6 weeks on Reta, and surprising result.

[ultima thule]

It is my 6th week on Reta now, and it was so far so good....but as every Friday morning I checked my weight today and boom! Surprise! So I started from 1mg per week. On the 3rd week tirtrated to 2 mg. Results were just perfect, cuz my weight was dropping 1.5kg/3.3lbs per week average. But today, when I stepped on weight scale it shows 0.5kg/1.1lbs more, than the week before. 🫤 So I tried to figure out, if anything changed in my routine the last week. First thing is Epithalon, I started a week ago (0.5mg/day), and the second, I add a bit more protein to my daily intake (around 30g). Don't think that any of those had any impact on gaining within last week. All of the rest is, as it was beforehand. 5 days a week at the gym, high protein/low carb/low fat diet, 2 meals per day, sleeping well, around 7h...I'm a bit confused, cuz Reta shot day is Monday and wanted to titrate to 3mg this time, but reading now alot about the magic threshold of the 4mg of Reta, and considering to jump on that dose now. And btw, food noise, feeling full while eating, no cravings, those all are working fine. Also have no side efects at all on 2mg. So at first, wondering, why I gained in the 6th week on Reta, and what dose would you recommend for me to jump on now. Or maybe stay on 2mg and see what will happen?

 

[Smiter]

It is my 6th week on Reta now, and it was so far so good....but as every Friday morning I checked my weight today and boom! Surprise! So I started from 1mg per week. On the 3rd week tirtrated to 2 mg. Results were just perfect, cuz my weight was dropping 1.5kg/3.3lbs per week average. But today, when I stepped on weight scale it shows 0.5kg/1.1lbs more, than the week before. 🫤 So I tried to figure out, if anything changed in my routine the last week. First thing is Epithalon, I started a week ago (0.5g/day), and the second, I add a bit more protein to my daily intake (around 30g). Don't think that any of those had any impact on gaining within last week. All of the rest is, as it was beforehand. 5 days a week at the gym, high protein/low carb/low fat diet, 2 meals per day, sleeping well, around 7h...I'm a bit confused, cuz Reta shot day is Monday and wanted to titrate to 3mg this time, but reading now alot about the magic threshold of the 4mg of Reta, and considering to jump on that dose now. And btw, food noise, feeling full while eating, no cravings, those all are working fine. Also have no side efects at all on 2mg. So at first, wondering, why I gained in the 6th week on Reta, and what dose would you recommend for me to jump on now. Or maybe stay on 2mg and see what will happen?

I would check two things...your actual daily total calories consumed... any muscle mass added...and this is why I check weight daily to ensure no probs happen, so that quick resolutions can be adopted.

 

[ultima thule]

I would check two things...your actual daily total calories consumed... any muscle mass added...and this is why I check weight daily to ensure no probs happen, so that quick resolutions can be adopted.

I checked my weight on the scale at the gym last Staurday. Lost 5kg of fat and 1kg of muscles within the month. So that's why I decided to add some protein to my daily intake. But calorie deficit is still the same, except that 30g of whey isolate I added.

 

[Smiter]

calorie deficit is still the same, except that 30g of whey isolate I added

that's impossible. A gram of protein makes 4 calories so if nothing else, 30gram protein is 120 calories so if other stuff is not reduced, calorie deficit cannot be the same. But that said, it doesn't seem like a huge amount, not enough to cause weight gain unless you multily 120 calories per day by seven. Then it is over a 1000, but still not enough to cause 1 pound weight gain which requires excess by 4000 calories. But unless you are on test, I dont see how you could have put on one pound of muscle in a week. Water weight wouldnt account for it either.

 

[ultima thule]

that's impossible. A gram of protein makes 4 calories so if nothing else, 30gram protein is 120 calories so if other stuff is not reduced, calorie deficit cannot be the same. But that said, it doesn't seem like a huge amount, not enough to cause weight gain unless you multily 120 calories per day by seven. Then it is over a 1000, but still not enough to cause 1 pound weight gain which requires excess by 4000 calories. But unless you are on test, I dont see how you could have put on one pound of muscle in a week. Water weight wouldnt account for it either.

Yes, you right of course protein has it's calories too, but like you said, those 30g couldn't do this gain technically. Also, I do not think I gained all the muscles thorough the week. If it was possible, would consider to become a pro bodybuilder then 😆 Will get on the scale in the gym tomorrow, to get known what actually I gained within the week. Anyway I'm still hesitating due to the titration. That 4mg is tempting, but on the other hand, most of wise men say go slow, go low....

