April 14, 2025 • 28 mins
Get your free 15-minute Rapid Nutrition Assessment to identify your biggest nutrition challenge and get a personalized action plan to optimize your approach, whether you're considering GLP-1s, currently using them, or transitioning off (or go to witsandweights.com and click "Free Nutrition Audit")
--
Millions of people are experiencing dramatic weight loss results with GLP-1 medications like Ozempic, Wegovy, and Mounjaro, but there's a catch that many doctors aren't discussing: without the right approach, up to 40% of that weight loss could be coming from muscle, not fat.
This episode gives you a blueprint for maximizing the benefits of these medications while protecting your metabolism, strength, and long-term results.
Today I'm sharing practical, evidence-based strategies to preserve muscle while maximizing fat loss on these powerful appesite-suppressing medications, including how to adjust your nutrition, training, and lifestyle to maintain those results even after you stop.
Main Takeaways:
- GLP-1 medications aid weight loss primarily through appetite suppression
- Muscle loss isn't caused by the medications but by rapid weight loss without intervention
- Resistance training and sufficient protein intake are non-negotiable for preserving muscle mass
- Plan your transition off medication well in advance with a strategic approach
Episode Resources:
- Try MacroFactor for free with code WITSANDWEIGHTS
Timestamps:
0:01 - Understanding GLP-1 medications and body composition
6:29 - Protein and nutrition strategies
10:14 - Micronutrients and tracking calories
12:10 - Why resistance training is essential
16:02 - Managing energy levels and strength training
16:47 - Planning for reducing or coming off GLP-1 medications
21:56 - Body recomposition
👩💻 Book a FREE 15-Minute Rapid Nutrition Assessment:
https://witsandweights.com/free-call
🎓 Get your first challenge + 2 weeks FREE in Wits & Weights Physique University (WWPU)
👥 Join our Facebook community for live Q&As & support
👋 Let's connect! Ask a question, get my FREE newsletter, or find me on Instagram
📱 Try MacroFactor for free with code WITSANDWEIGHTS
🏋️♀️ Download Boostcamp for free for evidence-based workout programs
🫙 Get 20% off Legion supplements with code WITSpod
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Philip Pape (00:01):
If you're one of the millions of people using
weight loss drugs or thinkingabout them, you've probably
heard about the impressiveresults on the scale or are
experiencing them yourself.
But you've also heard thatthere's a chance for massive
muscle loss without the rightlifestyle in place.
So today I'm going to sharewith you some practical
strategies to preserve musclewhile maximizing fat loss on
these medications, including howto adjust your nutrition,
(00:30):
training and lifestyle, and then, if you choose to, you can
maintain those results after youstop.
Welcome to Wits and Weights,the show that helps you build a
strong, healthy physique usingevidence, engineering and
efficiency.
I'm your host, philip Pape, andtoday we are talking about how
(00:52):
to optimize your lifestyle,nutrition and training when
using GLP-1 medications.
And this is both if you areconsidering them or you're
currently on them, and, ifyou're on them, whether you want
to continue using them or comeoff of them.
So I'm very open-minded to allthe different scenarios here,
(01:13):
and this is not at all going tobe a judgment on the medications
or your choice to use them, butrather how to make the best use
of your lifestyle in theprocess.
I want to start by thankingMichael Kay.
He's a fellow coach who we'vebeen chatting for a while now.
I actually did another episodein response to his sending me a
question a while back, but todayhe sent me an email that helped
(01:34):
inspire this episode.
Or I should say he sent me theemail a while back, working with
clients on these medications,which very much reflect what I
have seen as well, and he saidquote we have a great
opportunity to shed light onthis subject and keep our
clients safe and well informed.
And, quote he emphasized theimportance of the various
(01:55):
lifestyle changes that must bemade alongside these medications
, and we are going to refer tosome research as well.
All of this perfectly alignswith what the evidence tells us
and is also counter to some ofthe fear mongering like hey,
you're just going to lose a tonof muscle, so why go on these
meds?
When the reality is you willlose a ton of muscle when you
(02:16):
crash diet, whether or not youare on the meds, and so the
principles of how to counteractthat are going to be the same.
Now, before we get into it, ifyou are looking for personalized
guidance on your approach,whether you are considering
GLP-1s or currently using themor you're transitioning off,
I've worked with all of thesescenarios.
(02:37):
We have folks in our PhysiqueUniversity and one-on-one
clients who are in these variousscenarios and what I do is I
offer these free calls.
They're called rapid nutritionassessments and it's a 15 minute
fast paced call where weidentify what is your biggest
challenge right now, why?
Why are you reaching out forhelp, and can we come up with
two or three specific plans toaddress it.
(02:57):
That's it.
No sales pitch, it's just someadvice.
I'm playing more of those onthe podcast.
In fact, we're going to haveone of those calls coming up
soon that I did with Sam.
