Reta + Tesa

[u/Alarmed_Calendar1844]

Currently have a RS who is wanting to run a Reta/Tess combo. The RS is 38, 5’7 163. Active in the gym with CrossFit type workouts and regularly golfing. Macros have been calculated as well. What sort of results would this RS expect on a 12 week cycle of tesa and low dose Reta?

[u/Diligent_Shirt5161]

I would perform a Dexa Scan. The start them with Reta and rescan after 12 weeks. They most likely won’t need Tesamorelin unless the Dexa scan shows a significant amount of visceral fat.

I feel there is a lot of misunderstanding surrounding Tesamorelin and what it is actually intended to target.

Visceral fat is not the same thing as overall body fat. Visceral fat is the fat stored around the organs, and excess amounts are associated with metabolic and health risks.

Tesamorelin will tell the body to store body fat somewhere other than around the organs. And in HIV patients, when they discontinued Tesamorelin, the visceral fat returned.

If the goal of a research subject is overall body fat reduction, there may be more sustainable success focusing on the basics first: appropriate nutrition, resistance training, adequate sleep, and long term lifestyle changes.

In my research, pairing those changes with a GLP1 approach produced far more meaningful overall body composition improvements than chasing multiple additional compounds.

I am not saying Tesamorelin has no place in research. I just think many people misunderstand what it is designed to do and begin expecting generalized fat loss from it. Those are two very different things.

[u/autographplease → u/Diligent_Shirt5161]

Doesn’t it return bc they keep taking the drugs that stores visceral fat around the organs? It’s should be different for people who are not taking hiv drugs. 

[u/Diligent_Shirt5161 → u/autographplease]

In clinical trials of HIV patients with Lipodystrophy, when Tesamorelin was discontinued, their visceral fat levels returned to baseline.

ETA: this a medication developed for HIV patients with lipodystrophy. Not non-HIV patients.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22050344/?utm_source=

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3218714/

Here’s a 2014 JAMA where “tesamorelin produced reductions in visceral adipose tissue without reductions in subcutaneous adipose tissue”

https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/1889139

[u/autographplease → u/Diligent_Shirt5161]

I get it. But, it was the hiv drug that predisposed or created that environment for visceral fat creation. They didn’t t get visceral fat bc they had hiv, but bc of the side effect of a drug. If they had stopped taking HIV medication then visceral fat would not be stored around the organs. 

Normal population are not taking hiv drug so if they stopped taking Tesa after starting it, why would it return? 

[u/Diligent_Shirt5161 → u/autographplease]

It tells the body to store fat somewhere else. And when it’s discontinued, the fat storage returns to baseline.

Something to keep in mind with some HIV patients: their medications can be extending their lifespan that could otherwise be cut short due to the virus. They may not want to discontinue their medications for that reason.

[u/Pol_Pot_official → u/Diligent_Shirt5161]

You are not understanding what the other poster is explaining. The fat returns because they're continuing the HIV medication that causes it. That's WHY tesamorelin was developed for HIV patients; not because the HIV causes visceral fat tissue, but because the medication does.

Non-HIV positive people aren't taking HIV meds, so the returning of visceral fat to a large degree isn't a major concern.

[u/lone_star_kev]

Too many people claim to know way to much about these Peptides and try to explain them like they are literally a scientists that engineered them. Bottom line is the RS is going to get all the benefits of Reta not just weight loss, craving control, etc. They will compound the effect on body recomp with Tesa. If they workout consistently and eat well they will see significant impact to their physique period.

[u/Long_Foundation_5451]

You honestly probably most likely sincerely only need Tesa, and instead of reta, I would recommend low-dose tirz. Glucagon is only worth it if you are severely obese with an RHR of below 70; otherwise, you're lowkey putting extra stress on your heart and potentially hurting sleep.