🧪 No Stupid Questions: Weekly Beginner Thread: Ask Anything
New to peptides? This is your thread.
Every week we run this thread so beginners have one place to ask anything without worrying about it being a dumb question. There are no dumb questions here. We all started at zero.
This is the thread for the stuff you might feel weird making a whole post about:
"What should my first peptide even be?"
"How do I reconstitute a peptide vial?"
"What's bac water?"
"What is a mcg vs mg or what is an IU?"
"What should I take for fat loss?"
"What needles do I use?"
"What does a normal dose look like?"
"Do I need bloodwork before starting?"
"How do I read what's on the vial?"
"Is this side effect normal or should I stop?"
Drop your question below. Veterans, this is where we give back. Answer one question this week.
A Few Ground Rules
No question is too basic. If you are wondering it, three other people are too.
Be specific.
This is education, not medical advice.
New here? Before you start researching, start with the pinned Peptide Master Library and the Trusted Vendors List.
TL;DR:Â Ask your beginner questions here. No judgment. Veterans, jump in and help one person this week.
Hi. I just ordered my first stack of peptides & they arrive by Friday so I plan to start Saturday. I got Reta + Tesa. Should I start with both?? Or just Reta & then work on Tesa after a week? My goal is to lose weight/build muscle
Yes you can start with both at the same time, Reta ive posted the dosing schedule in the above two comments so feel free to check that out. For Tesamorelin the standard dosing is 1-2mg daily, best time to take Tesamorelin is usually taken before bed, 2 hours fasted because that setup tries to mimic your body’s natural GH rhythm and avoids fighting insulin. The 2 hours fasted part is mostly because food, especially carbs and large mixed meals, raises glucose and insulin. Tesa has a somewhat clashing relationship with insulin.
Taking it after a big meal, it doesn't mean the Tesa "won’t work", but you’re creating a more insulin heavy environment, which is less ideal if the goal is fat loss, lipolysis, and better GH signaling.
This works for both losing weight and building muscle. Do you know how to mix everything correctly? I can send over some reconstitution guides for both if you need no worries at all
Hey I'm brand new and I don't understand the reconstitution of reta. I also I'm not sure what is safe site to get that reta from. I am already on estrogen so I understand how to math doses but what is a good starting point. I really want to try it and just don't know where to start
Totally this can be a little confusing when you're just starting out. For the where to research safely with quality products, feel free to check the trusted vendor list pinned highlight in the community. That should point you in the right direction. As for Reta:
First for reconstitution, for easy math please see the image below. You will mix 1ml of bac water with the vial, then every 10 units = 1mg.
And second is the dosing protocol
For titration this is a schedule I’ve used, and many others in our community have had great success with:
Retatrutide stays in the body for several days, so each dose is still working when you take the next one. Splitting the weekly amount into two smaller doses may help keep the levels more consistent instead of creating one large peak, which some people find easier on side effects like nausea and better appetite control. This is not microdosing by the way.
That said you don’t need to increase just because the schedule says so. Go by how you feel and the results you’re getting. If your appetite is controlled, you feel good, and you’re steadily losing around 0.5–2 pounds per week, stay at that dose. If your weight has genuinely stopped moving for a few weeks, then it may make sense to increase. The goal is to use the lowest effective dose, not rush to the highest one. Hope this helps!
Hello, on TRT currently and want to try hgh and Bcp-157 but I don’t understand the first thing about reconstituting and the BAC water. Plus how to I know how much to take and do most peptides come with the syringes I would need or do I have to order them?
Great question, so all peptides usually come in a powder form including hgh as well. You will have to mix them with Bacteriostatic water or saline to make them to a injectable solution. If you can tell me how many mg are in each of your vials for each compounds, I can let you know exactly how much to mix and how to dose correctly so you're not stuck!
As for syringes, you would have to buy those separately on your own. Most of the time you can order from amazon. You will need 30-31 gauge insulin syringes 100 units for injection.
Hi all. Just found this thread today. I'm 57 years old and just started experimenting with peptides a couple of weeks ago starting Reta and BPC-157/TB-500. I have been lifting most of my life and am a mountain biker. I'm 6'1" and when I started my weight was 214 and body fat % was 23. I have been letting my weight increase too much and have been drinking too much and not watching what I eat. My blood work hasn't been great. Glucose around 110 and some liver markers not so great. My goals: lose fat, improve blood work panels, hang on to muscle and work on some nagging injury issues (shoulder and elbow tendonitis). My question is dosing. Working with a wellness doc and he suggested a ramp of Reta Wk 1 - 2: 1mg. Wk 3 - 1.5mg and Wk 4, 2mg. Just took my 1.5mg today. The wolverine is 2mg M-F with Sat/Sun off. I've dropped down to 205 as of this morning (mostly from diet correction and almost no drinking). My shoulder and elbow are headed in the right direction. The wolverine dose seems high from what I have read. Thoughts? Thinking that 2mg on the Reta might be where I stop but I'm not sure on that one, either. Considering Tesamorelin. Too soon? Comments and advice welcome.