She was a more advanced person,experienced with nutrition and
training, wondering if sheshould build, maintain or lose
fat.
So you're going to hear thatsoon.
But if you want your ownversion of that and you want to
(03:18):
talk to me on a Zoom call andjust get some clarity, click the
link in the show notes toschedule that, or go to my
website, witsandweightscom, andclick the big button for the
rapid nutrition assessment, andthat could be pretty much just
what you're looking for tooptimize your approach if you
feel like you're stuck.
So I want to talk about themedications, their impact on
(03:38):
body composition, first, andthen we'll set the stage for
what's to come.
So we're talking about GLP-1receptor agonists like
semaglutide, which is Ozempic,or Wagovi, or terzepatide, which
is Manjaro, and of course, thisclass of drugs continues to
expand and get more potent, andthey work mainly by reducing
appetite.
The way they do that is alittle complicated, but
(04:01):
effectively they can slow yourgastric emptying, they can
increase your feelings offullness, and then they act on
brain centers that controlhunger, and that's critical,
because we know how importantbrain related genetics are to
hunger and appetite and is whyso many people struggle with
overeating, even when they knowthat that's the issue, and it's
(04:22):
difficult to overcome, andthat's often why some people are
prescribed these meds.
If you then are able to controlthose mechanisms, you then can
have significant caloriereduction without the willpower
struggle that many dietersexperience, and that is why the
results are so impressive.
Across the board.
We see clinical trials showingaverage weight losses of 15 to
20% of total body weight inabout 68 to 72 weeks.
(04:46):
So it's fairly aggressive andway more effective than previous
weight loss medications and,like bariatric surgery outcomes,
things like that and thenumbers are even higher for some
of the more advanced, liketerzapatide, is higher than
semaglutide, and there are newclasses of drugs as well, and
it's effectively like doing avery rapid or aggressive diet on
(05:06):
your own, but people tend to beable to stick with it and see
it through because of thereduction in hunger and so on.
Now, what's important tounderstand about body
composition?
Okay, there was a step onetrial for semaglutide where
researchers found that 40% ofthe weight lost was lean tissue.
Right, lean tissue includes isyour lean mass and includes
(05:29):
muscle.
It technically includes boneand water as well, but the vast
majority of this is what we'retalking about is muscle tissue.
And there was a similar findingin the Sermount 1 trial for
terzepatide.
Now, that does not mean thesemedications cause muscle loss.
Very important to understand.
Instead, it is just a naturalconsequence of rapid weight loss
without doing something topreserve muscle.
(05:52):
Very important Because, if weput this in perspective right,
when you're not on thesemedications typical weight loss
that we see with just yournormal dieting approach a
calorie deficit may also includesome muscle loss.
In fact, the average personlosing weight without trying to
(06:13):
hold on to muscle might lose 25to 30% of their weight as muscle
, right.
So the main reason thepercentage is a bit higher with
GLP-1s is the rapid rate of theweight reduction.
That's really all it is.
If you did this on your own andlost weight that quickly,
you're also going to experiencea 30 or 40% loss as muscle.
So the point isn't to be fearfulor alarmed here, but understand
(06:33):
this and then be strategicabout it, just as we would
implement specific strategiesfor any weight loss approach.
And, in fact, if you'relistening and you have no desire
at all or need to go on thesemeds, principles we talk about
today are still valuable to you,and so we want to have these
targeted interventions, and itwould be awesome if everyone on
these drugs everyone on thesedrugs had to be in a sort of
(06:53):
patient-centered approach thathad nutrition and lifestyle and
training built in, like you hadto do those things, but the real
world and healthcare doesn'tnecessarily work that way.
So hopefully you're listeningto this podcast and getting the
power to do this on your own.
So I want to talk now aboutprotein and nutrition, and then
we'll talk about other lifestylefactors, especially strength
(07:15):
training, of course.
So the first, I guess,intervention for preserving
muscle here is optimizing yourprotein intake, and I start here
because for most people, thisis going to be, I'll say, an
easier play, in that we all eatfood already.
You're already thinking in termsof weight loss and what goes in
your mouth, and there are somethings that make it a little
more challenging on thesemedications because a lot of
(07:37):
people experience reducedobviously reduced appetite,
appetite overall, but sometimesan aversion to protein rich
foods.
Others have an aversion to fatrich foods, right Like processed
foods, which isn't the worstthing in the world when you just
don't like to eat those things.
But when it's protein rich andyou all of a sudden like kind of
like a pregnant woman, all of asudden like craves or hates a
certain food, I've had clientstell me they suddenly can't
(07:58):
stand the taste of chicken oreggs or something that they
enjoyed and and, and we have tounderstand that.
So you have to be moredeliberate and strategic about
getting your protein.
So, based on the research I'vetalked about this many times
before I recommend aiming for0.7 to one gram per pound of
body weight per day.
