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Lipids worse on Reta??

10 replies7 peopleApr 18, 2026☆ Follow
Summary

Do cholesterol and lipid numbers worsen while taking retatrutide?

Users report mixed lipid changes on Reta during weight loss. HDL often drops noticeably while LDL stays flat or rises slightly; triglycerides usually improve along with glucose markers. Diet, exercise, saturated fat intake, and concurrent TRT are cited as possible influences on the results.

What this discussion establishesWhere people disagree

Some users saw overall lipid improvement on Reta while others saw HDL decline and no LDL benefit.

Still open

Whether the observed HDL drops will persist after weight stabilizes or require specific dietary adjustments.

Nothing here is advice.

10 replies · 7 people
LevelAlder78archiveopening postApr 18

Has anyone seen their cholesterol numbers move in the wrong direction while on Reta? Six months in, down 25 pounds with another 15 to go, my HDL fell more than 10 points into a low range and both LDL and non-HDL crept up a bit from already high starting points. That was the opposite of what I hoped for. The only clear wins were in triglycerides, fasting glucose, and A1c.

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BrightLantern89archiveApr 18

How are you eating? Any other supplements, and do you train regularly? Reta has pushed my own lipid and glucose numbers lower over 3.5 months.

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LevelThistle44archiveApr 18
↳ replying to @LevelAlder78 (opening post)

Losing weight can lower HDL, and so can TRT. I’m doing both and my HDL sits just below the normal range while the rest of my panel last month looked fine. I’ll repeat labs next month. Earlier home-kit results aren’t useful for comparison. I added fish oil last month at 3-4 g of EPA/DHA daily.

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LevelAlder78archiveApr 18

My eating is decent but I could use more fiber. I’m 58 and female. I do cardio plus fairly heavy lifting four days a week. I really thought LDL would get better.

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SharpHarbour71archiveApr 18
↳ replying to @LevelAlder78

Reta left my LDL unchanged or maybe a little higher. Triglycerides fell 25 percent and HDL rose 15 percent, so the tri-to-HDL ratio looks solid now, but LDL sits around 200.

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LevelAlder78archiveApr 18
↳ replying to @SharpHarbour71

My LDL is 154. HDL dropped 12 points and now sits too low, which hurt the ratio. Triglycerides went from 110 down to 93.

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BlueCinder70archiveApr 18

Raising HDL by itself is tough. Endurance athletes tend to have higher levels from aerobic work. Omega-3s don’t move it much. What helped me was 25 minutes of cardio daily combined with a solid diet. The LDL-to-HDL ratio matters more than the separate numbers anyway.

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SlowLedger42archiveApr 18
↳ replying to @LevelAlder78 (opening post)

A couple of points in LDL or TG probably don’t mean much; those numbers shift naturally day to day. HDL moves within a tighter range and is more meaningful, so a 10-point drop there counts. Have you reduced saturated fat? Some people cut it too far and see cholesterol numbers suffer. I switched to a low-carb approach heavy in butter, dairy, and coconut oil; HDL rose and TG fell over 18 months once weight stabilized.

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SlowLedger42archiveApr 18

Those numbers were all before any GLP-1 use. Adding one of those drugs makes before-and-after comparisons harder to read.

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LevelAlder78archiveApr 18
↳ replying to @SlowLedger42

I’m probably eating less saturated fat now, mostly baked chicken breast and broccoli. I was surprised to see HDL fall from 52 to 41. LDL has always run a bit high, but the total-to-HDL ratio used to stay under 5; now it’s 5.2.

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QuietSignal61archiveApr 18

My biomarkers haven’t changed at all. I haven’t had any labs in about five years, though.

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