Short answer: in the before and after photos below, people look leaner after 8–12 weeks, almost always while dieting and often while also taking cardarine. The controlled trials are far more modest: on 3 mg a day for 86 days, healthy older adults gained about 1.3 kg (2.9 lb) more lean mass than placebo and lost about 0.6 kg of fat, with no change in body weight (Dalton 2011). The same trial found lower HDL cholesterol and, in men, lower total testosterone.
1.3 kg
more lean mass than placebo (86 days, 3 mg a day)
0.6 kg
less fat than placebo
This page shows seven Ostarine (MK-2866) before and after results that readers sent in (unverified individual reports), the original author’s old 8-week log, and what the studies actually measured, so you can judge the photos against the data.
Ostarine summary
Ostarine is the same molecule as MK-2866, enobosarm and GTx-024. It is a nonsteroidal selective androgen receptor modulator (SARM): it activates the androgen receptor in muscle and bone with less effect on the prostate than testosterone. It is not approved as a medicine anywhere we could find, and the FDA says products sold as SARMs are unapproved drugs, not supplements (FDA).
| Question | What the evidence says |
|---|---|
| Muscle | About +1.0 to +1.5 kg lean mass at 1–3 mg/day over 12–16 weeks in trials of older adults and cancer patients |
| Fat | About −0.6 kg vs placebo on 3 mg/day over 86 days; body weight unchanged |
| Strength / function | Stair-climb power improved in one Phase 2 trial; two Phase 3 trials in lung cancer missed their goals |
| Testosterone | Total testosterone fell about 6–7 nmol/L in older men on 1–3 mg/day; free testosterone, LH and FSH did not change significantly |
| Cholesterol | HDL fell 17% (1 mg) and 27% (3 mg) vs placebo |
| Liver | ALT rose in 5 of 24 people on 3 mg in the 86-day trial; case reports describe serious cholestatic liver injury |
| Sport | Prohibited at all times by WADA (S1.2) |
Evidence
The older version of this page said suppression is Ostarine’s only side effect and that it never needs a PCT. The trial data above do not support that: lipid and liver-enzyme changes were measured, and the trials never tested the 10–30 mg a day that most of the people below used. Our Ostarine fact sheet has every study, and the SARMs database compares it with other compounds.
What the studies show: realistic Ostarine timelines
No study has photographed people before and after Ostarine. What exists is DXA body-composition data from controlled trials, all at 1–18 mg a day and mostly in older or ill people. Read the photos further down with these numbers in mind.
| Time point | What was measured | Study |
|---|---|---|
| Day 1 | Half-life about 21–24 h after one dose, so one daily dose keeps levels steady | Phase 1, healthy men (cited in the EMERALD protocol) |
| Day 14 | SHBG and total testosterone already lower; a dose-dependent rise in ALT was the most common side effect (doses up to 30 mg/day) | Phase 1 multiple-dose study, same source |
| Day 86 (about 12 weeks) | Lean mass +1.3 kg vs placebo on 3 mg/day, fat −0.6 kg, weight unchanged; HDL −27% | Dalton 2011, 120 healthy adults over 60 (half women) |
| Up to day 113 | Median lean mass +1.5 kg (1 mg) and +1.0 kg (3 mg) from baseline in people with cancer | Dobs 2013, 159 patients |
| 16 weeks | 71% less lean-mass loss than semaglutide alone in adults over 60 losing weight (company topline result, not yet in a journal) | Veru 2025, 168 adults |
| Dose studied | Who took part | Duration | What the study found | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0.1, 0.3, 1 or 3 mg/day | Healthy men over 60 and postmenopausal women (n=120) | 86 days | Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled Phase 2 On 3 mg, lean mass rose 1.3 kg more than placebo; 1 mg gave +0.7 kg (not significant). Physical function and insulin resistance improved on 3 mg. HDL fell 17% (1 mg) and 27% (3 mg). | PubMed 2011 |
