2 months on Reta update
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So I did exactly what everyone tells you not to do. But, it has worked great for me and I've gotten better results than I could have even imagined. However, I will need to alter my approach in the near future, and would be open to suggestions.
Journey began officially on April 6th, day after 36th birthday. Started at 345 pounds and currently at 282. So just a tiny bit over a pound a day for 2 straight months.
Now before you freak out and start typing, I feel amazing. I'm not losing hair, I'm going to the bathroom every day, and no I'm not hitting protein goals, I'm barely cracking 400 calories a day most days. Sometimes I just don't eat at all. I would estimate that out of the 63 pounds lost less than 20% is muscle, most likely less than 10%. But don't know for sure.
I understand this approach is not sustainable for much longer, but it feels wonderful to get a jump start on the weight loss with end goal being around 175 pounds.
For dosing the titration is where I can say the results came from. This was the very first time trying anything like this and started at 1MG. Did that for another week. Then bumped to 2. 3 the next week. Then straight to 4. Then straight to split dosing and kept it 4 per injection every 4th day. So by week 6 it was 4MG every 4th day, and that has been a sweet spot since. Sometimes it's more like 3.5 MG but consistently 3.5-4 MG every 4th day for 5 weeks. My side effects include mild nausea and sulphur burps, but nothing too terrible.
Guessing I can manage another month or so of barely eating but at some point coming up I'll have to alter something. My main idea is to just reduce the dose and try to eat more as my body tells me it needs it. Or maybe it would be better to give up the split dosing and go back to once a week.
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The absolute key here is creating healthy habits for when you titrate down and eventually off. Not eating at all, not prioritizing protein intake, and not weight training is simply...body wasting.
I would highly recommend to start tracking calories...everything that passes you lips. Use a scale, use measuring cups, all of it...you can't start to make things work for you long-term unless you start to understand how much of everything you eat translates into how much caloric intake.
Your titration schedule also seems incredibly rapid. I realize you're starting with a lot to lose but you must be looking at the long-game here at some point.
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Forget the split dosing! I would bet your losing a lot of muscle! Do you have a Supplement superstore near you? if So go in and get one of their free body scans and print it off it will tell you everything you need to know! Are you exercising? walking?
I would give my Rat 4mg once a week, you should get hungry in 5/6 days if your get nausea back it down a bit, if you get hungry sooner increase it to 5mg the next week.
Next focus on food, you should be eating 175-200 grams of lean protein per day! that's a few meals a day! with a few protein shakes! minimum.
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Yep, you're doing it the way you're not supposed to. I hope it works out for you though.
Good job... so far. -
Forget the split dosing! I would bet your losing a lot of muscle! Do you have a Supplement superstore near you? if So go in and get one of their free body scans and print it off it will tell you everything you need to know! Are you exercising? walking?
I would give my Rat 4mg once a week, you should get hungry in 5/6 days if your get nausea back it down a bit, if you get hungry sooner increase it to 5mg the next week.
Next focus on food, you should be eating 175-200 grams of lean protein per day! that's a few meals a day! with a few protein shakes! minimum.
@brandenscheidecker I'm doing resistance training 1-2 times per week and have not noticed any strength loss whatsoever. I could have added that I used to be in great shape about a decade back. I still hold a lot of muscle on my body. So I agree I am losing some muscle, I don't think it's nearly as much as the YouTube doctors would have you believe. Also I think that's a fair trade anyway, I'd make that trade in my position. 10 pounds of muscle to drop 40-50 pounds of fat. That's a good deal, I'd make that deal.
Yes also walking, trying to do more of that every week. Usually do a minimum of 30-40 minutes a day and then on the weekends when I have time I go for longer walks of about an hour, plus I'm mildly active. Right now I work as a truck driver so it's hard to be super consistent with everything because I work 14-15 hour days 5 days a week and it's tough with those kind of hours. The good news is I'm healthy as far as I know aside from being overweight. No medications and just a few mild nagging injuries, nothing too serious.
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Add on some GH/HGH. That will help to stabilize everything. Especially Ipamorelin in the morning, 90 min fast, then eat.
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I hope you take this the right way...no animosity intended...here is an honest breakdown of what this extreme approach is doing to you right now, what will happen next, and how you can safely pivot.
