CommunityResults & Progress

Weight loss is a secondary benefit for me....

30 replies18 peopleJul 7, 2026☆ Follow
Summary

Can GLP-1 drugs deliver major health gains like better liver function and metabolic markers even when the scale barely moves?

Users report that liver fat, fibrosis, A1C, triglycerides, inflammation, blood pressure, and alcohol cravings improved substantially on these medications despite stalled weight loss after the first 20-plus pounds. Body recomposition from exercise, reduced drinking, and direct drug effects on organs appear responsible. Many plan to stay on maintenance doses indefinitely because the non-scale benefits outweigh slower fat loss. Thyroid concerns and the need for full panels remain personal follow-ups for some.

What this discussion establishesStill open

Whether a thyroid issue or PAM gene is limiting further weight loss for the original poster

Nothing here is advice.

30 replies · 18 people
ClearHarbour45archiveopening postJul 7

I've been using the main GLP-1 options or mixes for roughly a year and a half. Dropped about twenty-two pounds in the first four months then nothing. The number on the scale hasn't budged since. I blamed the fifteen hundred nightly calories from alcohol. Cut drinking for over a month with only one extra pound gone. Added five gym sessions a week plus walking with a thirty-pound pack, still no movement. Always responded slowly and now suspect the PAM gene or a thyroid problem. Started at two forty-nine, now at two twenty-six. Dosing nine milligrams of reta or sometimes nine of tirz every six days. On the bright side I began with stage-two fatty liver bordering stage three plus F2 fibrosis. A1C sat at six point three, glucose at one fourteen, triglycerides at three ninety-nine. Now liver fat is down to three percent, fibrosis at F0-F1, A1C at five point five, glucose at ninety-two, and triglycerides at one fifty-eight. The takeaway is that even without dropping fifty or a hundred pounds the other improvements still count. Cutting alcohol helped but doesn't explain everything. Keep going.

WarmAlder80archiveJul 7

Those numbers look fantastic. I completely agree that the health upgrades are a real win. I actually started these medications for the health side with weight loss as a bonus.

KeenSignal54archiveJul 7
↳ replying to @ClearHarbour45 (opening post)

Thanks for laying out your experience. This stands out as one of the strongest and most encouraging posts here recently. The shifts in your liver numbers are striking. Moving from F2 fibrosis and stage-three fatty liver down to three percent fat and basically healthy tissue while also normalizing A1C and triglycerides is huge. Your system seems to have focused first on repairing organs and protecting your life. The five-day gym routine plus rucking is building real muscle and bone, so you're likely trading fat for denser tissue and the scale stays flat. Metabolism and hormones can also take months to settle after heavy drinking even once the liver starts recovering. You may be slow on the scale but your metabolic results are strong. Thanks again for the reminder that health goes beyond the number on the scale. Keep at it.

GreyHarbour88archiveJul 7

I've been turning this over a lot lately. This week marks my one-year mark on these meds and I'm still short of goal, about twenty to thirty pounds left. I get a real kick out of watching the spreadsheet when the scale drops. I'm trying to pause and notice the other big changes I can feel physically.

ClearHarbour45archiveJul 7
↳ replying to @KeenSignal54

I pulled these numbers together once the MRI elasticity results came back last week. It's more precise than a fibroscan, which can read high, but the news is still solid along with the yearly blood work. Appreciate it.

KeenMeadow61archiveJul 7
↳ replying to @ClearHarbour45 (opening post)

These are exactly the reasons that even if weight stays the same the data from reports like yours plus the trials running four years and longer show far more upsides for long-term health than downsides so far. I don't see myself stopping at least one of the dual or triple agonists. The SELECT trial showed GLP-1s cut cardiovascular events twenty percent and lowered whole-body inflammation. SURPASS with tirz found similar heart, inflammation, and kidney gains. TRIUMPH with reta showed strong effects on lipids, liver, and visceral fat. ELORA is pointing to better muscle retention during fat loss, lower triglycerides, and no rise in heart rate. Other work is looking at reduced substance use. It's pretty remarkable.

