Biohacker
July 2026
Reading Time: 6 minutes
Greta sits in her car and sings to the camera: “Greta, reta, bo, beta, banana, fana, fo, feta, fee, fi, fo, reta, Greta. Trutide.” Cait posts before-and-after pictures—“40 pounds down” and “#jesusloves”—following up with a reading of her favorite psalm. From his bedroom, Gabriel addresses his 462,000 followers about his adventures with low-dose reta—“I think it’s something that everyone should be doing”—and adds a link in his bio to his peptide supplier
These teenagers and twentysomethings are extolling the virtues of retatrutide, a new drug found to cause even greater and more rapid weight loss than Ozempic, Wegovy, and Zepbound. Eli Lilly is in the last phase of testing the substance, meaning it isn’t F.D.A.-approved—but that hasn’t stopped these people and many more from procuring it from compounding pharmacies, injecting it, and watching the pounds melt away. They’re so enthusiastic about their weight loss, their energy, and their chiseled physiques that they’re sharing their experiences on social media, complete with discount codes and product links. As Gabriel says, “I would 100 percent recommend it.” And even though I know better, I’m almost convinced.
