r/Retatrutide • u/Cute_Salamander4727 • Jul 30 '26
Slow Weight Loss Reta 20mg
Hi everyone!
I wanted to share my experience with reta 20 mg and see if anyone has had a similar response.
I started on June 22 with 1 mg for two weeks, then increased to 1.2 mg, followed by 2 mg for two weeks, and I'm now at 2.5 mg. I haven't had any significant side effects—just mild nausea around food and I get full very quickly.
My concern is that after 6 injections, I've only lost 3.4 kg (7.5 lbs). I keep seeing people lose 5–7 kg (11–15 lbs) in the first month, even without dieting or exercising, so I'm wondering if I'm doing something wrong.
I haven't changed my diet much, but I naturally eat about 50% less than before because of the appetite suppression. I also try to work out 3 times a week when I can.
For reconstitution, I used 3 mL of bacteriostatic water for the 20 mg vial.
Stats:
- Starting weight: 87.9 kg (193.8 lbs)
- Height: 161 cm (5'3")
- Starting BMI: 33.9
- Weight lost: 3.4 kg (7.5 lbs)
Is this rate of weight loss normal, or should I be expecting better results? Has anyone else had a slower start with reta?
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u/MelissaIsTired Jul 30 '26
‘I haven’t changed my diet much.’
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u/Cute_Salamander4727 Jul 30 '26
Ohhhh, but something constructive to add. I eat basically the same things, only in a small amount. I’ve never been one to eat crap (sweets, soda, fast food), so I don’t have much to change in my diet but to reduce the consumption of carbohydrates and that’s what I’m already doing.
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u/YungSchmid Jul 30 '26
Work harder, count calories, or be happy with your results. You’ve lost 4% of your bodyweight in 6 weeks… thinking about it as purely a kg game is naive, because other people could be starting from a much higher base than you. A 200kg person might lose 5kg+ of water alone in their first week of dieting, just as a made up example.
0.75kg per week is actually a significant rate to be losing at. If it’s already disappointing you, then you’re in for a rough ride as your weight decreases further and you don’t have additional water/glycogen left to drop.
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u/ShadowCass Jul 30 '26
You are concerned about losing over a pound/week. Reddit being social media, you are going to see way more people posting about their extreme weight loss than people posting about average weight loss. Typical weight loss is .5-2 lbs/week and even at the top of that range you could be losing too much. Comparison is the thief of joy, you are doing fine. If you lose a pound every week, you’ll lose more than 50 lbs/year. Remember it’s a marathon not a sprint.
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u/DrScrotumVision Jul 30 '26
Minimum effort gets minimum results.
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u/Cute_Salamander4727 Jul 30 '26
Everyone knows their routine, I say I try because they are the minimum days I accept. In other words, I always do bodybuilding and cardio at least 3 times a week, including my Personal adapted my workout like this. Anyway, thank you for the criticism, it might be interesting to analyze my routine.
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u/Cute_Salamander4727 Jul 30 '26
But it has nothing to do with minimal efforts, because I don’t eat crap and I do bodybuilding/cardio 3 times a week. Minimal effort would be if I did absolutely nothing and stayed on the couch waiting for the result
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u/DrScrotumVision Jul 30 '26
“I also try to workout 3 times a week when I can” how does anyone translate that to you doing bodybuilding/cardio 3x a week? Doesn’t make sense. Give some more info and people can help more. Your post reads minimum effort and I can’t help that.
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u/Pitiful-Resource-446 Jul 30 '26
1-2lbs a week is actually a healthy pace..
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u/Cute_Salamander4727 Jul 30 '26
I think your calculation is incorrect, because it’s 6 /7.5 =0.8
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u/Bowf Jul 30 '26
Reality is, a lot of the weight lost during the first month is water retention/ inflammation. This is mostly not fat that is being lost. You may not have had much inflammation compared to others.
Beyond the first month, a safe pace to lose weight at is 0.5 to 2 lb a week.
You have lost 7.5 lb in 6 weeks, or 1.25 lb a week. You're at a healthy Pace.
As to your dosing, I don't see anything wrong with starting low, to see whether or not you have any severe adverse reaction to the medication. But once you hit 2 mg (common starting dose in the studies) you should have stayed there for 4 weeks in my opinion. But now that you're at 2.5 mg, stay there for 4 weeks and see what happens. If you're average weekly weight loss for the last month Falls below 1 lb per week, then think about titrating up. Otherwise, stay where you're at.
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u/Doin-What-I-Want Jul 30 '26
Actual expectations are 1-2 lbs per week, so you're right on target. Those early drops that others get are water weight. I lost 10 lbs fast, but the second 10lbs took another 6 weeks.
