Tirz-Appetite suppression or weight loss?

Needsalife

GLP-1 Apprentice
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On Reddit if you ask about results on different doses nearly everyone reports whether a certain dose is suppressing their appetite or not. They seem to titrate up only if their food noise and appetites are back.

My goal is weight loss. By the appetite measure I could stay at 2.5 mg for probably a long time, except the last 3 weeks on 2.5 mg I lost no weight. So I can’t get a “read” on if higher doses will help me lose weight beyond appetite suppression. Or if the magic is simply appetite suppression. 900-1000 calories a day has only lost 2 lbs in the last month on 5 mg. Wanting food isn’t a problem—no food noise, no hunger, no craving. Don’t tell me I’m eating too little. I’m post menopausal and I’ve eaten 1200 cal a day for 3 years without scale budging—tracking every bite. I have definite hormonal challenges to weight loss—PCOS, insulin resistant, etc.

Does Tirzepitide help hormonally resistant weight loss at higher doses? Or should Tirzepitide be considered just a terrific appetite suppressant? I’m honestly trying to figure out how the medicine works.
 
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On Reddit if you ask about results on different doses nearly everyone reports whether a certain dose is suppressing their appetite or not. They seem to titrate up only if their food noise and appetites are back.

My goal is weight loss. By the appetite measure I could stay at 2.5 mg for probably a long time, except the last 3 weeks on 2.5 mg I lost no weight. So I can’t get a “read” on if higher doses will help me lose weight beyond appetite suppression. Or if the magic is simply appetite suppression. 900-1000 calories a day has only lost 2 lbs in the last month on 5 mg. Wanting food isn’t a problem—no food noise, no hunger, no craving. Don’t tell me I’m eating too little. I’m post menopausal and I’ve eaten 1200 cal a day for 3 years without scale budging—tracking every bite. I have definite hormonal challenges to weight loss—PCOS, insulin resistant, etc.

Does Tirzepitide help hormonally resistant weight loss at higher doses? Or is Tirzepitide a terrific appetite suppressant?
You should probably up your dose or increase activity (or both). If you are not placing yourself in a calorie deficit you will not lose weight.
 
In my experience, Tirz is not a great appetite suppressant. I actually had the best results at the lower doses and it was wildly inconsistent. I can remember feeling nothing one day and the next day throwing away an entire order of food at the airport because it repulsed me to even look at it. Then the next day wanting to stop at Quicktrip for snacks. I think I was on 5 or 7.5 at the time. I noticed no difference in terms of appetite increasing the dose.

Find a comfort zone and inject every 5 days instead of 7. For me, that was 10mg.
 
In my experience, Tirz is not a great appetite suppressant. I actually had the best results at the lower doses and it was wildly inconsistent. I can remember feeling nothing one day and the next day throwing away an entire order of food at the airport because it repulsed me to even look at it. Then the next day wanting to stop at Quicktrip for snacks. I think I was on 5 or 7.5 at the time. I noticed no difference in terms of appetite increasing the dose.

Find a comfort zone and inject every 5 days instead of 7. For me, that was 10mg.
When you say you had the best results… do you mean you lost the most weight at lower doses?
 
You should probably up your dose or increase activity (or both). If you are not placing yourself in a calorie deficit you will not lose weight.
So eating 900 calories a day isn’t low enough to be a calorie deficit? You think I should eat less? Or, of course exercise more.
 
So eating 900 calories a day isn’t low enough to be a calorie deficit? You think I should eat less? Or, of course exercise more.
How's your hydration? I've noticed that no matter what my dose is or how many calories I eat, if I drink less than 100oz of water a day the scale doesn't seem to budge or even goes up when I've barely eaten.
 
How's your hydration? I've noticed that no matter what my dose is or how many calories I eat, if I drink less than 100oz of water a day the scale doesn't seem to budge or even goes up when I've barely eaten.
This is definitely something I can improve on. I will do an experiment. Thanks for the advice.
 
Are you weighing food for your calorie counting?

