Disclaimer: This post is based on my personal experience and is shared for informational purposes only. I am not a medical professional, and nothing in this post should be taken as medical advice. Retatrutide is a research peptide and, at the time of writing, is not FDA-approved for weight loss or any other use in humans — any use is at your own risk. Always talk to a licensed healthcare provider before starting any peptide, medication, or supplement, especially one that isn’t approved for the use you’re considering. Individual results vary, and what worked for me may not work the same way for you.
I started my Retatrutide journey in August of 2025 at a weight of 236 lbs. I was eating approximately 2,100 calories per day. I felt like I had probably been under-eating for a long period of time and was still struggling to lose body fat. I did a lot of research on Reta and decided to give it a try.
I read that it’s better to taper the dose — you only need to take as much as it takes to notice a difference — so that’s exactly what I did. My taper was a little faster than it should have been, but all in all, I think it worked out pretty well.
The first few doses, I didn’t really notice anything. I couldn’t feel any appetite suppression or anything like that. Then, the morning of September 4th, I decided to bump the dose to 2 mg. I took it at about 6:30 AM, and around 11 AM I felt something strange. As a former fat kid, I’ve dealt with food noise and hunger pangs my whole life. I’m a big eater — I could eat all the time, eat until full, and be ready to eat again 15 minutes later. As I got older, I was constantly aware of that noise and tried a lot of things to quiet it.
But that day at 11 AM, I started laughing, because I wasn’t hungry at all. No urge whatsoever to eat. It was a wild feeling. I actually had trouble getting in a decent amount of calories that day because I had zero interest in food.
One known side effect of Reta is elevated heart rate — I’d read about it in the literature and in other people’s reviews. I may have had a slight elevation, but not enough to cause any issues. My workouts didn’t suffer at all. In fact, I maintained my strength and even got a little stronger on some lifts. Overall, I was really pleased with the progress.
Exact Retatrutide dosing dates and amounts:
- August 22, 2025: 500 mcg
- August 30, 2025: 1 mg
- September 4, 2025: 2 mg
- September 18, 2025: 2 mg
- September 27, 2025: 2.2 mg
- December 9, 2025: 2 mg
- March 13, 2026: 1.5 mg
- March 20, 2026: 1.2 mg
- March 27, 2026: 750 mcg
- April 10, 2026: 500 mcg
- June 5, 2026: 400 mcg
- June 12, 2026: 300 mcg
- June 19, 2026: 0 mg (fully off)
My biggest test was going to be the holidays. I always gained a lot of weight around Thanksgiving and Christmas, with all the places I had to go and food everywhere — you can’t go to a party or a relative’s house during the holidays and not eat! This year was different. My calorie intake went up slightly, but without that food noise, it was actually easy.
After the holidays, I bumped calories up a bit more. My lowest weight was around 213, if I remember correctly. That’s when I decided to stop chasing more fat loss and instead see how Reta would perform if I raised calories a little and tried to gain some muscle. I also figured it was smart to taper off and see how my body responded once the Reta was out of my system. I wanted the taper to be a bit longer, but with the amount of Reta I had left, I just went ahead and finished it out.
I’ve been off for a few weeks. So far so good. I don’t really have the food noise like I did previously. I’m sure it will come back, I just have to be more cognizant of my calorie intake to prevent any rebound. The goal now is to get up to around 225, stay there for a while, see how my body reacts, and maybe try Reta again closer to the holidays.
All the data in this post is current through July 4th, 2026, so the calorie numbers for July are a little skewed because of that.
Reta dose, weight, and calories by month:
| Month | Peak Reta Dose | Average Daily Calories | Average Body Weight | Weight Range (Min/Max) |
| August 2025 (Launch) | 0.50 mg | 3,097 kcal | 230.0 lbs | 225.8 – 236.0 lbs |
| September 2025 (Ramp) | 2.20 mg | 2,089 kcal | 226.9 lbs | 223.8 – 235.8 lbs |
| October 2025 | 2.20 mg | 2,227 kcal | 219.3 lbs | 216.0 – 223.0 lbs |
| November 2025 | 2.20 mg | 2,082 kcal | 216.1 lbs | 214.0 – 219.2 lbs |
| December 2025 (Cruise) | 2.20 mg | 2,525 kcal | 215.3 lbs | 213.0 – 218.2 lbs |
| January 2026 | 2.00 mg | 2,311 kcal | 217.3 lbs | 214.2 – 221.0 lbs |
| February 2026 | 2.00 mg | 2,298 kcal | 216.6 lbs | 215.4 – 217.2 lbs |
| March 2026 (Taper Start) | 2.00 mg | 2,720 kcal | 216.3 lbs | 215.0 – 217.6 lbs |
| April 2026 | 0.75 mg | 2,757 kcal | 218.7 lbs | 218.0 – 219.6 lbs |
| May 2026 | 0.50 mg | 2,690 kcal | 219.1 lbs | 218.0 – 220.0 lbs |
| June 2026 (Fully Off) | 0.50 mg | 2,875 kcal | 219.5 lbs | 217.8 – 220.0 lbs |
| July 2026 (Maingain) | 0.00 mg | 3,321 kcal | 219.4 lbs | 219.4 – 219.4 lbs |
Other than testosterone, Reta is the best thing I’ve ever taken. It’s a wonderful peptide. I got great results without needing a high dosage. If you’re going to try it, don’t go crazy with the doses. Monitor your calories, workouts, and weight. You may find that you are like me and don’t need a high dose.