 

[Smiter]

Yes, you right of course protein has it's calories too, but like you said, those 30g couldn't do this gain technically. Also, I do not think I gained all the muscles thorough the week. If it was possible, would consider to become a pro bodybuilder then 😆 Will get on the scale in the gym tomorrow, to get known what actually I gained within the week. Anyway I'm still hesitating due to the titration. That 4mg is tempting, but on the other hand, most of wise men say go slow, go low....

No, dont do extra until you figure this out, and I would track my weight daily esp in the initial stages. So, 4000 extra calories boils down to 660 calories excess a day. Since you're sure that you havent done that, and it cant be muscle, then water weight has to be it. You could increase dose by 0.5mg or even split it into two smaller doses.

 

[NagChamp]

I weigh myself every morning and I find that incredibly helpful. It means I can see the trends across what I eat and drink the day(s) before and not freak out too much on any random jumps. I follow an average trend across a week rather than a one-and-done weekly weigh in.

If you're weighing just once a week it's more challenging to track other factors. Unless you're eating exactly the same things day in day out (including carbs and salt levels) there will inevitably be some variance e.g. in water retention.

 

[yrrdead]

As you lose weight you need to reduce calories to maintain a deficit. I'm not sure how many more times this needs to be posted. In addition increase measurement frequency. Also look at a longer term trend line. Put another way ; weigh every day , same time and read your trends at 2 weeks vs 1 week.

 

[NagChamp]

As you lose weight you need to reduce calories to maintain a deficit. I'm not sure how many more times this needs to be posted. In addition increase measurement frequency. Also look at a longer term trend line. Put another way ; weigh every day , same time and read your trends at 2 weeks vs 1 week.

Absolutely.

A great app for tracking (it's not free, but worth the money IMO*) is RP Diet. It's high protein, macro focused and will adjust cals each week if you want/need to as you lose weight or plateau.

*not an ad 🤣

 

[lessthanhalf]

What you are experiencing is perfectly normal day to day and week to week variations in fluid balance. It can be plus or minus a kilo or 2 . If there is no significant change in calorie intake or exercise, then there is no reason to believe that energy balance will have changed, so the rate of change of fat or non fat mass should not change, which just leaves variation in fluid balance. And the timing fits well too, when you first start losing weight you lose extra fluid as your body depletes glycogen stores and eventually it tends to even back out a bit.

If you track weight for long enough you will get periods where it looks like weight loss has stalled, or goes up a bit, my scales showed no changes for 6 weeks at one point, but averaged out over time the rate of weight loss had not really changed. At 6 weeks it is too early for changes in energy expenditure from lowered mass or low calorie adaptation to be significant factors.

 

[ultima thule]

As you lose weight you need to reduce calories to maintain a deficit. I'm not sure how many more times this needs to be posted. In addition increase measurement frequency. Also look at a longer term trend line. Put another way ; weigh every day , same time and read your trends at 2 weeks vs 1 week.

I am on calorie deficit. All addition to my diet last week was a 30g of whey isolate daily. Don't think it could cause a half kg gain, while for the 5 previous weeks was losing 1.5kg. That's strange, hence that thread

 

[BNLFL]

First, 3.3lbs a week seems a touch high, maybe water weight. It happens, I've had weeks where I gained. No big deal. I know I don't need to move up, as just started 8mg last Friday.

 

[px1984]

I would definitely consider weighting every morning and sticking in an app, I can fluctuate 0.5kg on my scales in a day. This prevents you weighing one week at an abnormal low and then happen to hit the next week well hydrated on a full stomach. Then it’s about tracking trends.

I also weight three times and make sure they are about the same.

 

[ultima thule]

I would definitely consider weighting every morning and sticking in an app, I can fluctuate 0.5kg on my scales in a day. This prevents you weighing one week at an abnormal low and then happen to hit the next week well hydrated on a full stomach. Then it’s about tracking trends.

I also weight three times and make sure they are about the same.

Yeah, will do now. Also weight 2-3 times in a row to avoid any mistakes. Just thought it's fine to follow the progress, just a week, by week...basically I was doing that way, when on keto 2 years ago and I lost 42kg then...it was nice to see the progress just step by step. But might be a better option now, when on Reta to follow that every morning.