Anyone but the smallest 85lb granny can lose on 900kcal. If you can't it's either calories in being wrong or a medical issue.
I weigh my food and I've definitely seen this happen when eating that little and not hydrating enough. Water retention is not my friend lol.
 
Been at this off and on for 18 months. I have gone months without losing weight. But my waist was shrinking.

Then all of a sudden I’ll be down 4-5 lbs. And it will stay down - so it’s not just water weight.

Over time that has added up. I’m down almost 60 lbs (and 8 inches on my waist!). Averaged out, it’s a couple pounds a month.

I think the goal (for me) is to use these meds to learn a new way of living. I don’t plan to ever go off them. And I’m not dieting.

I don’t feel the need to grab a snack every time I walk past the fridge, and I’m not craving sugar all the time. And I don’t need to carbo load to fall back asleep.

Those things are amazing changes in themselves. Is that “appetite suppression “?

Heck if I know.

I’m hungry much of the day - and I eat! I eat protein mostly. Pounds and pounds of chicken. And dozens of eggs. And protein shakes. And some veggies I force myself to buy cook and eat before they go bad. But I eat. Lots. But nowhere near what I used to.

That’s it! I don’t drink enough water and I don’t get much exercise - although now that everything doesn’t hurt as much and my heart doesn’t pound when I go up stairs, I’m up for trying more.

I’d encourage you to stay the course. And not expect a quick fix. Drink more water, eat more protein. (I personally don’t think 1000 calories is enough for anyone.)

And settle in for the long haul.

Good luck.
 
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I weigh my food and I've definitely seen this happen when eating that little and not hydrating enough. Water retention is not my friend lol.
Over a short period of time yeah. Longer term over months it's impossible, you are losing fat and muscle at 900kcal.
I only drink 45-68oz a day and it's fine because I'm extremely sedentary. The general advice for hydration fails to take into account activity level which is really important when figuring out how much to drink.
 
Over a short period of time yeah. Longer term over months it's impossible, you are losing fat and muscle at 900kcal.
I only drink 45-68oz a day and it's fine because I'm extremely sedentary. The general advice for hydration fails to take into account activity level which is really important when figuring out how much to drink.
There is your problem.
 
On Reddit if you ask about results on different doses nearly everyone reports whether a certain dose is suppressing their appetite or not. They seem to titrate up only if their food noise and appetites are back.

My goal is weight loss. By the appetite measure I could stay at 2.5 mg for probably a long time, except the last 3 weeks on 2.5 mg I lost no weight. So I can’t get a “read” on if higher doses will help me lose weight beyond appetite suppression. Or if the magic is simply appetite suppression. 900-1000 calories a day has only lost 2 lbs in the last month on 5 mg. Wanting food isn’t a problem—no food noise, no hunger, no craving. Don’t tell me I’m eating too little. I’m post menopausal and I’ve eaten 1200 cal a day for 3 years without scale budging—tracking every bite. I have definite hormonal challenges to weight loss—PCOS, insulin resistant, etc.

