Stronger Than Your Boyfriend
Stronger Than Your Boyfriend
How to Maintain Muscle on a GLP-1
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Over 10 million Americans have used a GLP-1 and that number is climbing fast. In this episode, we cut through the hype and break down what you actually need to know if you're on Ozempic, Wegovy, or any GLP-1 medication and you don't want to lose the muscle you've worked for.
What we cover:
- Why GLP-1s don't inherently cause muscle loss and what actually does
- The problem with standard dosing for some folks
- The two non-negotiables before you even consider starting a GLP-1
- Why women in particular need to pay attention
- The long-term unknowns with GLP-1s, peptides, and why blood work isn't optional
The bottom line: Strength train. Aim for around 100g of protein daily. Watch your dose. Get your blood work. And for the love of all things, don't sacrifice muscle to be smaller — be substantial.
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Welcome to the Stronger than Your Boyfriend Podcast. Podcast for anyone in the fitness, especially all of the Ozempic mommies. We are Heather and Katie, owners of Barcup Fitness, here to help you sift through the bullshit and toxic misinformation that permeates the fitness industry. Today we are talking about how to maintain muscle if you're on a GLP1. Everyone's on it. Everyone's on it. We knew it was coming. In fact, over 10 million people in the US have used a GLP1.
SPEAKER_00That's kind of crazy though.
SPEAKER_01And growing.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. That's like a 2025 number. Someone said the projection is like one in three people are gonna be on the GLP1.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I think it was like one in eight last time I looked last year. I think the projection is like one out of everything. And that was US, so I don't know, yeah, international what it is. Yeah, for sure. They were so GLP1 medications were initially approved by the FDA for treating type 2 diabetes, but their use has expanded to, you know, address cardiovascular risk, uh, sleep apnea, chronic kidney disease, liver diseases, and of course weight loss. Yes. Um they're magical. They're wonderful. They are great. Um there's so many great things about them, and they're doing a lot of good, but there is also a lot of negative and hype, and most people seem, not most people, but a lot of people seem to be using them for weight loss. Yeah. And one of the reasons we're doing this episode today is because women are nearly twice as likely as men to report using a GLP1. And women were already concerned have a higher risk of osteoporosis and bone density issues. And women are also sold to be skinny.
SPEAKER_00Yes. Exactly.
SPEAKER_01No muscle. Exactly.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, it's just such a I have such mixed feelings about them. I know. Because they're so cool and they can work in the right situation, but a lot of people who are doing them are not doing them in the right context or using them in the right situation. And I think that most people, if you're not doing anything and you want to lose body fat, just hold off. And you you need to you need to change your habits regardless. Because the thing is, most doctors or you know, whether whatever company you're getting it through, whatever pharmacy, whoever you're working with, they're gonna tell you tell you to strength train and eat enough protein. So you they better. They better. And so you have to change your habits anyways. Yeah. Whether or not you start on a GLP one, more importantly, if you start on a GLP1. Right. Because you if if you just drastically cut your calories and you're not strength training and you're not eating enough protein, for sure you're gonna lose muscle. And that to me is worse than being having a little more body fat than you want. And I understand that if you need to lose a lot, if you have a body, a lot of body fat to lose, yes, they can be helpful, but I think that's really the extreme cases. You know, someone who's severely obese or overweight and they have no energy to move, maybe they need to lose a little bit of weight to get them motivated to want to move. Sure. But most people need to change their lifestyle habits anyways. Right. And if you're not strength training, you will lose muscle. So you have to, and you have to do it well. Not circuit training, not Pilates, not yoga sculpt, not boot campy, whatever. It's you strength train. Lift a weight, put it down, and fucking rest.
SPEAKER_01Love it. Yes. So let's back up a little bit and talk about GLP1s in general. Yeah. The way that they work is they slow gastric emptying. They signal insulin release if your blood sugar is high, they lower your hunger signals by mimicking a natural GLP1 hormone that's produced in the gut. So GLP1s do not inherently cause muscle loss.
SPEAKER_00No, very that's very important because I think people are hearing about this. Like, yes, they're causing muscle loss. They're not going, it's not like this fluid's going in your muscle and like eating it. It's just that you're people are eating too low of calories. Yes.
SPEAKER_01They don't inherently cause muscle loss. People just end up significantly under eating and not strength training. Yes. And this is the recipe for muscle loss. Yeah, of course. So, if possible, some of the things you can do if you are looking into a GLP1 is consider one, not looking into it until you've already tried lifestyle change, right? Like you have to have the lifestyle change with it. Yeah. Also asking a doctor about options. I find that most people that I've spoken to who've gotten put on a GLP1 just automatically get like a pretty large dose. Yes. Versus like a micro dose or the smallest dose. Building up. Yeah. And I know that that a lot of that is because the literature says this amount did this. And that's like the FDA numbers, which I understand in cases of like severe type 2 diabetes and obesity and insulin issues and things like that. But I also think that the majority of people then that just want to lose weight will go and try to take that normal dose. Yeah. And a lot of times it's too much. Like a lot of people I've talked to have extreme gut issues with that. High of a dose.
