The thread shows most participants committing to indefinite maintenance at the lowest effective dose instead of stopping, while running ongoing titration experiments amid continued loss and partner concerns about excessive slimming. Benefits reported include reduced ADHD symptoms, improved blood markers, less inflammation, and relief from constant food thoughts, with some replacing multiple prior medications. Appearance changes such as looking older or neck wrinkles are accepted as trade-offs, alongside routines combining dosing schedules, compound stacking, and exercise like lifting and walking.
What this discussion establishesnull
Still openminimum sustainable maintenance doses, optimal speed of dose reduction, and whether full discontinuation can succeed long-term for people with chronic food noise or metabolic issues
Nothing here is advice.
After hitting your target weight, did you quit using it cold turkey, or do you intend to keep taking it ongoing for maintenance? This question has been on my mind quite a bit. I'm unsure if I should just stop abruptly once I hit my goal, or slowly reduce to the smallest dose that works and remain on it indefinitely.
I'll stick with maintenance since I'm very near my target. How long have you been using whatever it is you're on. What product, what amount, and how many pounds have you dropped?
I'm nearing a goal weight. My plan is to hold close to my current dosing and simply eat more. If the stomach pushes back too hard, I'll lower the amount until I find a balance that keeps calories neutral, not too high or too low. I have no intention of ever stopping GLPs.
Don't most people end up staying on a maintenance dose permanently?
I don't believe I can eat more while at this level, 9mg. Maybe I'll drop to 6mg and test what occurs. It will be a trial. I'm about 5lbs away and weighing the options.
The people who avoid weight rebound are the ones who do that.
I had a weight talk this morning with "she who must be obeyed". I said I'm almost under 200lbs and she figured I'd stop there. My target has always been 190 so I have room and never cross 200 again. That's why I'm staying on GLPs. Ten years ago after a long backpacking trip I came back at 170lbs and she said she doesn't want to be with a skinny man, so she's concerned my usual fixations might turn into another downward spiral. I've told her it's really about staying healthier as I get older, but I'm sure she's watching me. You are likely correct that eating more without lowering the dose won't work, but I don't want the weight to take off like a runaway truck going downhill or uphill without tirz/reta holding the brakes.
I still have a ways to go, about 44lbs left to reach my ideal. I've been on Reta for 12 weeks at 6mg now and will move to 8mg next week. Progress has been solid even with light workouts, down from 249 to 231lbs. The reason this is on my mind is a recent local podcast that said once you start Reta you basically stay on it for life and stopping suddenly could harm your metabolism. I'm not sure how true that is, but it made me think. What's your view?
I'm 17 pounds from goal but only at 5mg tirz. I don't plan to ever stop. It reduced inflammation and stomach problems almost right away. If I keep losing past goal I'll just eat more, or if that doesn't work I'll lower the dose until I'm not losing but not gaining either. I expect at least four months of trying things out to get it right. Wish I had a more scientific answer.
she who must be obeyed, I assume you mean the spouse.
Given how much my appetite likes to run, I'm ready to stay on some maintenance dose for life.
Reta has worked well so far. Besides the fat loss I've noticed something else. I'm not sure if others have seen this, but my brain fog has mostly gone away since starting. I feel more productive and motivated than before when fog and low drive were constant.
I have a plan. Down 30lbs in 9 weeks, going fast, at 220 today. 190 is the number I'm thinking but I want to see my abs, around 15 percent not 8. I don't want to ever go over 5mg a week total of any weight loss drugs. I'll be on less for maintenance. If I have to go over 5mg I might just stay heavier instead. Not set in stone, just what my wife and I have talked about. I've gotten to know many here and see the doses people use so we'll probably end up the same. Right now GLPs are just one small tool. Hard work, careful eating and rest come first. Bill
Ah yes, the war department. Mine keeps asking how much more I'm going to lose. I tell her I'll ease off soon and I will. I've dropped 50lbs and want 55 total. I'm keeping her on it too and probably moving her to 10mg after four weeks at 9mg. She needs more than me but seems to cheat with food and rum. She's stubborn and won't weigh herself so I have no way to track progress. I don't need her exact weight, just whether she's down a pound or two or up. It's like dealing with an HOA. Yeah you still have distance to go. I averaged 2.2lbs a week. Are you holding each dose for four weeks before increasing? I don't think you have to stay on forever but most of us don't want to quit and watch the weight return. I couldn't manage with diet alone and never have. Getting off completely is possible I think. Most of the Reta clears in about 30 days from what the knowledgeable ones here have said. Keep going, you're doing well.
Oh it's helped my BP, cholesterol and A1C too. That's 3.3lbs a week, a bit fast according to what they say.
Thanks, the support means a lot. My plan is to stay at each dose about four weeks. If weight loss stalls or slows too much after that I'll increase. Right now I'm mainly using a calorie deficit. Not doing much hard exercise yet, no weight training and not always hitting 10k steps. Starting next week I'll get more serious about workouts. I'm also considering adding MOTS-c at three injections a week to see if it helps progress.
