Keto/Low carb or GLP-1?

[tendency]

So I'm curious. Youtube etc. are rife with channels and dieticians/dr's giving advice and pounding the table that the only way to treat/reverse/manage metabolic syndrome and pre-diabetes is to essentially go low carb. Your thoughts on this line of thought now that we have GLPs, and, given that many, no matter how hard they try, cannot make this dietary change.

Is the low carb mantra still necessary with these medications? This is something I haven't seen addressed - yet - thoughts?

 

[BNLFL]

My wife and I went lower carb when we started Reta. It's worked for us.

 

[ultima thule]

From my end it looks like that. Around 4 years ago I started keto. I was very overweighted or even obese. 177cm/120kg. Within 16 months I lost 42kg and achieved 78kg. Perfect BMI and same weight as I used to have when in secondary school (I'm 49 yo now). Like I said, started with keto, but after few months converted my diet into low carb and started intermittent fasting (2 meals per day). Except keto, my only activity was walking around 25k steps per day. Sometimes swimming pool, but not so often. Changed the job, and my activity was over. From 25k steps I started to do 3-4k per day. Was still on low carb and IF, but started to gain. Eventually gained 17kg, and my weight was 95kg at the beginning of the current year. Decided to start some activity again and got to the gym, after few years of break. Was working out hard. 5 days a week. 30mins cardio, lifting weights PPL system. Weight dropped just a bit...discovered GLP-1. Wanted to get ozempic from some legal source, but when realised how expensive it is, started to dig in internet and discovered grey...and this great forum and community. In April placed my first order - R10 and Glow and it was like a snowball. Now I'm 2 months on Reta (and few other peps 😆) 3mg/week. So far lost 10kg and 7% of body fat, since the day I started Reta. I'm 82kg and 22% BF at the moment. My goal is 12% of BF, and visible six pack on my 50th birthday, which is in January next year...my diet converted from low carb to high protein/low carb/low fat. Still 2 meals per day.

 

[sheilarae74]

I was doing keto until I started reta. For me it's not necessary to do low carb now but I do try to watch my sugar intake.

 

[New2ton]

I used to be on a carnivore diet and although I saw very little weight loss, I did feel better. Less inflammation, joint pain, etc. However, for me personally, that diet was not sustainable.
That being said, tirz has ALMOST forced me into low carb due to focusing on my protein intake. I don't strictly track macros, but carbs are definitely low. I've lost 70lbs and only 10lbs from goal, so I'm obviously a proponent for GLP-1s.

 

[Builderman]

Felt like when I first started reta I counted calories and that was if. Regardless of what carbs and fat and protein I ate in the day as long as I was under a certain calorie count I felt fine. No I’ve cut back on carbs significantly and tried to focus on higher protein intake all while still counting the calories. It’s made a very big different as far as losing weight goes

 

[BigRed1]

I'm a big fan of keto and have done it for years but I don't think its a requirement. I've actually stopped it for the last while since I started reta as it's been easier to stay low cal without being full keto. I just eat my protein, and fill in the rest of my diet with veggies and rice/potatoes with no added sugars.

I assume I'm still low-ish carb compared to the standard american diet which is pure junk

Keto is a bit of a lifestyle of its own. Lately I've liked having the option of eating non keto when eating out with friends without worrying about feeling like shit for a few days as I bounce in and out of ketosis.

 

[Stace_wow]

I tend towards lower carb because carbs make me feel so full, and with the GLP already helping me feel full, it can sometimes make it too much for my tummy.

I do eat carbs everyday, but not with every meal, and most of my carbs come from veggies and fruit. That's what makes me feel best, but everyone is different 🙂

 

[rkbleddyn]

If you can stick to Keto, I'd do that. I'd even go full on carnivore. But it is really hard to do and if you are really obese and/or have a lot of visceral fat, better a GLP-1 than to die.

 

[pnewb]

I did keto for almost 10 years. It was the only thing I found that stopped me from eating until I was physically uncomfortable. Went from 240lbs to 180 and was really happy with the results and the trade offs were worth it for me.

Unfortunately I can no longer be as active as I used to be, and weight started creeping back and I was having more of a difficult time sticking to the plan.

Tirz and Reta have allowed me to eat like a “normal” person and get control back over my body, without needing to strictly adhere to any specific diet. Like others above it’s still important that I eat intelligently, but I no longer regret having some ice cream. Partially because I can have a single scoop and be satiated with that, and not go back for seconds. It’s kinda magical.

But I’m not a doctor. I don’t even play one on YouTube. Hell, I’m not even a disgraced chiropractor playing a doctor on YouTube.

