Semaglutide for Bodybuilding: Is It Good for Cutting?

As a competitive bodybuilder, you have got a tremendously difficult job leading as much as a contest. You’ve got to present a body with maximum muscle and minimum fat. You undertake a strict cutting process within the weeks leading up to indicate day to realize the specified ripped mass look. You will take any advantage you’ll be able to get that is protected and legal, right?

So what about Semaglutide? As you are little doubt aware, this GLP-1 receptor agonist, as present in Ozempic and Wegovy weight reduction medications, is the most well-liked weight reduction medication on the planet. But is it any good for bodybuilders cutting for a contest?

In this text, we go on to the source to search out out. Read on for real experiences, real advice, questions, and answers from bodybuilders who’ve been and are using weight reduction drugs containing semaglutide to get shredded for competition day while maintaining lean muscle mass.

This text will cover:

• Real Bodybuilder Experiences with Semaglutide
• What’s Semaglutide?
• What Sort of Bodybuilder Will Profit From Semaglutide?
• How Can Bodybuilders Get Semaglutide Prescribed?
• Is Semaglutide Value The Cost?
• Can Bodybuilders Get Semaglutide Covered By Insurance?
• Semaglutide Dosages
• Semaglutide Side Effects
• Other FAQs
• Wrap Up

Real Bodybuilder Experiences with Semaglutide

There are some very full of life semaglutide and bodybuilding discussions on such platforms as Reddit and bodybuilding forums. I’ve spent several hours reading these comments to get a general flavor of individuals’s experiences with the compound.

Case Study

One bodybuilder tracked his weekly experience with semaglutide injections. This guy’s starting weight was 240 kilos, and his goal weight was 215. He went to a clinic once every week and was given a .25 mg injection of Ozempic.

Along with a weekly semaglutide injection, this guy was taking the next supplements: Men’s multivitamin 10-15 grams of fiber a day (psyllium husk), Whey protein isolate, Fish oil, Vitamin D3, CoQ10, Zinc, Magnesium.

He was also on the next Anabolic steroids: Testosterone propionate: 350mgs every week, Nandrolone Phenylpropionate: 350mgs every week, Winstrol: 50mgs/day.

At a .25 mg weekly dose, he was feeling the appetite suppression effects for the primary three days, but then they wore off, and his hunger cravings returned. After a few weeks, he decided, in consultation together with his doctor, to extend the dosage to .5 mg. The .25 mg injections didn’t give him any unwanted effects.

The day after upping the dosage, he had lost three kilos. Twenty days after starting his semaglutide injections, he had lost a complete of 10 kilos, which was greater than he had expected.

When questioned as as to if the load loss is likely to be partly on account of lack of muscle, the OP wrote:

My fasted weight is 234.7lbs. I began at 244lbs so I’m down almost 10lbs in 20 days.

This is sort of aggressive and greater than I expected. Some may say it’s muscle loss- it isn’t. I understand it isn’t because I devour 225-250 grams of protein a day, plus I’m using anabolic steroids to preserve muscle mass.

I’m continuing to maintain my food regimen dialed right into a T and I do know exactly how much I’m consuming every single day.

I’m attributing the huge weight reduction results to the food regimen, 30-40 mins of cardio 5x every week, and weights 5x every week.

I’ll probably only use this for one more 2-3 weeks to drop one other 7-10lbs. At that time it can be time to let my body rest, get blood work done, and prepare for my off-season and pack on one other 20-25lbs to shoot for muscle growth.

After three weeks at a dosage of .5 mg, the dosage was increased to .75 mg per week. He achieved his 15-pound weight reduction goal and didn’t experience any significant unwanted effects.

What’s Semaglutide?

Semaglutide is a sort of short chain of amino acid generally known as a peptide. It falls inside a classification of peptides generally known as a GLP-1 receptor agonist. These peptides mimic the consequences of a hormone called GLP-1, which the body releases into the gut after eating. It makes you are feeling full, but only lasts for a few minutes.

By making alterations on the molecular level, scientists have been capable of extend the half-life of the peptide. Consequently, once you take semaglutide, you are feeling fuller for longer after eating. That is since it slows gastric emptying by reducing the speed with which food moves through the intestinal tract.

Semaglutide also affects leptin sensitivity. Leptin is a hormone produced by the brain once you eat. It signals that you simply aren’t any longer hungry. It seems that semaglutide increases leptin receptor sensitivity. This contributed to the sensation of not being hungry.

A 3rd way that semaglutide helps you drop pounds is by promoting additional insulin secretion from the pancreas. It also prevents the liver from releasing excess amounts of glucose. This helps to scale back the likelihood of glucose being stored as excess fat. It also lowers blood sugar levels.

A 2020 Step 1 Trial, published within the , showed significant weight reduction ends in participants with chronic weight management needs. 1961 obese people got 2.4 mg of semaglutide or a placebo for 68 weeks.