The Immediate Risks: What You Are Facing Right Now
You feel "amazing" right now due to a combination of rapid weight loss adrenaline and the profound appetite-suppressing effects of massive chemical dosing. However, biologically, you are starving.Severe Muscle Wasting: You estimate you’ve only lost 10–20% muscle. Statistically, on a sub-400 calorie diet with virtually no protein, you are likely losing closer to 40–50% lean muscle mass. The body cannot sustain itself on fat alone; it breaks down muscle tissue (including, eventually, heart muscle) for vital functions.
Gallstones and Gallbladder Failure: Dropping over a pound a day forces the liver to excrete extra cholesterol into the bile. This is a textbook recipe for developing severe gallstones, which can lead to emergency gallbladder removal.
Metabolic Damage: Eating 400 calories a day signals a "famine" to your thyroid and metabolism. Your basal metabolic rate (BMR) is actively plummeting. When you do start eating again, your body will be primed to store every single calorie as fat immediately.
Overdosing/Toxicity: Standard titration for these medications takes months to reach max doses (usually capping at 2.4mg or 2.5mg weekly). You jumped to 4mg within weeks, and by injecting every 4 days, you have built up an incredibly high, steady-state concentration of the drug in your system much too quickly.
What Happens Next (The Crash)
You mention you can "manage another month or so," but the wall is coming sooner than you think.As your glycogen and fat stores are rapidly depleted without nutritional backup, you are highly likely to experience a sudden onset of severe fatigue, electrolyte imbalances (which can cause heart palpitations), hair thinning (which takes 2–3 months after the stressor to actually start falling out), and intense brain fog.
How You Can Safely Pivot
You are right about one thing: you need to alter your approach immediately. You cannot "cold turkey" off this dose without experiencing a massive wave of hunger, but you cannot stay on it either.I'm not a doctor, but here is how I would transition to a sustainable, healthy lifestyle without regaining the weight:
- Fix the Dosing Safely
You need to abandon the every-4-day split dosing and move back to a standard once-weekly schedule. Furthermore, you need to back down from the 4mg threshold.
Recommendation: You should consult a physician to safely taper down to a standard maintenance or therapeutic dose (such as 1.0mg or 1.7mg once a week).
- Force a "Minimum Floor" for Nutrition
You cannot wait for your body to "tell you it needs food," because the medication is actively blocking those signals. You have to treat food like medicine.
Calories: You need to immediately bring your intake up to a minimum of 1,500–1,800 calories a day. At your current weight of 282 lbs, this is still a massive deficit, but it will protect your vital organs.
Protein: You must prioritize protein to stop your body from consuming its own muscle. You should aim for at least 120–150 grams of protein daily. Protein shakes, lean meats, and Greek yogurt will be your best friends here since volume eating might still feel difficult.
- Shift the Mindset from "Fast" to "Forever"
Losing 63 pounds is a massive achievement, and you have successfully shocked your system into a lower baseline. But to get to 175 pounds and stay there, you have to transition from a crash diet to a sustainable lifestyle. A safe, healthy rate of weight loss from this point forward is 1 to 2 pounds per week.
If you correct course now, you can preserve the progress you’ve made without doing permanent damage to your metabolism or your organs. Get some comprehensive blood work done with a doctor to make sure your kidneys, liver, and electrolytes are handling the strain.
- Fix the Dosing Safely
-
The absolute key here is creating healthy habits for when you titrate down and eventually off. Not eating at all, not prioritizing protein intake, and not weight training is simply...body wasting.
I would highly recommend to start tracking calories...everything that passes you lips. Use a scale, use measuring cups, all of it...you can't start to make things work for you long-term unless you start to understand how much of everything you eat translates into how much caloric intake.
Your titration schedule also seems incredibly rapid. I realize you're starting with a lot to lose but you must be looking at the long-game here at some point.
@hunt_ak This is 100% spot on advice. GLP's are great tools but should not be a crutch, at some point ppl are going to have to learn to eat properly. weight loss should be a long-term goal. Losing weight too quickly will result in even more excessive skin that will not be able to rebound. There should be adequate protein and abso-fucking-lutely be weight training involved. I wish the OP success in their journey...but it all comes down to calories in VS out, to which the GLP's shine. Use your tools wisely!!!
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I hope you take this the right way...no animosity intended...here is an honest breakdown of what this extreme approach is doing to you right now, what will happen next, and how you can safely pivot.
