What diet worked for you on reta?

[longestyards]

Hey, I’m about to start my first reta cycle so I’m looking to learn more about what works and what don’t.

I have usually done a 60-72 (about 3 days) hour fast to lose weight/fat. I’m able to do this maybe once every two months or so. But every time it’s extremely difficult due to the immense mental pressure to eat and the physical hunger pangs.

I’m wondering if it would be advisable to do these 3 days fast on reta? Maybe once every two weeks and otherwise eating on a mild 200-300 kcal deficit?

But more importantly, what worked for you? Or what have you heard worked for people in general on reta to lose weight consistently?

 

[retarequired]

Low carb is an absolute game changer for me. It makes fasting easier too. I would say basically anything to keep your blood sugar as stable as possible works synergistically with glp1's

 

[Lewis]

Not on reta myself yet but since being on GLP1's I've tried to prioritise protein and water intake, ill adjust my carbs depending on if its a training day or not.

 

[Sid the SeaGull]

The 100 -200g of protein is challenging and realistically can only be achieved using WPI. A few times a day . Heaps of psyllium husk .

 

[Nopenada]

Prioritize protein, getting enough vitamins, and electrolytes. Definitely get carbs on days you’ll be working out, but keep them complex. If your anything like me, white flour products are going to make you feel sick.

 

[longestyards]

Low carb is an absolute game changer for me. It makes fasting easier too. I would say basically anything to keep your blood sugar as stable as possible works synergistically with glp1's

Interesting. But wouldn’t low carb actually make your blood sugar a bit too low and cause you to have maybe possibly feint or something?

Not on reta myself yet but since being on GLP1's I've tried to prioritise protein and water intake, ill adjust my carbs depending on if its a training day or not.

I’ve noticed that too much water for me makes me lose salts and minerals. Noticed that when I started drinking less I function a bit better. But yeah, I think high protein is a must from what I’ve read.

The 100 -200g of protein is challenging and realistically can only be achieved using WPI. A few times a day . Heaps of psyllium husk .

What is WPI? Does husk really work? I have like a kilo of it I’ve never used.

Prioritize protein, getting enough vitamins, and electrolytes. Definitely get carbs on days you’ll be working out, but keep them complex. If your anything like me, white flour products are going to make you feel sick.

Interesting, I eat white bread, rice and pasta all the time… it actually helps me lose weight slowly but consistently (lost about 1kg a month last 7 months now). But I do feel hunger pangs waaay more often than when I eat complex carbs and higher fats.

 

[BNLFL]

Been doing low carb since we started early January. I still have a couple beers a day. Meal have got way smaller since the appetite suppression.

 

[morti]

Hey, I’m about to start my first reta cycle so I’m looking to learn more about what works and what don’t.

I have usually done a 60-72 (about 3 days) hour fast to lose weight/fat. I’m able to do this maybe once every two months or so. But every time it’s extremely difficult due to the immense mental pressure to eat and the physical hunger pangs.

I’m wondering if it would be advisable to do these 3 days fast on reta? Maybe once every two weeks and otherwise eating on a mild 200-300 kcal deficit?

But more importantly, what worked for you? Or what have you heard worked for people in general on reta to lose weight consistently?

Personally wouldn't advise to fast tbh, important to still get nutrients in and you would easily eat in a 500+ cals deficit imo. I've also learnt to stay away from dairy and any cream based sauces while on reta...

 

[neo6488]

I just switched back to Tirz but I have found reducing garbage sugar is the best method. I'm naturally much less hungry without sugar and it has worked well for me. Strawberries =Good. Candy = Bad.

That and really trying to avoid processed food. If I want french fries I make them in the airfryer from cut up potatoes.

 

[longestyards]

Been doing low carb since we started early January. I still have a couple beers a day. Meal have got way smaller since the appetite suppression.

Seems like low carb is the way to go apparently. I’m actually a bit surprised because I thought with the suppression of hunger one would do a more “diverse and varied” diet like just a normal diet but in a constant deficit.

Personally wouldn't advise to fast tbh, important to still get nutrients in and you would easily eat in a 500+ cals deficit imo. I've also learnt to stay away from dairy and any cream based sauces while on reta...