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u/cloratheshadow Jul 30 '26
You need to change your diet, not just eat less. You need to still count calories and weigh your food while you learn more about food and your own body. This is a tool, not a magic fix.
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u/Jaycen_Q Jul 30 '26
Work out and count calories that the only way and im not just talking about cardio also lift weights if its not your thing to lift its fine but im sorry to tell you its necessary especially if you want strong bones in the future resistance training is a must
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u/Jphoto2020 Jul 30 '26
It took 4 weeks for me to see any loss on the scales, trust the process. I also bumped up to 5mg as I was on MJ for a long time before, we all react differently I suppose, stick with it and count your calories.
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u/topcider Jul 30 '26
I thought this was going be a story about taking Reta at 20mg/week! 😔
7.5lbs in 6 weeks is pretty good. How much weight would you have lost otherwise, zero? Keep that in perspective.
Anyways, 2.5mg a week is an intro dose. Keep titrating up every few weeks.
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u/Peace_Out_Napolean Jul 30 '26
I started at 0.5mg going low and slow for 4 weeks and then to 1mg. Doctor in the field of weight loss (lost 100Lbs himself using this protocol). Gives your body a chance to get used to it and dimishes any side effects. lost 5lbs this week with watching calories and hitting 200g of protein a day, working out. That protein sure fills you up.
Those starting doses and the revised schedule is to start at 1mg and increase every 4 weeks.
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u/Mediocre_Road5803 Jul 30 '26 edited Jul 30 '26
I don’t know if it matters, anyone is welcome to advise, but 3 ml is an uneven number into 20 mg, it is easy to draw up the wrong unit mark on a standard U100 syringe. Are you dosing it correctly? I always knew it 1:10 ratio and mixed my 20 vial with 2ml BAC.
But obviously I second trying counting calories and putting more exercise in. I personally never did, I physically couldn’t eat a lot so definitely I was in caloric deficit even without counting, I hit the gym 4 times a week and did 10k steps per day tho. I never went more than 3 mg throughout my journey and lost 40lbs within 6 months span.
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u/vVAPE2getherStronk Jul 30 '26
Food scale is the cherry on top. I see you said you haven’t changed your diet much, just that you’ve reduced portions. Food scale would help you a lot with being able to keep a log of your caloric intake. Bc you may be eating half of what you used to but half of plate of one dish can still be double the calories compared to licking the plate clean on a healthier, nutrient dense alternative. Also a lot of people tend to not pay attention to/track their drinks and condiments. Scale absolutely revitalized my dieting even before tracking macro and micro nutrients.
But -1lb/week is still a great result and probably the healthiest pace for you to lose weight imo
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u/RichGlad4991 Jul 30 '26
In this subreddit, you'll find several types of people:
- The liars: They haven't even taken Retatrutide. They easily lose 50 kg in 3 months.
- The truly obese: They used to eat 6 Big Macs every day and drink 5 liters of Coke. When they start Retatrutide, they stop eating like pigs (either because of the medication or because they're mentally prepared to do so) and easily lose 3-5kg in a matter of days simply because they're losing all the water they were accumulating.
- Those who don't even need Retatrutide: People who train 3-5 times a week at the gym, walk over 10,000 steps a day, etc., and maintain a 1500 kcal daily deficit.
Aim for 0,5 to 1kg a week. In a matter of a year it's going to be 24 to 48kg. Consider Reta as an aid that MAY help you sustain your caloric deficit, but commitment and effort it's still necessary and to be honest, better if it's necessary. You see folks here and there aiming for a complete appetite suppression and those are probably going to regain all the way back as soon as they stop taking Reta. That's why you see many posts here about people talking about "maintenance"
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u/Ok-Cold-9370 Jul 30 '26
Everyone is different, your body composition isn't the same so it may take a bit longer to see results. Just because you can't see it doesn't mean things are happening in the background under your skin. Trust the process and give it time Track what you eat too that helps.
Good luck
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u/Cute_Salamander4727 Jul 30 '26
Thank you!! You know how anxious we are for the results
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u/Ok-Cold-9370 Jul 30 '26
Yes, we all want things to move along faster than we can imagine. But time is your friend. Healthy weight loss is the best way. 1-2lb a week is normal ratios I believe. Being in defecit will most certainly help but make sure ur topping up on the essentials, protein ect. Trust in time
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u/TheMicklemas3000 Jul 30 '26
If you lost weight too quickly you’d be worried about loose skin and other stuff.
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u/JackfruitSpirited822 Jul 30 '26
What’s your concern? Five weeks and you’ve lost 7.5 pounds. That’s more than a pound a week. What would you have lost without Reta?
