What Matters More When You're on Weight Loss Medications? Is it Muscle Mass or Scale Weight?
Many weight loss medications such as GLP-1 receptor agonists (or GLP-1 RAs) have recently soared in popularity.
While many patients report significant reductions in weight, it is usually with the help of a holistic approach, which includes changes to diet, as well as exercise routines. Amidst the excitement of seeing the number on their weighing scales drop, one question normally arises: Are you losing fat or muscle while on GLP-1 RAs, and which one matters more?
Why the Scale Doesn’t Tell the Full Story
Traditional weight loss has often been measured by one metric: body weight. While stepping on the scale offers easy tracking and is objective, it doesn’t really differentiate between what type of mass you’re losing, whether it is fat mass, muscle mass, or simply water weight.
Losing weight too quickly, especially without resistance training or adequate protein intake, can lead to significant muscle loss, which has long-term implications for metabolism, mobility, and overall health.
Studies have shown that people may experience a loss of muscle tissue while on GLP-1 RAs. Between 20 and 50% of the weight that people lose while on a GLP-1 RA is muscle mass, while the rest is made up of fat tissue.
Body Composition Provides A More Complete Picture
Body composition scans such as the Dual-Energy X-ray Absorptiometry (sometimes written as DEXA scan) or Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis (BIA) scan, which measures fat mass, lean body mass (muscle), and other components, provides deeper insight.
To get a full body composition scan, you’ll need to visit a professional who offers this type of scanning. But how often you choose to get a body composition scan depends on your reason for getting the scan.
When you're on weight loss medications, knowing what kind of weight you’re losing is important.
Why is Preserving Muscle Mass Important?
Loss of muscle mass can make your weight management journey harder
Even at rest, muscle tissue burns a lot of calories. This is because muscle cells must maintain a huge number of proteins in good working order, which takes energy. When you lose muscle mass, your basal metabolic rate (BMR) - or the amount of energy that your body uses every day to maintain itself - then declines. With less muscle tissue, you burn less calories, which in turn makes it harder to maintain your weight.
Loss of muscle mass can negatively affect blood sugar control
As one of the most energy-demanding tissues in the body, muscles take up a lot of glucose from the blood. If there is less muscle tissue, blood glucose levels may rise. Many studies have shown that having more muscle mass is linked with better blood sugar control.
Maintaining Muscle Mass on Weight Loss Medication
Making changes in your lifestyle can help to minimize or even prevent loss of muscle mass while taking a GLP-1 RA. Here are some tips:
Get Plenty of Protein in Your Diet
Protein helps maintain muscle mass while you are on weight management medications. Studies have shown that a higher-protein diet significantly decreases the amount of muscle tissue lost during a weight loss program. In addition, it increases the amount of fat tissue lost. High protein diets have also been found to be useful for weight loss as protein helps to keep you feeling full for longer, which means that you eventually eat fewer calories overall. In addition, it actually takes more energy for your body to break down proteins than other sources of energy such as carbohydrates and fats.
Sources of Protein:
High-protein foods, such as meat, fish, eggs, dairy, tofu, lentils, beans, nuts, and seeds
Protein drinks or protein bars – just make sure they do not have a lot of added sugar.
Add a Mix of Aerobic Exercise and Resistance Training to Your Routine
You can also do resistance training or strength training. Strength training helps build up muscle tissue, and has been found to be an effective way to reduce or prevent the loss of muscle tissue during weight loss. But, do not overdo it. Too much can cause injuries to your joints and connective tissues.
Examples of Resistance or Strength Training:
Lifting weights
Using resistance bands
Bodyweight exercises that require strength
Aerobic exercise has also been found to help in maintaining or even building muscle tissue, in addition to other benefits such as improving heart and lung health.
Examples of Aerobic Exercises:
Walking
Running
Cycling
Dancing
Swimming
Recommended Reading: How to maintain muscle while on GLP-1 RAs
Support That Goes Beyond the Scale
When you're on weight loss medications, the number on the scale is only part of the story. In the long run, muscle mass matters more than weight itself.
If you're starting, or already on, a medication-based weight management journey, speak with a healthcare provider or fitness expert to design a plan that helps you lose fat while maintaining (or gaining) muscle. The true goal isn’t just being lighter on the scale, it’s being stronger, healthier, and improving your metabolic health.
At NOVI, we designed Optimum 365 to support your long-term results. From nutrition supplements to recovery tools, everything is curated to help you protect your muscles, maintain your metabolism, and feel your best, even after the medications stop. Because sustainable health isn’t just about losing weight, it’s about building a body that lasts.