Yeah that’s why I was sharing to see if someone has done something similar. I was thinking that your muscle retaining hormones like hgh are at top during fasting so it would be preferable to constant deficit… Thanks for the tip about dairy and cream based sources. But why?

I just switched back to Tirz but I have found reducing garbage sugar is the best method. I'm naturally much less hungry without sugar and it has worked well for me. Strawberries =Good. Candy = Bad.

That and really trying to avoid processed food. If I want french fries I make them in the airfryer from cut up potatoes.

Yeah I’m definitely gonna eat “healthy” lol. No way I’m gonna use reta to suppress hunger and then go eat trash. That would be such a waste. I already eat 80% clean (I love bagged chips which I eat daily as “desert”) so it should be easy to just keep doing that but removing all processed and “bad” food.

 

[deleted.user.16]

I have had a lot of success with fasting in the past as well before starting GLP meds. Sure it's not completely risk-free but I'm impatient and otherwise healthy and the 0.001% chance of something going wrong is worth it for me. We are all here injecting grey market powders after all.

Reta has made it a lot easier but hasn't made it completely effortless. I'm on a 2.5mg weekly dose and I'd say it reduces appetite about 50%. I wish it was a lot more tbh but it's still a lot, lot better than fasting on nothing.

I find that starting off with keto for a few days and shrinking down the amount of food slowly makes fasting a lot easier. Anecdotally, milk and dairy have been fine for me, no difference on and off Reta. And you probably already know this if you've fasted before you might need to force yourself to drink electrolytes. Plan it into your routine and drink them whether you think you need them or not. If you forget them you might get really sick really fast and have no idea why. Happened to me all the time that I would have to buy an emergency Powerade from the nearest gas station at 5x markup lol.

Get some exercise; helps mitigate the risk of gallstones.

And lastly listen to your body and don't beat yourself up for eating if you have to. Sure it would be nice to lose weight quickly but any day I'm below my TDEE I'm counting as a win. I find that eating a very small amount (like a handful of nuts) will get me back up to full energy and let me extend my fast for another day or two without quitting.

 

[tubby]

I'd tread slowly with low-carb first to see how you respond prior to attempting a multi-day fast. Not so much as a preparatory step (although it's great for that too), but just to make sure you're not overly fatigued or impaired from some of the initial side-effect symptoms, which may impact your desire or ability to fast (especially if you've got work or other obligations to attend to). In theory the hormone hit that you're getting should help with some of the typical lethargy that can come in the initial days of multi-day fasting, since it will likely prevent your body from scaling back metabolism as much initially.

There's obviously the open question of if you'll even have a desire to engage in a multi-day fast at that point. It's not necessary for weight loss or a check on weight gain, although some enjoy other aspects of fasting or are chasing potential health benefits (e.g. autophagy). I'm honestly not sure if that's still present in the same way when on a GLP or not, but will be interested in hearing your experience.

As a data point, several years ago before I was really immersed in any of this stuff I tried a single shot of Mounjaro 2.5mg on a whim (long story) and went on to kick off a 120 hour fast. Was only able to get my blood sugar down into the 60s and I forget how high I was able to get my BHB (ketones) up to. It was surprisingly trivial to achieve, although instead of getting over the hump at that point, since it was the one and only dose I took, I felt a stronger desire to conclude the fast than usual as the concentration in my blood diminished.

DISCLAIMER: If you don't have experience with multi-day fasts, it's probably not advised to attempt one while on a GLP. It's a bit of a niche practice and there's definitely a learning curve involved.

 

[retarequired]

Interesting. But wouldn’t low carb actually make your blood sugar a bit too low and cause you to have maybe possibly feint or something?

Do you faint when you fast?
If anything, it is far more likely to happen if you fast with a glucose dependent metabolism rather than a ketone dependent one, which is what happens when you go low carb, it even starts happening at the end of your fasts probably.
In the absence of sufficient glucose your liver starts producing ketones from fat oxidisation to give you energy. People that are in ketosis often have blood sugar levels that would give a person with a 'regular' diet bad symptoms.

