Expert profile
Fitness educator; founder of More Plates More Dates
Derek covers performance-enhancing compounds, hormones and peptides from a harm-reduction perspective.
iNo endorsement. Derek (More Plates More Dates) is quoted for public statements only and does not endorse this site. Quotes are word for word; follow each link for the full context.
“I also worry about cancer cell proliferation from something that's pro growing blood vessels. So that is a concern with BPC for sure”
Context: Spoken answer, lightly punctuated. Just before this he says he is "not overly familiar with it to a point that I can say with any certainty" it works for a given condition, and that he has seen "some pretty remarkable improvements" in minor, not complete, tears.
“I would probably use it if I had a minor injury to somewhere I needed more blood flow. But I do think a lot of people use it proactively far too often”
Context: He continues that preventive use by athletes is, in his words, "overkill and risky as hell personally", citing its link to VEGF.
“Now what I'm doing right now is the sema […] so far I'm at .25 and I have not, I'll probably have to do an update video, but um didn't notice a whole lot today yet, but it is early still”
Context: Own use, in 2021. Just before, he explains that the newly approved weight-loss pen is 2.4 mg a week and that Ozempic for diabetes is dosed from 0.25; he does not repeat the unit after “.25”.
“The one that's just been FDA approved of the 2.4 milligram dose, which works well even at like 0.5 to 1 milligrams, so even as low as 0.25 some people don't even need to titrate higher than that”
Context: About semaglutide (“the one that's just been FDA approved”), describing what he has seen, not a recommendation.
“[…] So you cannot actually, even if your weekly dose is 2.4 milligrams, it would be more ideal probably to administer on a every three day cadence, every two day cadence, or ideally on like an everyday cadence potentially, if you wanted to attenuate some of these side effects”
Context: He is criticising fixed-dose pharmacy pens, which make it hard to split a weekly dose. Hedged (“probably”, “potentially”).
“And if you respond poorly, like, you're going to be in for a rough week, so obviously this is where titration from the lowest effective dose makes sense”
Context: Comparing once-weekly semaglutide with daily liraglutide.
“[…] that is cranking up resting heart rate, like, I don't really know, but it is uh concerning and should at least be noted and considered before you just jump on this […]”
Context: Discussing reported increases in resting heart rate with GLP-1 agonists; he is openly speculating about the mechanism. The cut removes a profanity.
“Assess response to a very low dose first (50-75 mcg), and taper up from there. […] It took me weeks before I had even reached a dose of 250 mcg pre-tanning. […] I eventually made my way all the way up to 500 mcg pre-tanning (this took a couple months). […] Now, I can maintain a very dark and healthy looking tan with only one 250 mcg shot per week and a little bit of UV exposure.”
Context: From “The Best Melanotan II Protocol” section of his article (published 26 Apr 2016, updated 12 Jan 2023), which he calls a “hypothetical” protocol that he learned from a researcher online and follows himself. Cuts remove sentences on side effects and freckling.
“An ideal approach in my opinion would be to start very low, and then every 3 sessions (Melanotan II administration coupled with post-administration tanning) bump the dosage by 25 mcg and increase the tanning duration by 1 minute (assuming tanning is being done in a tanning bed). Administration and tanning would be done every other day or every third day (or less frequently depending on personal needs). Administration should NEVER be done on days that you are not going tanning.”
Context: Same section. He also writes that the common “loading phase” protocol “is complete bullshit and is totally unnecessary”.
“Nausea is one of them, as well as flushing of the face, tiredness, decreased appetite and spontaneous erections (in males only obviously). […] To minimize any negative effects, simply opt for a lower dose. Usually the users who encounter issues or undesirable side effects are simply dosing way too high.”
Context: From the side-effects section of the same article.
“if you're just using it for a short sporadic period of time, I'm not 100% sure if it's gonna be permanent, but if you've gotten really dark with it it's quite likely […] I think there you can definitely expect your base color once you discontinued it and stop getting UV exposure to be a darker than what your original skin color is”
Context: Solo video. A companion article on his site (22 May 2019) says: “Yes, to some extent, Melanotan II permanently darkened my skin after a year of continuous use.”
“Personally, I use Nicotinamide Riboside (NR) because it is more cost effective right now, and it has human data to back up its efficacy and safety profile.”
Context: About NAD+ precursors (NR versus NMN), not NAD+ itself. Later in the article: “I take Resveratrol, a NAD+ precursor (NR as opposed to NMN), Vitamin K2 and Vitamin D.” No dose given.
“so um n-acetyl-l-cysteine instead of glutathione, even though oral glutathione seems to actually work, despite a lot of claims online that seem to think that it's not orally bioavailable […] so i used to inject the glutathione though, but um i don't know, there's a lot of clinical data supporting that n-acetyl cysteine is as good or better”
Context: Describing the supplements he takes. The cut removes a remark about skin whitening. He says he now uses NAC instead of glutathione.
“If I had to compare 25 mg of MK-677 to something I would compare the results to 2 iu’s of high quality generic GH, or a few daily 100 mcg injections of GHRP-6 coupled with concurrent 100 mcg injections of Modified GRF (1-29).”
Context: From the “My MK-677 Review” section, where he says “I have used MK-677 a few times over the past couple years now.” A comparison of effects, not a recommendation.
“Based on the study, if fat loss and the anti-aging/healing benefits of HGH is all that is sought after by the user, a 10 mg dose would likely be sufficient. Whereas if the user was seeking maximized muscle growth potential, then higher IGF-1 levels would be what they are after, and would then justify a higher dosing protocol. […] Hence, 50 mg is unnecessarily high to research with, and 25 mg is the benchmark for boosting IGF-1 levels significantly higher, while still reaping all of the benefits of the GH increase.”
Context: His reading of a study comparing 10 mg and 50 mg a day; the cut removes his summary of diminishing returns above 25 mg. Frequency is not stated in this passage.
“Here Is A Beginner’s MK-677 And CJC-1295 DAC Research Protocol: 2500mcg CJC-1295 DAC subQ inject before bed – Monday & Thursday (5000mcg – 5mg total per week) 25mg MK-677 before bed every day 200mcg HUPERZINE A taken 3x per day (600mcg total) […] For the record, this is the protocol I used myself when I used to use CJC-1295 DAC with my MK-677.”
Context: His own past protocol, combined with CJC-1295 DAC and huperzine A; he says he used it “when I was younger (and cared a lot more about getting as big as possible)”. The cut removes his estimate of the IGF-1 level reached. List items joined into one line.
“In terms of side effects, I have noticed some fairly significant lethargy from MK-677 (anything that raises GH and IGF-1 will do this), however, I was able to mitigate that to some extent by taking my daily dosage right before going to bed.”
Context: Elsewhere in the same review he says: “The incredibly heightened appetite is the main reason I avoid this compound now”.