So if your goal weight is andagain, this is goal weight,
(08:19):
ideal weight, whatever you wantto call it and if you're on
these drugs, you're probablytrying to lose weight.
So if your goal weight is like150 pounds, then that's say 110
to 150 grams of protein a day,and this is not a bodybuilder
level protein intake.
This is very solid amount,shown in research, to preserve
muscle mass.
When you are in significantcalorie reduction because we
(08:39):
have to make that assumptionwhen you are in significant
calorie reduction because wehave to make that assumption I'm
going to assume on GLP-1s, thatyou're going to be going at a
rapid rate of loss.
However, however, we want tomake sure that loss is
controlled and we're actuallyeating enough food to prevent it
going so fast that we stilllose muscle even despite these
interventions.
But anyway, back to protein.
(09:00):
All right, simple strategies Ifyou have protein at every meal.
Back to protein.
All right, simple strategies Ifyou have protein at every meal.
Prioritize protein at everymeal.
Start with protein beforemoving on to other foods,
because not only do you want tohave the protein, you want to
get ahead of your hunger signalsthat are less than someone else
would have, and it ensures thatyou get the protein before you
fill up.
Um, the second thing is, if youneed liquid sources of protein,
(09:23):
like protein shakes or Greekyogurt smoothies, right, it
could still be whole food, likeGreek yogurt, where you're
smoothing, you're blending it,uh, even bone broth, like it's
got to have a decent amount ofprotein, though, and it can
sometimes be easier to consume.
And then you want to distributeprotein throughout the day, and
this is not because sciencesays that's so much better for
building muscle.
It's mainly to, um again, beable to get it all in right and
(09:45):
not feel too stuffed or too full, and and there might be a tiny
optimal advantage for musclebuilding, but I'm not asking you
to do that for that reason.
Uh, and then the next thing is,of course, you know, if you
have an aversion to a specificsource of protein, like chicken.
You got so many other options.
You've got fish, shrimp, dairyeggs, plant-based options,
you've got tofu, tempeh, all ofthat.
(10:06):
Just make sure you get enough,right.
Just make sure you get enough.
There's also whey proteinversus pea and rice protein if
you need to supplement.
So the other thing that happensbeyond protein is, of course,
your nutrients, and I don't meannutrition like your food, but
your actual nutrient,micronutrient sufficiency,
because when you're losingweight rapidly and you're not
(10:26):
taking up in as much food orcalories, you're then reducing
your intake of essentialvitamins and minerals, and so
you may need to supplement morethan you would in the past and
you may lead to a deficiency ifyou don't right.
And so what are we talkingabout?
Well, I like multivitamins as acatch-all vitamin D if you need
it, calcium if you need it,omega-3 supplements, magnesium,
(10:48):
for sure.
But you may have other needs.
Vitamin C, you know, you mayhave other needs, that, even
iron, sometimes for women, butagain, that's between you and
your medical practitioner, basedon your specific needs, based
on your history.
And then I alluded to thisalready but you've got to be
mindful of your actual calorieintake.
If anyone's taking GLP-1s andnot tracking their food, I think
they're doing themselves adisservice, because you're going
(11:10):
to have significantly reducedappetite and could potentially
eat way too little.
Yeah, you're losing weightGreat.
But you're also going to losemuscle and you're going to have
additional nutrient deficiencies.
You're going to be low onenergy.
It's going to be this kind ofvicious cycle.
It's not going to feel great.
So, actually, you know,determining your appropriate
calorie target, which, in myopinion, would be no more, no
(11:34):
more than 1% of your body weighta week maximum.
Okay, for most people that arenot on these drugs, a half a
percent is usually reasonable,maybe 0.75.
When you're on the drug becauseyou have so much less appetite,
you end up going moreaggressively, but sometimes too
extreme.
So track it.
Use Macrofactor.
Use my code Wits and Weights toget two weeks free.
Try it out.
(11:54):
Link in the show notes.
Use Macrofactor and track yourfood so that you know how much
you're eating and how much youshould be eating to continue at
that rate.
By the way, that's the only appthat will do that for you,
because it can calculate yourmetabolism and tell you true
calorie targets for you.
All right, so if protein is thefoundation of preserving muscle
from a food perspective, thenresistance training is what
(12:18):
actually makes that possible.
So listen up, I could have putthis as number one, but I wanted
to start with the food side,because it's very unique to
these meds.
But resistance training hasbeen clearly demonstrated time
and again as the most effectiveintervention to maintain muscle
mass during weight loss and thenwhen you're not losing weight.
Of course, it's how you buildmuscle, and this becomes even
(12:41):
more critical when using thesemeds, mainly because the meds
get you to go at a more extremerate of loss, like we've talked
about, but not too extreme,right, okay.
