If you have been on a rigorous diet or exercise routine before, then you’re probably going to agree that it’s hard to lose weight, especially around the abdominal area.
If you’re in the bodybuilding and fitness space, you should also agree that it’s super hard to maintain motivation and resist cravings. Plus, caloric deficits can be a real pain in the rear, as some of your hard-earned gains waste away with the fat.
Thankfully, Tesamorelin exists to help address those challenges.
Tesamorelin: What Does it Do?
First, we have to define what peptides are:
Basically, peptides are large chains of amino acids that function similarly to hormones by mimicking them and telling the body to trigger a natural response, either by producing more hormones or activating a certain receptor.
Note: if this is your first time on our site and you want to learn more about peptides in general without getting too overwhelmed, our What are Peptides guide is probably the best place to go.
Now, tesamorelin is a synthetic version of a hormone called growth hormone-releasing hormone (GHRH) which stimulates the pituitary gland to release more — you guessed it, growth hormone.
So Tesamorelin acts as a substitute for GHRH coming from your hypothalamus which then tells the pituitary to make more growth hormone, which in turn makes insulin growth factor-1 (IGF-1).
How it Works
The thing with hormones is that whenever we have a surplus of a particular one, the organ that naturally produces them gets stopped by the brain since “we” think we have enough.
We don’t want this to happen since we’re trying to increase its output in the first place!
This is often called the negative feedback loop in the fitness and bodybuilding space and is designed to prevent homeostasis, which is like our body’s limiter.
Let’s take a well-known peptide like insulin for example. After you eat a meal, it’s only natural that your blood glucose levels rise to digest carbohydrates. Insulin is then released to deliver the glucose into your cells to be used for energy later.
The negative feedback loop then comes into play as your blood glucose goes down, reducing insulin secretion to regulate the body which rinses and repeats for the next meal.
Tesamorelin is a really good peptide to circumnavigate the negative feedback loop as it “binds” to your GHRH receptors and stimulates the pituitary gland to “naturally” release more growth hormone.
This is especially important as it is a safer alternative to directly administering recombinant human growth hormone (rhGH), which can screw up your insulin sensitivity and homeostasis due to the negative feedback loop.
After the peptides into your bloodstream, they enter your pituitary gland and bind to GHRH receptors, which stimulate growth hormone release and bypass the negative feedback loop that naturally regulates or limits excessive growth hormone release.
This influx in growth hormone stimulates your liver to produce more IGF-1 which can significantly influence several of your body’s physiological processes such as metabolic health.
Now what does this mean? Since your metabolism is now in tip-top shape, you can now effectively break down stored fats such as triglycerides while reducing the likelihood of them turning into visceral fat by signaling fat cells to release stored fat to be used as fuel.
This is especially important as visceral fat can increase your risk of metabolic and cardiovascular disease and is the biggest reason why Tesamorelin is a widely popular fat loss medication, especially in reducing visceral fat — and many studies support this notion.
Health Benefits
According to the most recent phase III clinical trial results from 2023, Tesamorelin was very effective in reducing visceral adipose tissue (a fancy term for visceral fat) in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected patients with lipodystrophy, resulting in a better body image and quality of life.
These studies were placebo-controlled and involved testing 816 patients over a period of 58 weeks.
However, we should take this with a grain of salt as the research had a very specific issue – While this observed benefit had a specific situation and subjects, this doesn’t necessarily mean that the same could work for your research.
This was done on HIV patients with lipodystrophy, a condition wherein there’s an abnormal amount of fat distribution in the body without any connection to the patient’s diet or lifestyle.
In their case, their form of treatment (antiretroviral therapy) can lead to metabolic abnormalities that result in lipodystrophy, which Tesamorelin helps manage.
IGF-1 can also help retain lean body mass as it can promote muscle growth through high-intensity exercises by activating anabolic pathways in your skeletal muscles like the PI3K/Akt Pathway.
This leads to increased protein synthesis, muscle cell proliferation, and muscle fibre hypertrophy – key components to preserve lean body mass.
But does it work and is it safe? Yeah! Tesamorelin had a bit more legroom for researching its effects as it was already approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) back in 2010 for treating this type of specific situation. Today this drug is marketed under the brand name “Egrifta.”