Does Tirzepitide help hormonally resistant weight loss at higher doses? Or should Tirzepitide be considered just a terrific appetite suppressant? I’m honestly trying to figure out how the medicine works.
If you are having no food noise, no hunger and no cravings on 2.5mg of tirz, then before you increase your dose, look at other things. Caveat: 3 weeks without weight loss is not a stall and increasing one's dose should not be the initial response. A stall is much longer than that, a month, two, AFTER you've done/improved/changed other things that are in your control. Caveat: I too (like most on GLP-1s) - are, if not diabetic, insulin resistant, and for me, that's only one of many metabolic issues I've had to contend with. And yes, your PCOS is a hormonal challenge to weight loss. Also, as a result of your PCOS, insulin resistance, and whatever else, the typical TTDE calculators are useless to you. Those with hormonal imbalances, metabolic imbalances, hypothyroidism, etc. can't use those TTDE calculators as a guide for daily calories, or anything else. The calories they tell you that you need to eat are way too high. For instance, I set my daily calories at 1000, and now that I'm in maintenance, I try for more calories each day, but even in maintenance, that calorie increase is relatively small, 50-200 or so. You say you ate 1200 calories for years with no loss, and now you're eating between 900-1000 cals a day. Are you sure about that? Are you tracking your food on a food app, measuring the amounts? Many people think they know what 1/2 cup etc looks like, or how big a burger is, or how many almonds they ate, but often they are wrong, thinking the portions are smaller than they actually are. I would keep your calories as they are - 900-1000 - but start tracking them to see if those really are the calories you are taking in. Next, and immediately, you must make hydration intentional, hydration can't be something you try and do, and you should be using a packet of electrolytes daily. I prefer LMNT but there are many choices out there. And you should be drinking water from the start of your day. There are various calcs for how much water a person at a certain weight needs, you can look those up. I started out aiming for 100 ounces a day, and now drink 147 ounces of water every single day - 67 of them with one LMNT packet. Next, you must make protein your focus.There are suggestions that you calculate protein grams based on what you weigh now, or based on your goal weight, tons of ways to figure it out by googling. From the start, and even now in maintenance, I don't worry much about macros. I set my macros on the food app - I like Lifesum, but there are many others. I went through the various ways to determine my protein needs and chose 100 grams of protein a day, 93 grams of carbs and 26 grams of fat. I haven't bothered to change the macro %s because I'm used to it. I only focus on protein - and aim for a daily intake of protein between 130-180 grams. Every day. But note, in the beginning, I just tried to reach 100 grams a day. The carbs and fats come naturally with the protein you eat. It is impossible for me to get that much protein with regular food - or, if like me, one eats very little meat - so I, and others, find workarounds - starting using collagen peptides, they have protein, so your coffee becomes useful to you. Start using plant-based protein powders and make shakes. Most days, I make a shake with a Fairlife or Premiere Protein shake that has 30 grams of protein in it, and I add a scoop of Orgain or Live Conscious protein powder, and sometimes Javy protein powder, and whatever else and end with a shake that has 50 or more grams of protein in it. Oikos Pro is a great yogurt that has 20 grams of protein in each cup. If you start to track what you're eating/drinking, and greatly increase your hydration (and the electrolytes allow your body to use all that water rather than simply peeing it out, and you focus on increasing your protein, probably by a lot I'm assuming, and you give it some more time, things will likely start to change. Better to do everything you can do first before immediately going up in dose. Tirz is an appetite suppressant yes, and slows gastric emptying, but it works on the weight reduction as well. You've got the dose right for now, without experiencing side effects, so start making adjustments to what you are doing. I hope this is helpful to you.
 
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Over a short period of time yeah. Longer term over months it's impossible, you are losing fat and muscle at 900kcal.
I only drink 45-68oz a day and it's fine because I'm extremely sedentary. The general advice for hydration fails to take into account activity level which is really important when figuring out how much to drink.
That's interesting. Not sure I agree. Even when I was recovering after surgery, I made sure to keep my hydration high, for the pain meds, yes, but also to keep my body systems functioning well. I think the more hydration - with electrolytes - provides more advantages than less, regardless of activity level. Plus more hydration helps curtail side effects like constipation, etc.
 
Over a short period of time yeah. Longer term over months it's impossible, you are losing fat and muscle at 900kcal.
I only drink 45-68oz a day and it's fine because I'm extremely sedentary. The general advice for hydration fails to take into account activity level which is really important when figuring out how much to drink.
Well they said the scale hadn't moved in 3 weeks, not months, so that's what I was basing it on. I'm also very sedentary and I feel dehydrated on anything less than 80oz, but that number will change when my body does. It's advised to set baseline hydration to half your body weight in ounces, however baseline is only part of the equation. For me that baseline is currently just under 100oz. If I were more active I'd definitely be needing to up that number.