 

[px1984]

Yeah, will do now. Also weight 2-3 times in a row to avoid any mistakes. Just thought it's fine to follow the progress, just a week, by week...basically I was doing that way, when on keto 2 years ago and I lost 42kg then...it was nice to see the progress just step by step. But might be a better option now, when on Reta to follow that every morning.

I did same when I was on Keto, use to weigh every week to track. Was such a slog on Keto though, man this stuff is a lot easier 🤣

When we injecting shit I feel like need to be more granular on scales to make sure not to make wrong decision

 

[UnusualLLama]

Seconding the comments regarding daily weigh-ins.

Day-to-day fluctuations happen for a number of reasons, so only weighing in once per week can definitely throw in an "unexpected" result.

An example for you would be my weigh-in yesterday morning (I weigh-in daily). My weight had gone up about 0.5kg compared to the day before even though I know 100% I ate fewer calories than I expended.

But here's the thing, I know exactly why my weight was higher yesterday. It's because I trained a really hard leg session the day before, and I know from experience that as soon as the DOMS (delayed-onset muscle soreness) set in, my muscles will be holding onto more water and that will impact any weigh-ins.

So yeah, weigh yourself daily, and figure out your 7-day rolling average. That will help eliminate any individual day fluctuations.

 

[BNLFL]

I weight Tuesday and Friday mornings when I get up. My Renpho scale app tracks theses. I have a spreadsheet too for weight, BMI and BF% along with pin amounts.

 

[ultima thule]

Seconding the comments regarding daily weigh-ins.

Day-to-day fluctuations happen for a number of reasons, so only weighing in once per week can definitely throw in an "unexpected" result.

An example for you would be my weigh-in yesterday morning (I weigh-in daily). My weight had gone up about 0.5kg compared to the day before even though I know 100% I ate fewer calories than I expended.

But here's the thing, I know exactly why my weight was higher yesterday. It's because I trained a really hard leg session the day before, and I know from experience that as soon as the DOMS (delayed-onset muscle soreness) set in, my muscles will be holding onto more water and that will impact any weigh-ins.

So yeah, weigh yourself daily, and figure out your 7-day rolling average. That will help eliminate any individual day fluctuations.

That might be the reason of my gain actually. I hit the weight lifting quite harder than usually, this week and skipped the cardio twice, cuz too fatigued. Even today, my muscles sore a bit more than usual.

 

[UnusualLLama]

That might be the reason of my gain actually. I hit the weight lifting quite harder than usually, this week and skipped the cardio twice, cuz too fatigued. Even today, my muscles sore a bit more than usual.

Soreness will absolutely cause you to hold onto extra water. It varies a lot from person to person and muscle size etc. but yeah, could be the reason.

 

[Cannonball72]

Stay put and exhale..

It’s addictive to see the scale go down, there are a lot of factors that contribute to these “pauses”. 3.3 lbs a week is a lot, probably too much too fast. More harm than good for most people, and when we see a lot of issues with the GLPs it tends to be a result of under-nutrition and or suddenly eating after nearly starving for a period.

Your setback could be exercise inflammation, water/glycogen retention, food still in your stomach and etc., do not be concerned.

Take this opportunity to confirm your nutrition plan to help you each your target, against a timeline where you are averaging about 1-1.5lbs/week.

With Reta it should be very easy to stick to the plan. The math will work if you assessed it correctly. Don’t rush into increasing dose unless you are unable to stick to your nutrition plan and start overeating.

This is the most important learning from this journey, the math will work! Now it’s up to you to fill those calories with high quality nutrition, and build confidence in that plan (vs fear that your progress is fragile, and destined to failure).

I think we all have been through this same feeling, I stalled for a month and then over the span of 2 days, 7 pounds dropped off.

I didn’t change anything in my dose or nutrition. I did add ipamorelin to my tesamorelin and I think I had some water retention.

See my pic. Went from 220 to 205, then got stalled for a month between 202 and 198, even popped back up to 205 before suddenly dropping to 198, and 195.

I hated it, but I stuck to the plan and I didn’t increase dose because I knew my deficit, and I wasn’t overeating.

You got this.