Side Effects
Of course, Tesamorelin isn’t a miracle weight loss solution designed to whisk all your fat on a golden chariot. The only probable disadvantage to Tesamorelin is that you can experience some very adverse side effects due to long-term usage.
Conditions such as glucose intolerance and high insulin resistance are one of the primary problems that stem from such irresponsible usage.
Additionally, Tesamorelin may include but are not limited to these common side effects:
- Muscle aches and soreness
- Joint pain
- Night sweats
- Pain, reddening, and/or itching at the site of injection (also known as post-injection pain in the fitness space)
Administration and Dosage
As it was approved by the FDA in 2010, researchers have had the time to come up with a recommended dosage for adults.
According to the Mayo Clinic, recommended dosages would be 1.4mg for a 2mg vial and 2mg for a 1mg vial subcutaneously injected once a day typically into the abdominal area.
Note: Tesamorelin only comes in lyophilized form and must be reconstituted with bacteriostatic water in order to prepare it for subcutaneous injections. For more information, please visit our how-to guide to reconstituting peptides.
Now, how long do you take it for? There is no specific timeframe, but Tesamorelin takes a little bit longer to see results, and you won’t notice it at first. You’ll usually notice these effects around 6-10 weeks at most
However, as we said before, Tesamorelin can mess up your glucose levels, which is why it’s best to let a certified medical professional guide you through this process.
The only downside to Tesamorelin compared to other drugs such as CJC-1295 is that it has a pretty short half-life, only about 26-38 minutes (which lasts around 52-76 minutes). This forces you to frequently inject Tesamorelin to maintain its effect.
When to Take Tesamorelin?
HGH typically peaks during deep sleep. With this in mind, there are currently three viable ways to take it:
- Most people take Tesamorelin during nighttime. The logic behind this is that taking this peptide at this timeframe can amplify your HGH output even more while helping you sleep better.
- Another way to take it is during the morning as HGH decreases in that time. The logic behind this is that people can maintain elevated HGH levels and enjoy its associated benefits for longer periods.
- A third viable option is to take it right before exercises as HGH (and IGF-1 to an extent) can help retain lean muscle mass while burning fat. HGH can also retain nitrogen, which helps retain more muscle during a caloric deficit and help your muscle bellies look “fuller” when you do a pump.
There’s also a circulating rumor to take it post-workout as there’s an “anabolic window” wherein people can take peptides post-workout as they’re more effective. However, we don’t have any conclusive evidence regarding this belief.
Verdict
So, should you use Tesamorelin?
If you want to shed a lot of abdominal or visceral fat while retaining lean muscle mass, Tesamorelin can be a good, FDA-approved starting point for you.
However, we highly recommend having your physician involved in such decisions as what will work for most people may not necessarily work for you – your physician is the next best person (aside from you) to gauge whether your research can benefit from this wonderful peptide.
Note: To use Tesamorelin in the safest way possible, a good rule of thumb to follow is to get a doctor who always consistently persuades you to get your blood work out (even though it’s expensive) as it’s better what’s going on your body than not at all.
FAQs
Can Tesamorelin cause cancer?
It’s not going to necessarily cause cancer, but it can increase the rate of proliferation– the growth of new cells. If your body has an issue stopping cancer cells, growth hormone-inducing peptides like Tesamorelin can work against you as they make everything grow.
Can you take Tesamorelin and Ipamorelin together?
Yes! You can combine them to create a powerful stack as they work in different pathways to achieve the same thing — increasing HGH. How? Tesamorelin works by using the Hypothalamus, Pituitary, Gonadal, Axis (HPTA) pathway, while Ipamorelin is a ghrelin receptor agonist.
Normally, you can use them as standalone options, but put them together and they make a very powerful HGH stack.
Why? They make results faster and better by creating a synergistic effect when compared individually.
Let’s use an analogy: Let’s say you’re working on a business alone and you rake in about just enough to keep the business afloat, so you decide to take in a partner.
Now that you have a partner, you have someone to bounce ideas off that could potentially make the business more profitable.
Fast forward a bit, and both of your hard work pay off due to your synergistic partnership and you get to keep the lights on while taking home a LOT more profit compared to running the business individually.