SPEAKER_00It should be treated like strength training and diet. It should be individualized, but it's not. Right. These things aren't being prescribed individually, they're just being prescribed. As in, you know, they have this trajectory for all of the dosing. The dosing frequency, I should say. And I see it. I have a lot of clients taking it. And a lot of my clients taking it are those people who I would categorize that don't need it. And they they get, first of all, they're paying an arm and a leg for it. Oh, yeah. Which that's another thing we can talk about. I mean, yeah, if you have the means to do it, sure, do what you want. You're a grown-ass adult. But it, I mean, you could be spending that money on a trainer or a coach or et cetera. Yeah. But let me just back the train up. They start at the low dose, which I think that people should be starting at like a micro dose, which is lower than the lowest dose. Yes. So I think that's anywhere. I've done a lot of research. So, you know, you use an insulin needle to inject this. The micro dose is like 18 units on an insulin needle. I think the lowest dose that people start at is like 25 units, right? So how many milligrams is that? I don't know. I can't. I just look at the little units on the needle and I see, you know. But and I think especially how big, how big are you? Like, are you tall? Do you have a lot of muscle? Do you have a lot of bone? You do you have a lot of mass? I think that plays a part into it too. Yeah. So if you're a small woman, small female, then I think you could start at that small, very small dose and just see how it how it works. But the problem is, is that it's like, no matter what, four weeks from now or two weeks or whatever, you're going up. Even if it's working for you. It's just like when we've talked about in the past, if you're doing it the, you know, the calorie tracking way, if you're if you cut, let's say, 200 calories off your maintenance and you're still losing body fat, why would you cut more? Right. So it's the same thing with the GLP one. Why would you add more to cut your calories more when you're already seeing results? Right. This is the problem, and this is why people are losing muscle really fast. Yeah. Have you ever seen someone with Ozempic face? That's like muscle loss and nutrient depletion. It's that gaunt, like very, it's almost like a sickly looking face. Yeah. And it's it's not, I mean, I kind of say it jokingly, but it's not fun. I mean, it's not, it's not healthy. Right.
SPEAKER_01So we've It's very similar to when someone's prepping for competition. Right. And they're in those final stages of a bodybuilding or a bikini comp or whatever. Yeah. And they're trying to get really lean. Yeah. That happens to your face only for a very short amount of time because you're depleting nutrients and water. But yeah.
SPEAKER_00This is why the big rocks are always going to be most important because you're not going to be on it forever, anyways. Well, I mean, I would think that you wouldn't be. So you can mostly manage it, you know, if it's an appetite suppression thing, you can mostly manage that by eating whole natural foods and eating enough protein. If you're fueling your body enough and you're not just eating tons and tons of food and you have balanced meals, you can pretty well manage your cravings, your appetite, and generally things just kind of fall into place. But and you know, I people take it for the cravings. They take it to help, you know, manage their alcohol intake now. And, you know, they just don't want to feel hungry during the day. And snacking, and I I get that, it does help, but there's a there's something to say to just do it yourself, you know, like how to push yourself to not do that and push yourself to be aware of maybe, you know, for example, when you do want to snack during the day, you know, I maybe you could just be more aware of that. Right. But I I do I do get that it's convenient and it helps, and people are busy, and and it can be important for some people, but you gotta start with the big rocks. And if you continue to up your dose on a GLP one, no matter if you are you have the perfect strength training program and you're training with enough intensity and you're getting enough protein every single day without missing, if you cut your calories low enough, you're gonna lose muscle no matter what. Yeah. I mean, some people are eating like eight, seven, eight hundred calories a day. That's I mean, because they just have no appetite. It's so effective. Yeah. That's the problem, is that it is so effective on those higher doses. So I, if you're gonna do it, big rocks, but also be aware of your dose and how you're responding to it. If you're losing body fat, if you're seeing results, what is the point of upping the dose when you don't need to? I think it's it's the dosing. I I really do. Yeah. Um, you know, I have a client, she's she's a doctor, she's does research uh mostly, but she's doing a study on GLP ones and maintaining muscle. Interesting. So she's she doesn't need it, but she's taking it. She's gonna take it. And I'm like, okay, well, that makes sense to me because you want to see. But hers, it's interesting because every company is different too. They started her on like the lowest, lowest, lowest dose. Yeah, like she doesn't even really feel anything, and I'm cool with that. Yeah, and then she can like slowly up it. So again, it just depends on the person as it as it should. Yeah. That's why you should be working with like a legitimate company who has doctors, right? Who knows how to prescribe it for you.
