@legdaydaddyy retatrutide + KLOW + NAD+ stack — May 2026
Peptide protocol Retatrutide: 2MG per week KLOW (BPC-157, TB 500, GHKCU, KPV): 13 units at night NAD+: 60MG EOD What other peptides would you add?
Three items: one real driver (retatrutide), one community recovery blend (KLOW), one weak-evidence add-on (injectable NAD+). The reta dose is sensible. But the author closes by asking what other peptides to add — and the honest editorial answer is none. The thing this stack is missing is a protein target and a resistance training program, both of which determine whether retatrutide-driven loss goes to fat or muscle.
| Goal | Score | Grade | Weight | Why |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Longevity | 72 | C- | 20% | Retatrutide has emerging cardiometabolic benefit in trial data; KLOW's longevity case is weak; injectable NAD+ is mostly anecdotal. No monitoring framework attached, which is what would have lifted this into B territory. |
| Cognition | — | Not targeted | — | No ingredient in the stack has a plausible cognition mechanism. Not targeted. |
| Sleep & recovery | 75 | C | 15% | KLOW dosed at night is the recovery side of this axis — BPC-157 and TB-500 have plausible tissue-repair mechanisms. Nothing in the stack targets sleep itself. |
| Energy & metabolism | 82 | B- | 30% | Retatrutide 2mg/week is a real metabolic dose with phase 2 data showing meaningful weight loss and glycemic improvement in this range. Held back by the absence of any dietary or activity framework around it. |
| Body recomposition | 78 | C+ | 35% | Retatrutide is the only ingredient doing real body-recomp work. It works — and without a protein target and resistance training program, GLP-1-class loss reliably tilts toward lean mass. The single missing piece is the one the author needs most. |
Ingredients (3)
Retatrutide
Retatrutide on peptidelist.org ↗
- Dose
- 2mg/week · weekly
- Mechanism
- Triple agonist of GLP-1, GIP, and glucagon receptors. Suppresses appetite via GLP-1, improves insulin secretion via GIP, and increases energy expenditure via glucagon receptor activation — the most aggressive metabolic-receptor profile of any GLP-1-class compound in development.
- Take
- 2mg/week sits between Lilly's phase 2 trial arms (1, 4, 8, 12mg) and is a sensible mid-low dose for someone titrating onto the compound — meaningful metabolic effect without the GI tolerability cliff of the higher arms. The phase 2 trial showed ~12–16% body weight loss at 12 weeks in this dose neighborhood. The bigger issue isn't the dose; it's that retatrutide isn't FDA approved, which means this is research-vendor sourcing with no third-party HPLC, no dose-accuracy guarantee, and no clinical monitoring framework attached.
KLOW blend (BPC-157 + TB-500 + GHK-Cu + KPV)
- Dose
- 13 units nightly · nightly
- Mechanism
- Fixed-ratio combination of BPC-157, TB-500, GHK-Cu, and KPV marketed for systemic recovery: gut and tissue repair (BPC-157), angiogenesis and connective-tissue healing (TB-500), copper-mediated skin and wound signaling (GHK-Cu), and anti-inflammatory effects (KPV).
- Take
- KLOW is a community-recognized blend so the composition is a known quantity, but 'units' tells us nothing without the reconstitution. On a standard 100-unit insulin syringe, 13 units = 0.13mL — the total peptide delivered depends entirely on how the vendor's lyophilized vial was reconstituted. A typical KLOW vial (~10mg total peptide in 3–5mL water) puts 13 units somewhere in the 250–400mcg total range, which is a low-to-moderate enthusiast dose. The bigger structural issue is the standard blend critique: no per-component titration, no per-component HPLC, and four peptides moving together means you can't attribute response to any one.
NAD+
- Dose
- 60mg every other day · EOD
- Mechanism
- Direct subcutaneous administration of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide, a coenzyme central to mitochondrial energy production and sirtuin-mediated DNA repair. Whether intact NAD+ crosses cell membranes or is degraded to precursors before uptake is the contested question.
- Take
- 60mg EOD subq is on the low end of injection protocols (clinic stacks often run 100–200mg). The bigger question is whether injectable NAD+ does anything useful at all — most clinical evidence on NAD restoration uses oral NMN or NR precursors, and direct NAD+ injection has weak human data, significant injection-site burning at higher doses, and a contested bioavailability story. The author has dosed conservatively, which limits the downside, but also limits whatever the upside is supposed to be. This is the ingredient that contributes least to the stack.
Risks & interactions
- Retatrutide without protein target or resistance traininghigh
The dominant body-recomp risk on any GLP-1-class compound is lean-mass loss in the deficit it creates. Trial data on tirzepatide and semaglutide consistently show ~25–40% of weight lost is lean tissue when neither protein intake nor resistance training is controlled. The stack mentions neither. Without those two levers, retatrutide's body-recomp story degrades from 'fat loss' to 'weight loss,' which is a different outcome and the one the author explicitly says he's after by calling it a 'leg day' protocol.
- Retatrutide is research-vendor sourcing with no monitoring frameworkhigh
Retatrutide is not FDA approved — there is no LillyDirect equivalent and no compounded option from legitimate compounding pharmacies. Every gray-market vial is research-peptide-vendor sourced, which means no third-party HPLC, dose-accuracy variability of ±15–40% in published vendor surveys, and no clinical follow-up. Reta also has open questions on lipase elevations, gallbladder events, and the longer-term cardiovascular profile that trial-arm participants get monitored for and self-sourced users don't.
- Blend dosing of KLOWmedium
KLOW is a stable, community-recognized composition so this isn't a mystery-blend problem. But the fixed ratio means none of the four components is dosed at its individually-optimal range, you can't titrate one without titrating all four, and per-component HPLC is unavailable for blended products. Medium-severity sourcing issue, not central to the stack.
- Injectable NAD+ evidence is thinmedium
Direct subq NAD+ has limited human RCT support; most NAD-restoration evidence comes from oral NMN/NR studies, and even those are mixed. Injection-site reactions, flushing, and the bioavailability question all apply. The dose is conservative so acute harm is unlikely; the issue is whether this ingredient is doing anything at all for the cost.
- No monitoring framework mentionedmedium
A retatrutide protocol benefits from periodic A1c, lipids, lipase, and resting heart rate. None are mentioned. Reta's GI side effect profile (nausea, vomiting, gallbladder events) is real at the higher arm doses; 2mg is gentler but the monitoring case still applies.
The author closes the post by asking what other peptides to add. The honest editorial answer is: not a peptide. Retatrutide produces a sizable deficit, and the literature on GLP-1-class loss is unambiguous — without adequate protein and a real resistance training stimulus, 25–40% of the lost weight is lean tissue. Adding another peptide on top doesn't fix that; only protein and lifting do. This is the single edit that changes the outcome of the stack from 'weight loss' to 'recomp.'
Estimated cost
Retatrutide from research-peptide vendors runs roughly $100–200/mo for 2mg/week (newer and pricier than tirzepatide). KLOW blend $80–150/mo depending on vendor. Injectable NAD+ vial $50–100/mo at 60mg EOD. All gray-market sourcing — no manufacturer self-pay equivalent for retatrutide, no compounding-pharmacy path.