There’s a chart I wish to present you at present.
It exhibits the proportion of fats vs. fat-free mass misplaced at totally different ranges of calorie deficit, relying on whether or not you’re energy coaching or not. (You’ll discover it beneath.)
It additionally sheds mild on considered one of my LEAST favourite tendencies I see within the health business at present: making sweeping statements with none context.
And with the ​rise of GLP-1 medications​ like Ozempic and Wegovy, I see this one popping up everywhere:
“In the event you don’t eat sufficient protein and carry 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 energy coaching helpful when you’re on these drugs or a calorie deficit generally? Sure.
However if you happen to 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 are taking. And that’s not solely fear-mongering, it’s simply not true.
Let’s zoom out:
I wish to break down what’s really occurring in your physique so we are able to have some actual discuss concerning the totally different tradeoffs concerned.
✅ In the event you’re in a calorie deficit, you’ll drop some weight
âś… Everytime you drop some weight, there may be at all times some quantity of lack of lean mass. (I.e. stuff aside from fats)
✅ Power coaching and consuming increased quantities of protein may also help you protect extra of your muscle mass​ whereas in a caloric deficit
âś… 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 individuals persist with bigger deficits than they could in any other case.
So to recap, each time anybody within the historical past of ceaselessly has misplaced weight, a few of that has come from lean mass.
The bigger the caloric deficit you might be in (i.e. the quicker you might be shedding pounds), the better the proportion of that weight will come from lean mass. That is completely regular and anticipated.
Power coaching and consuming increased quantities of protein can completely allow you 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 exhibits on common the place we count on weight reduction to return from. (Particular person outcomes will fluctuate based mostly on genetics, sort of coaching, food plan, and so forth.)
Normally, energy coaching helps protect an additional 10-15% of lean physique mass.
So, for instance, if you happen to 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 if you happen to weren’t coaching, and 1.5 kilos of that to be from lean mass if you happen to had 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.”
Perhaps they’re not ​strength training​ but.
Perhaps they haven’t discovered the right way to hit their protein goals​.
Perhaps they’re simply attempting to stay consistent​ with any a part of the method.
They usually begin listening to issues like:
“You’re simply dropping muscle.”
“You’re ruining all of your progress.”
“You’re doing it incorrect.”
However in actuality? You’re simply making a trade-off.
For example, possibly a slight caloric deficit with no energy coaching is simpler so that you can preserve than a a lot increased deficit with energy coaching added in. Positive, it might take longer to see the load loss – however the ratio of fats free and fats mass is basically 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 section to rebuild a few of that lean mass. That’s one other viable technique.
The purpose is: if we are able to minimize by means of the concern mongering and wildly overblown statements, we are able to have an precise dialogue about what’s your best option for you based mostly on the place you’re at presently.
Actual discuss 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​ is likely to be one of the best transfer.
That alone may also help cut back joint ache, enhance power, and enhance confidence.
Then as soon as that’s stable? Add in energy coaching.
Then protein.
Then possibly some strolling or sleep habits​.
You don’t should do every part, in all places, to achieve success.
In truth, the general public we work with discover success by constructing a basis after which including to it – one habit at a time​.
TL;DR:
- Sure, consuming sufficient protein and lifting weights will allow you to preserve extra muscle.
- Larger calorie deficits = extra muscle loss, even if you happen to’re doing every part else “proper.”
- However these are levels, not disasters.
- Concentrate on what you can do.
Wish to chat about the right way to apply this to your plan? Simply hit reply and let me know.
You’ve acquired this.
-Matt
