6 months on Zep, now researching stacking for arthritis and belly fat loss

[RadicalCrimson]

Hello there.
I'm about to reach 6 months on Zepbound (max dose now) and the weight loss has been consistent (2lbs/wk, not stalled yet) but my belt has stopped tightening with lots of belly fat left, and loose belly skin.
On top of that, I've been having an unexpected very painful encounter with osteoarthritis, despite the weight loss.
This forum has been a big help in my research of how other peptides could possibly help, and how to research them.

I started with oral peptides (blends with GHK-Cu/BPC-157/KPV/TB-4 fragments), not much effect after 3 weeks despite very respectable doses, so I started experimenting with subQ this week.
My current stack (I know I shouldn't start all these simultaneously, but at this point I'm looking for any initial result):

• Klow (GHK-Cu/BPC-157/TB-500/KPV) (inj)
• Cartalax (inj)
• AOD-9604 (inj) (I'm not interested in growth hormone secretagogues like tesamorelin)
• VIP (inj)
• Tesofensine (oral)

Starting next week:

• 5-Amino 1MQ (oral)
• Collagen bioregulator peptides (oral)

I'm looking forward to walking with you on this research journey.

 

[RadicalCrimson]

When I say "lots of belly fat left", it's true in absolute but not relatively, since I started with a 37 BMI and am now at 30.
What I meant is that I lost 4 belt inches in the first 4-5 months and nothing since despite the continued weight loss, hence my research of things like Tesofensine etc. that are supposed to convince my body to oxidize fat first.

 

[raw_oyster_eater]

the teso will jack your heart up. start slow with that one.

 

[hexagonal]

The key to losing belly fat is... just losing fat. You can't really force your body to remove fat in a specific subcutaneous location. There are some things you can do to target visceral fat, which is largely in the abdomen, which might reduce your belly size a bit, but this stuff is packed in between organs, etc., beneath the muscle, so it might be pushing your gut out a bit farther, but all of the loose fat over your muscles is subcutaneous.

The biggest thing you can do is make sure you're getting enough protein and muscle stimulus that your body is holding on to muscle as best it can when losing weight so that most of your loss comes from fat.

 

[raw_oyster_eater]

i'm curious if the AOD9604 is going to bloat you. i've tried tesa, HGH, HCG and they bloat you like a dead fish. sorta counter-intuitive to making your midsection skinny.

 

[hexagonal]

Oh I totally missed the AOD9604 item in the list because dark mode and black text.

It is unlikely to cause bloating because it's unlikely to do anything at all. They spent millions researching it, had a perfectly fine safety profile, and then abandoned it because... it didn't do anything.

What is the drug AOD-9604? › Ask an Expert (ABC Science)

www.abc.net.au

Wittert says he has led five out of the six studies on AOD-9604 carried out in humans, including a six-month study, funded by Metabolic Pharmaceuticals, the company that developed the drug.

"This showed quite clearly there was no effect on weight," he says.

"It was never going to be an anti-obesity drug."

Wittert says there's an explanation for why the drug doesn't work in humans despite showing some impact in mice.

"In mouse studies, AOD-9604 was shown to break down fat and prevent weight gain, but it was also shown that this effect over the longer term was dependent on a specific receptor," he says.

"When you give AOD-9604 to mice that are deficient in this receptor the weight-losing effect is lost."

"It's not surprising that AOD-9604 doesn't work in humans because the receptor on which it appears to be dependent is not the same in mice and humans."