For those on Reta, what’s your exit strategy?
- Thread starter GortBong
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rixsternaz
GLP-1 Apprentice
When I reach my goal weight, I plan to be on Reta + MOTS-C for maintenance and health benefits. I can't imagine anyone with insulin resistance would not use this stack for life. I may experiment with Tesa/IPA for muscle growth now that I've been hitting the gym 5 days a week.
RubbaDubba1
GLP-1 Enthusiast
Did you read the part of me cycling off of it 3X? Have I tried, hell yes, do I know the right things to do? Yes, when I'm on a GLP-1, I don't have now where near the bad habits and I live a better life. Nobody has paid a dime, towards that 400lbs but me, that includes my weight loss surgery, plastics, 13 surgeries & counting, buying compounded Tirz for 2 years before grey market, alot of that not covered by insurance. I paid my dues.GTS97 said:
The bigger (hehe) tragedy here, was getting to 600lbs, not the keeping it off part. Less than 10% of people who lose 100lbs or more, keep it off 10 years or more by traditional methods. I'm ok if I can't sit at the cool kids table at lunch, even if I can fit now.
Gt3294a
GLP-1 Enthusiast
I think because for some people, we like it and don’t judge long term use bad. I like benefits outside of losing weight and don’t really use to try to lose more weight.GTS97 said:
congrats! And if AI is going to take over the world, it’s fair we have something to not make us want to overeat. Where was this during covid?RubbaDubba1 said:
MountainsoftheMoon
GLP-1 Apprentice
In the same boat, questioning the exit strategy.GortBong said:
Historically, without peptides, when I’ve lost weight the old fashioned way: suffering through diet and exercise and forcing myself to abstain from junk food and drinking… I’d get to target weight, feel great, then put it all back on and the cycle would continue…
Those cycles have always been short for me, like 6 months in discipline mode, then 6 months back to the start, then a year or so to get motivated to try again…
I’m planning to stay on it for 1-2 years max, and hoping that the longer term/ sustained fitness and controlled relationship with food will be sufficient retraining. I want to ween off and keep those habits in tact. Hoping that the firmer-established lifestyle will be enough to outcompete the food noise. Ultimately I don’t want to be reliant on peptides forever.
RubbaDubba1
GLP-1 Enthusiast
Thank you, kinda what got me into the other peptides to see what benefits there can or will be. Most peptides are mild for me, even though I'm on the kitchen sink protocol. Ipamorelin, actually helps to control my Tension Headaches. I've been to the ER, with just a F'ing headache before, who knows how or why, but 5 days out of the week it's under control with Ipamorelin. So the research goes on, post covid.Gt3294a said:
GTS97
I Just Joined! 🚫No Source Discussion🚫
Of course. I’m not saying long term use is bad…but if you can do it without it and you truly have no intention of regressing… one would think that wouldn’t mean you’d be reliant on anything other than yourself.Gt3294a said:
CharlieBrown
GLP-1 Enthusiast
That's my plan as well. I want the Glucagon benefits.Cannonball72 said:
I am getting very near my goal weight and I plan to start dropping my weekly dose a small bit every month and see how that goes.
Going to attempt to find what my lowest weekly dose is that still keeps my weight, HbA1c and BP under control.
THEN I plan to try extending the dosing interval - this is all a test sequence since there is no good data yet on maintenance dosing or tapering.
Going completely off is not an option according to current info if I want to keep my weight under control. Therefore, I assume this is a lifetime process.
Best of luck for all on this path !
Going to attempt to find what my lowest weekly dose is that still keeps my weight, HbA1c and BP under control.
THEN I plan to try extending the dosing interval - this is all a test sequence since there is no good data yet on maintenance dosing or tapering.
Going completely off is not an option according to current info if I want to keep my weight under control. Therefore, I assume this is a lifetime process.
Best of luck for all on this path !
catsincali
GLP-1 Apprentice
When I first started with sema/tirz/reta my plan was to hit my goal weight and then get off and maintain. However, that was mainly because at the time I did not have access to more....but then I got access to more....and now I've made peace with micro-dosing for the foreseeable future...which honestly makes me kinda sad? BUT because I am using this tool, I am now seeing strength training as a non-negotiable and prioritizing a healthier lifestyle is always top of mind.
I do like to push my doses though and don't pin on a strict schedule. Maybe I'm just fooling myself by doing that and thinking I ain't hooked buuuuut...I'm pretty hooked
I do like to push my doses though and don't pin on a strict schedule. Maybe I'm just fooling myself by doing that and thinking I ain't hooked buuuuut...I'm pretty hooked
catsincali
GLP-1 Apprentice
I think we were writing our responses at the same time but "...extending the dosing interval" is the phrase I wish I had used instead of the poorly worded garbage sentence I postedJ Arbey said:
.Best of luck on your journey!
RubbaDubba1
GLP-1 Enthusiast
Not seeing the forest through the trees are we? I hung my hat on, if you want something you work for it. I've worked on my feet my whole life, having to have weight loss surgery was telling myself I lost the fight. It crushed my soul, but it gave me another chance. Then I got back up to 400lbs, 14 years after my surgery and I lost again. But I found Tirz/Reta and was able to lose and keep the weight off. I still work on my feet, I'm in pain everyday, coulda been on disability a long time ago my friend. I eak out a meager existence and make enough and take enough GLP-1 to get by. I could've easily been in a nursing home by now, that's no BS and I'd be the youngest one there. Tirz/Reta is that magic sauce, it goes with everything so I think I'm reliant on me.GTS97 said:
RetCurious
GLP-1 Enthusiast
I too had the fantasy of losing the weight and living happily ever after off GLP-1's, my blood pressure meds, statins and SGLT2 inhibitor never over eating again...
