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Weight loss has become more achievable than ever, thanks to weight loss medications. The medications have gained a lot of popularity in recent years as they helped in losing a drastic amount of weight. But do you know that a rapid amount of weight loss is not just fats, some of it actually lean muscle mass?
Muscle mass which plays an important role in our body, from hormonal balance to keeping blood sugar and stress levels in check, is important for various functions of our body.
But that does not mean that these weight loss medications should be restricted. In fact, there are various ways through which you can preserve your muscle mass while getting all the benefits of these weight loss medications. How?
Well, that's what we are going to tell you in this lesson. Relation between weight loss and muscle loss, The importance of muscle mass, Tips to preserve your muscles, and a lot of other things, we are going to discuss here with you.
So, let’s get into this:
Relationship Between Muscle Loss & Weight Loss
Calorie deficit is imperative for losing weight.
But it is not so simple, because the large calorie deficit can result in more muscle loss than weight loss. Your body needs calories to fuel itself for performing different functions. If you are not getting those calories from food, then you are getting it from your own body. And in some cases, it can be fat, while it can be muscle as well.
The more rapid you are going to lose weight the more chances there are to lose muscle mass. And because weight loss medication is so successful, they can cause more muscle mass than any other form of weight loss. And that is more true for GLP-1s as compared to other weight loss medications. It's so good that it can be...bad? Weird huh?
You have heard from your childhood, "Slow and steady, win the race". Well, that goes for weight loss as well.
Same case is for new GLP-1 receptor agonists, like Semaglutide and Tirzepatide. These medications work faster than many other medications out there in achieving your weight loss goals. Hence these may end up reducing your muscle mass.
Importance of Muscle Mass
Did you know that adult females have up to 30-40% skeletal muscle tissue, whereas males have about 40-50% skeletal muscle tissue? Well, these muscle tissues are not here just for you to flex, but it has a lot of important roles to play in maintaining your overall health.
From pumping blood and balancing hormones to lifting weights or giving birth. These muscles have a role in everything we do.
Here are some of those important functions your muscles perform:
Provide Mobility, Support & Balance:
The main function of your muscles is to allow you to move. Walking, running, swimming, writing, speaking, any moment you perform is due to the muscles in your body. These muscles also help with your stability, especially the core muscles which protect your spine.
Muscles also work as a shield while supporting and protecting the internal organs.
Hormonal Balance
You may have heard "Growth hormones do everything". Well, it is not completely accurate but not completely wrong either. Growth hormones do contribute to almost every aspect of rebuilding the body. From repairing skin and bones to stabilizing fat levels, these hormones are very important.
When your muscle mass increases, it gives a signal to your pituitary glands that you need more hormones to maintain new muscle mass. And your body starts to produce more growth hormones. Which results in better tissue repair, good health, and increased metabolism.
Maintain Blood Sugar Levels
Increase Metabolism
Reduce Hunger Pangs
Reduce Stress
How to Build That Muscle?
Now that you know the importance of muscles and how they can affect your metabolism and weight. It is time to learn about the tips and strategies to protect those important muscles.
Strategy #1: Have More & More Protein
If you want to make sure that your physical activities and weight loss medications won't affect your muscle mass then add more protein to your diet. Protein is involved in almost every cellular function taking place in the body- hormone production, immune regulation, muscle growth, and many more. They're also present in your skin, hair and bones.
This protein is a primary component of muscles, making up to 75-80% of the muscle mass. So if you want to make your muscles stronger, give them more protein.
However, the amount of protein you need to build those muscles depends upon different factors, including your age, weight, and physical activity.
Let's assume you have a weight of 80 kg and at the age of 35, how much protein would you need, as per the recommendation of 1 gram per kg per day?
You have guessed right, it would be 80 grams.
But the next question is how can you consume that much amount in a day. Would eating a one-high protein-rich meal be enough?
Well, No. because your body can only absorb 30 grams of protein at one time. So even if you eat a meal with more than 100 grams of protein, your body would only absorb the amount it can. So the best option here is to add a little amount of protein to your every meal and snack.
So, now that you know how much protein you should be taking throughout the day, it's time for you to learn the resources from which you can get this protein.
Best sources of protein
What is the first thing that comes into your mind when you think of protein rich food options? Probably meat, beef, or chicken right?
Well, protein is not only limited to these, there are tons of other sources of protein as well.
