- Hunter's Health Hacks
- Posts
- Transitioning From Tirz to Reta
Happy Friday!
I just released my March Q&A video on YouTube.
The questions this month were spectacular.
If you want to ensure your question gets answered for April’s video, remember to submit your question or video suggestion here.
One of the more common questions I am seeing is about how to transition from tirzepatide to retatrutide.
In my opinion, retatrutide is vastly superior to tirzepatide, and within the next two years, we will see many people transition over to reta from tirz.
Today, I'm sharing a detailed and easy-to-follow strategy for transitioning from tirzepatide to retatrutide.
Whether your goal is enhanced fat loss, better glycemic control, or improved metabolic health, correctly making this transition can significantly impact your results and minimize side effects.
It's critical to follow precise tapering and titration strategies when moving between powerful metabolic agents like tirzepatide and retatrutide.
Gradual dose changes allow your body to adjust smoothly, reducing potential side effects like nausea, gastrointestinal discomfort, or metabolic fluctuations.
Rapid changes can lead to unwanted side effects, stalled progress, or even setbacks in your overall metabolic health.
Let’s dig in.
Step 1: Tapering Tirzepatide
Personally, I would start by tapering down your tirzepatide dose by 25% each week over four weeks. This steady reduction helps your body gradually adapt to lower levels of the medication, minimizing metabolic shock and ensuring stability in your progress.
Example starting dose: 4 mg/week (adjust accordingly based on your current dose)
Week | Calculation | Weekly Dose (mg) |
|---|---|---|
Week 0 | Start Dose | 4.00 |
Week 1 | 4.00 × 0.75 | 3.00 |
Week 2 | 3.00 × 0.75 | 2.25 |
Week 3 | 2.25 × 0.75 | 1.69 |
Week 4 | 1.69 × 0.75 | 1.27 |
Weeks 5–6 | OFF | 0 mg (break) |
Why Taper by 25% per Week?
Tapering by 25% per week ensures a gentle reduction in medication levels, helping your body’s insulin sensitivity and metabolic processes adjust gradually. This avoids sharp metabolic changes, ensuring your weight loss and metabolic health remain consistent.
Step 2: Introducing and Titrating Retatrutide To Reach Your Goals
After a 2-week break from tirzepatide, I would introduce retatrutide at a low initial dose of 0.25 mg three times per week. The slow introduction prevents your system from being overwhelmed by a new agent with potentially different receptor targets.
Week | Dose per Administration | Frequency | Calculation |
|---|---|---|---|
Week 7 | 0.25 mg | 3× per week | Initial dose |
Week 8 | 0.3125 mg | 3× per week | 0.25 mg × 1.25 |
Week 9 | 0.39 mg | 3× per week | 0.3125 mg × 1.25 |
Week 10 | 0.49 mg | 3× per week | 0.39 mg × 1.25 |
Why Titrate Retatrutide by 25% per Week?
Increasing retatrutide by only 25% per week ensures that your body adjusts gradually. This careful titration reduces the likelihood of side effects such as nausea or digestive issues and allows for optimal efficacy and better tolerability. It also gives you time to carefully observe how your body responds, making it easier to adjust your dose as needed.
Long-Term Retatrutide Dosing Plan If You Still Need To Lose Weight (12-month strategy)
After those first four weeks, here's how to effectively structure your retatrutide usage over a 12-month period for optimal results:
Month 2 (ONLY if needed): Go up to 750 mcg, 3-4 times per week.
Month 3 (optional taper): Reduce dose to 500 mcg, 2-3 times per week.
Months 4-5: Drop back and taper further to 250 mcg and assess progress.
Months 6: Come completely off to help reset receptors.
Months 7-12: Repeat this cycle pattern, maintaining periods of lower dosing and breaks.
This approach means over one year, you'll have about 2-3 months completely off retatrutide and another 2-3 months at very low doses, allowing your metabolism to reset and your body to rest.
NOTE: Some people with severe obesity and metabolic syndrome may need higher doses of retatrutide.
I am a fan of staying on the lowest dose possible, but assess your progress as needed. If you stall out AND you are doing everything else properly, you could consider titrating up past 3mg total per week.
But this should be done IF and ONLY IF you have severe obesity and desperately need to lose fat.
Step 3: After Achieving Weight Loss Goals
Once you’ve reached your ideal weight or metabolic goals, it’s important to taper down retatrutide gradually to a maintenance dose and then reassess after a break.
I would do this the same way you initially tapered off of tirzepatide.
Here’s how:
Example: 2 mg/week maintenance dose (adjust accordingly based on your current dose)
Week | Calculation | Weekly Dose (mg) |
|---|---|---|
Maintenance | Current dose | 2.00 |
Taper Week 1 | 2.00 × 0.75 | 1.50 |
Taper Week 2 | 1.50 × 0.75 | 1.13 |
Taper Week 3 | Adjust dose | 1.00 |
Taper Week 4 | Break | 0 mg |
Why Follow This Maintenance Taper?
Tapering your maintenance dose ensures that your body slowly adjusts to a lower dependency on the medication, preventing rebound weight gain or metabolic instability. The 4-week break afterward helps your body reset and gives you a clear picture of how well you maintain your progress without medication.
Final Reminders:
Regular Monitoring: Track your progress meticulously, recording doses, side effects, and health markers.
Professional Guidance: Always consult your healthcare provider to personalize your tapering and titration schedules.
Lifestyle Support: Maintain strong nutrition, exercise, and sleep routines to support your metabolic health and enhance results.
Hormone Optimization: PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE make sure you are hormonally optimized before starting a GLP-1. These peptides work best in the presence of optimized hormones.
Following this structured approach helps you maintain optimal results, maximize your metabolic health, and minimize side effects.
There is NO one size fits all solution.
This is the best advice I can suggest to a generalized audience, but we are all N of 1 and will have different experiences.
Have an amazing weekend!
Best,
Hunter
P.S. Taylor and I will be live tomorrow at 10 AM EST for our coffee talk. Come join us with your questions!
P.P.S. BioLongevity's March Madness Sale is going on NOW!
Everything in the store is 15% off, and when you use my code HUNTER10, you'll get an EXTRA 10% off.
