My Weight Loss Backstory: 291lbs and 20 Years of Yo-Yo Dieting
I lost 90 pounds in 8 months on retatrutide. This is every dose, every side effect, every weigh-in, and what happened when I stopped.
A quick backstory: I've been gaining and losing the same 40 pounds for the last 20 years. My peak weight was around 291lbs in October 2023. August 2024 I was hovering around 280lbs and starting yet another attempt. If you want the full 20-year story, I wrote about it in detail here. This post picks up where that cycle was about to break.
August 2024, the nth time I've tried to lose weight, I started going to the gym, eating healthier etc, I was very motivated to get fit before 40 (7 months away at that point). I obviously knew I wasn't going to be as fit as I wanted to be by 40, but I was going to give it an earnest effort knowing I was going to have momentum to keep going when I turned 40 in February of 2025.
How I Found Retatrutide
I remember browsing reddit one day that fall for motivation and to hear stories, the typical weight loss subreddits and r/progresspics especially, and came across a transformation where someone had mentioned they were on retatrutide. I was intrigued and did a bit of research. It was a GLP similar to ozempic, but still in trials (as of writing this I believe its in phase 3 trials with Eli Lilly hoping to have it released in 2027). Of course I had heard of ozempic before and never really had any negative thoughts about people who take it, to be frank I'm not judgemental about things like that, I had never really thought of taking it though. Even after seeing the post I didn't rush to try and buy some, I just kind of kept it in the back of my mind.
August to October I wasn't really being crazy with what I was doing like I had been sometimes in the past, I took it easy at the beginning this time, letting little wins build up, and starting to get some good habits built. I wasn't focused on eating a specific diet, but I was conscious of how much I was eating, and was trying to avoid fast food and junk during these couple of months. I became obsessed with the gym by the first week of October 2024, really becoming devoted to exercising again.
As I mentioned earlier this is where I weighed in at 271.4lbs. I would be at the gym every single morning, I would religiously be taking progress photos and weighing in. I was very focused on my gym results, my lifts were going up, I wasn't really doing any cardio at this point. At 6'4" tall and around 275lbs I could stand to lose a full 50lbs I thought to myself, get down to 225 and I'll look good I would think (a weight of 205lbs would get me right at the end of the normal range for BMI), of course I thought I had enough muscle to justify being in the overweight range, as I always thought BMI was bogus for most men anyway.
After a month (from October 16th to November 16th) I was all the way back in when it came to fitness. I was completely focused on the gym, it was an addiction, it felt great, I could feel my body changing, I couldn't really see it changing though. Checking back on my weigh in data, October 16th I weighed 271.4lbs, and November 16th I weighed 279.8 (oof). Actually gained weight over this period, obviously I was out eating the exercise, not hard to do when you're sedentary for the most part and nearly 40. Strangely enough I wasn't discouraged. I think I had reverse body dysmorphia back then, thinking I looked better than I actually did lol, I'm not sure if that's a thing or not, but that's the only way to describe it. Objectively looking at my weigh in data, knowing I was putting in hard work at the gym I knew something had to give, I decided at that point to start doing some research in how to get my hands on retatrutide.
I didn't stop working out over the next 2 weeks, quite the opposite actually, I was lifting weights and starting to do a bit of cardio like it was my job, getting more excited about the prospect of hopping on a GLP to help with my weight loss. In all honesty I was very nervous, whether it was the purported side effects, the stigma, the what if it doesn't even work for me?
December 1st weight: 280lbs. After another 2 weeks of the gym, again I felt good though, honestly lol, and I was getting stronger. I could see my body changing under the layers of fat. It was this point where I caved, I went online, and nervously ordered a 3 month supply.
Retatrutide Weight Loss Results: Full Chart
Before diving into the month-by-month breakdown, here's the full picture. Blue line is my weight (7-day moving average), orange line is my average weekly retatrutide dose. You can see the correlation clear as day.