The Immediate Risks: What You Are Facing Right Now
You feel "amazing" right now due to a combination of rapid weight loss adrenaline and the profound appetite-suppressing effects of massive chemical dosing. However, biologically, you are starving.Severe Muscle Wasting: You estimate you’ve only lost 10–20% muscle. Statistically, on a sub-400 calorie diet with virtually no protein, you are likely losing closer to 40–50% lean muscle mass. The body cannot sustain itself on fat alone; it breaks down muscle tissue (including, eventually, heart muscle) for vital functions.
Gallstones and Gallbladder Failure: Dropping over a pound a day forces the liver to excrete extra cholesterol into the bile. This is a textbook recipe for developing severe gallstones, which can lead to emergency gallbladder removal.
Metabolic Damage: Eating 400 calories a day signals a "famine" to your thyroid and metabolism. Your basal metabolic rate (BMR) is actively plummeting. When you do start eating again, your body will be primed to store every single calorie as fat immediately.
Overdosing/Toxicity: Standard titration for these medications takes months to reach max doses (usually capping at 2.4mg or 2.5mg weekly). You jumped to 4mg within weeks, and by injecting every 4 days, you have built up an incredibly high, steady-state concentration of the drug in your system much too quickly.
What Happens Next (The Crash)
You mention you can "manage another month or so," but the wall is coming sooner than you think.As your glycogen and fat stores are rapidly depleted without nutritional backup, you are highly likely to experience a sudden onset of severe fatigue, electrolyte imbalances (which can cause heart palpitations), hair thinning (which takes 2–3 months after the stressor to actually start falling out), and intense brain fog.
How You Can Safely Pivot
You are right about one thing: you need to alter your approach immediately. You cannot "cold turkey" off this dose without experiencing a massive wave of hunger, but you cannot stay on it either.I'm not a doctor, but here is how I would transition to a sustainable, healthy lifestyle without regaining the weight:
- Fix the Dosing Safely
You need to abandon the every-4-day split dosing and move back to a standard once-weekly schedule. Furthermore, you need to back down from the 4mg threshold.
Recommendation: You should consult a physician to safely taper down to a standard maintenance or therapeutic dose (such as 1.0mg or 1.7mg once a week).
- Force a "Minimum Floor" for Nutrition
You cannot wait for your body to "tell you it needs food," because the medication is actively blocking those signals. You have to treat food like medicine.
Calories: You need to immediately bring your intake up to a minimum of 1,500–1,800 calories a day. At your current weight of 282 lbs, this is still a massive deficit, but it will protect your vital organs.
Protein: You must prioritize protein to stop your body from consuming its own muscle. You should aim for at least 120–150 grams of protein daily. Protein shakes, lean meats, and Greek yogurt will be your best friends here since volume eating might still feel difficult.
- Shift the Mindset from "Fast" to "Forever"
Losing 63 pounds is a massive achievement, and you have successfully shocked your system into a lower baseline. But to get to 175 pounds and stay there, you have to transition from a crash diet to a sustainable lifestyle. A safe, healthy rate of weight loss from this point forward is 1 to 2 pounds per week.
If you correct course now, you can preserve the progress you’ve made without doing permanent damage to your metabolism or your organs. Get some comprehensive blood work done with a doctor to make sure your kidneys, liver, and electrolytes are handling the strain.
@jamiegallien I really appreciate the intricate and personal response. That is some wonderful information and I don't really disagree with anything you've said.
Now having said that I'm going to say that I'm probably going to continue pushing forward with my 4x4 method for a few more weeks. I've decided that 100 pounds in a 100 days sounds pretty cool. I'm already so close to that anyways. That would put me right at 245 pounds.
I do worry about some of the things you've suggested, mainly the gallbladder but I have electrolytes salts and I've done extended fasting for years.
I would say there's a zero percent chance at this point that I've lost 30 pounds of muscle. It's definitely much less than that. I have not lost any strength whatsoever. All my lifts are exactly where they were 2 months ago. This is the main way I am measuring my progress apart from the scale actually. As soon as I start to lose strength, I'll know I've gone too far. I am willing to cross that line, but if I do I will admit I have gone too far.
I will add that my ultimate goal here is to transition into a long term healthy lifestyle. I get that. That is what I want.
- Fix the Dosing Safely
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Add on some GH/HGH. That will help to stabilize everything. Especially Ipamorelin in the morning, 90 min fast, then eat.
@vonendorphin I just added this to my cycle and I already do 23.5 hour fasts on day 1 and 2, then on day 3 I attempt to eat more and usually eat something during the day.