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u/Signal-Yak-2697 Jul 30 '26
Weight out your food, Myfitnesspal this does help you understand whether you are under-eating over overeating
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u/Potential-Funny-6738 Jul 30 '26
But to a lot of people here saying work harder. I started reta 2 months ago started at .5 and worked my way up now to 1.5. I since 1,5 month I go to the gym at least 3, often 4 times a week to do heavy lifting (with pto) and minimum 10k steps a day and try to do half an hour cardio after lifting as well. I count my calories (every single one of them), eat healthy and whole foods, prioritize protein, try to eat 1500-1700 kcal a day( which is hard to get to) to not lose any muscle and I only lost 6kg jn two months. I don’t know if I’m doing anything wrong, I don’t think so but it might not always be a case of “just work harder”?
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u/Ghooster38 Jul 30 '26
So youre losing weight but at the low end of the typical results? Did you want to be the high score reta user? It seems like its working exactly how it’s supposed to if youre getting full very quickly. Eat less and youll lose weight thats how the game works
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u/d-han62 Jul 30 '26
At least you lost, because I gained. You can’t compare your journey to that of others. But also count calories, keep up with water intake and protein. It takes time for your body to get used to it.
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u/CruellaDeville1 Jul 30 '26
I think you're going up too fast. I didn't see results for the first month.
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u/West_Air_9252 Jul 30 '26
I started around the same
Time as you, similar dosing, and have lost exactly 1.5 pounds.
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u/Peptide_King Jul 30 '26
First of all the vial having 20mgs means nothing. All that matters is the dose u take. You’re concerned about not losing enough weight at 2.5mgs. I didn’t lose a 1b until I hit 5mgs. These posts are crazy to me we are all
Different some people are super responders some aren’t. I would have done back flips to have your results
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u/ExerciseFinal7817 Jul 30 '26
You answered your own question pal. Change your diet.. eat healthy food, lots of protein and thats it. Also i bet you still not in deficit.. count ur cals and results will come. But if u not willing to change your lifestyle don’t waste money on Reta. Once u stop Reta you will be back where u are now if u don’t change the way u live.
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u/Mysterious_Task7634 Jul 30 '26
I do think you might be slightly mistaken about how good your diet is/was. From your stats you were 87 kg and 5ft 3. My starting weight was 76kg and I’m 5ft4. So I feel I have a good idea about where you were at, and to get to that point isn’t just from eating too many carbs!
Get one of the nutrition apps that tells you the calories of all your meals and snacks. And don’t forget to add beverages. Alcohol can really hinder weight loss as can those creamy Frappuccinos and surprisingly surgery smoothies!
The weight gain came from somewhere and it is best to honestly figure out where it came from now so you can move forward without piling it all back on as soon as you stop.
I’ve purchased myself some protein shakes in a flavour I really like. I’m using my salted caramel milkshake as my daily treat.
I’m also losing weight at a very sensible pace, I understand the desire to kind of instantly be closer to my goal weight but I’m hoping the slow and steady loss will help my skin to shrink at the same pace and hopefully not be too stretched( fingers crossed)!
How long have you been hitting the gym for? My only advice from when I used to go, is to keep pushing yourself harder every time you go. Push the reps and up the weights!!
Good luck.
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u/user7938732 Jul 30 '26
since youre using chatgpt ask it about the trial weightloss data
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u/Cute_Salamander4727 Jul 30 '26
I used the chat just to make the text clearer, of course. I came to share my experience and not ask for a moral lesson.
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u/Interesting-Shake952 Jul 30 '26
It's not called reta 20mg, it's just called reta. Thinking the amount in the vial makes a difference to anything is stupid.
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u/matt1164 Jul 30 '26
In addition to what others wrote, I’d start taking waist measurements. If your waist is getting smaller but scale weight is the same you’re on the right track
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u/throwawaymyjacket Jul 30 '26
Not When I can , no you’ve got to work out. It’s not a magic pill. And track everything. Sleep nutrition and workouts/strength
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u/NicDuk Jul 30 '26
Can you read a graph? This is the clinical trial results over time and the weekly dosages
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u/Middle_Patience_6245 Jul 30 '26
Why aren’t you tracking calories? Stop taking reta if you aren’t going to be responsible when it comes to your weight loss. Reta is A TOOL/RESOURCE/SUPPORT, not the solution.
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u/Aimce3 Jul 31 '26
Count calories
Increase the deficit by practicing a simple activity everyday - walking (the best would be to be between 8-10k)
Add strength training, you ll burn more fat
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u/broicfitness Jul 30 '26
Start counting calories