Editing to add this screenshot in case anyone needs to figure out their hydration needs:
Screenshot_20241011-143858.png
 
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Well they said the scale hadn't moved in 3 weeks, not months, so that's what I was basing it on. I'm also very sedentary and I feel dehydrated on anything less than 80oz, but that number will change when my body does. It's advised to set baseline hydration to half your body weight in ounces, however baseline is only part of the equation. For me that baseline is currently just under 100oz. If I were more active I'd definitely be needing to up that number.
I am not being "abrasive," but they also said they are "extremely sedentary." People are overthinking this one.
 
I am not being "abrasive," but they also said they are "extremely sedentary." People are overthinking this one.
I think your wires got crossed somewhere along the thread. The person who said they were extremely sedentary is not the same person who is struggling to lose.
 
me too. My cat does make me get up a lot to feed her. De-lickable delectables are hell.

i'm going to go ahead and be sedentary until i'm light enough to exercise. I don't think there's anything wrong with that.
I feel that. I have some injuries (part of the reason I gained so much weight) and the way I carry my weight definitely limits mobility - so it was kind of a neverending cycle. Also a bad knee that didn't appreciate the extra weight. I'm gonna try and go to PT again here soon.

I'm almost down 30lbs and the Tirz has definitely reduced inflammation, my knee is acting up a lot less and my plantar fascitis hasn't reared it's ugly head in a while so I'm thinking I may start going hiking with my dog again soon. Especially since it's not hot as balls down here in GA anymore.
 
On Reddit if you ask about results on different doses nearly everyone reports whether a certain dose is suppressing their appetite or not. They seem to titrate up only if their food noise and appetites are back.

My goal is weight loss. By the appetite measure I could stay at 2.5 mg for probably a long time, except the last 3 weeks on 2.5 mg I lost no weight. So I can’t get a “read” on if higher doses will help me lose weight beyond appetite suppression. Or if the magic is simply appetite suppression. 900-1000 calories a day has only lost 2 lbs in the last month on 5 mg. Wanting food isn’t a problem—no food noise, no hunger, no craving. Don’t tell me I’m eating too little. I’m post menopausal and I’ve eaten 1200 cal a day for 3 years without scale budging—tracking every bite. I have definite hormonal challenges to weight loss—PCOS, insulin resistant, etc.

Does Tirzepitide help hormonally resistant weight loss at higher doses? Or should Tirzepitide be considered just a terrific appetite suppressant? I’m honestly trying to figure out how the medicine works.
For me I had to go on hormones before I lost any weight. I literally had nothing left. I dropped 15 quickly and then stalled. That was when my menopause specialist suggested Oz. I continued to drop another 15 and stalled again.
 