ClearHarbour45archiveJul 7
↳ replying to @KeenMeadow61

Well put and thorough. I left out the heart side. My CRP was seven last year and the full echo came back fine in May. I figured the inflammation came from the liver but people link it to heart risk too. Any inflammation is probably worth addressing.

LevelAlder29archiveJul 7

Those results are really strong. Thanks for sharing. The scale changes are visible but the rest of the health picture matters just as much or more. I've also cut way back on drinking, from six to twelve beers a week down to four or six a month. On tirz my skin got clearer and the dark spots faded, which I didn't expect at all. Nice work.

ClearHarbour45archiveJul 7
↳ replying to @LevelAlder29

My changes happened across fifteen to eighteen months but the point holds. You can look up that tirz and reta clear seventy-five to eighty-seven percent of fatty liver in around forty-eight weeks. It works directly even without big weight drops. They call five percent or more meaningful so I cleared roughly eight.

WryHarbour70archiveJul 8
↳ replying to @ClearHarbour45

Good to hear, since I never met a beer or an Asian dish I didn't enjoy back in the day.

PlainAlder11archiveJul 8
↳ replying to @WryHarbour70

Beer was my weak spot. I was drinking ten to fifteen a day and sometimes more on weekends. None of my blood work ever flagged anything according to the doctor. Started reta on January ninth and now maybe two beers a day. I just don't want it as much. I've passed my fifty-five-pound goal on reta at nine milligrams now. Time to ease into maintenance. Blood pressure and cholesterol also came down. The doctor was a bit worried about cholesterol on the last two checks. Congrats.

GreenSignal63archiveJul 8

June numbers after the first eight weeks or so on reta plus some KPV for two weeks of that period. Hard to ignore the benefits that don't show in the mirror.

GreenMarble65archiveJul 8

Good on you for staying with it long enough to see the non-weight results. I'm down about twenty-five pounds in four months on reta, now at five milligrams. One early extra plus is my knees hurt less. Lifestyle shifts helped but the old hard landings from jumps and marches left some lasting effects that feel easier now. Nice to see updates like this.

BrightSignal52archiveJul 8
↳ replying to @ClearHarbour45 (opening post)

Not necessarily the case. If fat loss was the target then your body is adapting to the medication. Triglycerides are now being used as fuel differently. What you've achieved is notable and the lifestyle steps deserve credit too. I've seen the same pattern where triglycerides fell from two sixty to one forty on tirzepatide while weight stayed flat. It was discouraging after the first fifteen pounds came off fast then nothing for weeks. Eating less, better food, more exercise, and still stuck, yet the health gains keep me going despite the slower pace.

PlainTimber26archiveJul 8
↳ replying to @ClearHarbour45 (opening post)

Really glad for you. These outcomes are excellent. The drop in alcohol interest was something I didn't see coming. A lot of other habits improved too. I used to go through five or six diet sodas daily and now it's one or two a week. I'd be fine never having wine again. Trips to the casino with my dad don't trigger the old urges and I'm content just watching. Losing only four pounds a month doesn't bother me because the other upsides carry me until I reach goal. Then I'll stay on some maintenance dose long term and that's fine with me.

BrightSignal52archiveJul 8
↳ replying to @PlainTimber26

When folks ask if I plan to stay on a GLP forever I tell them just for the rest of my life, which should be noticeably longer than it would have been without it.

WryBramble37archiveJul 8
↳ replying to @ClearHarbour45 (opening post)

Reta has been shown to basically clear fatty liver disease. Do you feel better day to day even with little scale movement? Getting up in the morning and things like that?

PatientAlder89archiveJul 11
↳ replying to @ClearHarbour45 (opening post)

Sounds like you're improving overall even if the goal weight isn't there yet. You mentioned thyroid, have you run a full panel including antibodies to check for Hashimoto's?

ClearHarbour45archiveJul 11
↳ replying to @PatientAlder89

Not yet but I will through the doctor or the lab I used before. Earlier TSH and uptake were in range but T3 and free T3 sat at the low end. T4 was never checked. Thanks.