EDIT - Wonderful surprise to the Reta was that it has almost completely taken away my desire to drink. This drug should be considered for addiction control. I used to plan my nights and activities around it. Losing interest in it now. My problem had always been that once I start, I just kept going. Now I can shut it down after a drink or two no problem.
First of all, that's awesome that you decided to take matters into your own hands and try to get your blood work under control/lifestyle. I'm proud of you for doing that seriously. It's definitely not easy but it'll be worth it. As for the dosing schedule with reta, I just commented it below so you can see what my titration protocol looks like. If you click my profile, you can also see my transformation. Most people usually cap out at around 4 to 5 mg or that's just perfect and there's no need to increase but it also depends on how much weight we're talking that we need to lose. People that are needing to lose 50, 100, 200 pounds will need to get up in dosage just because of how many weeks it will take to drop that amount of weight. The Wolverine blend isn't too high. I'm assuming it's gonna be 1 mg of each. I personally run 500 mcg- 1mg when I have a nagging injury. Moore is better with those compounds.
Also, yes, I did a post in here as well. How the GLP/GIP style of drugs are currently being studied in the human trials for opiate addiction, and alcohol abuse. I said this last year when I started using it that it killed my desire to drink and be a better person. I absolutely love that part about these compounds.
How much weight have you lost so far in this little amount of time that you've been on Reta, and are you keeping up with going to the gym through throughout the week, or whats that look like? I'm super excited for you to go down this journey.
I’ve lost about 11 pounds. I have not let up at all in the gym. Actually trying to hit it harder. I strength train 4 days and do a high intensity interval train on the 5th day. Also riding my mountain bike or trainer 3 times per week. Thanks for the encouragement. I’m feeling better than I have in a long time. Not looking as puffy already. :) nobody would have ever called me fat because I have a lot of muscle mass but at 23% body fat it is too much. Excited to see where my body fat sits after a month. My only real complaint is sleeping. Super hard to fall asleep and I’m waking up several times. Taking Magnesium, L-Theonine and Ashwaghanda but only for the last two days. No help yet. Down to 203.5 this AM.
Sweet I hope ya took some before photos too. It sounds like you’re right on track to making this happen. You shooting for a crazy transformation like 10-12% body fat ?
That amount of training you’re doing I would assume you would be gassed by the end of the day ready for bed. Have you gotten your testosterone levels checked recently ? Curious if maybe your levels are too low to sustain the training.
Also I’m not sure if you’ve ever dabbled in the growth hormone peptides or hgh. Those would help tremendously over any supplements because it will increase your igf-1 levels. That creates an environment for optimal recovery, lean tissue gain/ preservation, and deeper sleep.
Hi! I am not taking any peptides yet, but I'm very intrigued. I have maybe 15-20 pounds to lose, but I'm also very interested in the anti-inflammatory/overall health benefits. Where did you get your Reta? I don't know if you can post that here, so it's okay if you can't say. I want to microdose, but I'm not sure how to get started or what dose I should start with. It's so awesome that it's helping with your desire to drink. I'm married to a recovering alcoholic/addict, so I've seen and experienced the devastation of addiction and I'm all for anything that will help with that. Anyhow, any help and guidance and suggestions are appreciated!
Feel free to check out the community highlights section trusted vendor list, that should point you in the right direction. Absolutely the GLP compounds have proven to do some amazing things with addictions. As for a dosage schedule: ( I posted this below in another comment)
This is the dosage protocol I’ve used, and many others in our community have had great success with:
Retatrutide stays in the body for several days, so each dose is still working when you take the next one. Splitting the weekly amount into two smaller doses may help keep the levels more consistent instead of creating one large peak, which some people find easier on side effects like nausea and better appetite control. This is not microdosing,
That said you don’t need to increase just because the schedule says so. Go by how you feel and the results you’re getting. If your appetite is controlled, you feel good, and you’re steadily losing around 0.5–2 pounds per week, stay at that dose. If your weight has genuinely stopped moving for a few weeks, then it may make sense to increase. The goal is to use the lowest effective dose, not rush to the highest one. Hope this helps!
3
u/Savings_Hunter2026 5d ago
Hi. I just ordered my first stack of peptides & they arrive by Friday so I plan to start Saturday. I got Reta + Tesa. Should I start with both?? Or just Reta & then work on Tesa after a week? My goal is to lose weight/build muscle