Users share timelines from a few weeks to over a year on these medications, with total losses ranging from around 13 pounds to over 100. Many describe plateaus they treat as normal body adjustment periods, then adjust doses, add compounds, or change routines to resume progress. Side effects appear in some accounts, and several have reached or are approaching personal goal weights while experimenting with maintenance.
What this discussion establishesSome prefer staying on lower doses long-term for anti-inflammatory benefits while others increase as needed; views differ on whether slow loss is preferable to faster results.
Still openWhether vision changes or other side effects are directly caused by the medications, and what optimal long-term maintenance protocols look like for most people.
Nothing here is advice.
How long have you been using these GLP-1 medications, and how is your experience unfolding? What results are you seeing, and have any obstacles come up? My own weight has stopped moving much recently.
Things look about the same as what my profile picture shows right now.
I began back in July. As of this morning the total is 41 pounds lower than when I started at 310, now sitting at 269.
Ten months into using tirzepatide and I am just two-tenths of a pound from my third and last target weight. I added cagrilintide then retatrutide at the four- and five-month marks. Body weight is down roughly 30 percent so far. There have been a few pauses in loss that I view as the body settling at a certain dose rather than true stalls. I usually wait several weeks, and if nothing shifts I adjust food, raise the dose, or add to the stack until movement returns. I am reaching the upper end with tirzepatide and noticing tinnitus, anhedonia, allodynia, and dysesthesia. Retatrutide is at a lower amount but still brings dysesthesia and stomach trouble. My eyesight has gotten noticeably worse over the past year.
I began tirzepatide in March 2025 and reached my goal by April, though the scale kept dropping afterward. Maintenance starts soon. There were some slower stretches and flat periods. For context I am a male in my late 50s, 5 foot 11, started at 293, aimed for 195, and am currently 176 with a maintenance target of 175.
Roughly 13 pounds lower after seven weeks on a very low dose of retatrutide, with almost no side effects and lean mass staying steady. I began at 1 mg weekly, shifted to every five days, and added 1 mg of MOTS-c two weeks ago. Another 15 pounds to go, then I will test staying off everything.
Started tirzepatide the first week of August with two weeks at 2.5 mg and now on 5 mg. Weight is down 35 pounds this week from a starting point of 277 to 242.
Forty weeks on retatrutide and 60 pounds gone. Maintenance has been in place with some tweaking for about two months.
Six months on tirzepatide and more than 50 pounds lost. Dosing went from 2.5 mg up to 10 mg weekly.
105 pounds total, 280 down to 175, all from tirzepatide. Weight has held steady for the last five months on 18-20 mg weekly maintenance. That is also when I added testosterone and HGH. The core now is the trinity stack along with five lifting days, very clean eating, steady SS-31, and cycling MOTS-c with NAD+ plus anavar. It all began with a telehealth appointment 17 months ago.
Started June 28 and only 16 pounds lower so far. Just moved up to 5 mg last week.
It has been 14 weeks and six days, 104 days total, since June 28 2026. Normal titration could have you at 10 mg by now, but maybe side effects kept you from following the usual schedule. Still, just over a pound a week is solid progress. Many variables play a role such as initial water weight, individual response rates, starting weight percentage, time spent at lower doses, and how much diet or activity each person adds. You will get there.
There were years when losing only 16 pounds would have felt like a huge win. These days I am down around 50 pounds but avoid the scale except at doctor visits. Even with CrossFit and rehab three times weekly I have lost noticeable strength and muscle. Target is near 150 but my husband already says I look frail at 170 and I am 6 foot 1. A bad knee injury for the past six months is slowing things; those tears need about a year to heal. Continuing with retatrutide under 4 mg and cagrilintide under 1 mg weekly through the end of the year, which will be a full year of loss. Recently added 0.75 mg semaglutide for possible joint benefits. Still working out what maintenance will look like and accepting that it lasts forever. Many days do not feel great, sleep is poor despite trying fixes, the knee causes problems, and standing up brings dizziness. Looking forward to microdosing once in maintenance.
22 weeks in and 46 pounds lower, almost 16 percent. At 6 mg weekly for the past seven weeks. Update: now 47 pounds and over 16 percent.
My wife is upset because her loss is much slower, and she did not start with as much mass as I did.