Retatrutide Before and After: Month by Month Results and Dosing
Month 1: Nerves and Needles
December 16th, injection 1, nerves and needles. December 17th I weighed in at 5am and was 275.4lbs. It was 4 months since August, and I was hovering right around the same weight I was when I started what I hoped to be a fast journey to a relatively fit body by my 40th birthday in February. I had done a lot of research and had certain expectations based on what I had read, I took 1mg that first injection.
Me personally, I didn't feel anything the day of the injection. The next day however I found I was able to eat just a small amount of food and stop myself without gorging or binging, it was a weird feeling. How much of this was placebo? I don't know to be honest. Probably a lot. Regardless I was quite pleased, that first day was a success, I made it to the gym like usual as well.
The plan I had in the beginning was to inject once a week, with in the back of my mind knowing I would go to every 4 days if the hunger became too much near then as I had read that the half life of the injection is around 5 days. Day 4 came and I injected, at that point that was going to be my schedule, every 4 days, 1mg each time for the first month. I had zero side effects this first month besides weight loss and feeling a lot more tired throughout the day, I'm assuming this was because I continued to work out, and my calories had become quite low due to the effect the GLP had on my appetite. For the first time in my life I had stopped thinking of food constantly, it was a crazy feeling.
My before and after over that month I could finally really start to notice a change. If you want to make your own before and after collage, I built a free collage tool that makes it super easy.
Month 2: Rolling
The second full month of retatrutide and I was rolling. I did notice from time to time I would feel a bit light headed when I stood up too fast, I made sure to have lots of electrolytes when that started to happen. This was my first negative experience with the GLP. I slowly started titrating up the dose this month, averaging around 5mg a week at the start, ending at 6.5mg the last week.
During this period I was still quite affected by fatigue, and actually noticed my sex drive had gone down substantially. Apparently this is a pretty known side effect. I wasn't pleased about it, but I needed to lose the weight and this GLP was helping me do it with what I felt was ease. The fatigue again I don't know if it was from the actual GLP, or if it was from lack of calories while still exercising. Regardless I dealt with it fine. I was completely bought in at this point, a true believer, down another 13 pounds in a month, making it over 30lbs lost in 2 months.
Month 3: Things Absolutely Took Off
Month 3 is where things absolutely took off. I was taking on average around 7-9mg a week at this point, my highest dosing yet. The results were undeniable, the weight was literally melting off my body. I was still working out, however I did have a myriad of side effects starting about halfway through this month, all of them manageable, however noticeable:
- I would wake up every morning at 4-4:30AM and not be able to fall back asleep. I slept through the night fine, however that was my routine now. No matter what I did.
- The fatigue was still here, and it was strong, compounded by the fact that I was waking up early every single day.
- I started experiencing what I learned to be called Allodynia, it felt almost like a constant sunburn, very hard to describe, less painful than a sunburn but very noticeable, and quite annoying. I started taking Claritin over the counter which helped immensely.
- I started to get more and more light headed, sometimes actually blacking out when I stood up. I never actually fainted, but there were times I lost all vision for a few seconds when I stood up too fast.
- I started tracking my blood pressure due to side effect 4 just to see what was up, and it had gone from a constant range of 135-140/85-90 to like 105/69. Very pleased with this.
- Sex drive essentially gone at this point unfortunately. Losing the weight and seeing the physical results was so important to me that I didn't even care.
Month 4: Foot on the Gas
This month I put my foot on the gas. I had a trip coming up to Mexico with my partner, and stuck to the higher doses for the first 3 weeks or so, however the side effects for me personally at these rates were a little too much, the skin sensitivity especially. So I ended up dropping the dose down to 3.5mg and then eventually 2.5mg. The skin sensitivity went away quite fast after I did that and I didn't need the Claritin anymore.
Dropping the dose however did not bring back my sex drive. I still had the fatigue, my sleep was still a disaster, but look at the abs starting to come in. I didn't even think this would ever be possible for me especially when you see where I started. This happened in literally 4 months, 72.1lbs lol, and yes I just chuckled when I wrote this out.
