It’s been a while since I wrote an update about my weight loss journey.
And quite a bit has happened since then.
I’m now 43 pounds down.
Even typing that feels a little crazy.
I’ve continued taking retatrutide, and from a weight loss standpoint, it has worked incredibly well for me. I’m smaller, I feel better about how I look, and I’m much closer to where I want to be than I was when I started this whole thing.
I also recently had bloodwork done, and everything came back great except for a very slightly elevated cholesterol reading.
So overall?
Things are going really well.
But after losing 43 pounds, I’ve also realized there’s another side to this journey that I probably wasn’t thinking enough about in the beginning.
At first, the goal was pretty simple.
Lose weight.
Now I’m thinking a lot more about what I’m losing, what I’m eating, whether I’m taking care of my body while the weight comes off, and what happens when I eventually get where I want to be.
Retatrutide Has Definitely Changed the Way I Eat
One of the biggest changes for me has been my appetite.
Sometimes I’m just not hungry.
At all.
That probably sounds like a dream when you’re trying to lose weight. And yes, having less food noise and not constantly thinking about what I’m going to eat next has been a huge part of why this has worked for me.
But there’s another side to having almost no appetite.
You still have to eat.
And you need to eat things your body actually needs.
That’s the part I’ve been struggling with lately.
There are days when I realize I haven’t eaten nearly enough. There are also times when foods I would normally eat, especially meat, just don’t sound good.
It’s hard to hit a protein goal when you look at a piece of chicken and think, Absolutely not.
Apparently, this isn’t just a me thing. Reduced appetite and food aversions can make getting enough protein and other nutrients more difficult for people using this type of medication.
Knowing that doesn’t magically make the chicken look better, unfortunately.
Protein Has Become a Much Bigger Deal
This is probably the biggest thing I’m trying to improve right now.
I need more protein.
Not because protein is some magical weight loss trick, but because I’m already eating significantly less food than I used to. If the small amount I am eating isn’t giving my body what it needs, that’s a problem.
I’ve realized I can’t just wait until dinner and hope I happened to eat enough protein that day.
I have to actually think about it.
That might mean eggs, Greek yogurt, cottage cheese, milk, a protein shake, fish, chicken, or other protein sources that don’t feel overwhelming when I don’t have much of an appetite.
And on the days when meat sounds completely disgusting, I need another plan instead of just deciding not to eat.
That’s probably one of the biggest lessons I’ve learned from this entire process:
Eating less and eating well are not the same thing.
I can lose weight while still doing a terrible job of nourishing my body.
I don’t want that.
I’m Thinking About Muscle a Lot More Now, Too
This is another thing I didn’t give enough thought to when I started.
When you lose a significant amount of weight, you aren’t necessarily losing only fat. Lean mass can be lost during weight loss, too.
That means I need to care about more than what the scale says.
I need to care about keeping my muscle.
Which brings me to exercise.
Oh, exercise.
I keep telling myself I’m going to work out every day.
And then life happens.
I’ve been busy, and exercise tends to be one of the first things I cut when my day gets too full. I know that’s something I need to change, especially now.
I don’t need to suddenly become someone who lives at the gym. That’s never going to happen.
But strength training needs to become a priority rather than something I do if I happen to have time left at the end of the day.
Because there is never time left at the end of the day.
I’ve tested that theory extensively.
And Then There’s the Exhaustion
I’ve also dealt with quite a bit of exhaustion.
The problem with blaming retatrutide entirely is that I’ve struggled with exhaustion anyway. So when I’m completely wiped out, it’s hard to know exactly what’s causing what.
Is it the medication?
Is it because I’m not eating enough?
Is it because I’m not getting enough protein?
Is it because I’m busy?
Is it because I’m 47 and apparently require a recovery period after doing basically anything now?
Probably some combination of things.
Fatigue has been reported by people taking retatrutide in clinical research, so it’s something I’m paying attention to. But I’m not automatically blaming every tired day on the medication.
What I can control is making sure I’m actually eating enough, drinking enough, getting the nutrients I need, and doing a better job taking care of myself.
The Good News: My Bloodwork Looks Great
One thing that made me feel much better was getting my bloodwork done recently.
Everything came back looking good.
The only thing that was even slightly off was my cholesterol, and even that was just a little elevated.
That was reassuring because I’ve lost quite a bit of weight, and my eating habits have changed dramatically.
Still, good bloodwork doesn’t mean I get to stop paying attention.
If anything, I want to keep it that way.
I’m Getting Close Enough to Start Thinking About Maintenance
This is probably the biggest mental shift since my last update.
I’m not sitting here thinking about how much weight I desperately need to lose anymore.
I’m getting close.
And I feel good.
I look so much better than I did when I started, my clothes fit differently, and I feel much more comfortable in my own body.
So now I’m starting to think about the next phase.
What happens when I reach my goal?
What does maintenance look like?
Do I eventually reduce how much retatrutide I’m taking? Do I space it differently? How do I make sure I don’t fall right back into old habits when my appetite changes?
Those aren’t decisions I’m making today, but they’re questions I didn’t need to think about when I was 43 pounds heavier.
Now I do.
If I Could Go Back, I’d Focus on Health Sooner
I don’t regret this journey.
Not even a little bit.
I’m incredibly happy with my progress.
But if I could go back and give myself some advice when I started, I wouldn’t just say, “You’re going to lose the weight.”
I’d tell myself:
Pay attention to protein.
Eat even when you’re not particularly interested in eating.
Find foods that give you a lot of nutrition without requiring you to eat a huge meal.
Lift weights.
Protect your muscle.
Drink your water.
Pay attention to how you feel.
Get your bloodwork done.
And don’t let the number on the scale become the only measurement that matters.
Because that’s what I’m realizing now.
43 Pounds Down, but I’m Not Finished
My goal has changed.
Of course, I’d still like to lose a few more pounds.
But I don’t want to simply be smaller.
I want to be healthy, strong, and able to maintain this.
That means this next part of the journey may require more effort from me than the weight loss itself has lately.
Retatrutide has made it much easier for me to eat less.
Now I need to get better at making sure that when I do eat, I’m giving my body what it needs.
I need to stop letting exercise be the first thing removed from my schedule.
And I need to start thinking less about losing weight and more about building the habits I’m going to need when I’m maintaining it.
Forty-three pounds ago, I just wanted the weight gone.
Now?
I want to make sure I’m taking care of the person underneath it, too.
And I think that’s a pretty good place to be.