This might just be some total bro-science - and honestly I’m fine with that - but I’m starting to think if you’re already in good shape you don't get nearly as much out of these GLP-1s. I jumped on retatrutide mostly just to see what the hype was about since everyone is talking about it. The first few weeks were like a lightning bolt but now that I've been on it for a few months it's just becoming a pain.
I’ve noticed something weird happening where I feel like the drug is actually slowing my metabolism down way more than a standard diet would. My theory is that the delayed gastric emptying eventually catches up to you and just grinds your metabolic rate to a halt faster than normal. Since I usually stay around 10-14% body fat anyway, it’s not really doing me any favors. I feel like it's going to end up forcing me into an even crazier calorie deficit just to keep seeing progress.
Has anyone else dealt with this or felt like their metabolism was stalling out on it? The stuff definitely works for weight loss but I'm starting to wonder if it's actually any better than the old-school methods for the long haul.
man i feel you on this one because the diminishing returns for guys who are already lean is a real thing. when you are already sitting at 10% or 12% your body is fighting for every ounce of fat it has left and throwing a heavy metabolic brake like reta into the mix can definitely feel like it is backfiring. that delayed digestion is great for a 300lb guy who needs to stop eating but for someone already fit it just feels like you are walking around with a brick in your stomach while your energy levels tank.
plus if you aren't eating enough because the appetite suppression is too strong your neat and your thyroid are going to drop like a rock and that is probably why you feel like your metabolism is hitting a wall. i've seen a few guys in the gym say the same thing that it's almost like the drug makes you "skinny fat" at lower body weights because you lose that pop and fullness while the scale just stops moving. for the last bit of shredding i think the old school way of just grind and cardio is still king because it keeps your fire burning instead of smothering it with peptides. maybe try backing off the dose or just cycling off for a bit to let your body realize it isn't starving to death!
plus if the appetite suppression is so strong that you aren't eating enough your neat and your thyroid are going to drop like a rock which is probably why it feels like your metabolism is hitting a brick wall. i've seen a few guys at the gym say the same thing that it's almost like the drug makes you skinny fat at lower body weights because you lose that pop and muscle fullness while the scale just stops moving entirely. for that last bit of shredding i think the old school way of just grinding out the cardio and tracking every gram is still king because it keeps your fire burning instead of smothering it with peptides. maybe try backing off the dose or just cycling off for a bit so your body realizes it isn't actually starving to death!
yeah i get what you’re saying but i think it feels like “metabolic slowdown” more than it actually being one. most of the time on these GLP1s it’s just your intake dropping so hard that your output kinda follows it down, so everything feels like it’s stalling even though it’s just less fuel going in.
reta especially hits hard at first because appetite drops off a cliff, then your body kinda just settles into that new normal and now it’s just “you eating less consistently” instead of magic fat loss.
also wouldn’t surprise me at all if a lot of what feels like “metabolism crashing” is really just less movement, less food volume, lower training output, all that sneaky stuff adding up once the novelty wears off.