Month 5: Onederland
I had started reducing my dose last month due to the side effects, and also in anticipation of my all inclusive vacation. I wanted to be able to eat to my heart's content, and to be honest I think I lowered the dose to a perfect amount for me compared to what I was taking. I was able to eat fine, I didn't overeat on vacation by any means, but I most definitely enjoyed myself.
I actually was still able to lose weight over the course of this month, albeit the smallest loss by far since I started the GLP but I made it into the one hundreds, a number that I don't think I have been since 10th grade.
Month 6: 90lbs Down
This month my mindset completely changed. I became addicted to an online cycling program called Zwift. I was still concerned with losing weight (I probably didn't even need to by now) but the lower you weigh the easier it is to climb hills in the virtual cycling game. I was on the bike 28 days this month, for hours upon hours. My physique was starting to reach a spot where I thought the lighting was playing tricks on me, I was seeing veins everywhere lol, I could see my 6 pack abs clearly by now.
Looking back on this, it wasn't a bad thing, and I think if I stuck to it at a more sustainable pace I would probably still be zwifting consistently. It kind of goes back to my all or nothing mentality, and to keep this weight off for good I'm going to need to find a balance with or without the GLP.
Month 7: The Rebound Begins
This month a couple things happened. I started taking creatine, as I heard it could help a bit with cycling, especially the races I was doing, and I started eating more. My weight went up almost 10 lbs this month, my first gain since being on retatrutide. Did my weight strictly go up because of the creatine? Did it go up because of me eating more? Was I eating more simply because of the cycling, or did it have to do with the fact I had lowered my dose substantially?
I'm guessing it's a combination of all three. If you look at my progress pictures however (thank god I took these) you will see I definitely didn't gain 10 pounds of fat back over this period. I might even argue that this was my all time peak physique, I'm guessing the increased glycogen from the uptake in food, and the increased water retention from the creatine really helped my muscles pop. This is a perfect example of why before and after photos tell a story the scale can't.
Month 8: Maintenance Mode
This month I was still taking creatine and starting to experiment with what dose would be a good maintenance dose. I think I nailed it too, around 1.5mg-2.0mg a week. With all the exercise I was doing, plus the creatine, an increase in calories I was still able to maintain at that 200 pound mark throughout month 8.
I should also mention I didn't really have any side effects at this point besides the sleep thing, still waking up super early (4-5am) and not being able to fall back asleep. Getting to sleep was fine, it's always been fine for me.
Month 9: Fell Off Hard
I fell off hard this month. The trip to visit my parents took the wind out of my sails completely. I had come into the trip on a low dose of the GLP, I had reached my goal already, and actually had stopped tracking my weight as of August 13th. On August 13th I was 200.6lbs, and on September 3rd the day before flying to visit my parents I weighed 213.4lbs, a shocking weight gain.
I guess it's just part of my all or nothing mentality. For those few weeks I wasn't weighing in, I wasn't really working out nearly as much. I also have a period over that amount of time with no mirror pics. Looking back on this it's not surprising at all I gained the weight that fast. The build up to the trip ("I'll just take a short break until after the trip") caused the majority of this, it took away a lot of momentum I had.
Month 10: Getting Back On
I managed to get myself back on the weight loss wagon here before things got completely out of control thankfully. I increased my dosing frequency back to every 4 days again, and 2.5mg each time. This obviously helped with the weight loss, whereas in the past I have a history of regaining all if not even more of the weight after a month like month 9.
My workout frequency was faltering. I was done with progress pictures this month, I didn't take a single one. Not a good sign, a warning for me typically. I was still weighing in pretty much daily though which helped keep my momentum going. I think this month without the GLP I would have gained another 10lbs easily instead of losing the ~15 I gained the month before.
Month 11: Last Injection
Nov 1st
This month winter was approaching. I was feeling like I reached the end of my retatrutide journey, and decided once I was done my current vial I would go off cold turkey. Looking back on this now it's probably not the smartest thing I could have done, especially with the fact that I wasn't really working out at this point, and I had just lost 15 pounds the month before.
