DEXA Proof: Retatrutide Fat Loss With Zero Lean mass Loss - 12 Week Analysis

# DEXA Proof: Retatrutide Fat Loss With Zero Muscle Loss - 12 Week Analysis Two DEXA scans, twelve weeks apart, and the results are in: 31.7 pounds of fat gone, zero lean mass lost. Here's what the gold standard in body composition testing actually shows. **Important context up front:** This is an n=1 self-experiment. I'm not a clinical trial. I titrated retatrutide way faster than the research protocols (they go slow for safety reasons), and I'm getting results faster too. But I've also been extremely strict with diet and gym attendance, which are probably doing more heavy lifting than the drugs. That's just like, you know, my opinion man. ## The Hard Data: August 16 vs November 8, 2025 Here's what two $159 DEXA scans twelve weeks apart actually show: | Metric | Aug 16, 2025 | Nov 8, 2025 | Change | |--------|--------------|-------------|--------| | **Body Weight** | 301.2 lbs | 266.4 lbs | -34.8 lbs | | **Body Fat %** | 40.1% | 32.9% | -7.2 points | | **Fat Mass** | 118.7 lbs | 87.0 lbs | -31.7 lbs | | **Lean Mass + Bone** | 177.6 lbs | 177.5 lbs | -0.1 lbs | | **Visceral Fat Area** | 319 cm² | ~210 cm² | ~-30% | | **Bone Mineral Density** | 1.285 g/cm² | 1.299 g/cm² | +1.1% | | **BMI** | 38.7 | 34.2 | -4.5 points | ::gallery[{"images":["https://retatrutidelog.com/uploads/74387e6c-1964-4868-93f3-98271c019ec6.png","https://retatrutidelog.com/uploads/4b56e503-a267-4536-8552-f60bf83fe3af.png","https://retatrutidelog.com/uploads/50dfb995-3bd9-4552-a161-ad6f165e9bca.png","https://retatrutidelog.com/uploads/88cb0771-ace0-4e92-ab7d-87831f0aaee7.png","https://retatrutidelog.com/uploads/bb6843a8-ca4b-4c4e-acc7-9f929762e3d0.png"],"captions":["","","","",""]}] Let me be crystal clear about what this means: I lost 34.8 pounds total. 31.7 pounds of that was fat. The remaining 3.1 pounds? Water, glycogen, maybe some digestive content. But actual lean tissue - muscle, organs, connective tissue? Basically unchanged. That's not normal. Most people lose muscle during aggressive cuts. I didn't. ## Breaking Down What Actually Happened ### Fat Loss Quality Losing 31.7 pounds of pure fat in twelve weeks means I averaged about 2.6 pounds of fat loss per week. That's aggressive, but the DEXA proves it wasn't coming from muscle tissue. The body fat percentage drop from 40.1% to 32.9% is significant. That's moving from "obese" territory toward "overweight but getting there." Still have work to do, but the direction is right. ### Lean Mass Preservation This is the part that actually surprises me. Holding 177.5 pounds of lean mass while running a 1,300-1,500 calorie daily deficit shouldn't work this well. But it did. I can point to a few likely reasons: - **High protein intake:** Trying for 200 grams daily, supplemented with [protein shakes](https://amzn.to/3XkpafO) when needed - **Consistent weight training:** 4+ days per week, hypertrophy-focused (4 sets of 10-12 reps) - **TRT:** Started mid-September, helping maintain anabolic environment - **Tesamorelin:** Running the full 12 weeks, known for preserving lean tissue during fat loss - **Retatrutide:** Appetite suppression made hitting protein targets easy But honestly? I think the gym consistency and protein intake did more than the drugs. The drugs just made compliance easier. ### Visceral Fat Reduction Visceral fat area dropped from 319 cm² to approximately 210 cm². That's roughly 30% reduction in the dangerous fat that wraps around your organs. This matters more than the scale number. Visceral fat is the metabolically active stuff that drives inflammation, insulin resistance, and cardiovascular risk. Getting this number down is probably more important for long-term health than total weight lost. Tesamorelin has solid research showing it preferentially targets visceral fat. Whether that's what drove this result or it was just natural fat distribution, I can't say. But I'll take it. ### Bone Density Increase Bone mineral density went up 1.1% during a caloric deficit. That's backwards from what usually happens - most people lose bone density when cutting weight aggressively. Credit probably goes to: - **Resistance training:** Loading bones with weight signals them to stay strong - **Adequate micronutrients:** Vitamin D, calcium, magnesium all dialed in - **Hormonal support:** TRT and the GH axis stimulation from tesamorelin This is a win for long-term health. Maintaining bone density while losing fat means I'm not sacrificing skeletal health for aesthetics. ### Regional Fat Distribution The DEXA shows I lost the most fat from my trunk (chest, abdomen, back). That's the healthiest pattern - losing central body fat improves insulin sensitivity and reduces metabolic