Same here. I haven't done much exercise but just started playing with some dumbbells. I'm a bit older than many others here.
It's not surgery. It's just a temporary fix for the body not handling things right. That failure used to be rare but now it's almost everywhere. So yes we'll all need to stay on it or whatever better versions come later. I compare it to glasses versus LASIK. Even obesity surgery doesn't give the permanent fix LASIK can. Hopefully someday they'll find the root cause so people never develop the problem.
Before beginning that compound my loss averaged two point two pounds each week. It stands out among those types of GLP. I watch everything closely. Trust me on this. The rate feels reasonable enough. Yet I prefer not exceeding it.
It all comes down to the root cause behind someone's weight gain. There seem to be two main categories of people, and outcomes look quite different depending on which one someone falls into. Folks from each side often end up irritated by the other whenever the subject of keeping weight off comes up in conversation. Those who gained simply from not grasping energy values in meals, everyday movement habits, typical serving sizes, or better options like greens and lower-fat proteins while cutting back on rich dairy products, sweets, and packaged items, and who also didn't realize grown-ups frequently need to set aside time for activity to stay fit, then later updated their routines and worked out their daily needs without further hassle, stand a decent chance of avoiding regain. They never started with any real trouble around eating itself, just missing details plus everyday poor patterns from their surroundings. The medications might lend support but aren't required to handle that situation. By contrast, people who already grasped every detail, knew exactly what amounts would prevent excess, yet still battled constant hunger and resentment, felt unhappy throughout, and always slipped back despite temporary success, will probably need the drugs ongoing because an actual eating difficulty exists and the treatment keeps it under control. When individuals from these separate categories speak as though their version applies to everyone, it usually creates friction since the starting points aren't the same.
I like to eat, a lot and then even more. I think I know which group I'm in.
I'm addicted to caffeine and nicotine, fight hoarding urges that are controlled but tough, have a history of binge eating, immediate family history of alcoholism that skipped me, and extended family with alcoholism, bulimia and gambling. When people say being fat is mostly genetic the scientists are looking my way and speaking softer. I do think it's mostly genetic in the sense that the pull toward compulsive excess has a strong inherited part, not that your genes make you fat while eating only spinach and ice cubes.
I was born with pyloric stenosis. I couldn't keep food down so instead of gaining I lost weight as a baby. It took them a couple months to figure it out and operate. I still have a six inch scar on my chest decades later. After surgery I ate like crazy and gained so fast they had to put me on a diet a few months later. I've always given myself a pass for eating a lot because of that early condition. Staying active most of my life kept things from getting too bad but the last few years weight and health were heading the wrong way. GLPs were exactly what I needed.
Might be true. But I'm keeping it as an option. My maintenance dose is 2mg a week of Tirz. Normally I feel some hunger after four or five days. Right now at the end of day six after the shot it still feels like day two. The last few days have been very hot here, over 41C yesterday which is unusual for Belgium. Maybe the heat is killing my appetite or maybe I'm starting to get used to the dose. Either way it gives me hope. I'll soon start spacing injections to eight or nine days and see if I can manage. If not I can always go back. Worth trying.
The anti-inflammatory and pain reducing effects will keep me on this forever even without the weight loss part.
Makes sense. I picture the best approach is to lower the dose gradually like we raise it, and if weight starts rising go back to the last dose that worked. It might even make sense to test this every so often to find the current lowest effective amount. The fortunate ones might even reach zero.
You know I keep forgetting about all the other benefits these drugs have. Good point.
I feel you on the brain fog. Mine has dropped a lot too, partly from the GLP and partly from the epitalon. I think just quieting the constant thoughts about food played a big role as well. Look at us thinking clearly and everything.
My husband keeps asking when I'm going to stop losing. He tells me I should stop now. No thanks, I'm not even under 200 yet. I think he wants me to stay heavy so no other man will look at me.
That thing with loved ones telling people to stop before they reach a healthy weight is strange. It didn't happen to me from anyone close, but a few well-meaning coworkers were worried and said it, and my aunt acts concerned. Weight loss in other people really unsettles folks.
Bad habits have followed me throughout my existence. Finding out these treatments not only curb my appetite but also lessen some additional compulsions has been wonderful. At present, roughly forty-four pounds remain before reaching my target. Near that point, I'll modify the amounts to achieve a steady balance for upkeep. Naturally, I'll acquire sufficient supply for the next ten years 🥳
I plan to keep using this medication for good. I'll figure out the right long-term amount later when that moment arrives. It has improved so many parts of how I feel each day. My nighttime breathing problems eased enough that the machine may no longer be needed. The autoimmune flare-ups have settled thanks to lower swelling overall. Blood sugar stays steady without the old diagnosis hanging over me. Readings for pressure sit in the normal range now on just one prescription rather than three. Mood issues have eased a lot and I quit worrying about glances from others since my size dropped from nearly four hundred pounds. In general it opened up room for living instead of eating to bury emotions. I still recall stopping the earlier shot when coverage lapsed and watching thirty pounds return before locating another option. This version has shifted everything in a big way for me. Extreme thoughts never crossed my mind once things stopped feeling so terrible.
