Looking for weight loss brakes!!

The amount of food you describe is lower than what most expect for weight maintenance yet after years of big losses the calories needed to hold steady can drop a lot. Whether adding more food helps depends on absorption. If extra intake won't increase absorbed calories then the fix involves choosing foods that the body takes up more readily. If more food does help then the next step is reducing the tirzepatide amount until eating increases or weight stops falling even if that means going below 2.5 mg. This situation is easier to manage than the opposite problem of stalling at a higher weight.

Instead of quitting could you stretch the time between doses? Stopping the medication worries me as well. You might also try going lower than 2.5 mg since nothing requires that to be the smallest amount used.

I would suggest lowering the dose and adding a quart of ice cream daily.

If the pen is the single-use type you could transfer it into a sterile vial and draw half the amount to test for the week. I tried something similar with another medication but it felt too strong so I moved on. Another option some try is adding a different compound though results vary.

Reducing the amount or increasing the gap between doses is what others have suggested and it seems simpler than the reverse problem of trying to lose more.

I'm dealing with something similar though not quite as extreme. I reached my second goal and beyond while on retatrutide at 9 mg and recently dropped to 6 mg. I still have the loose abdominal skin and plan to keep lowering the dose based on the scale. I was surprised to see skin remain after losing only a couple pounds a week.

You could also keep the same amount but change how often you inject such as every ten days or every other week.

I'm in the same spot still losing at 2.5 mg. Next time I'll try 2 mg and if that doesn't work I'll start spacing the doses. I have some retatrutide but it raised my heart rate so I'm sticking with tirzepatide since I have a supply and want to avoid going back to constant hunger.

Have you considered a carnivore approach with meat eggs and fat since those foods are nutrient dense and don't raise insulin much. The goal is to keep weight from muscle and bone rather than just any scale drop.

If 2.5 mg already cuts appetite sharply then going down to 2 mg or even 1 mg makes sense so you can eat more. Switching compounds is another idea some consider because hunger suppression can be milder yet I wouldn't worry about going lower on the current medication just to allow more calories.

Spacing shots to every 10-14 days is worth trying while you arrange lower doses. Also look at grocery habits and switch to full-fat versions of things you already buy such as yogurt chicken thighs or ribeye instead of leaner cuts. Adding butter cheese or nuts can help too.

I felt better overall on retatrutide except for low motivation and steadier blood sugar. I also went too low on weight even at 1 mg twice weekly and had to stop for a while to avoid losing more muscle. Micro-dosing or weekly shots still caused loss so now I'm trying other compounds to maintain instead.

No new ideas beyond what others mentioned. Tiny amounts like 0.25-0.5 mg have been discussed by some. Spacing the dose also seems practical. On another note it's encouraging to hear someone who lost 200 pounds now fits into size 4s.

I agree with lowering the dose. I'm currently at 1 mg per week split into two 0.5 mg shots and can eat normally while keeping weight steady.

No fresh advice beyond the dose reductions already suggested. Dropping to 1.5 mg or stretching the interval between shots could help along with plenty of protein. It's inspiring to see such a large loss and reaching small sizes and I'm glad the earlier information helped ease some concerns.

Still losing with no sign of it stopping yet, though the pace has slowed. I'm at 128 pounds now and the doctor said to hold there, but it's proving tough. I've lowered the amount again and now space the shots every 10 days, hoping that finally works. Never expected this when I began. It's not the worst issue compared to what others deal with, but it's annoying. Even I can see I'm thin now, unlike before when my mind couldn't register the change. Looking in the mirror it's like seeing a stranger who's skinny. Thin is okay, just don't want to go too far and end up looking skeletal, and I'm close to that line.

Exactly, and not only for the taste. My suggestion here is that cream on berries is really good, especially now. You mentioned absorption issues after surgery, and some vitamins need fat to work well, like A, D, E, and K. Lots of people lack D already, and these meds can add to that. So for better nutrition overall. Second thought, if full cream feels like too much mentally or by texture, start in the middle with half-and-half in coffee or on fruit. Regular cream won't thicken as much as the heavy kind. Wishing you well.

I've stayed at the same weight for nearly two months now. Lowered to a smaller weekly amount and switched to regular higher-calorie foods. It seems to be working while still quieting the food thoughts with the small dose. Keep nuts around for when the urge hits.

Mass gainer powders might work, the kind used for adding size along with nutrients.

Still unclear how much is from the surgery limiting absorption no matter the calories versus simply not taking in enough. If it's mainly low intake it would seem straightforward to pause the med until weight starts coming back, and I don't get why stay on it at a reduced level if that's the case. Understand the worry about appetite or weight jumping back, but sometimes you have to. If calories are enough but absorption is blocked from the surgery plus long-term low intake effects, then expert help is needed since most doctors won't know how to handle it.

Not a doctor, just sharing what I've read in medical papers. The triple agonist version adds a metabolism boost, so it could be worth trying.

Track intake and eat above what you burn, that's the basic rule. To gain, reduce the dose so more food is possible.

I probably relate more than most since my family has lost hundreds of pounds total with similar surgeries and then using this med to drop and hold weight. Finding the right small amount is key, but maybe a full break from it for a while is needed. It sucks to think about the scale moving or clothes changing, but we've all had to pause for procedures and then restart, often with some regain after. Rinse and repeat with multiple stops this year. Last shot was over a week ago and now eyeing cookies at the store, with weight swinging by over twenty pounds.

Managed to stay steady within a couple pounds the last couple months. Switched to regular instead of low-fat versions of foods and dropped to a 1.5 mg weekly amount that keeps the thoughts quiet without overdoing it. Hoping it holds.

Spacing shots sounds good too, maybe every 10 days or two weeks. That's one approach some are testing for maintenance.

Similar spot where I passed my early targets but don't want to quit entirely because it fixes long-standing insulin issues. Now on a small split dose twice a week. Higher amounts suppressed too much and that's how the loss happened, but then I paused for a month when it went too far. Restarting didn't hit as strong, so the current low amount lets me eat, quiets the thoughts without killing appetite, and avoids the flat feeling. Allows normal things like coffee or carbs without the crash. It's about finding the balance. Since restarting makes it milder, maybe do that on purpose to let weight recover a bit with training, then go back to a tiny maintenance level.

Folks often overlook how the drug levels balance out over time. With a seven-day half life it takes about five weeks at a steady amount to reach equilibrium. The math shows it builds gradually until each week starts with roughly the prior dose still in the system, adds the new one, and clears the same total. Once there, it stays consistent. Random note about restarting feeling weaker makes sense because of this. Same thing happens in reverse when lowering the dose.

If you prefer the pen you can add it there instead of a vial. Hope the right amount turns up.