disease risk more than losing fat from extremities. Arms and legs also leaned out, but the trunk reduction is what matters most for health markers. ## How This Compares to Clinical Trial Results Here's something interesting: I'm way ahead of the published retatrutide clinical trial timeline from the New England Journal of Medicine 2023 study - even compared to the highest-dose 12mg group. | Metric | Me (18 weeks) | Trial 12mg Group (48 weeks) | |--------|---------------|------------------------------| | **Time on drug** | 18 weeks | 48 weeks | | **Percent body weight lost** | 20.4% | 24.2% | | **Average weekly loss rate** | ~1.13% body weight/week | ~0.50% body weight/week | | **Relative speed** | ~2.3x faster | Baseline | Let me put that in perspective: I've reached 20.4% body weight loss in 18 weeks. The 12mg trial cohort didn't cross 20% until roughly week 42-44 according to the published data. **I'm about 24-26 weeks (six months) ahead of their pace.** Or to put it another way: I've achieved in four months what trial participants needed nearly ten months to reach. ### Why I'm Ahead of Clinical Timelines I can point to a few likely reasons: **Faster titration:** I reached 12mg by week 6-8. The clinical trial protocol took 24 weeks to hit that dose (they titrate slowly for safety). **Structured nutrition:** I'm running a consistent 1,300-1,500 calorie deficit with high protein targets. **Resistance training + TRT:** I'm actively preserving lean mass and maintaining metabolic rate through hypertrophy-focused training and testosterone replacement therapy. **Tesamorelin addition:** The enhanced GH/IGF-1 pulse probably amplified fat oxidation beyond what retatrutide alone provides. **Adherence and consistency:** No off-weeks, no diet breaks, tight routine execution. ### What This Means Going Forward At my current trend: - Week 22-23: I should hit 24-25% body weight loss (matching the trial's 48-week average) - Week 30: Likely 27-28% loss (probably around 245 lbs) I'm tracking to beat the study's final results by five to six months. **But let's be realistic:** It's entirely possible that the momentum I've seen so far slows down. I could hit a stall or two. Weight loss isn't linear, and aggressive cuts eventually meet adaptive thermogenesis. The body fights back. Time will only tell how well this keeps going. But I know one thing: I have the confidence that I should keep doing what I'm doing until it's no longer working. When progress stops, I'll reassess. Until then, consistency wins. **But here's the important caveat:** The clinical trial was designed for safety and gradual dose escalation. They went slow on purpose. I went fast because I was willing to accept more risk in a self-experiment. This doesn't mean my approach is better - it means I was more aggressive and got faster results with potentially higher risk. The trial participants got their results more safely and sustainably. ## The Protocol During This 12-Week Window Here's exactly what I was running between the two DEXA scans: **Full 12-week period (Aug 16 → Nov 8):** - Retatrutide: Titrated from 8mg to 12mg split dose - Tesamorelin: 2mg nightly before bed - Training: 4+ gym sessions per week, hypertrophy-focused (4 sets of 10-12 reps) - Diet: 1,300-1,500 calories daily, trying for 200 grams of protein supplemented with [protein shakes](https://amzn.to/3XkpafO) when lacking **Added ~4 weeks in (mid-September):** - Testosterone Cypionate: 150mg/week split into 3x 50mg doses via [AlphaMD](https://www.alphamd.org/referral/NtiKq) The TRT addition happened about one-third of the way through this window. You can read about [my AlphaMD onboarding experience here](https://retatrutidelog.com/posts/starting-trt-alphamd-onboarding-experience). I've got labs scheduled for November 17th to check in with AlphaMD and see if any dosing adjustments are needed. ## Smart Scale vs DEXA: The $139 vs $159 Question Remember when I brought my RENPHO smart scale to the DEXA facility? Here's how a $139 Amazon scale (currently on sale) compared to a $159 medical-grade DEXA scan: | Metric | DEXA | RENPHO | Difference | |--------|------|--------|------------| | **Weight** | 266.4 lbs | 267.4 lbs | +1 lb (clothing) | | **Body Fat %** | 32.9% | 31.0% | -1.9 points | | **Fat Mass** | 87.0 lbs | 82.8 lbs | -4.2 lbs | | **Lean Mass** | 177.5 lbs | 184.6 lbs | +7.1 lbs | | **BMI** | 34.2 | 34.3 | Identical | The smart scale matched weight perfectly (accounting for the 1-pound clothing adjustment). Body fat percentage was within 2%, which is typical for bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) technology. The lean mass over-estimate is expected - BIA scales interpret water and glycogen as lean tissue. Since I was running