If you are having no food noise, no hunger and no cravings on 2.5mg of tirz, then before you increase your dose, look at other things. Caveat: 3 weeks without weight loss is not a stall and increasing one's dose should not be the initial response. A stall is much longer than that, a month, two, AFTER you've done/improved/changed other things that are in your control. Caveat: I too (like most on GLP-1s) - are, if not diabetic, insulin resistant, and for me, that's only one of many metabolic issues I've had to contend with. And yes, your PCOS is a hormonal challenge to weight loss. Also, as a result of your PCOS, insulin resistance, and whatever else, the typical TTDE calculators are useless to you. Those with hormonal imbalances, metabolic imbalances, hypothyroidism, etc. can't use those TTDE calculators as a guide for daily calories, or anything else. The calories they tell you that you need to eat are way too high. For instance, I set my daily calories at 1000, and now that I'm in maintenance, I try for more calories each day, but even in maintenance, that calorie increase is relatively small, 50-200 or so. You say you ate 1200 calories for years with no loss, and now you're eating between 900-1000 cals a day. Are you sure about that? Are you tracking your food on a food app, measuring the amounts? Many people think they know what 1/2 cup etc looks like, or how big a burger is, or how many almonds they ate, but often they are wrong, thinking the portions are smaller than they actually are. I would keep your calories as they are - 900-1000 - but start tracking them to see if those really are the calories you are taking in. Next, and immediately, you must make hydration intentional, hydration can't be something you try and do, and you should be using a packet of electrolytes daily. I prefer LMNT but there are many choices out there. And you should be drinking water from the start of your day. There are various calcs for how much water a person at a certain weight needs, you can look those up. I started out aiming for 100 ounces a day, and now drink 147 ounces of water every single day - 67 of them with one LMNT packet. Next, you must make protein your focus.There are suggestions that you calculate protein grams based on what you weigh now, or based on your goal weight, tons of ways to figure it out by googling. From the start, and even now in maintenance, I don't worry much about macros. I set my macros on the food app - I like Lifesum, but there are many others. I went through the various ways to determine my protein needs and chose 100 grams of protein a day, 93 grams of carbs and 26 grams of fat. I haven't bothered to change the macro %s because I'm used to it. I only focus on protein - and aim for a daily intake of protein between 130-180 grams. Every day. But note, in the beginning, I just tried to reach 100 grams a day. The carbs and fats come naturally with the protein you eat. It is impossible for me to get that much protein with regular food - or, if like me, one eats very little meat - so I, and others, find workarounds - starting using collagen peptides, they have protein, so your coffee becomes useful to you. Start using plant-based protein powders and make shakes. Most days, I make a shake with a Fairlife or Premiere Protein shake that has 30 grams of protein in it, and I add a scoop of Orgain or Live Conscious protein powder, and sometimes Javy protein powder, and whatever else and end with a shake that has 50 or more grams of protein in it. Oikos Pro is a great yogurt that has 20 grams of protein in each cup. If you start to track what you're eating/drinking, and greatly increase your hydration (and the electrolytes allow your body to use all that water rather than simply peeing it out, and you focus on increasing your protein, probably by a lot I'm assuming, and you give it some more time, things will likely start to change. Better to do everything you can do first before immediately going up in dose. Tirz is an appetite suppressant yes, and slows gastric emptying, but it works on the weight reduction as well. You've got the dose right for now, without experiencing side effects, so start making adjustments to what you are doing. I hope this is helpful to you.
Wow! I really appreciate all this!

I do eat 100 grams of protein a day. I do log my food and weigh it (I have 11 years of logging on My Fitness Pal, even Christmas Day when I eat 4500 calories—I’m an expert). I’m strict on macros, especially protein, carbs and fiber. I’ve done Atkins for 7 months testing to make sure I was in ketosis the whole time. My question may make it seem like I’m blindly in this but I’m no newbie at weight loss, well, except the loss part. Before these meds came out I went from doctor to doctor to nutritionist to nutritionist to gym trainers. Literally I tried everything. Then I gave up for a couple of years. These meds gave me hope. I’m trying not to lose that hope but it’s fading fast.

I am a newbie at is Tirzepatide. I don’t understand how it works and since it’s not working on me for weight loss I’m trying to figure that out. I don’t care about appetite suppression. At all. I care about losing weight.

I’ve never heard anyone say that TDEE doesn’t work on hormonal imbalances. That’s good to hear.

I will work on the water. I do use Liquid IV but will increase. Thank you.
 
Are you weighing food for your calorie counting?

Anyone but the smallest 85lb granny can lose on 900kcal. If you can't it's either calories in being wrong or a medical issue.
I weigh everything that I can’t scan. And track every morsel that goes in my mouth.

🙋🏼‍♀️I beg to differ. This over 200 lb granny can’t lose weight at 900 calories.
 
Been at this off and on for 18 months. I have gone months without losing weight. But my waist was shrinking.

Then all of a sudden I’ll be down 4-5 lbs. And it will stay down - so it’s not just water weight.

Over time that has added up. I’m down almost 60 lbs (and 8 inches on my waist!). Averaged out, it’s a couple pounds a month.

I think the goal (for me) is to use these meds to learn a new way of living. I don’t plan to ever go off them. And I’m not dieting.

I don’t feel the need to grab a snack every time I walk past the fridge, and I’m not craving sugar all the time. And I don’t need to carbo load to fall back asleep.

Those things are amazing changes in themselves. Is that “appetite suppression “?

