## Current Stats - **Week 17 Weight:** 271.6 lbs - **Weekly Loss:** 2.4 lbs - **Total Progress:** -64.8 lbs - **Retatrutide:** 8mg (Split dosing Monday and Thursday) - **Tesamorelin:** 2mg daily - **SLU-PP-332:** DROPPED - **Testosterone Cypionate:** 150mg weekly (3x 50mg) - **5-Amino-1MQ:** 50mg daily (25mg AM before gym, 25mg mid-day) ::gallery[{"images":["https://retatrutidelog.com/uploads/640c7690-457c-4f36-85c1-eeea425ac2b0.png","https://retatrutidelog.com/uploads/45e1e0da-40ea-4d5c-96ec-ff1c44751074.png","https://retatrutidelog.com/uploads/dc4fd159-68dd-4aac-8bbb-414e4800f9d9.png"],"captions":["","",""]}] I'm going to be honest, this wasn't my best week mentally. Weighed in Thursday as usual, but here it is Sunday and I'm just now getting around to posting about it. Lost a bit of motivation to document everything this week, but still dropped 2.4 pounds to 271.6 lbs. Seventeen weeks in, nearly 65 pounds down, and I hit a mental wall with the documentation side of things. The protocol kept running, the results kept coming, but sitting down to write about it? That took a few extra days this week. ## Major Protocol Changes: Dropping SLU and Increasing 5-Amino Made two significant changes to the protocol this week: **Dropped SLU-PP-332 completely.** After running it for several weeks, I'm just not noticing any effects at the dosage I was using. It's also a bit of a pain to mix up and filter for injections, so I decided to take it out of the lineup for now. I picked up some DMSO, so I might bring it back later with a different administration route, but for now it's out of the stack. **Increased 5-Amino-1MQ from 20mg to 50mg daily.** Split dosing: 25mg before gym in the morning, 25mg mid-day after lunch. I'm still feeling that noticeable energy boost, and honestly, that's one of the main reasons I keep this compound in the rotation. For Week 18, I'm planning to push it even higher... 100mg daily (50mg AM, 50mg mid-day). I mixed a new 10mL vial at 100mg/mL concentration, so the injection volume stays the same but I'm doubling the dose. ## New Side Effect: Deep Stretch Mark Itching Toward the end of the week, I noticed something new, a deep itching sensation in the stretch marks on my gut and stomach area. This isn't surface skin irritation. It feels deeper, almost internal. **Important details:** - Not near any injection sites I've used this week - Started after increasing the 5-Amino dose - Feels different than regular itching - Located specifically in the stretch mark areas **My theory:** I think this is related to the 5-Amino-1MQ increase and rapid fat mobilization. I know this is anecdotal and I could be completely wrong, but my gut instinct tells me I'm getting this sensation because there's some rapid fat mobilization happening in those areas. It's a phenomenon sometimes reported with rapid weight loss. Could be the higher 5-Amino dose triggering faster fat metabolism in areas where I've already lost significant mass. Could be coincidence. Could be my imagination. But the timing lines up with the dose increase, and it's focused in the areas where I've carried the most fat. I'm keeping an eye on this. Will document if it continues into Week 18 at the even higher dose. ## Doing the Math: How Close Am I Actually? After logging another 2.4 pound drop this week, I found myself doing some math on where I actually stand in this journey. **Important note:** These numbers are based on smart scale estimates right now, so they're slightly guesswork. I've got my second DEXA scan scheduled for next week (November 8th), which will give me solid, actual body composition data. But even with the estimates, the math is interesting. According to my latest smart scale and DEXA estimates, I'm sitting at roughly 185 pounds of lean mass. Based on that, here's what the numbers look like: - **At 15% body fat:** Target weight is about 218 to 220 lbs - **At 10% body fat:** Target weight drops to around 205 to 210 lbs So my realistic goal weight range is somewhere between 210 and 220 pounds. Not some arbitrary BMI calculator number like 170 that would require losing a bunch of lean tissue I've worked to preserve. And here's what hit me when I did this math: **I'm already more than halfway there.