 

[kj4otu]

It is my 6th week on Reta now, and it was so far so good....but as every Friday morning I checked my weight today and boom! Surprise! So I started from 1mg per week. On the 3rd week tirtrated to 2 mg. Results were just perfect, cuz my weight was dropping 1.5kg/3.3lbs per week average. But today, when I stepped on weight scale it shows 0.5kg/1.1lbs more, than the week before. 🫤 So I tried to figure out, if anything changed in my routine the last week. First thing is Epithalon, I started a week ago (0.5mg/day), and the second, I add a bit more protein to my daily intake (around 30g). Don't think that any of those had any impact on gaining within last week. All of the rest is, as it was beforehand. 5 days a week at the gym, high protein/low carb/low fat diet, 2 meals per day, sleeping well, around 7h...I'm a bit confused, cuz Reta shot day is Monday and wanted to titrate to 3mg this time, but reading now alot about the magic threshold of the 4mg of Reta, and considering to jump on that dose now. And btw, food noise, feeling full while eating, no cravings, those all are working fine. Also have no side efects at all on 2mg. So at first, wondering, why I gained in the 6th week on Reta, and what dose would you recommend for me to jump on now. Or maybe stay on 2mg and see what will happen?

I would suggest that you don't chase the scale number with dosing. Give it at least two weeks. If it doesn't resolve by then and start showing trend down then move up. A plateau doesn't necessarily mean your body is done. I will note that 30g extra protein is 150+ calories per day, depending on the source. I doubt that would tank you, but I would think it could possibly cause a pause while your body is adjusting. There are so many variables, and many things we don't even track or think about. Yet another reason to not chase scale numbers with dosing. One other note, is this the same vial of Reta you started with 6 weeks ago? I used a vial on my wombat for 8 weeks and when I mixed a new on could tell clearly that the old vial had degraded in effectiveness (huge difference in appetite and plateau resolved). It was night and day. The stuff I've seen in testing shows after a month the degradation is real. My "test" confirmed it.

 

[kj4otu]

I would definitely consider weighting every morning and sticking in an app, I can fluctuate 0.5kg on my scales in a day. This prevents you weighing one week at an abnormal low and then happen to hit the next week well hydrated on a full stomach. Then it’s about tracking trends.

I also weight three times and make sure they are about the same.

I agree! I weigh every day, but don't put any stock into that number. It's just to see a clear trend in weekly averages. I have seen 5lb fluctuations morning to morning. The body is a crazy thing. It also helps to weight at the same time, same situation (after bathroom, before eating, etc.). Even cutting variable out you'll see wild fluctuations day to day. But the weekly and monthly trend smooths out and doesn't lie.

Check out my plot. 10 weeks on 1mg. The plateau last 12 days had me concerned, esp the day that peak popped up, but I determined to give it two weeks to resolve. I hit a new low last two days in a row and am moving again. My pause was old Reta and 3rd week of heavy full body workout, but the fat loss has caught up with the extra water in my muscles from DOMS and should continue general down trend going forward. If I hit a minimum 2 weeks at a stall, I'll go up...or cut calories. People forget that as you lose weight your BMR calorie needs drop too - you have to watch for true plateaus and adjust scientifically - and not always just titrate up. I hope this helps and illuminates things. Good luck and above all - just stay at it!

 

[ultima thule]

Thanks guys, for sharing experience of yours. These all give me some picture of an issue. Tomorrow will weight in on the gym's scale which is showing bf, muscles, fat mass etc, and will see what actually happened thorough the week. Monday is Reta shot day, so have a couple days to make a decision whether to titrate or not and if I do how much then.

 

[Cannonball72]

Thanks guys, for sharing experience of yours. These all give me some picture of an issue. Tomorrow will weight in on the gym's scale which is showing bf, muscles, fat mass etc, and will see what actually happened thorough the week. Monday is Reta shot day, so have a couple days to make a decision whether to titrate or not and if I do how much then.

Don’t dig too hard into the numbers on the scale. My scale has BF, muscle mass, skeletal muscle, protein, water and etc and etc.

They change every time my weight changes.

Zoom out, look at all data over the full timeline.

 

[Smiter]

Thanks guys, for sharing experience of yours. These all give me some picture of an issue. Tomorrow will weight in on the gym's scale which is showing bf, muscles, fat mass etc, and will see what actually happened thorough the week. Monday is Reta shot day, so have a couple days to make a decision whether to titrate or not and if I do how much then.

Finally, welcome to Team Daily Trackers. Once you're with us, you're in for life. Alright, so we identified your enemy. He's DOMS. We've the weapons customized to deal with DOMS. Fluid weight from lactic acid driven inflammation is our common enemy. We'll show them no mercy. Stay the course, don't titrate unnecessarily. And when in doubt, go with the lowest dose.

P.S: Remember, what's best in life? Crush your plateaus, see them driven before you, and hear the lamentation of their adipose.