| 1 mg/day or 3 mg/day | Men over 45 and postmenopausal women with cancer and at least 2% weight loss (n=159) | Up to 113 days | Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled Phase 2 Median lean mass rose 1.5 kg (1 mg) and 1.0 kg (3 mg) from baseline; no change on placebo (100 people in the efficacy analysis). Serious adverse events were not judged drug-related. | PubMed 2013 |
| 1, 3, 10 or 30 mg/day | Healthy young men and elderly men with truncal obesity (Phase 1) | 14 days | Double-blind, placebo-controlled multiple-ascending-dose Phase 1 (G100402) Terminal half-life 14–21 hours. SHBG and total testosterone fell with dose; free testosterone did not change in a clinically significant way. A dose-dependent rise in ALT was the most common side effect. | isrctn.com 2021 |
| 3 mg/day | Patients with non-small cell lung cancer starting platinum + taxane chemotherapy (POWER 1) (n=321) | 147 days (primary analysis at day 84) | Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled Phase 3 Did not meet its co-primary endpoints. Stair-climb responders: 29.4% vs 24.2% on placebo. No lean-mass loss: 41.9% vs 30.4%. | clinicaltrials.gov 2014 |
| 3 mg/day | Patients with non-small cell lung cancer starting platinum + non-taxane chemotherapy (POWER 2) (n=330) | 147 days (primary analysis at day 84) | Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled Phase 3 Did not meet its co-primary endpoints. Stair-climb responders: 19.5% vs 24.8% on placebo. No lean-mass loss: 46.5% vs 37.9%. | clinicaltrials.gov 2014 |
| 9 mg/day or 18 mg/day | Postmenopausal women with AR+/ER+/HER2- advanced breast cancer (n=136) | Until progression (median follow-up 7.5 months) | Randomized, open-label Phase 2 (two doses, no placebo) Clinical benefit at 24 weeks in 32% (9 mg) and 29% (18 mg). Grade 3/4 drug-related side effects in 8% and 16%, most often raised liver enzymes. | PubMed 2024 |
| 3 mg/day or 6 mg/day, with semaglutide (Wegovy) | Adults over 60 with overweight or obesity on semaglutide (n=168) | 16 weeks | Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled Phase 2b (QUALITY) Company topline result: 71% less lean-mass loss than semaglutide alone (p=0.002) and 27% more fat loss (p=0.096). Total weight loss was similar. Not yet published in a journal. | ir.verupharma.com 2025 |
Sources: the studies linked in the table.
What this means for the photos:
- Much of the visible change is likely diet-driven fat loss. In the trial, body weight did not move; the shift was about 1–2 kg of composition over three months.
- Many results are stacks. Four of the seven people below also took cardarine, a different drug with its own risks, so the photos cannot be credited to Ostarine alone.
- The doses are higher than anything tested. The user reports describe 10–30 mg a day for 7–12 weeks; published trials used 1–3 mg (up to 18 mg in breast cancer). Effects and side effects at the higher doses are not established.
- Photos are easy to flatter. Lighting, posing, a pump, water and the time of day can change a picture as much as a month of dieting.
- Products vary. In a test of 44 products sold online as SARMs, only 52% contained a SARM and 41% matched the label (JAMA 2017).
Ostarine Results With Before And After Pics
Editor’s note: these seven results come from the original version of this article. Readers sent them in through social media; their identity, the provenance of the photos, the products and the doses could not be verified. They are unverified individual reports, not measured results, and each cycle is what the person described, not a recommendation.
A photo cannot separate fat loss from water, lighting, posing, a pump, diet, training or other compounds, so this page gives no muscle or fat figures judged from the pictures. If you have Ostarine before and after photos to share, contact us.
Ostarine results #1 (+Cardarine)
He reported eight weeks of Ostarine stacked with cardarine while keeping a clean diet. The after photo looks leaner, but with two compounds and a diet involved, the change cannot be credited to Ostarine.
Reported use: ostarine 10 mg and cardarine 15 mg a day for 8 weeks, as the person described it; not verified and not a recommendation.