My spouse acts similarly, yet let her know that I'll give in before long. Occasionally I bump into folks from my past, and a few wonder whether something's wrong with my health. My answer is always that I'm cutting back on food.
The human mind is really interesting. They're still working out what sets it off. For example I miss Gin. I think I'm going on a break again and enjoying myself in ways that aren't the healthiest. I'm going to be dead a long time so I figure in the coming years they'll come up with new and better options.
Thanks for the input. I didn't think of titrating down because I'm already at 2mg a week tirz and my starting dose was 2.5mg. But I could also try lowering by 0.5mg at a time. I have a few more weeks of belly fat to go then I'll test it.
Wow you lost all your weight at 2.5mg? That's great.
I want you to skip a shot so you go two weeks without one. Come back and tell us what you find. Food gradually started sounding much better and my interest in it kept growing until it was time for the next shot.
I've committed to this for the long haul. After reaching my target weight, I'll tweak things to stay steady at that level. My type 2 is currently under control. Because my pancreas has some issues, my blood sugar markers might rise gradually over the years. Staying on a steady amount should help manage those numbers, even if my meals are the same as before the remission. My readings used to hover around the mid five point something range. They've dropped below that now.
That's not accurate. I started out on two point five milligrams. Then after a month I increased to five milligrams and kept it there for the duration. Now for the last four weeks I've been using two milligrams to maintain. Over thirty six weeks I shed twenty eight kilograms. Progress stalled a couple times but I didn't raise the amount. It picked back up after several weeks each instance. Probably my body just needed time to adjust to the lower weight. Began at one hundred two kilograms and currently at seventy four.
Trying to lower my dose from 5mg down to 2.5mg but the pounds are still dropping and that has my husband worried as I near the 130s. Figuring out the right level feels like quite a process.
Planning to stay on it for the foreseeable future though I am not sure what dose yet. Right now I am just stocking up.
My view is that the straightforward approach means doing weight lifting exercises to get lean while holding steady at two hundred pounds.
I'm on the same page. Reaching my target weight just puts me at a point where I have to assess my current 190 pound frame and make improvements while holding steady. I've always enjoyed hiking and want to return to it to build up my lower body and heart health. So far I've kept to flat routes, yet there are hills nearby that I'll aim to handle again before long. A fitness center sits within easy reach on foot, and I'm planning to join through my health plan. I've also got weights from five to twenty pounds tucked in the closet beside the new compact freezer that arrived recently. Fitness is now going to be my main priority.
This discussion really resonates with me and matches a lot of my own ideas and behaviors. I'm roughly 10 kilos away from my target, though that distance shifts as I approach. At first I planned to stop everything suddenly once there, but my mind has gone back and forth on that. Now I see I can't just end it if I hope to maintain the gains from the medication. The main shift happened after I moved beyond only aerobic exercise and began strength training instead. I don't mean that all people should become weightlifters, yet noticing my physique transform and muscles appear convinced me I have to remain on some version of this, whether the current one or another similar. The advantages include reduced metabolic rate, appetite control, better glucose management, less body-wide swelling, heart health support and so on. Apologies if none of this connects, but going through everyone's messages stirred up feelings and got me thinking about my path up to now and ahead.
Colleagues at the office mention softly that dropping weight has made me seem a bit more mature. Yet switching to lighter hair, choosing shorter skirts, and keeping a biking glow somehow give the impression of someone who might wed a wealthy senior in a fancy suburb and then jump out to startle him all the time. They could be onto something. Somehow these days I come across as a well-off woman past her prime, maybe because I appear middle-aged, lean, and relaxed, features people often link with money.
People who've struggled with constant eating thoughts since childhood probably find staying on the treatment long term works out better. Stopping suddenly then trying to restart months later means the medication loses some of its earlier strength.
Throughout my life I've exercised hard and followed rigid eating plans simply to remain quite heavy without crossing into dangerous excess. In my case the issue was never merely about energy taken in versus used up since many who struggle with size deal with complicated hormone and blood sugar regulation problems. These treatments supply the bodily help our systems lack and it's such a relief that my physiology now fits my daily patterns. Dropping the urge to micromanage everything constantly in order to maintain steadiness has made a huge difference. My size has improved and I'm far less fixated on managing every detail. At last I feel relaxed.
I need to fix something I said earlier, though it doesn't change much. Turns out my calculation on the pounds shed was off, and that's actually positive. Just wrapped up week eleven, closing in on three months total. Used thirteen tiny amounts of Tirzep along with five of Reta. Dropped thirty pounds total, averaging two and a half each week, which has me thrilled. Everything feels great and I think this could continue indefinitely. Like others mention, this is the initial easy period. Those first three months go by smoothly, yet I'm telling everyone how well these medications cut down on the exhaustion from eating less.
I'm thinking I'll stick with the lowest amount of reta needed to hold onto my target weight permanently. Benefits to my metabolism and overall health that go past just shedding pounds seem to exceed any potential downsides, which appear quite low currently. And it helps prevent regaining the weight too.
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