How to Maintain Muscle While Losing Weight
“If you’re losing weight, your goal shouldn’t just be to weigh less—it should be to feel stronger, move better, and protect your health for the long run.”
If you’ve started using a GLP-1 weight-loss medication like Ozempic, Wegovy, or Mounjaro, you’re not alone.
These medications can be powerful tools for managing type two diabetes and body weight, but one thing often gets overlooked: what happens to your muscle mass while you lose weight.
💪 Why Muscle Mass Matters
Muscle isn’t just about aesthetics—it’s your body’s engine and the more functional muscle mass you have, the less likely you are to get injured and suffer from metabolic diseases. Here are some of the functions of muscles:
Burns more calories (energy) at rest
Keeps your metabolism healthy
Supports your joints and posture
Helps maintain balance and coordination as you age
Reduces risk of injury and chronic pain
When weight loss happens too quickly—especially when appetite decreases—your body may not get enough protein or training stimulus to hold onto that muscle.
The result?
A slower metabolism, lower energy, and a higher risk of injury, and reduction in strength. So yes, the number on the scale goes down, but so does your ability to do the fun and functional things in life.
🦴 Don’t Forget About Bone Density
Strength training isn’t just for your muscles—it’s essential for your bones too.
When you lift weights, you send powerful signals to your bones to stay strong and dense. Without that stress (in a good way!), bone density can decline, especially for women post-menopause.
Maintaining strong bones means staying active, mobile, and independent for decades to come.
⚖️ Muscle + Bone = Sustainable Weight Loss
Healthy, lasting weight loss isn’t about seeing the smallest number possible on the scale—it’s about changing what that number means.
When you focus on maintaining muscle and bone density, you’re building a body that supports you for life.
🔑 How to Protect Your Muscle While Losing Weight
1. Strength Train 2–3 Times a Week
Focus on foundational movements like squats, deadlifts, presses, and rows. These build full-body strength and protect lean mass. Once you have the basics down, you are aiming to work to failure or near failure. This can be done at light OR heavy weights, so long as you are getting to that last rep and questioning your life choices.
💬 If you’re new to lifting, our Learn to Lift program teaches you how to train safely and confidently from the ground up.
2. Eat Enough Protein
GLP-1 medications impact your appetite. You may not be hungry, but it is crucial you fuel your training and recovery so you don’t lost muscle or feel exhausted when exercising.
Protein helps your muscles repair, rebuild, and thrive—especially during weight loss. Aim to eat 1.6-2grams of protein per kilo of body weight.
This might seem like a lot at first, especially if you have lost most of your appetite, so gradually increase your protein intake by 30-50 grams per day until you get to that number.
3. Mix in Cardio
Cardio supports your heart health, but too much without proper nutrition or strength work can accelerate weight and muscle loss. Aim for balance. You can strengthen your muscles and your heart at the same time by loading a backpack full of weight (heavy books, water, a small child) and walking up hills!
4. Get Expert Guidance
Every body—and every medication—is different.
Working with an exercise professional who understands these medications like a kinesiologist or clinical exercise physiologist ensures your training fits your body’s needs.
If you are using these medications and on a weightloss journey, we highly suggest working in conjunction with a registered dietician. We acknowledge these services are not always accessible. UBC offers a fabulous resource they provide to student athletes, which I love sharing with many of my clients.
This resource breaks down macro nutrients and portion sizes into an easy to digest, pun most certainly intended, document you can keep on your kitchen fridge.
You can find these downloadable resources HERE.
💥 Ready to Get Stronger While Losing Weight?
This fall is your last chance before 2026 to join Learn to Lift, our signature 4-week strength training program that builds confidence, power, and proper form from the ground up.
👉 Included in Learn to Lift:
4 x 90-minute lifting workshops which teach you the FUNdamentals of the primary lifts
Exclusive discounts on small group and personal training for Learn to Lift grads!
Next year, the program is evolving and prices will be increasing—so now’s the perfect time to get started.
➡️ Join Learn to Lift →
Are you comfortable strength training but looking for ongoing support?
💪 Try a Small Group Lifting Club Class
🧠 Book 1:1 Coaching with one of the Sweatworking Collective’s qualified exercise professionals
“Muscle is your lifelong investment—strength training is how you protect it.”