The semaglutide group lost a mean of 14.9% of their body weight, compared with 2.4% for the placebo group.¹

There have been other GLP-1 receptor agonists. The thing that has set Semaglutide part is that, moderately than requiring each day injections, it only needs to be taken once weekly. That makes it much more accessible and acceptable for many individuals, resulting in the worldwide Ozempic frenzy.

The underside line is that a Semaglutide weight reduction drug helps you are feeling fuller for longer after eating a meal. Consequently, you’re prone to devour fewer calories, resulting in significant weight reduction, especially when combined with a healthy lifestyle.

What Sort of Bodybuilder Will Profit from Semaglutide?

The essential advantage of taking semaglutide is that it can prevent you from cheating in your food regimen and snacking between meals. In case you occur to have iron willpower who would moderately dive into shark-infested waters than cheat in your food regimen, then you definately don’t need semaglutide.

Nonetheless, when you occur to be like most mere mortals and end up tempted beyond restraint in those days and weeks leading as much as competition day, semaglutide may very well be the answer to keeping on the right track.

As a private trainer who works with competitive bodybuilders, I’ve seen guys who change into obsessive about food through the last couple of weeks of their cutting phase. All they consider is having the ability to swap their chicken and rice for ice cream and donuts. Inevitably, they find yourself cheating.

I’ve also seen firsthand how taking Ozempic can flip that script. Suddenly, these same individuals are not food-obsessed. They’re capable of eat their scheduled cut meals and go on with their day, not even enthusiastic about snacking or taking in unscheduled calories.

But I’ve also seen the unwanted effects of that advantage. These include nausea, diarrhea, and stomach pain. That is not what you would like to be coping with once you’re peaking for a contest.

How Can Bodybuilders Get Semaglutide Prescribed?

In case you’re a bodybuilder who has decided to take semaglutide during your cutting cycle, you’ll want to make an appointment to see a medical skilled. As imposed by the FDA, the standards are to have a body mass index of 27 or higher together with a weight-related health concern. This may very well be elevated blood pressure or high LDL cholesterol.

Alternatively, you can have a BMI of 30 or higher with no associated weight-related medical condition.

The medical skilled will thoroughly assess your medical history and consider every other medications you take which will interact with semaglutide. She or he may even discuss your eating habits and lifestyle to be sure that you’re doing the whole lot you’ll want to do to advertise healthy weight reduction naturally.

If he’s satisfied that you simply meet the standards for semaglutide for weight reduction, the doctor will prescribe a course of treatment for you. This may involve once-weekly injections, which may be done at home. You’ll typically start with a dosage of 0.25 mg per week. Your doctor will monitor your results, week to week, and should increase the dosage when you aren’t shedding weight.

Is Semaglutide Well worth the Cost?

Semaglutide, whether in the shape of Ozempic or Wegovy, is pricey. In case you are fortunate, you’ll have the ability to assert a big proportion of that cost in your insurance. Otherwise, you will be forking over a hunk of money every month.

The precise price varies in accordance with the particular drug and manufacturer. Listed here are a few typical experiences from Reddit users:

Sup guys, went to my doc and got it for obesity (lol BMI happened to be 30 on the dot (6’1 230) cause I used to be at the top of the majority, my fighting weight is about 200.

He subscribed me an ozempic pen and it was 25 bucks after insurance. (This costs literally $1300 within the US without ins). Been injecting .25 per week and it’s working OK. Nausea is annoying, but I’m hoping that subsides.

u/Environmental Rule 525

I definitely need to keep running this after I finish my vial but at ~$1000 for 10mg from Empower Compounding Pharmacy (Marek‘s source) it’s just an excessive amount of, since the minimum effective dose for me at 1mg/week could be $100. I haven’t found a less expensive source yet so more updates to return.

u/Twiggy Sawdust

The query you have got to ask yourself is, ‘Am I prepared to pay within the vicinity of $300 per week for an appetite-suppressing drug?’ In fact, whether you’ll be able to afford to is one other query entirely.

Can Bodybuilders Get Semaglutide Covered by Insurance?

Ozempic, Wegovy, and other semaglutide-based prescription medications are being prescribed for weight reduction if the patient is clinically obese. It’s as much as each insurance company to determine as as to if they’ll cover these medications.

To be prescribed for these drugs in the primary place, bodybuilders will should be classified as being ‘obese.’ That is not that difficult. The completely irrelevant obesity scale (BMI) doesn’t take into body composition. Consequently, a bodybuilder with a good amount of muscle mass might be classified as obese, despite having lower body fat levels than 99% of the population.

Semaglutide Dosage for Bodybuilders

Semaglutide dosage schedules involve step by step increasing the injection to provide the body time to get used to it. There are standard dosage protocols for Ozempic and Wegovy, the most well-liked types of taking the drug.

Here’s a chart showing the standard dosing schedules for each medications:

So, how does this compare to the amounts that bodybuilders are taking?

There is sort of a bit of debate regarding dosing protocols on the More Plates More Dates Reddit thread. Most bodybuilders seem to start with a .25 mg dosage. That is taken once weekly by injection. Nonetheless, quite a number of people have commented that the appetite suppression effect wears off after two or three days. Consequently, they increased the dosage to .5 mg per week.

