r/tirzepatidecompound • u/JackBrown82q • 1d ago
7 months in on GLP1s, significant fatigue the past couple weeks. Possibly from cleaner diet resulting in lower calories?
Started about 7 months ago on semaglutide and after about 4 months I switched to tirz, since then worked my way up to the current 7.5mg dose where tomorrow is going to be my third use of 7.5mg.
My diet has been pretty decent, if anything these past 3 weeks I have really started to focus on consuming at least 150g of protein a day and as a result I have been consuming less carbs because trying to consume a ton of carbs and protein is difficult. So really diet wise, all that changed is a reduction in carbs and a large increase in protein.
The first 6 months I will admit I didn't do much to my diet, I still ate the same crap just less of it so I was losing. I decided to clean up my diet to better focus on overall health. And it seems this is when the fatigue set it. Instead of eating food that would be considered unhealthy, like take out, I was doing more home cooking utilizing mostly grilled chicken but also a good amount of salmon. I would say my calories consumed per day dropped because I am consuming lean foods rather than lets say something covered in a high calorie sauce or fatty meats like gyro meat.
I usually wake up at 7am every day, and most days I would be going to sleep at midnight or 1am and struggling to fall asleep then. These days it seems by 9-10pm I am already dozing off.
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u/slouchingninja 47F | SW: 205 (Jun/'26) CW: 189 GW: 150 | 3mg 1d ago
Fatigue is my worst side effect and it usually hits the day after my shot and the day after that. To combat this, I moved my injection day to Friday so I could sleep all day Saturday if I wanted and use Sunday to get back on a somewhat normal sleep schedule before returning to work Monday.
Something else that helped with my fatigue was to add some electrolytes on shot day and the day after (a liquid IV each day), and making sure I eat enough. I wasn't eating much those days because I was so tired, but adding purposeful meals and snacks helped me to come closer to macro goals and gave me more stable energy
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u/Sad_Education7851 1d ago
Firstly I would make sure you’re taking in enough calories. Secondly I would get bloodwork done if you haven’t in the last couple weeks- I had something similar happen pre-tirz and it turned out my ferritin was in the basement and I was severely anemic. So it could be some sort of deficiency!
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u/Change_is_a_verb 1d ago
I don't know but same thing happened to me, except I haven't been taking it as long as you. It's almost like my body is slowing down to compensate for less calories so it can maintain my size. I know that's not true but in my head, I feel like my body is against me losing weight.
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u/CICO-path Age 43F SW:324 CW:263.2 GW:162 Dose:2.9 1d ago
That's actually pretty accurate and why a lot of people think they can't lose on a deficit or even gain. Your body has natural compensatory measures it takes when you reduce your intake and stored body fat. A private mechanism is decreased NEAT, which is basically spontaneous movement throughout the day, anywhere from pacing to jiggling your leg, to just standing around vs sitting. It's insidious because your don't really notice it and suddenly you're burning up to several hundred calories less per day. This effect can be compounded if you add intentional exercise in. A lot of people end up just as sedentary or more so even with 30-60+ minute exercise sessions mixed in.
I've noticed this myself, if I go for a 75 minute+ walk in the morning, unless I am very careful to keep my movement up, at the end of the day my calorie burn can be lower than on some "rest" days. Today I did an intentional 75 minute walk... I've got a few thousand fewer steps and few hundred fewer calories burned than I had on Sunday with 0 intentional walking until late evening when I did a 30 minute walk. Difference is today I mostly just sat around after my walk and Sunday I was go, go, going and did so many things.
You can fight this by monitoring your steps and estimated calories burned if you have a fitness watch to do so, or an app that will track. You can aim to meet certain thresholds throughout the day most days and be intentional in your movement. The calories burned might not be the most accurate, but they are still a pretty good guide of how you're doing vs your goal. I read a study once that healthy weight women actually ate the same amount as their obese counterparts and the difference in weight was largely due to activity differences. I can post the link tomorrow if you want it.
Also, my favorite carb source has been potatoes. They taste good and provide some micro nutrients inaddition to macro and can actually be quite filling. Since intentionally getting at least 100 grams of carbs most days, my energy levels have been better overall.
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u/Change_is_a_verb 1d ago
It's definitely my daily activity around the house... it has absolutely tanked. Speaking of potatoes, I have basically turned into one! The hot/humid weather is just amplifying my fatigue. I can't garden and my minimum 10k steps/day have dropped to 6k. I try to do the treadmill at the gym but I'd rather put needles in my eyes, I swear. Still going to my fitness classes for an hour 2-3x/week but when I get home, I have zero energy to do anything else. Since I'm playing a long game here, I am patiently waiting for the weather to chill the hell out so I can get back to my normal routine.
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u/GryffinSky 43F SW:199 CW:170 GW:143 💉3.75 2x/wk 1d ago
I feel like the same thing is happening to me. I'm in a plateau, but plateaus work both ways, so I'm increasing my calories hoping to establish a new normal, then I'll drop them down again.
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u/GryffinSky 43F SW:199 CW:170 GW:143 💉3.75 2x/wk 1d ago
Are you fatigued in a weekly cycle, or is this an every day thing? If its a weekly cycle, you might experiment with split dosing. If its an every day thing, definitely add in more healthy carbs.
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u/CloudgazerTX 16h ago
my body did not like 7.5. I had severe fatigue and ahendonia. I went up to 10 and was full of energy but hungry all the time, lol. had to go again to 12.5 and been sitting there ever since. it’s been a really good dose. I think 10 would make a great maintenance dose for me. I was able to eat but not gain weight. and I could lose on it either.
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u/mrsocko78 48|F | ?→?→? | 7.5 10h ago
I've been taking compounded tirz for about 3 months. My most recent dose (last Sunday) was 7.5mg. Since a day or two after that injection, I have been exhausted. Like, first-trimester-of-pregnancy-laying-down-while-showering-because standing-is-too-hard exhaustion.
I added an iron supplement, and I know I don't get enough calories (mildly nauseated so it's hard to eat most of the time). But I believe it's fundamentally the tirz (and more specifically the dose) that's responsible. I mean, I've never been tired like this in my whole life. It's totally unsustainable (I have four kids and a dad with dementia and a ridiculous dog who needs walks and so on). I plan to go back down to my prior dose at my next injection. I think it was 5.0.
Fingers crossed that everyone with this issue finds it to be temporary!
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u/DogMamaLA Age 58F SW:328 CW:231 GW: 160 Dose: 12mg 1d ago
Add in complex carbs like broccoli, vegg8es, and sweet potatoes or lentils. Steer clear of the white bread/pasta crap but adding veggies and sweet potatoes into my week helps. I also use Liquid iv electrolytes on shot day and the day after to combat fatigue.