 

[tubby]

People that are in ketosis often have blood sugar levels that would give a person with a 'regular' diet bad symptoms.

Blood sugar results as low as 9 mg/dL have been observed (although that was with exogenous insulin) with no ill effects on the subject (heavy ketone load required)!!! Not for the faint of heart, but I'll leave this link here for those who enjoy reading about the "hardcore" diet experiments that we used to be able to run before review boards stopped us from being able to study the less conventional approaches.

JCI - Resistance to Symptomatic Insulin Reactions after Fasting

A group of subjects were first fasted for 2 months and then injected with insulin to see what would happen.

 

[longestyards]

I have had a lot of success with fasting in the past as well before starting GLP meds. Sure it's not completely risk-free but I'm impatient and otherwise healthy and the 0.001% chance of something going wrong is worth it for me. We are all here injecting grey market powders after all.

Reta has made it a lot easier but hasn't made it completely effortless. I'm on a 2.5mg weekly dose and I'd say it reduces appetite about 50%. I wish it was a lot more tbh but it's still a lot, lot better than fasting on nothing.

I find that starting off with keto for a few days and shrinking down the amount of food slowly makes fasting a lot easier. Anecdotally, milk and dairy have been fine for me, no difference on and off Reta. And you probably already know this if you've fasted before you might need to force yourself to drink electrolytes. Plan it into your routine and drink them whether you think you need them or not. If you forget them you might get really sick really fast and have no idea why. Happened to me all the time that I would have to buy an emergency Powerade from the nearest gas station at 5x markup lol.

Get some exercise; helps mitigate the risk of gallstones.

And lastly listen to your body and don't beat yourself up for eating if you have to. Sure it would be nice to lose weight quickly but any day I'm below my TDEE I'm counting as a win. I find that eating a very small amount (like a handful of nuts) will get me back up to full energy and let me extend my fast for another day or two without quitting.

Thanks this was so insightful! I actually stock up on Powerade because I tend to drink them for electrolytes. I’ll try low carb for the first few weeks and see how that feels and if at any point I feel like it I can try fasting.

I'd tread slowly with low-carb first to see how you respond prior to attempting a multi-day fast. Not so much as a preparatory step (although it's great for that too), but just to make sure you're not overly fatigued or impaired from some of the initial side-effect symptoms, which may impact your desire or ability to fast (especially if you've got work or other obligations to attend to). In theory the hormone hit that you're getting should help with some of the typical lethargy that can come in the initial days of multi-day fasting, since it will likely prevent your body from scaling back metabolism as much initially.

There's obviously the open question of if you'll even have a desire to engage in a multi-day fast at that point. It's not necessary for weight loss or a check on weight gain, although some enjoy other aspects of fasting or are chasing potential health benefits (e.g. autophagy). I'm honestly not sure if that's still present in the same way when on a GLP or not, but will be interested in hearing your experience.

As a data point, several years ago before I was really immersed in any of this stuff I tried a single shot of Mounjaro 2.5mg on a whim (long story) and went on to kick off a 120 hour fast. Was only able to get my blood sugar down into the 60s and I forget how high I was able to get my BHB (ketones) up to. It was surprisingly trivial to achieve, although instead of getting over the hump at that point, since it was the one and only dose I took, I felt a stronger desire to conclude the fast than usual as the concentration in my blood diminished.

DISCLAIMER: If you don't have experience with multi-day fasts, it's probably not advised to attempt one while on a GLP. It's a bit of a niche practice and there's definitely a learning curve involved.

yup this seems to be the tip to start low carb then see how it feels and maybe I won’t even want to fast (I fasted for weight loss not autophagy). But I’m excited to feel how reta actually feels on deficit…

Do you faint when you fast?
If anything, it is far more likely to happen if you fast with a glucose dependent metabolism rather than a ketone dependent one, which is what happens when you go low carb, it even starts happening at the end of your fasts probably.
In the absence of sufficient glucose your liver starts producing ketones from fat oxidisation to give you energy. People that are in ketosis often have blood sugar levels that would give a person with a 'regular' diet bad symptoms.

