According to a recent study, the share of Americans classified as obese fell from 40% to 37% over the past three years (2022 to 2025). Gallup survey. The survey also found a pointy increase in obesity rates amongst people using a category of medication called GLP-1 receptor agonists. GLP-1 drugs mimic a natural hormone called glucagon-like peptide 1, which helps regulate blood sugar, appetite, and slow digestion.
While shedding any amount of extra weight might help reduce your risk of heart disease, diabetes, cancer, and other serious conditions, there’s one major downside: You lose muscle in the method.
Weight loss vs. fat loss
Why Do You Lose Muscle When Losing Weight? Weight loss refers back to the lack of total body mass (mainly fat, muscle and water). When most individuals say they need to “lose weight,” what they really mean is that they need to “lose fat.” To do that, you have to operate in a calorie deficit, which implies consuming fewer calories than your body uses, exercising to expend more calories than you eat, or each.
To compensate for having fewer calories to make use of when energy is required, the body first draws on stored glycogen, a carbohydrate-based energy reserve. Once glycogen is depleted, your body burns fat for energy. But you furthermore mght convert muscle protein into glucose, especially as a fast backup energy source. This means lack of muscle mass.
How to reduce muscle loss
To prevent maximum muscle loss while shedding weight, you have to take a three-pronged approach: construct muscle, eat enough protein, and perform resistance training to slow the speed of weight reduction.
Resistance training. Resistance training refers to exercises during which you’re employed against a load, whether it’s with weights, exercise bands, or your individual body weight. Regular training helps you construct muscle. Gradually increasing the intensity and difficulty of exercise stimulates muscle growth and makes you stronger.
Building more muscle with resistance training also helps with weight reduction. Not only are you burning calories actively using your muscles, but muscles proceed to make use of calories during rest and recovery.
The guidelines suggest that the majority people do at the very least two sessions of 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity per week, together with at the very least two sessions of resistance training. Consult a private trainer for a correct training plan.
Increase protein. Muscle also needs fuel to grow, and that is where protein is available in. The body breaks down dietary protein into amino acids, which it uses to construct muscle.
Guidelines recommend that adults eat 0.8 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight per day. However, research shows that adults age 65 and older who engage in resistance training need 1.2 to 1.5 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight. That’s about 90 to 112 grams per day for a 165-pound person.
There is a few debate about how much protein the body can use at one time. The general consensus is 20 to 40 grams, but some studies say the range could also be higher. Dr. Upwin recommends not specializing in the quantity of protein per meal, but on meeting your total day by day quota. “You don’t want to eat all your protein at once, so try to spread it out throughout the day and make sure you have some protein with every meal and snack.”
Gradual weight reduction. When doctors first prescribe a GLP-1 agonist, the primary reason to begin with a low dose is to reduce unintended effects. But it also helps prevent too-rapid weight reduction, which might speed up burning muscle protein as an alternative of fat. Losing weight slowly — 1 to 2 kilos weekly — when combined with consistent resistance training and adequate protein intake can make it easier to maintain muscle and even construct muscle mass.
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