Then I began to learn more about my conditions and their causes and have come to understand that in spite of the miraculous effects of GLP-1's my body still has many of the same problems.
While many of the symptoms are now treatable and my meds may need adjusting, if I intend to reach and maintain my health goals it will require I continue the path I'm on.
GLP-1s may be super drugs but I'm not superman.
Then I began to learn more about my conditions and their causes and have come to understand that in spite of the miraculous effects of GLP-1's my body still has many of the same problems.
While many of the symptoms are now treatable and my meds may need adjusting, if I intend to reach and maintain my health goals it will require I continue the path I'm on.
GLP-1s may be super drugs but I'm not superman.
I’ve actually been a gym rat and an expert dieter my whole life just to stay overweight.GTS97 said:
For me, this has never been about calories in/out -- many people with weight issues have complex endocrine and insulin issues.
GLP-1's provide the biological support we're missing -- I’m so relieved to finally have my biology match my habits.
It’s been life-changing to let go of the drive to be so compulsive everyday to keep my body in balance. I'm a better weight now and less compulsive and obsessed about trying to control it.
Finally I'm at ease.
piccolo101
GLP-1 Apprentice
Probably a very long time or at least until something better comes along. 
petros600
GLP-1 Apprentice
Peptides are evolving and the studies for NA-931 looks very promising regarding muscle loss.
I think the future looks bright for the peptides world!!
I think the future looks bright for the peptides world!!
lessthanhalf
GLP-1 Specialist
Does there need to be an exit strategy? The biggest advantage GLP medications offer is weight loss maintenance. Not as well researched yet, other than the studies that just kept people on them after the initial trial ended, but in those cases weight loss was very consistently maintained for up to 5 years. Nearly everyone with weight issues has lost weight with diet, exercise and self discipline at some point and nearly every one of those has put the weight back on again. GLP drugs offer an escape from this endless cycle of trying to control something that feels uncontrollable.MountainsoftheMoon said:
Part of the reason for differences in opinion on taking GLP's long term, is there are 2 main categories of people on this forum, some, often older, with long term severe obesity and another group that is typically younger, fitter and less obese. The second group is far less likely to see themselves needing GLP medications long term, which may well be true but it will take another decade to find out for sure, and the first group that is much more likely to stay on them long term, and see them as helping to fix a serious life long problem.
I wish you success in your endeavor to keep the weight of without them, but the question I would ask is why? Being overweight or obese long term has serious adverse health consequences, weight cycling, despite its bad reputation, does actually reduce some of those consequences, but has other disadvantages as well. How many years of going through the weight cycling will it take to convince you that that strategy is not working? ( not a criticism , I got to 65 kg in 2012 and back up to 145 by 2022 ). Staying on GLP's not only reduces health problems due to obesity by reducing weight but also, independently of effects on weight reduces many long term health problems, including diabetes development, heart disease and cancers. So staying on them is not bad for your health , it is beneficial. They are definitely not addictive. So the real issue with staying on them is the sense of being dependent on a medication to help control weight. Which I guess feels like not being in control of it yourself? Trying to reduce doses once weight loss has got to where you want is fine, or even stopping it, although I think this is a genuinely bad idea if the obesity was severe, but the most reasonable and realistic way to do it is with careful monitoring of weight and a willingness to restart or increase doses if weight starts to go up rather than let it get out of control first.
The whole obesity epidemic is a fairly recent phenomena, at least in terms of a large percentage of the population being affected, and there are lots of causes, but ultimately the biggest one is the cheap availability of high calorie, low effort food, at the same time as a decline in everyday physical effort at home or at work. And this was enough to make half the population obese. Better habits do not fix this, they are an attempt to control your own behavior to minimise the damage from a generally obesogenic environment. Parts of this can be controlled, by only buying certain types of food and minimising your exposure to those foods on a daily basis. But probably not enough to solve the problem.
I see GLP medications as an escape from the cycle of weight loss, weight gain and the self loathing that comes with it. This alone is enough to improve quality of life, even if weight loss is not to ideal levels. I may be a bit biased in my thinking that diet and exercise really do not work as a strategy for long term weight loss, it is true that it can, but it really is not common. And I am not suggesting that GLP medications make poor dietary and lifestyle choices a good idea, but there is evidence that dietary choices improve on GLP treatment and from personal experience exercising is much easier, safer and more pleasant without lugging around a lot of extra kilos. And even if someone continues to be sedentary and eat an unhealthy diet, which realistically , given the population is obese to start with is fairly likely, the health benefits from weight loss and the drugs themselves will still happen, maybe not as well as if it was combined with a healthy diet and exercise , but a lot better than nothing.
Retazempic
GLP-1 Enthusiast
GTS97 said:
I know you didn’t mean it this way at all, but that’s kinda like saying: “Well, you’ve been wearing glasses for a while now. Haven’t you learned to read without squinting yet?”
For many (most?) of us, the issue isn’t just new habits, it’s incretin hormone dysfunction, which doesn’t seem to go away, even after an extended period of time on a GLP (1 year 8 months for me).
Zydeceltico
GLP-1爱好者
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Literal metabolic roadblocks that undercut "intention" are very, very factual and real for many people. All of the intention in the world will not change the physical mechanics for some.GTS97 said:
peptidepower77
GLP-1 Enthusiast
I'm quite happy to be on this forever if I have to be. Why is that a bad thing? I've been heavy most of my adult life, small price to pay to not have to worry about it anymore.
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