I’ve gone “keto” (isn’t that same as low carb??) quite often and i think my metabolism shifts fast between the carb and keto state. But no, I never faint when I have fasted before. But in the past when I have done keto, I often get that blackout if I stand up too quick. That haven’t happened the last few years as I’ve learned to not over hydrate (so to keep my salts and electrolytes).

Blood sugar results as low as 9 mg/dL have been observed (although that was with exogenous insulin) with no ill effects on the subject (heavy ketone load required)!!! Not for the faint of heart, but I'll leave this link here for those who enjoy reading about the "hardcore" diet experiments that we used to be able to run before review boards stopped us from being able to study the less conventional approaches.

JCI - Resistance to Symptomatic Insulin Reactions after Fasting

A group of subjects were first fasted for 2 months and then injected with insulin to see what would happen.

Thanks for sharing. I haven’t read this but will once I have time. Seems interesting for what I want to do.

 

[MFGamesta]

To be honest, I didn't change my diet. The Tirz then Reta changed it for me. I lost most of my appetite on the minimum doses. I didn't crave anything so it was easy just to focus on healthy veggies and meat and anything with salt. Protein shakes. Stay hydrated and take vitamins.

 

[longestyards]

To be honest, I didn't change my diet. The Tirz then Reta changed it for me. I lost most of my appetite on the minimum doses. I didn't crave anything so it was easy just to focus on healthy veggies and meat and anything with salt. Protein shakes. Stay hydrated and take vitamins.

This is what I hope will happen to me too!

 

[asdf1234]

I've been on reta for 4 weeks. Before reta, I was a sugar/candy/junk food fiend & hardly ever wanted salads with dinner. In these 4 weeks, I haven't eaten or wanted any candy/junk & actually choose to eat healthier meals, more protein & salad with most dinners. I also drink a Powerade every morning for electrolytes.
It is truly amazing. Just wait until you start reta & your palate/appetite will hopefully change too. I initially bought one vial but have already bought 2 kits to make sure I'll have maintenance doses for awhile after I reach my goal.

 

[longestyards]

I've been on reta for 4 weeks. Before reta, I was a sugar/candy/junk food fiend & hardly ever wanted salads with dinner. In these 4 weeks, I haven't eaten or wanted any candy/junk & actually choose to eat healthier meals, more protein & salad with most dinners. I also drink a Powerade every morning for electrolytes.
It is truly amazing. Just wait until you start reta & your palate/appetite will hopefully change too. I initially bought one vial but have already bought 2 kits to make sure I'll have maintenance doses for awhile after I reach my goal.

That sounds amazing actually

 

[tendency]

There is no one-size-fits-all GLP diet. Find what works for you.

Im the opposite of many: I only feel decent when I'm getting a good amount of higher glycemic more simpler carbs. Low carb and reta did NOT mix well for me.

 

[sheilarae74]

I was keto for about 9 months before I started reta, but I added some carbs back when I started because I heard it works better when you eat carbs. Now I try to get less than 100g a day and I avoid food with regular sugar completely. I try to keep my daily calories below 1700 a day but oftentimes I mess that up. 😄 I do struggle getting enough protein and liquids per day, as I have never been a breakfast eater. I usually don't eat until after 6:30 besides my protein/collagen shake at 1:30. I been losing about 1-2lbs a week since I started reta.

 

[anhydrous]

My experience pretty much mirrors MFGamesta's. Before reta I was eating anything and everything, around 3000-5000 calories a day. Now I have to force myself to hit 1000-1500.

 

[BNLFL]

Seems like low carb is the way to go apparently. I’m actually a bit surprised because I thought with the suppression of hunger one would do a more “diverse and varied” diet like just a normal diet but in a constant deficit.

It should say, reduced carbs. Trust me, we still get them. Just not potatoes, pasta, white bread and similar. We get our protein, and plenty. Portion size due to appetite suppression is wild. I just started 6mg on Friday, and it's really kicked in. Almost seemed to become way less after 5 weeks of 4mg.

 

[Habibibi]

Hey, I’m about to start my first reta cycle so I’m looking to learn more about what works and what don’t.

