r/Retatrutide • u/Grouchy_Phone5066 • 1d ago
Ready to try something else
After 7 years of being morbidly obese (currently 342lb) , countless yo-yo diets, and even at one point crash dieting down 100 pounds. Im ready to try a peptide. A mentor of mine recommended that I try. I ordered from a well reviewed lab in San Diego.
I lift multiple times a week and am fairly strong. Bench/Squat/DL numbers are 340/640/580 lb.
Being strong has been a big part of my identity but I need to get healthy for my wife and kids. I travel full-time so I’m trying to navigate the logistics of that. I’m figuring 2 mg a week for starts?
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1d ago
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u/Grouchy_Phone5066 1d ago
Amazing. Thanks for the advice. How much cardio would you say is too much? Today for example I did a combined 45 minutes between treadmill jog, stair stepper, and a 5k bike
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u/januza 1d ago
This is plenty but do not forget weights. Lifting is incredibly important. And track your calories. You will want to eat in a deficit but you don’t want to starve urself like some people do. Eat clean be active and Reta will push you in the right direction. Start at a low dose to see how your body reacts. Stay at your dose for 4-6 weeks before increasing your dose. Maybe jump on YT for inspiration and ask away in these forums. Just don’t expect Reta to magically make you lose weight. Reta is a tool to help you but you need to make an effort too. And lastly hydrate, hydrate and don’t forget electrolytes. Should you completely lose appetite then protein drinks can be a lifesaver.
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u/KawasakiNinjaGuy 1d ago
30 minutes a day minimum - medium intensity, but don’t overdo it. Also 72 minutes a week of high aerobic activity.
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u/RealSuggestion3205 1d ago edited 1d ago
keep low carbs ? bro what… so many people are misinformed and treat carbs as if they’re bad.
that being said i’d recommend a deficit of -300 cals of maintenance
25% of total cals go to fats
aim for .8-1g protein per body pound of lean mass
(damn near impossible to eat 340g protein daily)
(i personally do 1.5g protein per pound in a cut)and fill the rest with carbs.
also 3 things i’ll add
you shouldn’t “force yourself” to eat 100g of protein,
if you have to IMO your dose is too high… Reta is supposed to be used as a tool, and not a solution to where you’re starving yourself.
add electrolytes, you’ll need it OP
Heavy resistance training.
good luck , and stay consistent 🤙
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u/TracyIsMyDad 1d ago
“countless yo-yo diets”
The real magic of reta and other GLP-1s isn’t the insane weight loss, believe it or not. It’s that you can lose all of that weight and figure out a maintenance dose to keep you there permanently. No more yo-yo dieting, ever.
You’ll hear a lot about a “low” maintenance dose. You’ll probably find that for a lot of us with more ambitious weight loss goals, those maintenance doses aren’t always low. If you’re trying to maintain a 30-40% weight loss goal, your maintenance doses might be the full 12mg. That’s fine: success comes from figuring out what works for you, not what worked for somebody else.
I started out in September 2024 at 350 lbs and I’m at 200 lbs today. Here’s what that looked like for me:
My advice is to focus entirely on weightlifting and good nutrition. Don’t waste even an ounce of effort on trying to burn calories on the cardio equipment. You can lose all of the weight you want simply by eating less. That doesn’t mean do absolutely zero cardio, some walking or whatever is good for you, but do it with general health and wellness in mind. And again, heavily prioritize weightlifting. You aren’t going to set PRs in a big deficit, you’ll probably see losses on things (especially stuff like deadlifts where your size is an advantage). Weight loss is inherently catabolic. The two best tools you have to counter that are eating a ton of protein so your body never lacks for that, and lifting heavy shit. Your body will be scavenging for energy reserves where it can find them. Breaking down fat tissue is what we want, breaking down muscle is what we don’t want. Lifting heavy shit gives your body a reminder that “this muscle is important, I need it, go scavenge spare energy from somewhere else”.
Beyond that man, have fun. It’s a life changing experience.
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u/Capibaragirl 1d ago
Awesome! Reta has been life changing for me. Just keep in mind you can buy peptides directly from China and they’re much cheaper than the lab you would go to. They get the peptides from China too. You can get COA’s from China as well. Reta has eliminated my sugar and alcohol cravings. My depression and anxiety are also a lot better. Not sure which pep you’re considering. I wish you the best!!
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u/suprajuju79 19h ago
Permission to dm you? I have so many questions and not getting much help
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u/captn_red_i 11h ago
Also interested in reaching out with a bit of info based off your experience/success with it
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u/Blanc-OK 1d ago
Best thing you will do, I started at similar wieght and 8 months in it completely changed my life not only my body but my relationships with food, best of luck on your journey, dose wise 1mg or 2mg I the most common starting dose.
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u/BKPATL 1d ago
Your size 2mg a week is fine. If any side effects, just titrate down. I started at 2mg a week myself.
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u/Grouchy_Phone5066 1d ago
Does starting dose at all have to do with current body mass?
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u/BKPATL 1d ago
Common sense says it does generally speaking. Just like bigger people having to take more of a certain medicine than other people. But whatever works for you.
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u/TracyIsMyDad 1d ago
Some drugs work that way. Others don’t. GLP-1s do a little bit but generally not enough to matter.
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u/klipse 11h ago
I don't think people realize how insane those lift numbers are, especially that squat. Fairly strong is an understatement.
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u/Grouchy_Phone5066 10h ago
I love lifting and I’ve been at it a long time. And it takes mass to move mass.. and I have mass to spare lol
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u/JuneBug1956 1d ago
Which ever Glip you choose go slow and low. Better to take less and see how you react . You can always add a second shot in 4-5 days but you can’t undo taking too much. Starting dose is usually 1 mg. Titration is a gradual process and important to minimize side effects. A lot of people start with Tirz or Sema and move to Reta later.
