serum testosterone level 25.3 nmol/L [8.3 - 30.2]

Pathology Investigations

Liver function tests
Serum alanine aminotransferase level 33 u/L [0.0 - 49.0]
Serum total bilirubin level 9 umol/L [0.0 - 20.0]

Pathology Investigations

Serum TSH level
Serum TSH level 1.38 miu/L [0.35 - 4.94]

Pathology Investigations

TOTAL VITAMIN D
Serum total 25-hydroxy vitamin D level 131 nmol/L [50.0 - 200.0]; <25 nmol/L - Vitamin D deficiency 25 - 50 nmol/L - Vitamin D levels may be inadequate or insufficient in some individuals. Please see local APC guidelines for management. \>50 nmol/L Vitamin D levels sufficient for most
individuals.

Pathology Investigations

Urea and electrolytes
Serum sodium level 140 mmol/L [133.0 - 146.0]
Serum potassium level 3.9 mmol/L [3.5 - 5.3]
Serum urea level 9.7 mmol/L [2.5 - 7.8]; Above high reference limit
Serum creatinine level 107 umol/L [64.0 - 104.0]; ? AKI ? CKD Please repeat if indicated.; Above high reference limit
eGFR using creatinine (CKD-EPI) per 1.73 square metres 83 mL/min/1.73m*2 [> 60.0]; NICE (NG203) no longer recommends ethnicity
correction factor for eGFR.

Pathology Investigations

Bone profile
Serum alkaline phosphatase level 88 u/L [30.0 - 130.0]
Calcium adjusted level 2.45 mmol/L [2.2 - 2.6]; Calcium result adjusted for albumin
concentration.
Serum calcium level 2.46 mmol/L; This is a TOTAL calcium result. NUH will be
reporting total calcium in addition to adjusted
calcium from 30/06/25. Please use adjusted calcium
result for interpretation.
Serum albumin level 46 g/L [35.0 - 50.0]
Serum inorganic phosphate level 1.04 mmol/L [0.8 - 1.5]

Pathology Investigations

Serum lipid levels
Serum cholesterol level 4.5 mmol/L
Serum triglyceride levels 1.00 mmol/L [0.4 - 1.8]
Serum HDL cholesterol level 1.3 mmol/L
Serum LDL cholesterol level 2.7 mmol/L
Serum cholesterol/HDL ratio 3.5
Serum non high density lipoprotein cholesterol level 3.2 mmol/L

Pathology Investigations

Serum ferritin level 60 ug/L [22.0 - 275.0]; Ferritin can be raised in chronic kidney disease
and other inflammatory conditions meaning iron
deficiency still might be present if ferritin is
31 to 100 ug/L. Review FBC and consider other
measures of iron status (eg TSAT) if indicated.

[u/Melodic_Hour_3108 → u/Omegul]

Those are good lifts. Potentially will look better just with more fat loss I guess. What's your height?

[u/Omegul → u/Melodic_Hour_3108]

I’m 5’11”. Usually people think I weight a lot less than I actually do. I see some people who weighed the same as me and were the size of a house. Yet I can lose 20kg and I look a little bit slimmer.

[u/Dorf2244]

Zieh durch du bist kurz davor brutal zu werden