So in practical terms what thislooks like is probably a
minimum of two, but ideallythree strength training sessions
per week, potentially four onceyou get into it and you're like
, hey, this is a lot of fun, I'mgetting strong, et cetera, but
(13:09):
three days a week, full body,mainly compound lifts and use
progressive overload.
Now we're not going to get intogreat detail on how to do all
that in today's episode.
If you're not sure what I'mtalking about.
I've got plenty of episodes onthis.
I did one recently calledstrength versus hypertrophy.
I think it's going to be aclassic.
It's a really good overview ofthis, of all the principles, and
then from there you can branchoff into other episodes or reach
out to me.
But I think the most effectiveapproach, just at a high level,
(13:30):
includes compound movements thatengage multiple muscle groups.
So we're talking about squatsor, if you can't do squats, leg
presses for your lower body,deadlifts for your hamstrings
and back and posterior chain,bench presses for your chest,
for your triceps, overheadpresses for your shoulders, and
(13:51):
then like rows or pull downs foryour back, for your biceps,
things like that, and then youcould throw other fun stuff in
there if you've got the time andinclination.
But for those new to resistancetraining, I think a very simple
three-day full body using thesebasic lifts is super solid,
something like starting strength.
We've got workouts in ourPhysique University that will
get you started and then you canmove up into more intermediate
(14:13):
programs.
Definitely, working with acoach is super recommended early
on, even if it's just a fewsessions to get your form dialed
in.
Or again, if you're workingwith us or in our Physique
University, you can submitvideos anytime for free as part
of the program and get a formcheck and you're going to get
where you need to be.
You're going to get stronger,you're going to build muscle and
then, if you're on these drugs,what this will look like is
(14:35):
maintaining all that muscle sothat you prioritize fat loss.
That is how you lose fat.
It's not cardio right.
It's not cardio ever.
It's not cardio right.
It's not cardio ever.
It's lifting weights, buildingmuscle, holding onto that muscle
so that you lose fat, and sothat's how we improve our body
composition and you don't getskinny fat, frumpy, weak, low
energy, all of that.
Speaking of energy, energy cansometimes be quite a bit lower
(14:57):
while you're on GLP-1 medsbecause of the lower calorie
intake, especially if you'regoing more aggressively.
So it's kind of ironic notironic, but like you've got this
ability to eat less becauseyour appetite's less, but then
there are other negativeconsequences if you do it too
aggressively.
So many of my clients who areon these drugs, I still don't
want them to go at the fulllevel of aggressiveness because
of the negatives to their otherbiofeedback, like their energy,
(15:20):
like their recovery, their sleep, their stress, all of that
stuff.
So you want to have realisticexpectations around your workout
intensity, right your trainingintensity, because it could be
compromised a bit if you'regoing really aggressively and
you don't have much energy.
And so I really focus onconsistency right, getting to
the gym three days a week anddoing the program and trying to
(15:43):
progress right.
You're not necessarily going tochase all time maximum personal
records, but if you'relistening to this podcast and
you're not and this is all newto you anyway you're probably
going to have some growthregardless.
Just get in the gym three daysa week and do it, do the
training right, focus on slowlyprogressing and do the training.
The timing can also help,depending on your injections.
(16:06):
So this is specific to the meds.
Some clients find that trainingshortly after their injection,
when appetite is most suppressed, actually allows them to
maintain their energy level, butothers prefer training right
before their injection or theirmeal, when energy might be
slightly higher.
Right, so it's verypersonalized, but you need to
track this stuff and figure itout.
(16:26):
Um, and then you you don't needto be a power lifter, a
bodybuilder, whatever.
It's just moderate resistancetraining with barbells, maybe
dumbbells and machines,depending on what you have
access to is going to give youmassive, significant benefits
compared to just not doing it.
You've got to train, you've gotto resistance train and then do
it for the rest of your life.
There's so many benefits tothat.
(16:47):
We're not they're outside thescope of today's episode, but I
have plenty of other episodesthat get into that and then I
think the final piece of thepuzzle here is planning for what
happens when I'll say if andwhen you decide to reduce or
discontinue GLP-1 therapy and Isay it in that subtle way
because some people might feellike they want to stay on it for
(17:07):
a while.
They're asked by their doctorto do so.
There could be metabolic orhealth reasons for doing so.
Maybe you've come off of themand found that it's very
difficult for you to continuemaintaining your habits even
when you've done everythingright, and it's just your brain
and your genetics are that way.
Again, I'm not here to judge.
(17:29):
A lot of folks, though, want totry and then eventually get off
of the drugs and discontinuethem, and they understand that
this is a lifelong thing, thatwe need to do this the right way
and set yourself up for success, because the research is clear
that weight regain is verycommon after stopping these meds
.
In the Step 1 Extension Study,participants regained two-thirds
of their lost weight within ayear after discontinuation.
(17:50):
But guess what?
This does not have to be youroutcome.