Heck if I know.

I’m hungry much of the day - and I eat! I eat protein mostly. Pounds and pounds of chicken. And dozens of eggs. And protein shakes. And some veggies I force myself to buy cook and eat before they go bad. But I eat. Lots. But nowhere near what I used to.

That’s it! I don’t drink enough water and I don’t get much exercise - although now that everything doesn’t hurt as much and my heart doesn’t pound when I go up stairs, I’m up for trying more.

I’d encourage you to stay the course. And not expect a quick fix. Drink more water, eat more protein. (I personally don’t think 1000 calories is enough for anyone.)

And settle in for the long haul.

Good luck.
What dose are you at? In 18 months how has your dosage journey progressed?

I appreciate this. I’m not at it for a quick fix, as evidenced by my My Fitness Pal account and tracking for most of 11 years.

I am trying to understand Tirzepatide, how it works and whether to titrate up or not, based on weight loss.
 
Wow! I really appreciate all this!

I do eat 100 grams of protein a day. I do log my food and weigh it (I have 11 years of logging on My Fitness Pal, even Christmas Day when I eat 4500 calories—I’m an expert). I’m strict on macros, especially protein, carbs and fiber. I’ve done Atkins for 7 months testing to make sure I was in ketosis the whole time. My question may make it seem like I’m blindly in this but I’m no newbie at weight loss, well, except the loss part. Before these meds came out I went from doctor to doctor to nutritionist to nutritionist to gym trainers. Literally I tried everything. Then I gave up for a couple of years. These meds gave me hope. I’m trying not to lose that hope but it’s fading fast.

I am a newbie at is Tirzepatide. I don’t understand how it works and since it’s not working on me for weight loss I’m trying to figure that out. I don’t care about appetite suppression. At all. I care about losing weight.

I’ve never heard anyone say that TDEE doesn’t work on hormonal imbalances. That’s good to hear.

I will work on the water. I do use Liquid IV but will increase. Thank you.
Apologies, there are so many newbies who do not do any research before starting tirz, or whatever GLP-1, and don't realize all the good habits they think they have, sometimes they do and sometimes they don't actually have them. You can easily find out how tirz works by googling it. There are tons of articles that explain how it works, and on what receptors. And it's a good rule of thumb for anyone on these meds to do that homework, so they understand what they are taking. Obviously you are a tried and tested healthy eater, as was I. You are only at 2.5 mg a week - that is the introductory/starter dose. Many are lucky and lose on it. Many do not. Many only start to lose once they hit 7.5mg or 10mg or 12.5 or 15. What has swept through places like Reddit is this notion that you have to stay on a low dose. That somehow being on a low dose is good or better, and really it's a meaningless concept. You do want to maximize each dose for yourself before increasing. I am no doctor, I can give no medical advice, can only speak to what I've learned and/or experienced for myself. How long have you been on the 2.5mg dose? If a few months, then it is time to move up, and if you only just started it, and are in your 3d week, then I'd suggest waiting another week, but in both cases, I suggest you increase your protein, increase your water, don't worry about the other macros - I don't think ketosis or IMF or anything like those diets are helpful on this med, my personal opinion - and see how you do deliberately increasing those for the next week. Give yourself some time for your body to catch up with how the med works - your hormonal imbalances, your PCOS makes it work more slowly, it's just a fact - and time for your body to adjust to the new and improved plan, yes, it's only a tweaking of the course you've followed for years, but the difference between 100 grams of protein and 130 or more per day is actually quite amazing. Same too with the hydration. In either case, whether you've been on 2.5mg for only 3 weeks, or for more than a month, do the new and improved for another week, and if there is no change in terms of weight loss, then increase your dose. And if you're on compound, then you don't have to increase up to 5mg per the standardized, you can increase in smaller increments. You've been lucky, on 2.5mg with no side effects, and great appetite suppression, no food noise, etc. - it would be wonderful if you can keep those effects, and not experience the gastro and other side effects, so titrating up slowly is always a good idea.
 

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