tesamorelin (which increases water retention slightly via GH axis stimulation), the scale read high on lean mass. ### The Cost-Benefit Analysis **DEXA Scan:** - Cost: $159 per scan - Frequency: Quarterly (every 12 weeks) - Annual cost: $636 - Accuracy: Gold standard - What you get: Precise body composition, regional fat distribution, bone density, visceral fat area **RENPHO Smart Scale:** - Cost: $139 one-time (currently on sale) - Frequency: Daily tracking - Annual cost: $139 (one-time purchase) - Accuracy: Weight exact, body fat within 1-2%, trends reliable - What you get: Daily feedback, trend tracking, sufficient for course correction **My strategy:** Use the RENPHO daily for trend tracking and course corrections. Get a DEXA scan quarterly to recalibrate and verify I'm not losing muscle. This gives me the best of both worlds - daily feedback for a one-time cost, plus quarterly validation from medical-grade equipment. ## The Real Talk: What Actually Drove These Results Here's where I need to be honest about causation vs correlation. Yes, I was running retatrutide, tesamorelin, and TRT during this period. But I was also: - Hitting protein goals every single day - Training with hypertrophy focus 4+ days per week - Maintaining a 1,300-1,500 calorie deficit consistently - Getting 7-8 hours of sleep most nights - Managing stress reasonably well **The drugs made compliance easier.** Retatrutide killed food noise and made hitting my calorie target effortless. Tesamorelin probably helped with recovery and visceral fat targeting. TRT likely protected lean tissue during the deficit. But if I had to rank what mattered most: 1. **Caloric deficit consistency** - You can't out-drug a bad diet 2. **High protein intake** - This protected muscle during the deficit 3. **Hypertrophy-focused training** - This signaled my body to keep the muscle 4. **Sleep and recovery** - This allowed adaptation to happen 5. **The drugs** - These made #1-4 easier to execute Could I have done this without the drugs? Maybe. Would it have been this fast and this clean? Probably not. Would I have been able to maintain this level of consistency? Doubt it. The drugs are performance enhancers for diet compliance. They're not magic - you still have to do the work. But they make the work significantly more manageable. ## 12-Week Transformation Summary ## What This Actually Proves (And What It Doesn't) **What this data shows:** - It's possible to lose significant fat while preserving muscle - The protocol I used (drugs + diet + training) produced textbook recomposition results - DEXA scans provide objective validation of body composition changes - Smart scales can reliably track trends between expensive DEXA scans **What this data doesn't show:** - Whether these results are reproducible in others - Which specific intervention (retatrutide, tesamorelin, TRT, diet, training) contributed most - Whether slower titration would produce better or worse results - Long-term sustainability beyond 18 weeks This is n=1 data. One person, one protocol, one outcome. It's evidence that this approach worked for me, not proof that it will work for you. ## Forward Plan: Next DEXA at 220 lbs I'm targeting my next DEXA scan when I hit 220 pounds. Based on current loss rates, that should be approximately 12 weeks from the last scan. **What I expect to see:** - Body fat percentage around 24-25% - Visceral fat area below 150 cm² - Lean mass holding steady at 177 lbs - Bone density stable or slightly higher **Protocol adjustments since the last scan:** - Dropped tesamorelin, switched to 4 IU HGH fasted AM - Increased 5-Amino-1MQ to 100mg daily - Added 2.5mg GHK-Cu daily - Started creatine monohydrate 5g daily (after the DEXA to avoid water weight skewing results) The third DEXA will tell me if switching from tesamorelin to HGH maintains the same lean mass preservation. It'll also show whether the additional compounds (5-Amino, GHK-Cu, creatine) help or hurt. ## The Big Picture Starting weight on July 3, 2025: 336.6 lbs Current weight (Nov 8, 2025): 267.4 lbs **Total lost: 69.2 lbs (20.4% of starting body weight)** DEXA-verified fat loss (Aug → Nov): 31.7 lbs Lean mass change: -0.1 lbs (basically zero) Visceral fat reduction: ~30% Bone density change: +1.1% If I had to summarize this in one sentence: The approach is working exactly how it should, and I have medical-grade data to prove it. Now it's about staying consistent until I hit 220 lbs, then reassessing whether to continue cutting or transition to maintenance. ::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** for any use outside of clinical trials. This post describes an n=1 self-experiment, not a clinical trial. 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.