How to Protect Lean Body Mass

By /


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.

Currently, there aren’t specific protein consumption guidelines for people taking GLP-1 medications, as further research is needed to understand the unique nutritional needs of this population.

However, Machineni suggests aiming for higher-than-average protein intake. “The goal is 1 to 1.5 grams per kilogram of body weight,” he says. “For someone who weighs about 220 pounds, that’s roughly 100 to 150 grams per day.”

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

If you’re taking a GLP-1 medication, strength training is essential for preventing too much fat-free mass loss.

Normally, when you eat less, your body may try to burn muscle for energy, which slows your metabolism. Strength training sends a signal to your body to keep building and repairing muscle fibers instead.

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.

If you’re taking a GLP-1 medication, side effects like nausea or gastrointestinal discomfort may sometimes make exercise feel more challenging.

 Scheduling your workouts for times of the day when your symptoms are less severe may make it easier to stay consistent.

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.



Source link

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Scroll to Top