I have usually done a 60-72 (about 3 days) hour fast to lose weight/fat. I’m able to do this maybe once every two months or so. But every time it’s extremely difficult due to the immense mental pressure to eat and the physical hunger pangs.

I’m wondering if it would be advisable to do these 3 days fast on reta? Maybe once every two weeks and otherwise eating on a mild 200-300 kcal deficit?

But more importantly, what worked for you? Or what have you heard worked for people in general on reta to lose weight consistently?

Be careful fasting on retatrutide, and be careful about keto diets. There is a warning on later trials to participants about keto diets and possible low blood sugar.

 

[morti]

Seems like low carb is the way to go apparently. I’m actually a bit surprised because I thought with the suppression of hunger one would do a more “diverse and varied” diet like just a normal diet but in a constant deficit.

Yeah that’s why I was sharing to see if someone has done something similar. I was thinking that your muscle retaining hormones like hgh are at top during fasting so it would be preferable to constant deficit… Thanks for the tip about dairy and cream based sources. But why?

Yeah I’m definitely gonna eat “healthy” lol. No way I’m gonna use reta to suppress hunger and then go eat trash. That would be such a waste. I already eat 80% clean (I love bagged chips which I eat daily as “desert”) so it should be easy to just keep doing that but removing all processed and “bad” food.

The chances of me getting diarrhoea after consuming dairy/cream based foods like an alfredo pasta has been 100% so far.

 

[JustMakeItHappen]

Low carb is an absolute game changer for me. It makes fasting easier too. I would say basically anything to keep your blood sugar as stable as possible works synergistically with glp1's

Hey bro 👋
Do you try and stay under a certain amount of carbs daily ? If so how many ?
I’m fairly onto it with training and calorie counting but my carbs are standard. Let me know please 👏🏻

 

[yrrdead]

Wow, this thread is a bit much. Optimization trap.

GLP1's make reducing calories a breeze and you want to make it as difficult as possible. I would never tell anyone to do any of these things.

Track what you eat, track your weight. Run a deficit. Take your shots.

No need to build a better mousetrap. You are literally injecting the best mousetrap ever invented and you want to "improve" it....... Don't feel guilty for it being easy. It isn't cheating , this isn't a moral question in the first place.

 

[TheEngineer]

Costco one stop shop.
Land, sea and air:
Frozen Kirkland boneless skinless breasts, filet removed.
Frozen Atlantic Cod.
Ground beef.

Veggies (emphasizing on root veggies as I'm a believer in genetic diets and me being a purebred European)
Frozen "Pura Vida" Veggies. They have a root vegetable blend and a broccoli, zucchini, etc... blend.
Ingredients are IMMACULATE.

Frozen root veggies on bottom, cooked protein on top. In the fridge it goes.
Other frozen veggies blend gets mixed with rice and protein on top.

Prep is a joke. Been eating like a robot, eyeballing my macros and have had PHENOMENAL results.

 

[longestyards]

I've been on reta for 4 weeks. Before reta, I was a sugar/candy/junk food fiend & hardly ever wanted salads with dinner. In these 4 weeks, I haven't eaten or wanted any candy/junk & actually choose to eat healthier meals, more protein & salad with most dinners. I also drink a Powerade every morning for electrolytes.
It is truly amazing. Just wait until you start reta & your palate/appetite will hopefully change too. I initially bought one vial but have already bought 2 kits to make sure I'll have maintenance doses for awhile after I reach my goal.

Can’t wait! I got one kit on the way. hopefully it gets through customs!

 

[miss-sanne]

I eat everything, just not so much, but a lot of protein, some healthy fats and complex carbs.
I don't care for electrolyte drinks, I don't think, it's needed.
I had a problem with sugar cravings on 8 mg, geez it was hell. I couldn't stay away from the sugar, but still losing weight. (I just don't eat a lot).
Down to 6 mg again, and sugar cravings gone again.
There is no need to be on a 'special diet' on reta, reta will do her job, yes I think it's a woman, it's a Kinder egg surprise. ;-) ( but get your protein. )