** Down 65 pounds so far, with about 50 pounds left to go. At my current pace of around 2.5 pounds per week, that's roughly 4 to 5 months out. Hitting those final numbers would put me at the leanest and strongest version of myself I've ever seen. It's weird how time perception works on this. Five months feels like forever when I'm looking forward. But looking back? The last four months flew by. I guess that's just how it goes when you're in the middle of something. The diet I've been running feels sustainable for another 5 months. I love hitting the gym in the mornings now. The protocol is dialed in. It's just a matter of staying consistent and letting the math work itself out. ## The Motivation Reality Check Seventeen weeks is a long time to maintain strict protocols and weekly documentation. The discipline that carried me through the first few months? It wavered this week on the content side. I didn't skip anything protocol-wise. I didn't cheat. The peptides, the gym, the eating window... all of that stayed consistent. But sitting down to write this post? I pushed it off from Thursday to Sunday. Here's the thing though, the protocol works even when the documentation motivation doesn't. 2.4 pounds down. Still moving forward. The peptides, the split dosing, the consistent approach... it all keeps working even when I can't be bothered to write about it immediately. Sometimes that's what you need. A system that works on autopilot. ## RENPHO Scale Report: Week 17 Body Composition This week's [RENPHO smart scale](https://amzn.to/47unhTA) report. Still planning on bringing it with me to my DEXA scan to have as close as possible reports to compare accuracy. ![report (5) (1)-1-fotor-2025110214956.png](https://retatrutidelog.com/uploads/a7a29fec-9c2a-4b79-93e6-e9974033ca24.png) ## StepUp Challenge: Back to 5 Members This week's stats:
Group Name retatrutidelog
Number of current members 5
Date Range 2025-10-24 to 2025-10-31
Sum of total steps of all members 283,897 steps
Avg daily steps of all members 7,097 steps/day
Total distance covered by group 129.04 miles [207.67 kms]
Weekly Wrap-up: 283K+ steps and 129+ miles covered with 5 members. Group stays consistent even when individual motivation wavers.
If you'd like to join our group, you can use the [direct group invite](https://join.thestepupapp.com/zW07S5) or read about [why I started this challenge](https://retatrutidelog.com/posts/my-step-count-is-trash-started-a-group-to-fix-it). ## Family Protocol Updates My wife is still on 3mg single injection. Last week's nausea is completely gone. She's reporting feeling extremely full now, and I've observed a sharp decline in how often she snacks. The appetite suppression is clearly working for her. Other family member reports no side effects and is down about 24 pounds in 3 weeks. No complaints, just results. ## Week 18 Plan: Pushing 5-Amino Higher and Adding GHK-Cu Going into Week 18, I'm making two additions to the protocol: **Increasing 5-Amino-1MQ to 100mg daily**, 50mg before gym in the morning, 50mg mid-day. Already mixed the new vial at higher concentration (100mg/mL), so I'm keeping the same injection volume. **Adding GHK-Cu at 2.5mg daily**, I've had my eye on this one for a while for the potential skin tightening properties. As I lean out more, I'm running it for 7 to 8 weeks then I'll cycle off for a bit. It's a bit of insurance... I don't appear to have an issue with loose skin yet, but it's cheap and I'll take any advantage I can get. Better to be proactive about skin elasticity now than deal with it later. ![1000002448-fotor-20251102161659.png](https://retatrutidelog.com/uploads/4e5072dc-defc-4bcb-8a0d-b143c6fbe4a2.png) The protocol keeps working. Even on the weeks where I'm not feeling it. That's what matters. ::subscribe[{"variant":"default"}] --- **Disclaimer:** The information provided on this site is for **educational and informational purposes only** and reflects my **personal experiences and opinions**. It is **not** intended as medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Retatrutide is an **investigational drug** that is **not approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)** for any use outside of clinical trials. Always consult a licensed healthcare professional before making any decisions regarding medications, supplements, or medical treatments. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Some links on this site may be affiliate links.