The thread shows that non-response to tirz often traces to unaddressed issues like thyroid problems, insulin resistance, sleep apnea or cortisol rather than the drug itself. Several users stress that the medication is only a tool and still requires a calorie deficit, while others note that true non-responders may need to switch to reta or cagri because those act on different receptors. Personal results vary widely; some lose nothing on one GLP but respond to another.
What this discussion establisheswhether non-responders should still force calorie tracking and exercise or simply try a different agonist
Still openwhether the brother has had any metabolic labs done
Nothing here is advice.
My sibling has been using Tirz for a year and a half, working up to the top dose. Weight loss has been very small. His job keeps him seated most of the day and he exercises only when he finds time. We are wondering whether to add ipa/cjc or move to reta instead. He is a larger guy who looks muscular underneath the extra fat.
Before adding anything else, check how he is actually using the Tirz. It is only a tool and still needs proper use.
That must be frustrating. The post does not mention caloric intake, macros, or hydration at all.
Has he run a full set of labs? Issues with insulin resistance, thyroid, cortisol, inflammation, testosterone or sleep apnea can all block response even at high doses. Some people reach the top dose and still see almost no scale movement because another metabolic problem is in the way.
Trying reta or another GLP might help. Adding the ipa/cjc stack does not seem useful right now. It can support training but will not burn fat without activity and tends to increase hunger. After seven months on mounjaro I tried three weeks of reta plus the stack and saw no benefit, just constant hunger, so I went back to tirz. Results vary though. I started ipa after twenty weeks on mounjaro to protect muscle and added CJC No Dac three weeks ago. I went from 101 kg to 77 kg in thirty-one weeks and hit my goal. Now I use tirz with the stack for maintenance.
Everyone jumps to add or switch too fast. Weight only comes off in a calorie deficit. These meds are not magic. You still have to control what you eat. What does the diet actually look like?
Track every single calorie, including sauces, butter and oil. It adds up fast. A chicken sandwich can easily hide three hundred calories from bread and four hundred from mayo. I lost weight slowly by staying around twelve hundred calories at two hundred pounds. I do not work out but my job is active.
Tirz did nothing for me. I understand it is supposed to be a tool that still needs diet and exercise, but the whole point was that it would cut food noise and hunger so eating less would feel easier. If it does not reduce appetite then there is no advantage and I might as well just diet without it.
About five to ten percent of people lose almost nothing on these drugs. Graphs of weight-loss results show a clear tail of non-responders. The medications are designed to create the deficit mainly by lowering hunger, so forcing standard diet-and-exercise habits is unlikely to change much after a full year at high dose. The remaining choices are reta, which adds glucagon action, or cagri, which works through amylin receptors. Either could still work even if GLP-1 and GIP pathways do not.
That is exactly how I felt on Reta after week three. Dose increases stopped making any difference. I switched to Tirz recently and already notice stronger effects, so maybe that will be the one that works. Reactions really are very individual.
He has not had those tests as far as I know. I will mention it to him.
There are two sides to a deficit: how much food you eat and how calorie-dense each item is. Keeping either one low worked for a while, but eventually both had to be kept moderate before the scale moved again.
When the meds work you usually do not have to track calories or force exercise. Appetite just disappears and you stay full on very little. If you still need to count everything then the drug is not doing much for you.
Some people lose without ever counting because the suppression is so strong. Others get no effect from one GLP but respond to a different one. Sema did nothing for me over a year, yet tirz finally started moving the scale. If nothing changes, check thyroid, insulin resistance and sleep apnea, then begin tracking because fats, oils and nuts add calories quickly.
If you have tried it, this topic is still open. Sign in to reply — it takes a minute.