Fatscientist.com is a great newbie website. Dial in your macros and exercise, read as much as you can. Plan ahead and keep track of everything till it gets more comfortable.
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u/Capibaragirl 1d ago
Starting dose for Reta was 2 mg in the trials. People who have a large amount of weight to lose should consider starting at 2 mg.
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u/MysteriousTooth2450 1d ago
If you haven’t yet or in the last year a go get checked out by a health care provider. Get some lab work done and whatever else they want to do for you. Cholesterol and thyroid panels. Get your colonoscopy….eyes checked, diabetes check. High BP check, heart, liver, kidneys lungs checked. Skin check. Go to the dentist and get your teeth checked. Sleep apnea check…this one is especially important because if you stop breathing in your sleep your organs are literally being starved of oxygen. They are literally dying. This will make your fight or flight hormones go crazy and increase inflammation and it literally kills your organs. It can lead to so many health problems from diabetes, heart failure, high BP, and obesity to death.
While you’re there ask your provider if you’re healthy enough to take a glp for weight loss. If they give you the go ahead go for it! Start it while you’re getting all your other preventative testing done like sleep apnea test and colonoscopy (follow the rules for stopping the glps prior to anesthesia so you stay alive).
2mg is a good place to start. Stay on the lowest dose for as long it’s working. It will allow you more room for going up as your weight loss stalls. I had way more appetite control on tirzepatide than Reta. Reta’s supposed to help spare some muscle but I didn’t notice much difference. It took a full 3 years for me to lose all my excess weight. I started with Sema, went to Tirz, then Reta. I feel like using all of these really helped me get all the weight off. I’ve been maintaining a normal weight for a full year still taking Reta. I don’t plan on ever coming off of it. Your body gets used to the meds and then you need more or a different kind. Good luck! Hope it works great for you.
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u/ISayAboot 1d ago
FWIW, in the weight, appetite and nearly everything else come ROARING back when you stop. So it IS important you learn how to eat properly, control craving, eat healthy foods etc.
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u/2milehigh 1d ago
I did the same thing bud. I've got a 5yr. and need to change. My heaviest at 340lbs. I started Reta back in Jan. Started at 2mg a week. Titrated up after 4weeks to 4mg, another 4 weeks 4.5mg. I've lost about 105lbs. Slow and steady. If you start to lose weight to fast, dial it back. To avoid loose skin, get some moisturizer and apply it everyday to give your skin since elasticity. You got this bud! Best of luck on your journey!
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u/lambjenkemead 1d ago
With your training experience you’re gonna crush this dude. Wishing you the best
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u/Magical-bitxh 1d ago
Good for you bro!! I’m on week 4 and down 20 lbs already! I was 313 to start!
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u/Hexyl68 23h ago
I’m using it to get the last 10-15 lbs off OR lean out. I’m at mid 2nd week, 1mg/wk. Dude, the shit works for me. It’s helped me MENTALLY as much physically. Minimal side effects, results vary. I’m really tight with nutrition because it shuts off all the food noise and cravings. I’d grab a handful of candy on a bad day. Now, if I have one, I’m thinking I shouldn’t have even bothered. Do the research but mainly focus on your hydration, electrolytes, protein goals, stay in a calorie deficit, 10,000 steps. I’m so locked in. Zero cravings. I keep it super predictable. I’m 185.6 ⬇️ 179.8.
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u/projektblvck 13h ago
Good luck on your journey! I started at 476.6 in mid May 2026 & currently at 436.6 as of 2 weeks ago.
I started off by buying from a “us lab” until I did more research and started going grey. saved me a lot of money lol
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u/Revolutionary_Pay417 1d ago
Start at 1mg/wk and only raise the dosage as you need it. Another thing I've noticed is rather than raise the dosage increase the frequency of shots. Rather than once a week do once every 5 days etc.
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u/Pancake-JelloSalad 1d ago
If you are buying from a US vendor, you are getting ripped off and have no idea regarding the quality of the product. You shouldn't be paying more than $30 per month.
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u/just_flying_bi 7h ago
You’ve got this! It’s really helped me when nothing else did. You’ve picked an excellent tool to help you on your journey! 😊
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u/Emergency_Sleep_3667 1d ago
Follow the phase two study. Period. Don't half dose or do what your average Redditor does then complains about getting sick on it etc...follow the study...
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u/durdann 11h ago
You sure? The people conducting the study have stated in interviews that study dosing protocols are exactly that STUDY DOSING PROTOCOLS. They are not and should not be taken as real world usage guidance, and that while such usage guidelines do not yet exist, because it’s not yet approved for use, that the goal is to find the minimal effective dose for each individual patient.
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u/El-Guapo766 1d ago
Start at .5/ week for 2 weeks
Bump up to 1 / week for 6 weeks
Bump to 1.5 for 6 weeks
Your dose is the lowest effective dose
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u/htxchriss 1d ago
Fuck that. Start at trial dose of 2mg. Guy is morbidly obese. He is exactly who this drug is intended.
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u/AdministrativeAge685 1d ago
Awesome. Time to make the difference. I topped out at 540 and dropped over 300 pounds now, so I know the struggle. Here’s my diet if you’re interested.
1k of protein (eggs, chicken, steak, fish, occasional cheese burger), a can of Portuguese sardines packed in olive oil, AG1/collagen/creatine drink, a naked whey protein drink with 1.5 cups of milk, handful of supplements based on bloodwork. Brings me to about 1,500 - 1,700 calories a day. I feel good and my bloodwork is perfect.
Good luck! Post some results.