He reported no PCT. Note that trials found lower total testosterone even at 1–3 mg a day, so a dose of 10 mg is not known to be suppression-free.
Ostarine results #2
He reported taking Ostarine alone for seven weeks. The after photo is leaner and more defined; how much of that is fat loss, water or lighting cannot be judged from a picture, and he did not report bloodwork.
Reported use: ostarine 20 mg a day for 7 weeks, as the person described it; not verified and not a recommendation.
No PCT was reported. Recovery after 20 mg a day has not been studied.
See our Ostarine PCT guide for what studies say about recovery.
Ostarine results #3 (+Cardarine)
He reported eight weeks of dieting and training with Ostarine and cardarine. The after photo is leaner, but a calorie deficit alone can produce that kind of change, and the stack makes it impossible to separate either drug’s share.
Reported use: cardarine 15 mg and ostarine 20 mg a day for 8 weeks, as the person described it; not verified and not a recommendation.
Cardarine does not act on the androgen receptor, so any suppression in this stack would come from the Ostarine. Cardarine has a different problem: its development was stopped after long-term animal studies found cancers (cardarine fact sheet).
Ostarine results #4 (+Cardarine)
This report has no photo on this page. The person described an eight-week cardarine and Ostarine stack and reported no PCT. Before photos can also be staged, for example after drinking a lot of water, which makes any change look bigger.
Reported use: cardarine 20 mg and ostarine 15 mg a day for 8 weeks, as the person described it; not verified and not a recommendation.
Ostarine results #5 (+Cardarine)
Cardarine is the compound most often stacked with Ostarine in these reports. This person reported a twelve-week stack at the highest Ostarine dose on this page; the after photo is leaner, with arms about the same.
Reported use: ostarine 30 mg a day and cardarine 20 mg a day (in two doses) for 12 weeks, as the person described it; not verified and not a recommendation.
Warning
That Ostarine dose is ten times the highest dose in the 86-day trial. He told the original author that he did not feel suppressed, but he reported no bloodwork, and trials found lower total testosterone even at 1–3 mg a day.
He split the cardarine dose in two. There is no published human half-life for cardarine to say whether that matters; see cardarine dosage for what the studies used.
Ostarine results #6
This report has no photo on this page. The person described taking Ostarine alone.
Reported use: ostarine 20 mg a day for 8 weeks, as the person described it; not verified and not a recommendation.
He combined 20 mg a day with dieting and training; how much of the change came from each is impossible to tell from a photo.
Ostarine results #7
He reported taking Ostarine alone for eight weeks. The photos show a large change for that time; the original author himself thought it very unlikely to be repeatable and put it down mostly to genetics. A change of this size points to diet, training and individual factors more than to the drug, and it cannot be verified.
Reported use: ostarine 20 mg a day for 8 weeks, as the person described it; not verified and not a recommendation.
The dose is about seven times the highest dose in the 86-day trial.
Ostarine before and after for women
None of the readers who sent in photos were women, so we have no female before and after pictures. The trial data do include women: half of the 120 people in the 86-day trial were postmenopausal women, and the fat-mass change on 3 mg was similar in men and women, about 0.6 kg less fat than placebo (Dalton 2011).
What the study found: Palmieri 2024
- Population
- women in a breast cancer trial
- Dose
- 9 or 18 mg a day
- Result
- serious (grade 3/4) drug-related side effects occurred in 8% and 16%, most often raised liver enzymes
Read more in SARMs for women.
My Ostarine results
This is the original author’s own account from the earlier version of this site. It is one person’s unverified report, not evidence, and it was not checked with bloodwork. The full week-by-week log is below.
Reported use: ostarine 10 mg a day in weeks 1–4 and 15 mg a day in weeks 5–8, eating 500 calories below maintenance, as the person described it; not verified and not a recommendation.