Animal Sources
Poultry including eggs, egg white, turkey, or chicken
dairy including milk, cottage cheese, and Greek yogurt
Fish like tuna or salmon
Beef including flank steak or lean ground beef
seafood including shrimp, oysters, and clamp
Plant-based proteins
Other Sources
How to Add These Sources to Your Diet?
So let's take the above example, and say you have to take 80 grams of protein per day, in your 3 meals and one snack. So what you can do is add 25 grams of protein into meals - breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and the remaining 15 grams into your snacks.
Each source of protein contains a different amount of protein, for example, 100 grams of Greek yogurt contains 10g of protein, while one handful of almonds has 6g of protein.
Well, you don't need to do this math every time you are going to eat or prepare anything.
Here are some of the high-protein meal and snack ideas that can help you get started.
Breakfast
Chickpea pancakes - made pancakes with protein-rich chickpeas flour
Spinach feta wrap - A wrap filled with egg, spinach, feta, and any other veggies you like
Quinoa bowl - quinoa with eggs, and some onions and peppers on the top
Lunch
Snack
Dinner
We know it can be challenging to eat more food with weight loss medication. but you can take some time and make small changes to add an adequate amount of protein to your diet to maintain your muscles.
Strategy #2: Add Some Strength Training in Your Workouts
There can be a lot of confusion when it comes to choosing the right exercise for weight loss. from cardio to strength training there are plenty of options to choose from. But what do you think helps most in losing weight?
Well, whether it is simple cardio like walking and jogging or strength training like weight lifting and planks, it depends upon your goals and determination.
All types of exercise play an important role when it comes to health and fitness. but if your goal is to maintain and build muscles while losing weight, then strength training is the best option for you.
What Is Strength Training?
Strength training is any form of exercise that involves using weights or resistance to make your muscles stronger. It is also known as resistance training. This training can be done using equipment or your own body weight. for example: lifting weights, or doing pushups, and squats.
strength training is not as complicated as it seems. It can be done with any equipment, anywhere. whether you are outside, at the gym, or at home. you can do your training.
Certain household or working tasks that involve weight, like moving boxes around, and carrying grocery bags can also result in strengthening muscles. These are also forms of strength training but refer to as "incidental exercise".
How to Do That?
Well, there are plenty of activities which you can choose from to do the training. let's explore 3 of those activities:
• Working with weights
• Working without weights
• yoga or Pilates
Working With Weights: Working with weights or weight training is a form of strength training in which weights are used for resistance. It can be anything from weight machines to lose weight like dumbbells, or barbells.
The amount of weight you use depends upon the number of repetitions you want to do. All you have to do is lift enough weight that the last repetition feels really tough and that you can not do even one more after this.
you can perform 3-4 sets of 8-12 repetitions with 1 minute resting between each set. if you are a beginner then start with one set for the first two weeks and then increase the number of sets per week, until you reach 3-4 sets at a time.
Here are some weight exercises which you can try.
3 sets of dumbbell squats - 6-8 reps
3 sets of Romanian dumbbell deadlifts - 6-8 reps
3 sets of
one-arm dumbbell row - 6-8 rep
Don't forget to take deep breaths while doing these exercises. and if you don't have dumbbells you can perform these exercises with filled water bottles or paint cans.
Working Without Weight:
Weight training, or resistance training is exercises that use resistance in order to perform muscle contraction to build strength. various tools can be used to produce resistance including own body weight, or resistance bands.
Unlike weight lifting, the recommended training is to do 3-4 sets of 8-12 repetitions with 1-minute intervals.
Some of the examples include:
3 sets of 12 crunches
3 sets of 12 side lunges
3 sets of 12 push-ups
yoga or Pilates: Most of us never take yoga or Pilates as useful exercises when it comes to building muscles and strength. but researchers have shown that both of these exercises can help prevent muscle loss and make your muscles stronger. and even 15-20 minutes of real yoga or Pilates can give you the same advantage as one strength training session.
While yoga and Pilates are not the first exercises that come to mind when people think of strength training, research shows that both of these activities can strengthen your muscles and prevent muscle loss!
If possible, aim for at least 15-20 minutes of yoga or Pilates to count as one strength session.
To do yoga or Pilates you don't have to take a gym membership for that, these practices can be done in the comfort of your own home. All you have to do is find a good video online, watch it completely, and try it out.
You can also hire a professional yoga or Pilates trainer who can help you with your training.
Final Words
Now you know the best two ways to maintain your muscles, so you don't have to worry about muscle loss while taking those weight loss medication.
All you have to do is add more protein to your diet and keep yourself engaged in strength training. and you can have both - strong muscles and your ideal weight at the same time.
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