It's also a very typicaloutcome, even when people are
not on these drugs and gothrough weight loss, and I think
that's actually an empoweringstatement I just said, because
what it means is it's not reallythe drugs, it's the fact that
the drugs allow you to have acalorie deficit, and then the
lifestyle is not in place at thesame time to allow you to come
(18:13):
off the drugs and maintain it,just like somebody who's not on
these drugs loses weight thewrong way and loses muscle and
then regains their weight thatway, it's the same thing really.
So the wrong way and losesmuscle and then regains their
weight.
That way, it's the same thingreally.
So if you can plan properly,you can maintain your results,
and this planning begins monthsbefore you stop the medication.
So here is my approach to this.
I've done this with clients.
(18:33):
It works really well.
I can refer you to individualswho've done this.
It works okay.
The first thing you're going todo is gradually transition to
maintenance calories.
You're coming out of a deficit.
You're increasing your caloriesto maintenance while you're
still on the medication, andthis gives your body time to
(18:54):
adapt to higher food intakewhile the appetite suppressing
effects are still present, withthe caveat that you might want
to reduce the dose.
So you do this in conjunctionwith your doctor and you talk to
them and you say, hey, I'vebeen working with Philip, where
I've been listening to hispodcast, I've been training,
I've been tracking my food, I'vebeen eating plenty of protein.
(19:15):
Right, I'm active, I'm anathletic fitness lifestyle
individual, not like I wasbefore, when I first came to you
, doc, but now I am, I've got mylifestyle in place and I want
to eventually get off thesedrugs.
So maybe I'm going to titratedown by a fraction of the dose
while you then increase thecalories, all right.
The second thing is and thisshould go without saying, but I
(19:39):
want you to make sure that yourresistance training program, by
this point, is consistent andprogressive, because by the time
you start tapering off the meds, this is going to be like a
well-established habit.
It's just part of yourlifestyle.
Strength training above all,okay.
Third, I want you to learn andpractice mindful eating
strategies while you're on themeds, that you're just going to
(20:02):
continue, mindful eatingstrategies while you're on the
meds, that you're just going tocontinue.
And that could be a number ofthings that could be simply
eating slowly, you know, uh,planning your meals in advance,
meal prep, meal planning To me,that is a form of mindfulness as
well.
It could be, you know, learningto estimate your foods visually
so you you eat reasonableportions, balancing your macros
right.
That's what I mean by mindful,not just the you know, put your
(20:24):
fork down between each bite typeof thing, but more of the
mindfulness of the eating andthe mindfulness of the planning,
prep, logging, tracking, all ofit, all right.
And then I want you to connect.
So this is number four I wantyou to consider a gradual
tapering strategy.
So I already alluded to thiswhen I talked about going to
maintenance.
But people have success tapering.
This is true of most things notall, but most types of dosing
(20:49):
approaches where your healthcareprovider can help design this
for you so your body adjusts tothe changing appetite signal
because it is fairlyproportional to the medication,
right?
And so that way you don't justget a sudden rebound and all of
a sudden feel like you'restarving and you could eat
anything.
So for most of my clients, I'mgonna transition, or I'm going
(21:10):
to recommend transitioning, notjust to maintenance but actually
slowly toward a slight caloricsurplus that coincides with the
tapering process and gets youinto a really a building growth,
a high energy state of thinkingright, where you are now
setting up structure and controlabout your eating, even when
(21:33):
you're eating more enough toslightly gain weight.
And it's a very different wayto live than the reason you
gained weight before, where itwas uncontrolled, you couldn't
control your appetite signals orwhatever.
Now we're going to direct yourincreasing appetite toward
muscle growth rather than fatstorage and towards something
that benefits you right, andthat's a beautiful thing in my
(21:55):
opinion.
So it's really about having aplan before you stop.
I don't want you to justdiscontinue it and have no
strategy and then, even worse,not having done any of these
things to begin with.
Anyway, right, you put thelifestyle in place, the training
, the protein, the tracking verysimple, right, just the simple
pillars.
Yeah, you can get increase yourstep count.
Yes, you should focus on sleepand stress.
(22:15):
All that's great.
But the big ones are reallytraining, protein, tracking,
right, consistency, controllingyour mindfulness or having a
mindful approach to not onlyeating but planning, prep and so
on, and then tapering your dosedown as you bring the calories
up and potentially bring thecalories even more up, past
maintenance to a slight buildingphase, and it all just lines up
(22:36):
really well.
After that you can see how youfeel, not being on the meds,
eating plenty of food, buildinggrowth.
It should help manage thehunger really well at that point
, because most people who aregaining weight to build muscle
actually don't have much hunger.
When they do, it's because theydo need to eat more food, but
it kind of mentally frees yourbrain from even having food
(22:57):
noise because you don't get thehunger and you're off the
medication, and it creates anice positive association with
food.
Then, after you build musclefor, let's say, six months now
you can go potentially intomaintenance or another fat loss
phase without the medicationsand that's like your next phase
of your overall approach thatyou can experiment with.
