Weight Loss Meds Do NOT Cause Muscle Loss | Bonus

Want to learn more about starting, managing, or transitioning off GLP-1 medications? Join Physique U to attend this Tuesday's live Q&A with GLP-1 expert Justin Silver (and get the replay plus a free custom nutrition plan): bit.ly/wwpu-free-plan

--

Are GLP-1 medications like Ozempic, Wegovy, and Mounjaro stealing your hard-earned muscle?

The short answer is no, but the reality is more nuanced than many realize.

Learn why people experience muscle loss while taking weight loss medications. Weight loss medications can be incredible tools when used properly, but like any tool, they work best when combined with fundamental lifestyle strategies that optimize body composition.

Chapters

• 0:00 GLP-1 Medications Don't Cause Muscle Loss
• 0:38 Why Rapid Weight Loss Affects Muscle
• 1:30 Protein and Training: The Solution
• 3:08 Upcoming Q&A with Justin Silver

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

Hey Woodson Ways family, just another quick bonus episode for Sunday. Let's get this one thing crystal clear, and that is that GLP-1 medications like semaglutide, terzepatide, known by their name brand, so Zempic, manjaro, wagovi, they do not directly cause muscle loss. Think about it logically. These medications, how do they work? They work by slowing the gastric emptying and affecting appetite, affecting your satiety hormones. They are not catabolic agents. They don't break down muscle tissue. But the question is, why do people lose muscle on these medications? Because I didn't say they didn't lose, I said they're not caused by the drugs.

Speaker 1: 0:38

Well, it's the same reason that people lose muscle during any rapid weight loss scenario, with or without the drugs. It is the rate of weight loss combined with inadequate protein intake, lack of resistance, training or, I'll be honest, even with those things, if you go too fast, you're going to lose muscle. What actually happens is you start the medication, your appetite plummets, it goes way down. You're eating way less food that means probably less protein as well, if you were eating enough to begin with. You're losing weight fast, maybe two to three pounds a week or more, probably more in many cases, and your body's in a massive calorie deficit, without all those other signals. That then starts to break down both fat and muscle for energy. And this is just basic physiology, right? Rapid weight loss without the muscle preserving strategies are not going to preserve muscle period. So whether you're on the meds or you're just severely restricting calories on your own, it's gonna work out that way. And the solution then isn't hey, I'm gonna avoid the medication because I'm worried about muscle loss. The solution is the lifestyle piece, the strategies that we use for any fat loss phase, particularly an aggressive fat loss phase, and I've taken people through rapid fat loss phases and one of the things we have to have dialed in, or two of the things, is the training in the protein.

Speaker 1: 1:49

So prioritizing protein 0.701 gram per pound of body weight minimum, maybe more than that if you're an aggressive deficit, even when your appetite is suppressed. So this is one of the challenges with people on these drugs. You might have to use more calorie dense forms of protein, like protein shakes, for example, greek yogurt, you know lean meat and stuff, but some of these things fill you up and it's almost a challenge to get the protein. Second is, of course, resistance training. What we talk about all the time on this show, it's the weights. Part of what's in weights.

Speaker 1: 2:18

Your muscles need a reason to stick around. If you're not lifting weights consistently, your body has no incentive to preserve muscle mass during weight loss. Additionally, because you don't have appetite, just because the medication allows you to eat very little, doesn't mean you should. And this is a challenge that we help people with is that sometimes we have to almost, I hate to say, force you to eat more, but basically have a lot tighter structure and control around it, which is ironic, because it's the opposite problem that you probably went on the drugs in the first place for right. You went on because you probably were eating too much due to the appetite. Now you might be eating too little, and slower is often faster when it comes to getting the result you want, which is fat loss because you are preserving muscle.

Speaker 1: 3:08

And then here's where it ties into what we do inside Physique University. These are not new strategies. He does the same lifestyle interventions we teach for sustainable body composition, whether you're using medication or not. And this is the personalization piece of this, because weight loss medications can be incredible tools when they're used properly, but like any tool just like tracking is a tool they work best when combined with the strategies you know are supposed to work anyway protein resistance training, reasonable rate of weight loss, et cetera and so that the fear of muscle loss doesn't have to be there whether you're on these or not, and that could open up options for you that could transform your health. So it's about being informed and making informed decisions based on the knowledge to do it the right way. Speaking of doing it the right way, I'm excited to share.

Speaker 1: 3:57

We have recent podcast guest, justin Silver, joining us for a live Q&A this Tuesday, september 2nd, inside Physique University. If you heard episode 358, he talked about managing GLP-1 side effects without losing muscle, and so he's got a lot of expertise in this topic of weight loss meds in general. He's the creator of SymptomGuard. He's also an expert in how these medications interact with what we're doing for our body composition. So this is a member-driven Q&A. It's the first of many we're going to do inside Physique University. We've got some others coming up with Karen Martell, wazora, benamu lots of podcast guests who will be coming into the program to do live Q and A's that you can talk to them directly.

Speaker 1: 4:38

So this Tuesday, Justin, you can ask him about the medications, about how we combine them with lifestyle strategies, about symptoms. Really nothing's off limits. And if you want to be part of that live Q and A with Justin, if you want to learn how to optimize your approach, whether you're on the medication or not, or you're curious about them, use the special link in the show notes and you could join WWPU. As always, it's only 27 per month and you'll get my custom nutrition plan, built by me for you, for free with the link in the show notes. Only with that special link. It's normally an add-on, but again, podcast listeners, I love you guys. I'm very grateful, always like to throw you some free stuff. And that is it for today's bonus episode. Again, use the link in the show notes if you want to get in on that live Q&A and all the other goodies there. Until next time, enjoy the rest of your weekend and we'll talk to you on Monday.