Some people have had to extend the dosage to 1 mg for the fullness effect to last for all the week. Here is one user’s experience:

After a number of days on the primary week the potency of .25mg/week quickly wore off, and the next week I almost barely felt it. I upped it to .5mg, and the effect was also minimal, lasting possibly a number of days. This week I went as much as 1mg and now I can feel the appetite suppression last for the entire week.

It’s interesting to notice that Derek from More Plates More Dates personally uses a 2 mg dosage. This didn’t produce any untoward unwanted effects, though the long-term effects are unknown. That is the dosage he must have the appetite suppression effect last for the complete seven days until the subsequent injection.

It ought to be noted that the dosage utilized in the Step 1 Trial referred to earlier was 2.4 mg, taken as a once-weekly injection. Nausea and diarrhea were the essential unwanted effects, though, for many study participants, these went away after two to a few weeks.

Remember, too, which you can’t arbitrarily settle on the semaglutide dosage you’ll take. It is a prescribed medication. So, the dosage amount is a call that’s made in collaboration with the medical skilled who prescribed the drug to you.

What Side Effects Have Been Reported?

Not everyone who takes semaglutide will experience unwanted effects. My informal evaluation shows that about half of commenters on Reddit don’t have any opposed effects when taking the drug. The opposite half report nausea, diarrhea, stomach pain, and increased heart rate as essentially the most common negative reactions.

Here’s a sampling of comments from bodybuilders who’ve been taking semaglutide during their cutting phase:

I also struggle with exercise induced nausea. I keep my heart rate lower, don’t get on my Peloton as much and go so much slower on hikes. If I get near 170 I get very nauseated and lightweight headed, sometimes have to take a seat down until it passes. I haven’t pushed it to the purpose of puking. I’ve maintained lifting 3x week but go slower and never as many bursts to maintain my heart rate a bit lower. I don’t think I’ve sacrificed any muscle mass but I’m also don’t thunk I’m constructing more. Pleased with that as I spent the 12 months prior to semaglutide focused on strength moderately then cardio and am in a strength place I’m overall comfortable with.

u/Deamyn

Good luck with the exercise-induced nausea. I genuinely mean it; it was a pain within the ass for me. It took twice as long for me to get my workouts in. I did notice though with more water consumption it wasn’t as bad; nevertheless, it was still present.

u/Grymreifer

Be careful for the unwanted effects, they suck. I had headaches for the primary month or so and nausea, and that was on low dose (.25mg)- i’m just now on 1mg (actually .75 as i’m just going up 10 ticks on slin pin every few weeks to get to higher dose slowly). Def works fast with appetite suppression initially but i discovered that you simply get used to it and that i are inclined to eat more.. but still shedding weight and garments fit higher.

u/RAL1111

From the above comments, we see that these unwanted effects were experienced at dosage levels starting from a low of .25 to a high of 1 mg. The reactions appear to be highly individual dependant. Simply because one person experiences nausea and headaches doesn’t suggest that you’ll. The one method to discover is to provide it a trial.

Other FAQs

Can I construct muscle mass with semaglutide?

Semaglutide shouldn’t be a muscle-building drug, so no, it can not assist you construct muscle. Slightly, it can assist you to remain true to your cutting food regimen by keeping you full. This may assist you to withstand the inevitable temptations to interrupt your food regimen that occur in the times and weeks leading as much as a bodybuilding competition.

Will semaglutide impact my workout ability?

Whether or not semaglutide affects your workout depends upon how your body responds to the medication. Some bodybuilders will experience nausea, headaches, and general malaise through the first few weeks of treatment. This might well affect the flexibility to work out. Others won’t experience any unwanted effects. In reality, they’ll not be as food-obsessed through the final weeks of contest prep, allowing them to focus more fully on their workouts.

Are you able to get ripped on semaglutide?

Semaglutide can assist you to get ripped by staying strict to your cutting food regimen. It can keep you full between meals, making you far less prone to cheat in your food regimen.

Is it protected to take anabolic steroids with semaglutide?

Some kinds of steroids may negatively interact with semaglutide. For instance, Prednisone (a corticosteroid moderately than an anabolic steroid) may negatively affect semaglutide’s ability to control blood glucose levels. In case you are taking steroids in addition to semaglutide, you must recurrently have your blood sugar levels checked.

Wrap Up

Semaglutide shouldn’t be a “magic” cutting formulation for bodybuilders. Its key profit lies in its ability to maintain you feeling full between meals, making you less prone to cheat in your food regimen. In case you’re one in all those rare humans whose determination to eat clean doesn’t need any boosting, you do not need it. Nonetheless, when you’re like most bodybuilders who struggle with their food regimen leading as much as competition, semaglutide can definitely assist you stay on the right track.

In case you are all for pursuing a prescription for semaglutide, but aren’t sure about the very best place to get it, you’ll be able to read our article on Where to Buy Semaglutide.

In case you’re a bodybuilder who’s been taking semaglutide during your cutting cycle, we would love to listen to how it has been going for you. Share your experience within the comments below.

References