That's well beyond the scope oftoday's episode.
(23:20):
So what's really cool aboutthese medications is they
present a unique opportunity forbody recomp.
That isn't possible when you'renot in the meds.
And I'm not telling everyone togo out and get your injections.
What I'm saying is is if you'reon these medications, because
they so effectively managehunger, they can create an
environment where you can be ina calorie deficit without the
(23:42):
hunger or even brutal hunger,depending on how you've done it
that normally accompaniessignificant weight loss.
Right, most people, when you'reon these drugs, are not going
to really be able to push atthat 1% for very long, but when
you're on the drugs, you kind ofcan.
I mean, I've had clients who arelike yep, I'm not hungry, yep,
I'm not hungry, and here we arein this like pretty significant
deficit.
(24:02):
So then you can get somesubstantial fat loss in a short
amount of time while preservingyour muscle.
If you do it with lifestyle,you've got to have the meds with
the lifestyle, okay.
And I've had clients who've gotamazing body composition
transformations, who were on themeds initially just to lose
weight.
We got them actually thinkingin terms of fat loss and body
(24:24):
comp training and nutrition andit helped them do it.
I'll say faster, true, faster.
Yeah.
Let's just not beat around thebush, because they didn't have
the hunger, but we didn't wantto go so fast that it'd affect
them in other ways and they gotit over fairly quickly.
So you know we're talking 40,50, maybe 60 pounds of fat over.
I don't know what are we saying?
(24:45):
A nine, 12 month period.
I may have the numbers off.
We don't want to go past 1% aweek, but some clients come in
and start there.
You know they're 350 pounds,right, so it's all relative Um,
and then they'll actually gainsome lean mass in the process.
So actually get some recomp,which is totally possible when
you have a lot of weight to lose.
And for many people that seemslike an impossible thing to do
without the appetite managementbenefits of the meds.
(25:07):
And that's why I am veryopen-minded to what you need as
an individual, even though I'mnot out there being like, yeah,
come, take these drugs and thenjoin my program.
It's not like that, it's hey, Iwant to help you do what you
want to do with the drugs orwithout them.
Okay, the I want to help you dowhat you want to do with the
drugs or without them.
Okay, the medications are notmagic pills, although some would
argue they're pretty close.
The problem is they're.
(25:28):
The magic that they do cause ismisleading, because weight loss
by itself isn't going to getyou what you want to be.
You want to have fat loss.
So if you pair it withlifestyle, that's where you're
going to get the great results.
And then the habits and themuscle that you build during the
process that becomes yourfoundation for the new you that
doesn't need these meds anymore.
Potentially, right, potentially.
(25:48):
Again, I don't want to makeanyone feel guilty Like, hey, I
tried all this, I came off themeds.
I felt like I couldn't controlmy appetite.
There may be deeper or moregenetically linked challenges
for certain people.
So main takeaways here GLP-1meds are powerful tools to lose
weight, but they work best whencombined with lifestyle to
(26:11):
optimize fat loss, bodycomposition, holding onto muscle
right.
Otherwise you can lose up to40% of your body mass as muscle.
Number two you want toprioritize protein of 0.7 to one
gram per pound of your goalbody weight, even when you don't
feel like you can eat it.
And that's where you have toget creative.
How do you get it in liquids,different timing, et cetera.
Number three resistancetraining has to be a
non-negotiable part of yourroutine.
Resistance training, not just aYouTube workout, right?
(26:35):
Not just randomly going to thegym, but actually training with
progressive overload to signalto your body that muscles should
be preserved.
Number I think I'm on numberfour here.
You want to plan fortransitioning to a lower or off
of the medication well inadvance.
Come up with a plan to do it.
Reach out to me, work with yourmedical practitioner.
Now doctors, in my opinion,most of them don't understand,
(26:57):
don't understand building muscle, losing fat, body composition,
energy balance they really justdon't.
They don't have much trainingand nutrition in lifting.
Some do right, more do now thanin the past but many don't.
And so, unless you have areally good feeling for that
being the case with yourpractitioner, reach out to me,
listen to the show, join us inPhysique University.
(27:18):
We'll help you do that.
And so it's a strategicapproach, right, where these
meds are just objective tools tohelp with the appetite.
They're catalysts, and if youdo all the other things that's
going to set you up sustainablyfor the rest of your life, all
right.
So I hope that clarified yourapproach to these meds.
Whether you're thinking aboutthem, you're on them.
You want to come off them.
(27:38):
You're unsure about the beststrategy for a situation?
I off them.
You're unsure about the beststrategy for a situation.
I'm not offering medical advice.
I'm not recommending them oneway or the other.
I'm just trying to help younavigate them, if that's in your
realm.
So, if you want to talk aboutit, I offer a free 15-minute
rapid nutrition assessment.
