u/FinancialStomach2424

Whelp, I rode indoors today using the new Virtual and, like the old one, it crashed on my iPad after about 10 minutes. Thought I had figured out the workaround (restart the iPad Pro first), but nope …

Then, rode a grueling set of intervals for the next 45 minutes, and after it synced back to TP, only recorded a third of that … WTF?

It wasn’t paused or anything — the app definitely froze a few times but seemingly recovered …

Wish Virtual was hardened — can’t trust it as it is, unfortunately …

QUESTION:

For those that have transitioned from Tirz to Reta, did you start over at square one? Did you accelerate the 'standard' titration schedule? I think I am a little on the conservative side when it comes to mixing and matching the two ...

BACKGROUND:

I did another Dexa scan today (July 15). My previous was May 12, when I added Tesa (evening fasted), CJC+Ipa (am fasted), and KLOW to Tirzepatide, which I had been slowly titrating up since March.

I've been using Macrofactor to manage macros, and I'm following a bodybuilding program from HWPO.

During these past few months, I gained 5.7 lbs of lean mass (142 → 147.7 lbs) while dropping 5.2 percentage points of body fat (29.9% → 24.7%) over ~2 months, during a caloric deficit. According to the Dexa Scane, my visceral fat down 1.41 lbs (4.46 → 3.05).

My goal is ~12-15% body fat, while preserving as much lean muscle as possible. 24.7% → 12.1%. The target is a real gap (~12.6 points).

I am at an inflection point with the tirzepatide (now at 13.5 mg/week) and have a vial of higher concentration left.

Honestly, I'd love to accelerate the fat loss, especially the visceral fat, so I am considering switching to reta.

I'm also thinking I need to stop cutting for a bit since my bioavailable testosterone has been trending down for 3 consecutive draws (now flagged below the reference floor), which may be caused or exacerbated by this sustained deficit and below-target deep sleep. so I am considering focusing on muscle-building at maintenance/slight surplus first, then cutting once hormones and sleep are back in a good place.

The good news:

• IGF-1: 251 (up from 138 baseline) — landed right in the target zone, confirms Tesamorelin/CJC-IPA are working exactly as designed
• Kidney markers improved: Creatinine 1.22 (was 1.31H), eGFR 70 (was 64), Cystatin C normal — confirms the improvement is real, not just a muscle-mass artifact
• WBC normalized: 5.4 (was 3.5L)
• Insulin excellent: 2.6 uIU/mL, strong OGTT (59/85/73)
• HbA1c stable: 5.2%

The one real concern:

• Testosterone declining, 3 consecutive draws: Total T 508→469→424, Free T 68.8→53.8→47.8, Bioavailable T 141.5→115.3→96.2 (now below reference floor)
• SHBG rising: 33→39→40
• Working theory: not a testicular/pituitary issue — more likely driven by the 7-month sustained deficit (~25-26 lbs lost since Dec 2025) plus poor deep sleep (running 5-13% deep sleep vs. healthy 13-23%)

Since many report the 'food noise' is more prevalent on Reta, that may be a good thing for me now, since I will want to gain slowly a while before doing another cut.

Advice from your lived experience would be most welcome!