Protocol VPROTOCOL V

Current Stack — Metabolic Lock-In Phase

I just came off a 6-month cut where I dropped about 75 pounds. This phase is not about chasing more loss. It's about locking in the progress: restoring metabolism, protecting joints, calming inflammation, and making sure my gut and sleep are ready for a long runway of lean muscle gain over the next year.

Calories are set around my stabilization range (roughly 2,950–3,150 kcal/day) — high enough to refill the tank and normalize hormones, but not so high that I spill straight into body-fat gain. Training stays heavy and intentional; cardio is there for heart health and recovery, not punishment.

Base Non-Peptide Stack

Before any research signals, the foundation is boring on purpose: sleep, digestion, joints, and hormones. This is what I consider the "terrain" that all the peptides sit on top of.

  • TRT (physician-prescribed) — baseline hormone support, split daily to keep things steady. No magic, just keeping levels out of the gutter post-cut.
  • Collagen (Types I–V) — daily for connective tissue, skin, hair, and general structural support.
  • Omega-3, Vitamin D3/K2, Magnesium Glycinate — inflammation control, cardiovascular support, and sleep relaxation.
  • Gut support — fiber from food, hydration, and simple digestion-friendly habits (chewing, meal spacing) so I actually absorb what I eat.
  • Melatonin at night — for circadian rhythm and sleep depth, which indirectly supports metabolic recovery and hormone normalization.

If these are off, the peptides just become expensive noise. This phase is about stacking small wins instead of chasing new toys.

Research Signals — Metabolic & Structural Support

All of the compounds below are research peptides, sourced through AIO Peptides (Protov20). Nothing here is medical advice or a recommendation. This is how I organize the signals I'm studying in this lock-in phase.

Retatrutide — Insulin Sensitivity & Nutrient Partitioning

Retatrutide is a multi-receptor metabolic signal studied for its impact on insulin sensitivity, glucose handling, and nutrient partitioning. Coming out of a long cut, my goal isn't to keep driving intake lower — it's to make sure that the carbs and calories I bring back on line are going into muscle work and recovery instead of just getting parked as storage.

In this phase, I treat Retatrutide as a way to:

  • Support better post-meal glucose control.
  • Push more nutrients toward liver, muscle, and training output instead of spillover.
  • Smooth out appetite and energy so I'm not yo-yoing between "starving" and "stuffed."

Mechanism-wise, it's acting on the same general incretin/energy-signal family as GLP and GIP analogs, but with a broader receptor profile. I'm most interested in how it behaves once calories are stable and training volume is back up, not just in a crash-diet scenario.

KLOW Blend — Hair, Skin, Gut & Recovery Scaffold

The KLOW blend I'm using combines four signals:

  • GHK-Cu — copper peptide studied for skin quality, hair support, and inflammation modulation.
  • BPC-157 — researched for gut lining and soft-tissue healing.
  • TB-500 (Thymosin Beta-4 fragment) — tied to tissue repair and recovery signaling in various models.
  • KPV — a fragment of α-MSH studied for gut and systemic inflammation control.

Together, this stack is my **“terrain repair” blend**: gut, connective tissue, and low-grade inflammation coming off months of dieting and training stress. It also gives me a systemic backstop while I push the hair protocol (GHK-Cu topical, microneedling, Breo) harder.

I get this combo through AIO Peptides (Protov20) as a pre-combined research blend so it's easier to keep consistent.

Cartilax — Joint & Cartilage Support

After dropping 75 lb and living under a barbell, joints are the limiting factor, not motivation. Cartilax is a peptide signal researched for cartilage and joint matrix support — think more about the environment the joints live in than a painkiller.

I'm most interested in whether it helps:

  • Keep knees and hips feeling stable as I add volume and heavier work back in.
  • Reduce the "day after" stiffness as I push deeper into hypertrophy blocks.
  • Let me keep lower-body work in the program without needing to deload every other week.

Source: AIO Peptides — joint & cartilage research signals (Protov20).

DSIP — Sleep Architecture & Recovery

DSIP (Delta Sleep-Inducing Peptide) is studied for its impact on sleep depth, architecture, and stress response. In a lock-in phase, I'm not interested in "feeling more tired" — I'm interested in whether my sleep is doing the job:

  • More restorative deep sleep.
  • Less "wired but tired" insomnia from long dieting blocks.
  • Better wake-ups, fewer 3 am stress spikes.

I'm pairing DSIP with basic sleep hygiene (dark room, consistent schedule, no doomscrolling) and nightly melatonin. The goal is to let my nervous system downshift so growth signals from training and nutrition actually get processed.

How This Phase Fits the Bigger Plan

This isn't the flashy part of the journey. This is the bridge between the cut and the long hypertrophy run I'm building toward over the next year. The scorecard here isn't the scale — it's:

  • Stable bodyweight at a higher calorie intake.
  • Training performance trending up week to week.
  • Joints holding up under load.
  • Gut, sleep, and mood feeling steady instead of brittle.

Once those boxes stay checked for long enough, I'll start nudging calories into a lean-gain zone and document that as the next protocol. For now, this is the **lock-in** stack — keeping the win and building a platform for what's next.

Research only. Not medical advice, not a treatment plan, and not a recommendation. Talk to a qualified professional before changing anything about your health, training, or medication.