Again, during this Zoom call,which is not a sales pitch at
all, we're going to identifyyour biggest challenge right now
(27:59):
and create a plan to address it.
And if you want to talk throughthese meds maybe you're on them
.
You want to know what's my planto get off?
We can talk about that.
Just some advice that you canimplement, starting right now.
Click the link in the shownotes to schedule it or go to
witsandweightscom and until nexttime, keep using your wits
lifting those weights.
And remember it's not aboutlosing weight, it's creating a
(28:21):
strong, healthy body that youdeserve.
I'll talk to you next time hereon the Wits and Weights podcast
.
If you're one of the millions of people using
weight loss drugs or thinkingabout them, you've probably
heard about the impressiveresults on the scale or are
experiencing them yourself.
But you've also heard thatthere's a chance for massive
muscle loss without the rightlifestyle in place.
So today I'm going to sharewith you some practical
strategies to preserve musclewhile maximizing fat loss on
these medications, including howto adjust your nutrition,
(00:30):
training and lifestyle, and then, if you choose to, you can
maintain those results after youstop.
Welcome to Wits and Weights,the show that helps you build a
strong, healthy physique usingevidence, engineering and
efficiency.
I'm your host, philip Pape, andtoday we are talking about how
(00:52):
to optimize your lifestyle,nutrition and training when
using GLP-1 medications.
And this is both if you areconsidering them or you're
currently on them, and, ifyou're on them, whether you want
to continue using them or comeoff of them.
So I'm very open-minded to allthe different scenarios here,
(01:13):
and this is not at all going tobe a judgment on the medications
or your choice to use them, butrather how to make the best use
of your lifestyle in theprocess.
I want to start by thankingMichael Kay.
He's a fellow coach who we'vebeen chatting for a while now.
I actually did another episodein response to his sending me a
question a while back, but todayhe sent me an email that helped
(01:34):
inspire this episode.
Or I should say he sent me theemail a while back, working with
clients on these medications,which very much reflect what I
have seen as well, and he saidquote we have a great
opportunity to shed light onthis subject and keep our
clients safe and well informed.
And, quote he emphasized theimportance of the various
(01:55):
lifestyle changes that must bemade alongside these medications
, and we are going to refer tosome research as well.
All of this perfectly alignswith what the evidence tells us
and is also counter to some ofthe fear mongering like hey,
you're just going to lose a tonof muscle, so why go on these
meds?
When the reality is you willlose a ton of muscle when you
(02:16):
crash diet, whether or not youare on the meds, and so the
principles of how to counteractthat are going to be the same.
Now, before we get into it, ifyou are looking for personalized
guidance on your approach,whether you are considering
GLP-1s or currently using themor you're transitioning off,
I've worked with all of thesescenarios.
(02:37):
We have folks in our PhysiqueUniversity and one-on-one
clients who are in these variousscenarios and what I do is I
offer these free calls.
They're called rapid nutritionassessments and it's a 15 minute
fast paced call where weidentify what is your biggest
challenge right now, why?
Why are you reaching out forhelp, and can we come up with
two or three specific plans toaddress it.
(02:57):
That's it.
No sales pitch, it's just someadvice.
I'm playing more of those onthe podcast.
In fact, we're going to haveone of those calls coming up
soon that I did with Sam.
She was a more advanced person,experienced with nutrition and
training, wondering if sheshould build, maintain or lose
fat.
So you're going to hear thatsoon.
But if you want your ownversion of that and you want to
(03:18):
talk to me on a Zoom call andjust get some clarity, click the
link in the show notes toschedule that, or go to my
website, witsandweightscom, andclick the big button for the
rapid nutrition assessment, andthat could be pretty much just
what you're looking for tooptimize your approach if you
feel like you're stuck.
So I want to talk about themedications, their impact on
(03:38):
body composition, first, andthen we'll set the stage for
what's to come.
So we're talking about GLP-1receptor agonists like
semaglutide, which is Ozempic,or Wagovi, or terzepatide, which
is Manjaro, and of course, thisclass of drugs continues to
expand and get more potent, andthey work mainly by reducing
appetite.
The way they do that is alittle complicated, but
(04:01):
effectively they can slow yourgastric emptying, they can
increase your feelings offullness, and then they act on
brain centers that controlhunger, and that's critical,
because we know how importantbrain related genetics are to
hunger and appetite and is whyso many people struggle with
overeating, even when they knowthat that's the issue, and it's
(04:22):
difficult to overcome, andthat's often why some people are
prescribed these meds.
If you then are able to controlthose mechanisms, you then can
have significant caloriereduction without the willpower
struggle that many dietersexperience, and that is why the
results are so impressive.
Across the board.
We see clinical trials showingaverage weight losses of 15 to
20% of total body weight inabout 68 to 72 weeks.
