Beyond Total Weight Loss: Why It’s Important to Preserve Muscle as You Lose Fat

Did you know it’s common to lose muscle when dieting? On average, 20%-40% of the total body weight you lose comes from muscle loss. And you can lose significantly more if you’re not purposeful about your lifestyle while dieting.

Losing muscle mass slows your metabolism and affects your overall health and well-being. That’s why our team at Premiere Medical Center in Toluca Lake, California, offers guidance and support for each step of your weight loss journey, including how to preserve lean muscle mass.

Why you need to preserve muscle mass

Muscle loss has a widespread effect on immediate and long-term health. You need strong muscles to support posture, balance, and body movement (including your heart). Muscles lower your risk of falls, support your joints, and allow you to stay active.

Muscles also promote weight loss. They burn more calories and boost your fat-burning metabolism. That means your weight loss dwindles as muscle mass decreases.

Why dieting affects muscles

Losing weight depends on consuming fewer calories than your body burns (called a calorie deficit). At first, your body relies on a small reservoir of stored glycogen (glucose) for energy.

After depleting the glycogen (which only takes a few days), your body turns to other sources of energy: body fat and muscle.

The good news is that the body prefers to use fat first and preserve muscle. However, if needed, your body breaks down the protein in muscle and converts it into glucose for energy.

Your body is more likely to break down muscle if you:

• Have a severe calorie deficit (a crash, fad, or extreme low-calorie diet)
• Lose weight too rapidly
• Don’t eat enough protein
• Don’t engage in strength training (resistance training)
• Engage in excessive aerobic exercise

Aerobic exercise contributes to fat burning, while resistance training stimulates muscle growth. You're more likely to lose muscle mass if they’re out of balance during a calorie deficit.

To minimize muscle loss, you must prevent or reverse the five items above. 

How to protect your muscles while dieting

Here are four tips to preserve your muscles:

1. Lose weight at a sustainable pace

Aim to lose weight at a slow, steady pace. The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (and many other health organizations) recommends losing 1-2 pounds weekly.

You can lose this much weight without severely restricting your calories. This pace also allows you to create a sustainable meal plan. Both steps lower your risk of muscle loss.

2. Optimize protein

Protein is vital for building muscles and preventing your body from breaking down muscle during a diet. The recommended dietary allowance (RDA) for healthy adults is 0.8 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight, or 0.36 grams per pound.

However, that’s the minimum amount recommended. Studies suggest doubling that amount may preserve muscle mass better than the RDA as you lose weight.

The amount of protein you need is highly individualized and depends on your age, general health, and activity level. If you have questions, we can evaluate your health and muscle strength and offer protein recommendations.

3. Create a healthy meal plan

One of the biggest dieting challenges is ensuring you get all the essential nutrients despite cutting calories. The Mediterranean and DASH diets offer well-balanced guidelines for nutrient-rich meals.

We can also help you create a meal plan that meets your preferences and lifestyle.

4. Follow a balanced exercise plan

Strength training is essential to avoiding muscle loss. You need aerobics (cycling, running, dancing, swimming, moderate to rapid walking, etc.) for overall weight loss, but balance aerobics with resistance training.

Strength training involves exercises that use resistance to build muscles. Examples include:

• Using elastic resistance bands
• Lifting free weights
• Using weight machines
• Using your body weight

Pullups, pushups, squats, and lunges are examples of using body weight to create the resistance that builds muscles.

Aim for 30-60 minutes of strength training twice weekly, but always start slowly, increase gradually, and pay attention to how your body feels.

Exercise warnings:

• Check with a health care provider before starting or suddenly increasing activity level.
• Rest your muscles between workouts (to build muscle and avoid overuse injuries).
• Don’t push through pain. Pain tells you something is wrong, and you need to rest.

Call Premiere Medical Center today or connect online to request an appointment and learn how to preserve muscle mass.