 

[TacoLifter420]

For me I have a daily calorie goal and protein goal. That goal varies depending if im maintaining or cutting. If i hit my protein and have calories left ill eat more carbs if I want.

During a cut, carbs stay pretty low.

 

[Gt3294a]

So I'm curious. Youtube etc. are rife with channels and dieticians/dr's giving advice and pounding the table that the only way to treat/reverse/manage metabolic syndrome and pre-diabetes is to essentially go low carb. Your thoughts on this line of thought now that we have GLPs, and, given that many, no matter how hard they try, cannot make this dietary change.

Is the low carb mantra still necessary with these medications? This is something I haven't seen addressed - yet - thoughts?

My 2 cents - what another commenter said re most important hitting a calorie goal. I feel eating what carbs you burn on a low carb diet can be great for cutting. And I feel keto can be great, but more times than not, it can be counter productive unless you do it exactly right. It feels awful for your body to convert protein into carbs (which can happen on keto not dialed in) and not having enough ketones to burn or falling in and out of ketosis (which can happen on keto not being dialed in). So for most, keeping it simple and sustainable is the best option.

 

[headward]

The point of reta is to fix the diet. I don't really know what keto is. Some people are like carnivore whatever, which is insane. Basically, lower calorie nutritious meals. That will invariably be lean proteins, veggies, some fruit, and fewer starchy carbs like rice.

It ends up being lower carbs for most people than without reta. So if that's your definition of keto/low-carb, great. I just call it eating healthy.

 

[cujet]

62M, former athlete. When my thyroid failed due to Hashimoto's after severe EB virus at age 33, my weight increased from 182 to 239 in 6 months. No change in diet or bicycle racing/training protocol. Just a metabolism controlled by a pill, instead of a healthy system.

Being dedicated, I found a diet that worked. One salad with fish per day, no breakfast, no dinner, no dressing, no carbs. 800 calories. I was able to get back down to my athletic weight. HOWEVER, that's nowhere near enough to fuel normal function, not to mention any form of athletic activity.

So up the calories went and my weight, and then down again, over and over.

In more recent years the best I've been able to achieve on my own was 220Lbs on OMAD, carnivore. (one meal a day)

My point is this, sure an ideal weight is possible with abject starvation, er, ah, I mean dedication. But for many of us, it comes at the cost of inadequate nutrition and inadequate calorie intake for athletic activities of any sort.

I started on Reta in December 2025, weighing in at 262, having ballooned up from abject starvation levels of 220 pounds by eating more normally. I'm now down to my goal weight. Without any of the malnutrition issues of 800 calorie diets.

In fact it is rather nice to be able to eat normally. I even had a double Filet o Fish for lunch today, without worry of gaining 5 pounds overnight as would happen before.

Conclusion: I have true metabolic dysfunction. Retatrutide is the antidote.

 

[CNCCurrency]

So I'm curious. Youtube etc. are rife with channels and dieticians/dr's giving advice and pounding the table that the only way to treat/reverse/manage metabolic syndrome and pre-diabetes is to essentially go low carb. Your thoughts on this line of thought now that we have GLPs, and, given that many, no matter how hard they try, cannot make this dietary change.

Is the low carb mantra still necessary with these medications? This is something I haven't seen addressed - yet - thoughts?

Dr. Jones on youtube is a big proponent of keto on glp1's.

 

[lessthanhalf]

So I'm curious. Youtube etc. are rife with channels and dieticians/dr's giving advice and pounding the table that the only way to treat/reverse/manage metabolic syndrome and pre-diabetes is to essentially go low carb. Your thoughts on this line of thought now that we have GLPs, and, given that many, no matter how hard they try, cannot make this dietary change.

Is the low carb mantra still necessary with these medications? This is something I haven't seen addressed - yet - thoughts?

The way I see it is, it depends a bit on the problem you are trying to solve. If a bit overweight then there are really lots of different approaches. If you are severely obese, then I think the answer at this point is the GLP medications and the diet part is very much so a secondary issue.

Despite all the success people describe above with keto, a 2013 meta analysis showed " Individuals assigned to a VLCKD showed decreased body weight (weighted mean difference − 0·91 (95 % CI − 1·65, − 0·17) kg, 1415 patients)" So overall 0.91kg lost over 12 months on a very low carb ketogenic diet.

This fits with my general understanding that deliberate dietary restraint of calorie intake is really not a very useful long term treatment for obesity, keto can definitely help suppress hunger, but how effective it is longer term is more debatable.

Glp drugs reduce appetite so that a calorie deficit is achieved, in a lot of ways it makes more sense to combine it with a generally healthy diet, such as mediterranean plus extra protein. . But if keto works for you to help control hunger then it is fine, but harder to get a lot of fibre, fruit and veges in and stay in ketosis .