For those on Reta, what’s your exit strategy?

[Elgordoboy]

I’ve been freed from the absolute tyranny of food and Reta now offers me the ability to steer the direction of our relationship. Once I’m at my goal I may ease up and see how I feel simply for convenience sake but, short of a real reason of which we are presently unaware, I will not willingly take up the food shackles again.

 

[professorpeppy]

None.

After being BMI 42, I know the alternative. Reta is magic

 

[RetCurious]

A research by 'Epic Research' gave me hope to get off glp1, indicating that for those on glp1 for at least one year and down over 40 lbs, where much less likely to regain, or only regain less than 10% in the next year. This reinforces what I read on fat cells epigenetic memory. These fat cells eventually die off, and the new ones do not have the memory effect to where they want to get fat again. But these cells can live up to 10 years.

Fat cells epigenetic memory is new and fascinating information to me, thank you.

I found one study on it but would appreciate any others of interest you may have found.

Adipose tissue retains an epigenetic memory of obesity after weight loss - Nature

Stable epigenetic changes indicate the existence of an obesogenic memory in mouse adipocytes that primes cells for pathological responses in an obesogenic environment and potentially contributes to the problematic ‘yo-yo’ effect often seen with dieting.

www.nature.com

 

[SoCalGirl]

Am on Cagri 1mg with Reta 10mg. Am almost at my goal weight. Plan A: I plan on getting off Cagri first, titrating down slowly. Then reduce Reta slowly, over many months, and monitor. If weight begins to climb, Plan B: switch to Orforglipron for 6 months (I already have my supply), stop and monitor/evaluate. If unable to maintain, then Plan C: use up my 1+ year supply of Tirz, cycle in Cagri and Reta ( like many, I have plenty in the freezer).

A research by 'Epic Research' gave me hope to get off glp1, indicating that for those on glp1 for at least one year and down over 40 lbs, where much less likely to regain, or only regain less than 10% in the next year. This reinforces what I read on fat cells epigenetic memory. These fat cells eventually die off, and the new ones do not have the memory effect to where they want to get fat again. But these cells can live up to 10 years.

Some folks expect to use insulin for the rest of their life. My plan D: no exit, stay on glp1 if I must. As time goes on, new products will hit the market (Orforglipron... ), and new solutions/research are being developed. I am now retired, down 92#, feel (and look) like I am 25. ALL my aches are gone. All my Dexa, CT, blood/urine tests are excellent, like the 25 years old version of me.

If you think short term, you may get the same yoyo results of the other fat reducing diets.

As a note: I eat 50% less food than before. Seems the body needs a lot less calories as you get slimmer.

Have you tried the Orforglipron? Wondering what it is like? Wondering how it is even pronounced! How do they even figure out how to name these things?

 

[greatbriton1]

I will never stop taking reta, I'm type 1 diabetic and it has been a miracle bringing my blood sugar into very good control. I'm old and arthritic and it has helped with joint pain like nothing else. I will likely go to a smaller dose when I achieve my goal weight but I'm only on 2mg right now and I'm down 30lbs now, so I'll have to find my "maintenance dose" whatever that ends up being. Maybe 1mg or .5mg?

 

[RosebudFox]

I thought it would be temporary. I take relatively low doses. I didn't have a ton of weight to lose. I love having less inflammation with my autoimmune condition. I love not having to spend constant mental energy worrying about food. The mental health benefits for me alone are worth continuing. I feel so much more freedom and space in my body and my head.

 

[BNLFL]

I will never stop taking reta, I'm type 1 diabetic and it has been a miracle bringing my blood sugar into very good control. I'm old and arthritic and it has helped with joint pain like nothing else. I will likely go to a smaller dose when I achieve my goal weight but I'm only on 2mg right now and I'm down 30lbs now, so I'll have to find my "maintenance dose" whatever that ends up being. Maybe 1mg or .5mg?

I mentioned the joint pain on here before. Both my wife and I had some in the hand, mainly the thumb. It's 80-90% gone. We both noticed it.

 

[deleted.user.16]

shrinking stomach anatomy (which is bunk)

Umm...but you're wrong though?

"Subjects in the diet group, who lost a mean of 9.1 kg, showed a 27% reduction in gastric capacity based on the first index (P = 0.004) and a 36% reduction based on the second index....The results demonstrate a reduction in gastric capacity in obese subjects after a restricted diet."

And that's only after four weeks!

I know for a fact that I used to be able to eat an entire large pizza in one sitting and still be able to eat more. Today, after several months of cutting down my portion size and 4 weeks of on-and-off fasting, my stomach literally hurts if I try to eat a normal portion of low-carb pasta (no I have not tested how many slices of pizza I could fit now and don't plan to ).

Now I agree that this is not a solution that will work for everyone (it might not even work for me in the long term). But it's another tool in the belt for people to use. If eating small portion sizes + eating low-carb can reduce my GLP use from 12 months out of the year to 2 months, that's a massive win! Even if diet changes let someone titrate down from, say, 10mg Reta to 7mg Reta, that's still a great thing. According to life expectancy averages for my country, I have maybe 6-7 more decades to live and I am not looking forward to the day when I have to take a vial of T-100, a vial of R-250, and then another four vials of Cagri-90,000 every week just to get by. Now if someone is already 60 years old and morbidly obese, it would probably be wise to stay on the max dose of GLP meds forever. But let's not reflexively poo-poo any ideas for lifestyle changes.

 

[Grogu]

Umm...but you're wrong though?

My stomach was surgically reduced to the size of a walnut in 2003. Is there really any smaller than that? After surgery, I measured food using a cup that you’d administer cough syrup. That was my meal. No amount of dieting is going to reduce any human stomach that small.

Guess what happened, the body is a miraculous thing, and over time my stomach would accept more and more food. 23 years post op I can’t eat the volumes I could eat pre-op, but I can eat 1/2 a pizza. The idea that reducing stomach size is in anyway going to lead to sustained weight loss is bunk.

 

[ColdBubbles]

I’m just starting with Reta and have always wondered what an exit strategy for getting off of Reta looks like to users.

I’m not questioning the strategy of tritating down, but are you planning to stay on Reta for years or do you plan to stop after you reach certain goals like weight loss?

I’ve seen some anecdotal responses like, I’m fine knowing I’ll be on it for life and it made me do a double take.

How long are you planning to take Reta?

I'm a lifer. I had to stop taking it for a couple of weeks before a surgery and the food noise was deafening. But I knew from the beginning this was a long term situation so I'm ok with it. I was on the cusp of having to take blood pressure meds for the rest of my life and now I don't need that so I'd be taking something one way or another!

 

[deleted.user.19]

Lifer for sure. I feel blessed without hangryness, not thinking about food, normal portion sizes, no junk food.

 

[Troposphere]

I've only been on retatrutide for 5 weeks, I have no idea what the future looks like. The biggest problem I had before GLP1s was too much booze.

I have less desire to drink right now and don't care for the heavier hangovers that come with these peptides.

I am more of a habitual drinker, so I am hoping this reframing of my relationship to booze will last. That will perhaps be the biggest factor in whether I stay on GLP1s long term or not.

 

[BNLFL]

I am more of a habitual drinker, so I am hoping this reframing of my relationship to booze will last. That will perhaps be the biggest factor in whether I stay on GLP1s long term or not.

You'll find the desire drops. It did with me, but I still have few beers at lunch out with my wife and our friends a bunch. I think we'll both be on it long term, obviously small blasts.