Semaglutide vs tirzepatide vs retatrutide — stack comparison at 16 weeks

Great data. Reta's triple agonism (GLP-1 + GIP + glucagon) gives it the metabolic rate bump that the other two lack. The glucagon arm is why hunger control is stronger but also why energy dips mid-cycle — you're running slightly negative without feeling it at the plate.

Solid report. Your tirz dose was low — most of my patients and self run 7.5-12.5mg for peak efficacy. At 5mg you're seeing the moderate slice of the dose-response curve. Reta at 4 is also lower-middle. The ranking might stay the same but the gaps compress at higher doses.

I don't disagree with the ranking but I'd defend sema on sustainability for non-cutters. As a long-term metabolic health tool at 0.5mg, it's fantastic. Tirz and reta are stronger but sema is the one I'd keep people on indefinitely.

@slow_lose I dropped from 5 sessions/week to 4, cut one accessory from each day, kept all main lifts. Carbed up more pre-session (50g fast carbs 30min before). Cruised through. The issue was net energy balance was too aggressive because reta suppresses appetite and raises metabolic rate.

Interesting that cagri wasn't in the comparison. Worth a run-through if you're doing a part 2.

How did you manage the training through the reta energy dip? I hit it at week 7 last cycle and basically stalled.

@cagrisema cagri is on my list. Planning to try it after a break. I want to isolate cagri alone before the combo-with-sema form.

Clinical observation — nausea on sema is more severe and longer-lasting than on tirz at matched efficacy doses. Tirz has a GI profile that's just easier for most patients. This matches your report.

Microdose user here — 0.25mg sema weekly is hitting my goals fine for someone not doing aggressive cuts. Full doses of any of these feel like overkill unless weight loss is THE goal.

Did you DEXA each cycle? You mentioned lean mass loss was lower on tirz — that's a really important data point. Can you share numbers?

@dexa_devotee yes. Sema cycle: -5.8kg fat, -2.4kg lean. Tirz: -9.7kg fat, -1.7kg lean. Reta: -12.2kg fat, -1.9kg lean. Reta had higher total loss but lean loss was only marginally higher than tirz. Tirz was the best lean retention per kg fat lost.

Those lean retention numbers on tirz are excellent. Better than most literature cuts even without a GLP. Your protein and training held up.

Saving this whole thread. I'm 10 weeks into tirz 7.5 with -9kg and this frames what I should expect at 16.

HbA1c dropping from 5.2 to 4.8 on reta is remarkable. Almost into 'better than nondiabetic average' territory. For a non-diabetic user that's arguably the biggest point in reta's column.

Did ApoB move on any of the cycles? GLP-1 class tends to move it down but reta specifically via glucagon action has mixed data.

@apob_reader ApoB baseline 88, end sema 82, end tirz 76, end reta 74. All moved favorably, tirz and reta comparable.

Excellent report. One caveat — 18 months of serial cycles with washouts is a long experiment and baseline drift is real. Training age increased, diet culture probably matured, etc. Hard to rule out that the last cycle benefited from accumulated experience.

@showmethestudy good flag and I agree. I did each cycle in the same season of the year (all starts in early Jan) to control for that loosely, and I kept diet and training identical between cycles. But a learning curve effect is plausible.

The 'eating to the clock' line is exactly my reta experience. If you don't force the calories in, you'll be under-eating by 500-700 kcal without even realizing.

@sulfur_shrug sema: slow digestion, burps, constipation dominated. Tirz: nausea first 2 weeks, then smooth. Reta: occasional acid reflux if I ate too close to bed, managed by timing meals 3+ hr before sleep.

Any GI side effects that were unique to one compound vs a class effect? People always talk about burps but not much else.

The 'eat to the clock' thing is why I prelog my day on GLP-1. If the plan is 180g protein across 4 meals, I hit the meals whether I'm hungry or not. Works better than intuitive eating on these compounds.

Excellent cross-compound report. This is one of the cleanest in-forum comparisons I've read on GLP-1s. Stickied in my bookmark folder.

The takeaway I'd highlight: for people who struggle with hunger as the primary barrier, reta wins. For people whose barrier is side-effect management over months, tirz is kinder. For long-term metabolic health alone, sema at microdose is still a reasonable baseline.

the rebound hunger when you drop off reta is brutal though, way worse than tirz or sema in my experience. op's comparing end-of-cycle but didn't mention what happened weeks 1-4 after stopping. that matters if you're actually trying to keep the weight off long term instead of just chasing the number on the scale for 16 weeks.