Yes, I wanted to move up slowly because I was using compounded versions and thought keeping the dose low would be enough since diet and exercise had worked before. Age makes natural loss tougher now, possibly because the body holds a little extra as protection. I also wanted to feel I had done most of the work myself, though that mindset has faded and I no longer mind raising the dose. I would prefer to stay at a modest level because the anti-inflammatory effects are valuable and I want to continue long term. I do not want to become reliant on it, and I have told myself that if I ever stop I can keep the weight off with diet and exercise. Yes, still averaging one pound a week.
Give her a hug. I am probably ahead of my husband even though he is on a higher dose, but he eats burritos and cookies while I stick to yogurt and lettuce.
Could you share how you are handling maintenance, including dose amounts, how often you take it, and how well it is holding? I am getting ready to shift into that phase and would like to hear what has worked for others.
Maintenance is still going well. I am expecting some water-weight increase after restarting creatine this week. Slowly lowering the retatrutide and planning to add tirzepatide once appetite control begins to fade.
I moved retatrutide to 3 mg twice a week after being at 4 or 5 mg every six days. Loss has been flat lately. I have been having beer and too busy at work for workouts, though most activity happens on the job anyway. I like retatrutide a lot and think these GLP-1s are great, but oddly I lost weight faster before starting it. Having a reliable way to eat less may have made me less strict with my own habits, which is a poor approach I need to correct, or perhaps adding a bit of tirzepatide or cagrilintide would help.
I like retatrutide too. I wonder if starting on it from the beginning makes people like it more than those who switched from semaglutide or tirzepatide. I am 23 shots in, began at 2 mg and now at 5 mg. Down 74.2 pounds and many inches, and I feel dramatically better. Another 47.8 pounds to reach the weight on my license. 56, 5 foot 8, Celtic background, body that prefers to keep every extra pound for possible hard times.
I enjoy hearing about first, second, and sometimes third goal weights. Quite a few here have done better than expected. I am 3.6 pounds from the first goal and 18.6 from the updated final target. My inexpensive Amazon scale with handles gives 50 wifi readings and originally set a specific goal; as weight dropped it kept lowering that number, which feels unhelpful. With these medications I believe I can reach and hold whatever weight I choose. The people here are also generous with their experiences and a bit of humor.
Quit describing me that way! Laughing. Also Irish background and would not trade it for anything.
64-year-old female, started GLP-1 in March 2026, down 54 pounds. First stall since September 20. Raising retatrutide tomorrow from 2 mg to 4 mg while keeping tirzepatide at 5 mg weekly. Resistance training three or four times a week plus walking two or three miles five days a week.
Progress has slowed in recent weeks but direction is still good. Started at 317 on April 22 2026 and now at 258. Sixty pounds gone feels good, though I am eager to reach the goal.
Began in March so week 31 on retatrutide. Started at 0.5 mg for three weeks then tried doubling, which caused severe acid reflux and indigestion that took four weeks to settle with zinc, mastic gum, DLG, and time. Learned I need to stay on a dose about eight weeks to feel normal and can only raise by 0.25 to 0.5 mg each step. Current dose is 2.75 mg once weekly. Loss is slow but I accept that it took years to gain and will take time to lose. Average is 1.2 to 1.4 pounds per week with occasional two- or three-week stalls followed by sudden drops of three to five pounds. Down 37 pounds total. Can wear my wedding ring and other family jewelry again, have more energy, and feel better than in years. Only downside is no longer sleeping past 5 a.m., which bothers me since I used to be a night owl.
Back on track and randomly another 5.6 pounds lower since September 8. Currently on R3 weekly and T10 biweekly. Surprised by how quickly others lose; I guess I am not a strong responder. Progress has been up and down this year after insurance stopped coverage without warning in January. Went to compounded versions by April and got consistent again in mid-July, so eight months of earlier gains disappeared. It took time for my body to respond. The first two months on compounded felt like nothing was happening and I even gained 15 pounds in July that later vanished. Glad to report it is working now.
Month 10 and roughly 70 pounds down. First seven months on tirzepatide then switched to retatrutide just to try it. Currently at 6 mg and feeling decent. Aiming for another 10 pounds by year end. Current weight 217 from starting 288.
Started retatrutide in July mainly to reduce body fat rather than chase a scale number. Dexa scan at the start of July showed 32.2 percent body fat. It has helped me stay consistent with diet while still eating enough for running. New dexa a week ago showed 23.5 percent. Planning to continue and hopefully drop a little more fat while adding some muscle.
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