SPEAKER_01Yes, definitely. And I think the most important thing is if you are taking a GLP one or considering taking a GLP one, you need to do two things. Number one, you need to be strength training. You have to. Like there's no if, and, or buts.
SPEAKER_00You have to at least two days. Step one before you even start a GLP one. That's step one. Do that first. Right. And feel like you should be allowed. Gain, yeah. You should be allowed to do that. It should be a prereq. Yeah, because you're gonna lose muscle no matter what.
SPEAKER_01100%. Yeah. The other thing is focus on getting your protein. So 100 grams a day is a great starting point for most people. I mean, everybody's different with their needs, but but it tends to be a number that people can hit. Yeah. We do that in our challenge every year. We just focus on that number. It's easier than saying this much per body weight. Just 100 grams.
SPEAKER_00100 grams is that's pretty much the lowest for even like the smallest females. Yeah. You know what I mean? So that's why it's a good number to aim for. Yeah. So those two things should be prereqs. Like you, I know this isn't regulated, but do it for yourself. Right. Make those two things uh a consistent part of your life for a month, and then you can consider a GLP one. Yeah. Then hopefully if you're gonna be able to do that.
SPEAKER_01You'll be seeing results, yeah, consistent. You're like, oh shit. Yeah. This is how you do it. Right.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. I feel like and then you see a bunch of these. We have another, we're gonna talk about this in another episode, but you just see people talk talking about this, these fitness influencers doing it just to, you know, shred up for summer. That's I don't think that's the right usage for it. No. It's and those people are gonna, they're not gonna lose muscle because they strength train, they don't miss. Yeah. So you can look at them on Instagram or TikTok or whatever, and you're like, oh, well, they're they're doing it. Right. They look fine, but that's their whole damn life. Bodybuilders, it's their whole life. They know what they're doing. Right.
SPEAKER_01If they're bodybuilding, they're probably getting their blood tested too.
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_01And which is important for a lot of reasons. But I think when you're in on a GLP one, that should be another thing that you have to do. And I know some companies do require you to do it. You yeah, but I I don't know how many.
SPEAKER_00If they don't, find a company that does require blood work because you have to see what's going on and get periodically tested at least every six months, I would say. Really? So yeah. But yeah, you're not gonna be on it forever.
SPEAKER_01No.
SPEAKER_00I mean, why would you? I I mean you could, but one that's expensive. But I I don't know. I just if you are just consistent with behavior change, you're not gonna need it. And I would rather, it's it scares me for, you know, the like the boomer population is getting older, and a lot of them have been part of that like low fat craze and low carb, and they've been on diets, especially a lot of the women, and now they found this like holy grail. Right, but they haven't had many years of strength training, and it makes me nervous for them that they're gonna be frail, and I would rather you be a little overweight and you know substantial.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, like one of my friends used the word substantial the other day. She was like, I'm substantial, and I was like, I fucking love that word. I want you are substantial.
SPEAKER_00I would rather you be substantial than than lean, like really skinny and lacking of muscle and nutrients because there's studies now. You're not gonna live as long if that's you. So just be very careful when you're looking for quick fixes. I am that's the thing.
SPEAKER_01I am curious if there's going to be research that comes out later about like what is the impact of long-term use of a GLP1? Yeah. Both a like regular dose that's getting all these results and a microdose. Yeah. I am curious if there's a difference. Probably. And if one is like you become more reliant on it, or the other one is it has a small impact that once you're done, it's helpful, like a microdose. I don't know. Or is it like your body relies on it and then you can never do it again once you're done? We don't know. Yeah.
SPEAKER_00I mean, this is FDA approved, it's been studied enough for it to be FDA approved.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, but we don't have any very long-term studies yet. We don't know.
SPEAKER_00It could have a you know, reliance effect so you need it, or it could maybe a microdose just kind of helps you.
SPEAKER_01It doesn't change your change your gut at all.
SPEAKER_00Your gut and your cravings, etc. I mean, I've heard people who've taken GLP1s have improvements with gut issues. Yeah. Because it does slow down, you know, gut motility. So maybe if you have diarrhea sometimes, maybe it might help that. I don't know, but and that's a gut issue if you're doing that. Yeah. So I don't know. That's the other thing. Do do all these peptides at your own risk. There's not long-term research and there isn't.
