18 considering reta
Hi everyone, I’m 18F, 165cm and around 80kg. I’m seriously considering retatrutide, but before I do anything I want to hear from people who actually know what they’re talking about.
I’ve been overweight basically my entire life. I was actually skinny when I was little but around 9 years old I went through a lot of family problems and bullying and started using food as a coping mechanism. That continued for years and I’ve been trying to fix my relationship with food and my weight for the past few years.
There’s also some family history of weight issues my mom has PCOS and has always struggled with losing weight. I don’t think I have PCOS myself but I’ve never really gotten a proper explanation for why losing weight has been so damn difficult for me.
I’ve tried the gym multiple times. The weird thing is that I seem to build muscle pretty easily, but losing fat is another story. I once went consistently for about 2 months while eating around 1,300–1,500 calories and getting a lot of protein. I got stronger and visibly built muscle but the scale barely seemed to move.
Right now I’m around 80kg trying to get 130g protein a day lifting weights and getting roughly 10k steps every day. I’ve also tried incline walking and the elliptical, but I absolutely hate incline walking. It stresses me out so much 😭. I actually enjoy just walking so I’ve been sticking with that.
Money is also a factor. I can’t afford the protein anymore where I’m constantly buying a lot of meats, supplements, etc. Most of my protein is basically chicken breast, minced meat, eggs, yogurt, protein powder, etc.
At this point I’m just really tired. I’ve been trying to lose this weight for years. I’m tired of being the bigger person, tired of comments about my body, and tired of feeling like I’m constantly trying and getting nowhere.
I originally thought maybe I should just lose all the weight first and then build muscle, but then I started hearing that I could lose a lot of the muscle I already have and potentially end up with more loose skin. So now I’m confused about whether I should be cutting while continuing to lift or trying to build muscle first.
And then there’s reta.
I’m genuinely considering it because I feel like I’ve tried diet + exercise repeatedly and I’m still struggling. But I also don’t want to blindly take some random peptide because I’m desperate.
So I guess I’m asking:
Would retatrutide actually make sense for someone in my situation?
Would something like semaglutide or tirzepatide make more sense?
Should I be getting bloodwork/testing done first?
Is 1,300–1,500 calories actually too low for me if I’m lifting?
Can I realistically lose fat while maintaining the muscle I already have?
Should I keep lifting throughout the weight loss?
what would u do in my position?
I’m not looking for someone to sell me reta or tell me to just eat less and exercise more. I genuinely want honest advice because I feel pretty stuck right now.
Thanks 🫶