If I could do this one over I would have waited until I had 2 months steady at around 195-200lbs without big fluctuations, I would have also made sure I had some kind of consistent routine going at the gym. But alas, there are no do-overs in this life of ours.
What Happens When You Stop Retatrutide: 3 Months Off
From here I fell off the wagon completely right up until around February 1st of this year where I weighed in around 198 pounds still. There was a marked difference in my physique though, off of creatine, off of the GLP, not going to the gym, I became quite sedentary. I'd say I easily lost 10lbs of muscle over this time period.
This is us at Duncans Cove in Nova Scotia, a beautiful hike. I was still getting out and being active at this point, but the gym had completely fallen off.
I also started not being able to control my appetite. I started feeling ravenous, eating meals and then within 30 minutes wanting more, I started snacking again. This was unheard of while I was in the thick of things on the GLP. The good news is my sex drive came back, I was sleeping in until around 6am or so (normal for me). I was starting to feel like myself again, which was good, but at the same time bad.
This is our local B.L.T. Rails to Trails, a walk we do with the dogs. Even in the middle of winter we were getting out, but the structured workouts and the discipline around food had completely disappeared.
I knew what was happening, I knew it was only a matter of time before I was going to balloon up. Maybe I just wanted the easy way out? Anyway I decided after those three months off to get back on retatrutide.
I would be remiss not to mention the fact that historically winter months have been bad for me to begin with in terms of stopping routine, working out etc. The SAD really affects me a lot with the gloomy cold snowy days really taking a toll on my psyche, so I can't rule out that a portion of this 3 months was due to that fact, not just being off the GLP.
Restarting Retatrutide After 3 Months Off: My Experience
This time around I'm only doing it once per week. I started at 2mg, and I'm about 5 weeks into it again, I've already titrated up to 6-7mg once per week. I'm not going to lie I feel like things are slower this time, the GLP actually feels less effective to me which is hard to explain. Maybe my body is just used to it, and the break wasn't long enough for my body to forget about the drug? I don't know, or maybe I'm just misremembering how I felt when I was originally on it. It's probably a combination of everything.
One thing I know for certain though, is it is working. I'm starting to lose the belly fat again, I'm not craving the junk food that I had started to, food is not controlling my thoughts anymore. My sex drive is decreasing again, I even had a hint of the skin sensitivity the other day. I guess I have to take the good with the bad, at this point in my life being a normal weight outweighs the side effects I'm personally experiencing.
The biggest difference between the first time and now is my approach. I'm being more methodical, once per week instead of every 3-4 days, and I have a clearer picture of what I want my maintenance plan to look like. I'm not going to make the same mistake of going cold turkey without a plan.
Retatrutide Dosing Protocol: What I'd Do Differently
If I could give advice to someone about to start retatrutide, here's what I'd tell them based on what worked and what didn't.
I feel like I nailed the start of the journey. I was in a good mindset, I was going to the gym already and in a routine that was sustainable to me at that point. I also didn't lock myself into specific doses, and started off low with the split weekly doses vs once a week which lots of people report reduces potential negative side effects like nausea, diarrhea etc (which I did not experience).
The main thing I would change is having more of a plan when I reached my goal weight. I had no idea what I was going to do even before I started taking the reta, I was just winging it. Whether I was lowering my dose to maintenance, increasing it, going off cold turkey, I was all over the map and I think if I had more of a structured idea as to what I was going to do at that point I might not have fallen off for those three months and the month with the big gain I had in September (albeit I think that was more related to travel and exercise burnout).
This is obviously the trickiest part and I wasn't able to make it work without being on it, however that's not to say you won't be able to. Everyone is different so I would just experiment with what works best for you, just be prepared if necessary to restart it.
I plan on updating this post from time to time, so follow along and ask me any questions you might have. I'll do my best to answer them as honestly and accurately as I can.
If you're on a similar journey and looking for a way to track your weigh-ins and progress photos, I built WeightSnap for exactly that. And if you want more personalized coaching or mentorship from me directly, head to client.weightsnap.app and enter code LOSEIT.
Thanks for reading,