 

[lil ghost]

Don’t dig too hard into the numbers on the scale. My scale has BF, muscle mass, skeletal muscle, protein, water and etc and etc.

They change every time my weight changes.

Zoom out, look at all data over the full timeline.

This is precisely why I prefer to weigh weekly rather than daily. If my weight fluctuates up, I get way too in my head and wind up feeling bad about myself. Weekly weigh-ins reduce my anxiety, but to each their own.

 

[Airborne Daddy]

What you are experiencing is perfectly normal day to day and week to week variations in fluid balance. It can be plus or minus a kilo or 2 . If there is no significant change in calorie intake or exercise, then there is no reason to believe that energy balance will have changed, so the rate of change of fat or non fat mass should not change, which just leaves variation in fluid balance. And the timing fits well too, when you first start losing weight you lose extra fluid as your body depletes glycogen stores and eventually it tends to even back out a bit.

If you track weight for long enough you will get periods where it looks like weight loss has stalled, or goes up a bit, my scales showed no changes for 6 weeks at one point, but averaged out over time the rate of weight loss had not really changed. At 6 weeks it is too early for changes in energy expenditure from lowered mass or low calorie adaptation to be significant factors.

Im going with fluid balances and hydration as well...if i urinate 9 times in a day and shit twice im lighter than a day i piss 4 times and shit once. By almost 3lbs.

 

[Bioexplorer]

I totally get the desire to track everything when first starting this cool new drug. But the beauty of Reta for some of us is that it just plain works whether we track calories, macros, exercise, etc. or not. I always hated that part of dieting and absolutely love that the scale usually drops a little every week with no effort on my part. And if it goes up a bit for a few weeks, I don't worry and stick to the titration plan. I do keep track of weight once a week but don't bother with the other metrics. They'll work themselves out.

However, I do expect to increase the dose early if I notice a distinct increase in appetite or portion size and conversely will delay escalation if I feel like it's still working the same. Unlike many of the other Peptides we experiment with, the GLP-1 agonists have very rapid and noticeable effects. I can't imagine not knowing whether you got the placebo in any of these trials.

 

[ultima thule]

I totally get the desire to track everything when first starting this cool new drug. But the beauty of Reta for some of us is that it just plain works whether we track calories, macros, exercise, etc. or not. I always hated that part of dieting and absolutely love that the scale usually drops a little every week with no effort on my part. And if it goes up a bit for a few weeks, I don't worry and stick to the titration plan. I do keep track of weight once a week but don't bother with the other metrics. They'll work themselves out.

However, I do expect to increase the dose early if I notice a distinct increase in appetite or portion size and conversely will delay escalation if I feel like it's still working the same. Unlike many of the other Peptides we experiment with, the GLP-1 agonists have very rapid and noticeable effects. I can't imagine not knowing whether you got the placebo in any of these trials.

Yeah gotcha, but as I'm newbie in Reta and peptides in general, I have some experience in losing weight basically. 4 years ago I had to quit gymming due to the shoulder injury and gained a lot of lard. When reached the critical mass, which made me struggling to close the laces, decided to do something with that. Started keto, which converted to low carb afterwards, and having calorie deficit. After 16 months I lost 42kg/92.5lbs in total...but then I started a new job, where I have no activity at all. In a previous job I was doing 20k steps average, now around 4-5k. Hence hit the gym again in January (shoulder is much better/Glow helps too) Despite of keeping the diet I gained again around 15 kg which I'd love to lose, that's why on Reta now. Anyway I know losing weight takes time, and the slower it goes the better/healthier it is. But when on keto, I was losing weight step by step, and don't remember the situation I've gained some weight in the meantime. So that's why I opened that discussion, cuz today's result concerned me a bit. And also reading lately about the magical feature of the 4mg Reta and that glucagon hits right there...so I'm supposed to titrate soon anyway, but hesitating if it is the moment to jump on 4mg, stay for another week or two on 2mg, or get through 3mg at first...

 

[Bioexplorer]

Gotcha Ultima. And that's a lot of weight you lost pre GLP-1s. Well done. Hopefully it'll be easier this time with Reta.

I still have a couple weeks at 2mg then planning on 3mg for 4 weeks. I'm not buying the magic 4mg minimum for glucagon agonist theory and I'll probably get there eventually anyway.

Good to know Glow is working for your shoulder. I tried BPC-157 for a couple months with no improvement in shoulder pain but I've been considering trying Glow or Klow.