SPEAKER_01I'm also curious about peptide mixing. It's so interesting to me that something like BPC157, for instance, right, has like gut healing properties. Yeah. What is the impact of mixing that with a GLP1 that has a gastric emptying thing? Like, is that a magical thing? Like, is that a helpful thing? Like, can you take the peptide in a microdose and like slowly heal your gut at the same time? I have no idea. Who knows? That yeah. It's just it's really there's it's really cool to think about what could happen. And it's also very scary to think about what is happening.
SPEAKER_00That's the thing at the same time. And now I've seen so many companies not not just not just advertising a GLP. Yeah. They're advertising all the peptides, which is cool. I think peptides are cool, personally. Yeah. You know, like, but do it at your own risk. We don't know the long-term effects.
SPEAKER_01Very true.
SPEAKER_00You have no idea what it's gonna do to you. Right. However, peptides are the the ones that are being that are injectable are quote synthetic. So, yes, they're a synthetic version of what your body already makes. So probably not as bad, but I'm not a doctor, I'm not a scientist, I don't know.
SPEAKER_01I think some of the also some of the scary ones um that I've heard come up lately are some of the growth hormone ones, which it's different than taking growth hormone.
SPEAKER_00It has a different like a it does different mechanisms.
SPEAKER_01It it just it But what we don't what you might not know is if you have a tumor or a cancerous cell or something. That's why you need to get blood work. Yeah, and if you take anything that impacts your growth hormone, it will make the tumor or the cancer grow. So potentially, yeah. Right? Okay, it could, yes. It could, you don't know. There's a lot of impact that we don't know about. And the the scary thing is like these peptide companies are just packaging these things like, well, you need this, this, this, and this. Yeah. And they include something like testomeralin or hypermoralin, which are wonderful. Yeah. Uh, but also if you don't know that you have this underlying thing, it can be extremely dangerous.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, and you have to, that's you have to get blood. Blood work will will show you if you have something cancerous in your body. You need to see it. Yeah. Well, potentially. They'll show signs of it.
SPEAKER_01Right. So I have an interesting blood work issue where my iron saturation is way too high. Okay. And it's been like that for I get my blood work every, it was every three months, now it's every six. Okay. And it's been like that ever since the beginning. And I might have to start donating blood. Yeah. Like it's it's crazy high.
SPEAKER_00I think that's a problem for most male people. Yeah, it's interesting. Because they don't bleed every month. Yeah. But that is interesting.
SPEAKER_01I have a fairly light two-day period. So maybe. Not often. No. Now it's carbon steel, but for a while I used to go. Because that that I know can build it up. I think also, I I don't know. My hormones are starting to balance a little more because I'm on a bunch of different stuff, like figuring it all out. Yeah. Um my progesterone is up again finally for the first time ever. It was zero when I started my HRT journey. Um, and my testosterone is still slightly high. Okay. Like we're we're slowly lowering it down. Is that related? They think that maybe that's why, but as the testosterone comes down, to now it's normal, the iron saturation hasn't changed. So we're waiting a little bit longer. But my actually, my primary care doctor, who's fucking awesome by the way, yeah. Um, shout out to Intermountain Health. They have nurse practitioners who are really young and awesome. I don't know. She just like they do blood work too. And so she looks, she asked me to send her all my labs, and she's like, I'm not gonna touch your hormones because I know someone else is managing it and I don't want to like step on toes or anything you've been working on, but I want to look more into it. And so she is the one that's curious about the iron saturation. Okay. And she wants to do some like genetic testing, yeah, all this other stuff.
SPEAKER_00It's gotta be something genetic at that point.
SPEAKER_01But I might have to start giving blood regularly, which is like my least favorite thing. I know, you do hate it. I yeah, I'm getting better at it because I have to keep getting my blood work. The more you do it, the better you'll get at it. I used to pass out every time. It's what is exposure therapy. It is. And then they start giving me these little vibrating things for kids. They give you a toy that vibrates and it keeps your attention here while they're doing that. And then there's a seeking find on the wall, and then they talk to me. So I have to have like those three things. You know how common this is?
SPEAKER_00Every and I lie down. Yeah. On a bed. It's so common. I mean, it's very interesting. Yeah. I mean, it's not it's not you know, even most natural thing.
SPEAKER_01Tons of tattoos. So it's not the needle, it's the fluid leaving my body.
SPEAKER_00Well, yeah, I can't necessarily look at it. It's like one time, it was this like, I don't know, over ten years ago. They like missed and there was like blood running in my see, I can't even talk about it. Okay, so anyways. Do your strength training, and do your due diligence, and I think you should do it, practice body awareness and find a good company for gonna do a deal. Because it's gonna be a hard road ahead of you if you lose muscle to gain that back, especially if you have the mindset of being smaller and smaller and smaller, right? Be bigger. Want to be bigger, be substantial, be substantial. And with that, peace out.