Fat Loss
The author reported losing about 0.5–1% body fat a week, about 5% in total over eight weeks, much of it around the stomach. He was eating 500 calories below maintenance, so the diet alone could explain much of this; in the 86-day trial, fat fell about 0.6 kg more than on placebo at 3 mg a day (Dalton 2011).
Weight Loss
He reported losing about six pounds and said the 500-calorie deficit caused few hunger pangs and no trouble sleeping.
Lean Muscle Mass
He reported gaining two to three pounds of lean mass while cutting. That figure was not measured with a body-composition scan; in the 86-day trial, lean mass rose about 1.3 kg more than on placebo at 3 mg a day.
Preserves Muscle
He reported keeping all his muscle during the deficit. He started on 10 mg a day and moved to 15 mg from week five (see the log below). No bloodwork was done, so suppression and liver or lipid changes were not measured. The only side effect he noticed was mild headaches, which stopped by week two.
The 8-week Ostarine log, week by week
This log was first published as a separate post (“My 8-Week Ostarine (MK 2866) Log”) and is now part of this page. Starting point: 27-year-old man, 6’1’’, 203 lb, 16.5% body fat, seven years of lifting, eating 2,000 kcal against a 2,500 kcal maintenance.
| Weeks | Dose | What the log recorded |
|---|---|---|
| Day 1 | 10 mg | More energy in the gym, “hard to attribute to Ostarine itself, as the placebo effect likely played an active role” |
| 1–2 | 10 mg | Mild headache from day two, gone by day five; more motivation; −1.5 lb and about −1% body fat; no change in muscle |
| 3–4 | 10 mg | Deadlift +5 lb; about +1 lb muscle; body fat −2.5% in total; −3 lb in total; biceps +1/3 inch; no felt suppression |
| 5–6 | 15 mg | Deadlift +5 lb more, 7 reps instead of 5; better sleep; biceps +1/2 inch; body fat 12.5% (from 16.5%) |
| 7–8 | 15 mg | Strength and energy leveled off; motivation dropped; −1 lb; body fat −1% more; muscle kept |
The log’s own conclusion: about 5% body fat and 6 lb lost, some lean mass gained, and no side effects except the early headache. Headache was also the most common side effect in the 86-day trial, on placebo as well as on the drug (Dalton 2011). Without bloodwork, the log cannot say anything about testosterone, cholesterol or liver enzymes.
Tips to get the best Ostarine results
If you are weighing up Ostarine, these points come from the studies above rather than from the photos:
- Expect composition change, not a new body. The best trial result was about 1.3 kg of lean mass in 12 weeks. Diet and training explain most of what you see in the pictures.
- Know what to test. The trials tracked total and free testosterone, LH, FSH, SHBG, HDL/LDL, ALT/AST and calcium. Our PCT and bloodwork planner lists them.
- Check stacks before combining. Most results here include cardarine. The stack checker shows where the risks overlap.
- Product quality is a real problem. Only about half of SARM products tested in the JAMA study contained a SARM. If you buy, use a shop that publishes third-party lab reports; our current pick and why is in the SwissChems review.
- Sport: Ostarine is banned at all times by WADA, and even a 1 µg dose (for example from a contaminated supplement) was detectable in urine for up to 9 days (Walpurgis 2020).
Conclusion
The Ostarine (MK-2866) before and after results on this page are unverified reports from men who look leaner after 8–12 weeks of hard dieting, several of them with cardarine. Controlled trials back a real but small effect: about 1–1.5 kg more lean mass over three months at 1–3 mg a day, with lower HDL, lower total testosterone and, in some people, raised liver enzymes. Nobody has tested the doses most users take.
So treat the photos as what they are, individual reports, and use the numbers to set expectations. Compare Ostarine with other compounds in the database or side by side with cardarine, and read the Ostarine dosage page for every dose that has been studied.
Frequently asked questions
What results can you expect from Ostarine in 8 weeks?
Small changes in trialsEvidence: Trial
No trial lasted exactly 8 weeks; in an 86-day trial, 3 mg a day added about 1.3 kg lean mass and removed about 0.6 kg fat vs placebo, with no change in body weight. Larger changes in photos usually come from dieting, and often from other compounds.
