The reality about muscle loss whereas weight-reduction plan 💪

There’s a chart I wish to present you at present.

It reveals the proportion of fats vs. fat-free mass misplaced at totally different ranges of calorie deficit, relying on whether or not you’re power coaching or not. (You’ll discover it beneath.)

It additionally sheds mild on one in every of my LEAST favourite tendencies I see within the health trade at present: making sweeping statements with none context.

And with the ​rise of GLP-1 medicines​ like Ozempic and Wegovy, I see this one popping up everywhere:

“In the event you don’t eat sufficient protein and elevate weights, you’re simply dropping all your muscle.”

We’ll get into it, however excessive statements like this are simply wildly unhelpful, and miss a lot of the vital nuance.

Is power coaching helpful when you find yourself on these medicines or a calorie deficit basically? Sure.

However for those who take heed to the overall chatter on the web (by no means actually a good suggestion), it makes it sound like muscle is actually falling off of your physique with every step you’re taking. And that’s not solely fear-mongering, it’s simply not true.

Let’s zoom out:

I wish to break down what’s truly occurring in your physique so we will have some actual speak concerning the totally different tradeoffs concerned.

✅ In the event you’re in a calorie deficit, you’ll reduce weight

✅ Everytime you reduce weight, there’s at all times some quantity of lack of lean mass. (I.e. stuff apart from fats)

✅ Energy coaching and consuming greater quantities of protein can assist you protect extra of your muscle mass​ whereas in a caloric deficit

✅ The bigger your deficit, the extra lean mass you are likely to lose regardless of what you do.

✅ And GLP-1s don’t change that – they only assist folks follow bigger deficits than they may in any other case.

So to recap, each time anybody within the historical past of perpetually has misplaced weight, a few of that has come from lean mass.

The bigger the caloric deficit you might be in (i.e. the sooner you might be shedding pounds), the larger the proportion of that weight will come from lean mass. That is completely regular and anticipated.

Energy coaching and consuming greater quantities of protein can completely show you how to protect extra of your lean mass. However you’re not going from “dropping all muscle” to “dropping zero muscle.” These modifications are levels, not all-or-nothing.

How a lot of a distinction can coaching and consuming extra protein make?

I’m so glad you requested!

Right here’s a chart that reveals on common the place we count on weight reduction to return from. (Particular person outcomes will fluctuate based mostly on genetics, kind of coaching, weight loss program, and so on.)

Normally, power coaching helps protect an additional 10-15% of lean physique mass.

So, for instance, for those who misplaced 10 kilos over the course of three months on a 500 kcal/day deficit, you’d count on round 2.5 kilos of that to be from lean mass for those who weren’t coaching, and 1.5 kilos of that to be from lean mass for those who have been coaching (I.e. a 1 pound distinction.)

Why this issues:

I see so many individuals get discouraged as a result of they really feel like they’re not “doing it proper.”

Possibly they’re not ​power coaching​ but.

Possibly they haven’t found out learn how to hit their protein targets​.

Possibly they’re simply making an attempt to keep constant​ with any a part of the method.

And so they begin listening to issues like:

“You’re simply dropping muscle.”

“You’re ruining all of your progress.”

“You’re doing it flawed.”

However in actuality? You’re simply making a trade-off.

For instance, possibly a slight caloric deficit with no power coaching is less complicated so that you can keep than a a lot greater deficit with power coaching added in. Certain, it could take longer to see the load loss – however the ratio of fats free and fats mass is actually the identical in every of those situations.

Or possibly you consciously go on a bigger caloric deficit for a brief time period, and comply with that up with a extra targeted muscle-building part to rebuild a few of that lean mass. That’s one other viable technique.

The purpose is: if we will reduce via the worry mongering and wildly overblown statements, we will have an precise dialogue about what’s your best option for you based mostly on the place you’re at at present.

Actual speak from a coach:

In the event you’re simply getting began and weight reduction is your purpose, focusing solely on staying in a modest calorie deficit​ may be one of the best transfer.

That alone can assist cut back joint ache, enhance power, and increase confidence.

Then as soon as that’s stable? Add in power coaching.

Then protein.

Then possibly some strolling or sleep habits​.

You don’t must do the whole lot, in all places, suddenly to achieve success.

Actually, the general public we work with discover success by constructing a basis after which including to it – one behavior at a time​.

TL;DR:

• Sure, consuming sufficient protein and lifting weights will show you how to preserve extra muscle.
• Greater calorie deficits = extra muscle loss, even for those who’re doing the whole lot else “proper.”
• However these are levels, not disasters.
• Deal with what you can do.

Need to chat about learn how to apply this to your plan? Simply hit reply and let me know.

You’ve acquired this.

-Matt