PatientAlder89archiveJul 11
↳ replying to @ClearHarbour45

Make sure they include free and reverse T3 plus the two antibody tests. Mine came back in range until I specifically asked and then it turned out to be Hashimoto's. Hope you sort it out. I'm still working on mine too.

GreyAlder46archiveJul 11

Congrats on cutting the beer. It's basically liquid carbs and one of the easiest ways to add weight. Even on tirz which kills appetite I could still knock back five beers easily, which is why I don't drink at all. If one of these meds could remove the urge for beer that would be a real game changer. Weight loss is secondary for me as well, and for my wife too. She started semaglutide over two years ago, dropped forty pounds, and has held goal for more than a year with excellent labs. She's stayed at point two five milligrams the whole time. For me tirz lowered blood pressure more than any prescription I tried and glucose moved from one oh six to eighty-three. Still need to lose twenty-nine pounds, seem to be stuck, and have GI sides even at one point five milligrams. Appetite is gone but the slowed stomach emptying is annoying even though it's helped overall.

BlueQuill24archiveJul 12
↳ replying to @ClearHarbour45 (opening post)

I was glad to see this. I know how much effort you put into tracking peptides and working on your own progress. It would be understandable to feel stuck on the scale, yet you chose to look at success differently. I've caught myself comparing to others only to realize it steals the satisfaction. The only fair comparison is to my earlier self. You brought that back to mind and I'm thankful for it.

ClearHarbour45archiveJul 12
↳ replying to @PatientAlder89

I recalled asking for thyroid labs years ago and she only ran TSH, uptake, and total plus free T3, which looked fine. Yesterday I checked my old self-paid results from twenty seventeen and saw TSH and T3 were okay but total and free T4 were very low. Ordered thyroxin and booked a baseline blood test for tomorrow. Planning to start at fifty micrograms daily then retest at six weeks before telling my PA what to order next. Was that you who began iodine drops?

ClearHarbour45archiveJul 12
↳ replying to @GreyAlder46

Same, wife is down thirty pounds on six milligrams of tirz in three months.

ClearHarbour45archiveJul 12
↳ replying to @GreenMarble65

Right, the Fort Bragg drop zones. You left out Salerno.

PatientAlder89archiveJul 13
↳ replying to @ClearHarbour45

Be careful self-dosing. Sometimes T3 is needed or a natural thyroid product works better with fewer sides. I haven't tried iodine yet but probably should before Hashimoto's takes the thyroid down further. I also lose very slowly. It's odd that we end up directing the doctors. Did you experiment with changing food types or amounts?

WarmHarbour28archiveJul 13

Well I'll add my own update. Started February tenth twenty twenty-five at three thirty on two point five milligrams. April twenty-third at three oh six on ten. November thirtieth at two eighty on six. February tenth twenty twenty-six at two seventy on ten. Spent five months fiddling up to twenty then cut the dose in half for maintenance. July eighth at two sixty-six on ten. July thirteenth at two seventy on ten. August tenth will be seventy-two weeks total. Matches the study patterns. Any guesses on final weight? Not sure myself but the destroyed alcohol tolerance plus some other interactions mean I can barely finish half a glass of wine. Light American beer has almost no alcohol anyway so it's basically just for the bathroom. Congratulations. Appreciate the help and laughs along the way.

BrightCompass30archiveJul 13
↳ replying to @ClearHarbour45

You might look at cagrilintide since its appetite effect uses a separate route from GLP-1s. Even with little scale movement the other markers improving is still worthwhile. In weight-loss discussions they call these NSVs, non-scale victories, because not everything shows up on the scale. Body recomposition where fat drops but muscle rises is one example.

KeenSignal54archiveJul 15
↳ replying to @BrightCompass30

Only after my second coffee. I'll take it as a compliment. I'll be sure to pass the approval along to ChatGPT.

Add your experience

If you have tried it, this topic is still open. Sign in to reply — it takes a minute.