I break it down like this
Day 1 Reta KPV MotsC
DAY 2 GLOW + CJC/IPA
Day 3 GLOW + CJC/IPA
Day 4-6 RepeatAnd I take an extra TB4 dose once during the 6 days
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My friend. First I want to say that I greatly admire your dedication and spirit for this journey. I appreciate the '100 in 100' slogan. But as a physician I cannot in good conscience stay silent seeing this thread. Those above have given an excellent response, with plenty of caution, to the approach you have taken. It is likely you are in a severe starvation category in regards to your metabolism. You may not notice the symptoms you're looking out for before irreversible multi organ damage has already occurred. Please at least consider getting some labs done ASAP. Those should include measures of electrolyte status, metabolism, etc. Do not assume if values are low that its a good thing. Involve your primary doctor/APP if possible. But you can also just pursue them on your own. Any AI will tell you what you need to check when you type the word 'starvation'. And no amount of the above peptides are going to protect you from bad things related to this degree of rapid weight loss. Please rethink your strategy!
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@vonendorphin I just added this to my cycle and I already do 23.5 hour fasts on day 1 and 2, then on day 3 I attempt to eat more and usually eat something during the day.
I break it down like this
Day 1 Reta KPV MotsC
DAY 2 GLOW + CJC/IPA
Day 3 GLOW + CJC/IPA
Day 4-6 RepeatAnd I take an extra TB4 dose once during the 6 days
danny2 food is great. You shouldn't try to go too fast on weight loss.
there's no reason to "days on / days off" gh. That's just something bodybuilders did when it was $6/iu. -
First off I want to say thank you for all the kind words from well meaning people. I understand what you're saying, and why you're saying it. I believe it's coming from the best of intentions. Second I want to say I'm not a doctor. No one recommended to do what I'm doing. Most of my information came from various YouTube channels.
Now what I really want to say is it's ok to lose weight. The medical industry is wrought with scams and phobias because fear sells. Combined with the food industry creating the most hyper addictive foods possible and convincing multiple generations that missing a single meal would kill them, we have an epidemic. Obesity and heart disease are orders of magnitude more dangerous than losing weight too fast.
On the contrary, getting weight off quickly is most likely the single best thing the majority of over weight adults can do for their health. Are there risks, yes of course. Is there a one size fits all approach that someone can put in a pill and sell in bottle, probably not. But is it dangerous, especially for other wise healthy people? Not really that dangerous at all.
There's only one fastest way to lose weight. It's to stop putting food in your mouth and swallowing. That's it. When animals in the wild get sick, most of them stop eating. Obesity is a disease, if you're fat, you're sick. Stop eating fatty. It's that simple. The Bible and most religions teach us about fasting and prayer. It works. It has worked for a long time. Food can be medicine yes, but for most people these days it's a poison.
It's ok to lose weight
It's ok to not shove protein down your throat
Exercise is a very minimal part of weight loss
Trying to build muscle while losing fat is terrible advice for most people. Do one or the other.
It's ok to not eat, especially if you're not hungryI ate a 16 oz steak and some pizza for anyone wondering. It was great.
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First off I want to say thank you for all the kind words from well meaning people. I understand what you're saying, and why you're saying it. I believe it's coming from the best of intentions. Second I want to say I'm not a doctor. No one recommended to do what I'm doing. Most of my information came from various YouTube channels.
Now what I really want to say is it's ok to lose weight. The medical industry is wrought with scams and phobias because fear sells. Combined with the food industry creating the most hyper addictive foods possible and convincing multiple generations that missing a single meal would kill them, we have an epidemic. Obesity and heart disease are orders of magnitude more dangerous than losing weight too fast.
On the contrary, getting weight off quickly is most likely the single best thing the majority of over weight adults can do for their health. Are there risks, yes of course. Is there a one size fits all approach that someone can put in a pill and sell in bottle, probably not. But is it dangerous, especially for other wise healthy people? Not really that dangerous at all.
There's only one fastest way to lose weight. It's to stop putting food in your mouth and swallowing. That's it. When animals in the wild get sick, most of them stop eating. Obesity is a disease, if you're fat, you're sick. Stop eating fatty. It's that simple. The Bible and most religions teach us about fasting and prayer. It works. It has worked for a long time. Food can be medicine yes, but for most people these days it's a poison.
It's ok to lose weight
It's ok to not shove protein down your throat
Exercise is a very minimal part of weight loss
Trying to build muscle while losing fat is terrible advice for most people. Do one or the other.
It's ok to not eat, especially if you're not hungryI ate a 16 oz steak and some pizza for anyone wondering. It was great.
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