Several practical strategies can help you protect your lean mass while working to lose weight.
Eat Enough Protein
Protein is essential for repairing and maintaining muscle, especially during weight loss.
GLP-1 medications can reduce appetite, making it challenging to eat enough, increasing the importance of choosing wholesome foods. “When calories are restricted, adequate protein becomes essential to maintain muscle,” says Dr. Kashyap, who recommends working with a nutritionist, if possible, to make every meal count.
For perspective, one large egg contains about 6 grams of protein, and a typical serving of boneless, skinless chicken breast provides nearly 26 grams of protein.
It’s also important to spread out your protein intake throughout the day, including protein at every meal. “The maximum your body can use at one time is about 30 grams,” says Machineni. Protein-rich shakes containing 30 to 40 grams of protein with minimal sugar or fat can be an easy, healthy option when your appetite is low.
Strength Training
Without resistance exercise, you risk losing muscle and bone mass, which can slow your metabolism, sap your energy, and impact your long-term health, says Kashyap. Even on days that you don’t exercise, building and maintaining muscle helps your body burn more fuel than it would otherwise.
“Muscle acts as your body’s engine for burning calories and managing blood sugar,” says Kashyap. “The more muscle you have, the more efficiently your body processes energy.”
The benefits of strength training extend to your bones as well. Weight-bearing and resistance exercises place healthy stress on bones, encouraging them to become denser and stronger, which is an important step in reducing your risk of osteoporosis, especially during periods of weight loss.
Adults should aim for at least two full-body strength training sessions each week. Focusing on compound exercises that work multiple major muscle groups at a time, such as push-ups, rows, squats, hip bridges, deadlifts, and lunges, can be a smart and effective way to integrate resistance training into your routine.
As with any new exercise routine, it’s important to check with your healthcare provider before getting started. Ease in gradually, starting with fewer or shorter sessions and increasing your intensity over time. You may also consider working with a certified personal trainer. Many gyms offer free introductory sessions that can help you learn proper form and feel more confident.
Monitor Your Progress
Since it can be difficult to see whether you’re losing muscle by simply looking in the mirror or stepping on the bathroom scale, it’s important to talk to your doctor about other effective means of monitoring your body composition when you are taking a GLP-1 medication.
“Body weight alone is a crude metric of health,” says Kashyap. “Measuring body composition (fat versus lean mass) should become routine in the management of patients on GLP-1 medications.”
Inquire about a body composition test like a bioelectrical impedance assessment (BIA) or a dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA/DXA) scan to gain better insights than a scale can provide. It can also be helpful to keep a data log of the strength and functional fitness improvements you experience over time.
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