Is Ostarine the same as MK-2866?
YesEvidence: Law
Ostarine, MK-2866, enobosarm, GTx-024 and S-22 are names for the same molecule. Enobosarm is the name used in clinical trials.
How much fat do you lose on Ostarine?
About 0.6 kg in a trialEvidence: Trial
In the 86-day trial, fat mass fell about 0.6 kg more than placebo on 3 mg a day, similarly in men and women. The fat loss in user photos mostly reflects a calorie deficit.
Are there Ostarine before and after results for women?
No photos; trial data onlyEvidence: Trial
No women sent in photos, but half of the 120 people in the main Phase 2 trial were postmenopausal women. In a breast cancer trial at 9–18 mg a day, 8–16% of women had serious drug-related side effects, most often raised liver enzymes.
Does Ostarine suppress testosterone?
PartlyEvidence: Trial
In older men on 1–3 mg a day for 86 days, total testosterone fell about 6–7 nmol/L and SHBG fell, while free testosterone, LH and FSH did not change significantly. Recovery after the higher doses users take has not been studied.
Does Ostarine cause gyno?
Not an established side effectEvidence: Human data
Gynecomastia is not established in the published ostarine trials. In one case of breast growth in a man, the supplements contained RAD-140, MK-677 and cardarine plus undeclared testosterone and estradiol.
How long does Ostarine stay in your system?
Half-life about 14–24 hoursEvidence: Human data
Blood levels fall within days of stopping, but anti-doping tests are far more sensitive: a single 1 µg dose was detectable in urine for up to 9 days.
Is Ostarine safe?
Not shown to be safeEvidence: Trial
It is not approved anywhere. In trials it lowered HDL and total testosterone and raised liver enzymes in some people, and case reports describe serious cholestatic liver injury with jaundice in young men using ostarine products.
Sources
- The selective androgen receptor modulator GTx-024 (enobosarm) improves lean body mass and physical function in healthy elderly men and postmenopausal women: results of a double-blind, placebo-controlled phase II trial
- Effects of enobosarm on muscle wasting and physical function in patients with cancer: a double-blind, randomised controlled phase 2 trial
- EMERALD study protocol (ISRCTN12213700, University of Liverpool, version 6.0, 2021): a window of opportunity study of enobosarm in ER+/AR+ early breast cancer
- Veru Announces Positive Topline Data from Phase 2b QUALITY Clinical Study: Enobosarm Preserved Lean Mass in Patients Receiving WEGOVY (Semaglutide) for Weight Reduction (press release, 27 January 2025)
- Activity and safety of enobosarm, a novel, oral, selective androgen receptor modulator, in androgen receptor-positive, oestrogen receptor-positive, and HER2-negative advanced breast cancer (Study G200802): a randomised, open-label, multicentre, multinational, parallel design, phase 2 trial
- ClinicalTrials.gov NCT01355484: Phase III Study of the Effect of GTx-024 on Muscle Wasting in Patients With Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (POWER 1), posted results
- GTx, Inc. Provides Corporate Update And Reports 2013 Financial Results (press release, 4 March 2014)
- Chemical Composition and Labeling of Substances Marketed as Selective Androgen Receptor Modulators and Sold via the Internet
- Elimination profiles of microdosed ostarine mimicking contaminated products ingestion
- Liver Injury after Selective Androgen Receptor Modulator Intake: A Case Report and Review of the Literature
- Drug-Induced Liver Injury From Enobosarm (Ostarine), a Selective Androgen Receptor Modulator
- Reversible Gynecomastia and Hypogonadism Due to Usage of Commercial Performance-Enhancing Supplement Use
- WADA: The Prohibited List (2026 List, in force from 1 January 2026)
- FDA: Certain bodybuilding products put consumers at risk for heart attack, stroke, serious liver damage and more (content current as of 2 December 2025)