(04:46):
So it's fairly aggressive andway more effective than previous
weight loss medications and,like bariatric surgery outcomes,
things like that and thenumbers are even higher for some
of the more advanced, liketerzapatide, is higher than
semaglutide, and there are newclasses of drugs as well, and
it's effectively like doing avery rapid or aggressive diet on
(05:06):
your own, but people tend to beable to stick with it and see
it through because of thereduction in hunger and so on.
Now, what's important tounderstand about body
composition?
Okay, there was a step onetrial for semaglutide where
researchers found that 40% ofthe weight lost was lean tissue.
Right, lean tissue includes isyour lean mass and includes
(05:29):
muscle.
It technically includes boneand water as well, but the vast
majority of this is what we'retalking about is muscle tissue.
And there was a similar findingin the Sermount 1 trial for
terzepatide.
Now, that does not mean thesemedications cause muscle loss.
Very important to understand.
Instead, it is just a naturalconsequence of rapid weight loss
without doing something topreserve muscle.
(05:52):
Very important Because, if weput this in perspective right,
when you're not on thesemedications typical weight loss
that we see with just yournormal dieting approach a
calorie deficit may also includesome muscle loss.
In fact, the average personlosing weight without trying to
(06:13):
hold on to muscle might lose 25to 30% of their weight as muscle
, right.
So the main reason thepercentage is a bit higher with
GLP-1s is the rapid rate of theweight reduction.
That's really all it is.
If you did this on your own andlost weight that quickly,
you're also going to experiencea 30 or 40% loss as muscle.
So the point isn't to be fearfulor alarmed here, but understand
(06:33):
this and then be strategicabout it, just as we would
implement specific strategiesfor any weight loss approach.
And, in fact, if you'relistening and you have no desire
at all or need to go on thesemeds, principles we talk about
today are still valuable to you,and so we want to have these
targeted interventions, and itwould be awesome if everyone on
these drugs everyone on thesedrugs had to be in a sort of
(06:53):
patient-centered approach thathad nutrition and lifestyle and
training built in, like you hadto do those things, but the real
world and healthcare doesn'tnecessarily work that way.
So hopefully you're listeningto this podcast and getting the
power to do this on your own.
So I want to talk now aboutprotein and nutrition, and then
we'll talk about other lifestylefactors, especially strength
(07:15):
training, of course.
So the first, I guess,intervention for preserving
muscle here is optimizing yourprotein intake, and I start here
because for most people, thisis going to be, I'll say, an
easier play, in that we all eatfood already.
You're already thinking in termsof weight loss and what goes in
your mouth, and there are somethings that make it a little
more challenging on thesemedications because a lot of
(07:37):
people experience reducedobviously reduced appetite,
appetite overall, but sometimesan aversion to protein rich
foods.
Others have an aversion to fatrich foods, right Like processed
foods, which isn't the worstthing in the world when you just
don't like to eat those things.
But when it's protein rich andyou all of a sudden like kind of
like a pregnant woman, all of asudden like craves or hates a
certain food, I've had clientstell me they suddenly can't
(07:58):
stand the taste of chicken oreggs or something that they
enjoyed and and, and we have tounderstand that.
So you have to be moredeliberate and strategic about
getting your protein.
So, based on the research I'vetalked about this many times
before I recommend aiming for0.7 to one gram per pound of
body weight per day.
So if your goal weight is andagain, this is goal weight,
(08:19):
ideal weight, whatever you wantto call it and if you're on
these drugs, you're probablytrying to lose weight.
So if your goal weight is like150 pounds, then that's say 110
to 150 grams of protein a day,and this is not a bodybuilder
level protein intake.
This is very solid amount,shown in research, to preserve
muscle mass.
When you are in significantcalorie reduction because we
(08:39):
have to make that assumptionwhen you are in significant
calorie reduction because wehave to make that assumption I'm
going to assume on GLP-1s, thatyou're going to be going at a
rapid rate of loss.
However, however, we want tomake sure that loss is
controlled and we're actuallyeating enough food to prevent it
going so fast that we stilllose muscle even despite these
interventions.
But anyway, back to protein.
(09:00):
All right, simple strategies Ifyou have protein at every meal.
Back to protein.
All right, simple strategies Ifyou have protein at every meal.
Prioritize protein at everymeal.
Start with protein beforemoving on to other foods,
because not only do you want tohave the protein, you want to
get ahead of your hunger signalsthat are less than someone else
would have, and it ensures thatyou get the protein before you
fill up.
Um, the second thing is, if youneed liquid sources of protein,
(09:23):
like protein shakes or Greekyogurt smoothies, right, it
could still be whole food, likeGreek yogurt, where you're
smoothing, you're blending it,uh, even bone broth, like it's
got to have a decent amount ofprotein, though, and it can
sometimes be easier to consume.
And then you want to distributeprotein throughout the day, and
this is not because sciencesays that's so much better for
building muscle.
It's mainly to, um again, beable to get it all in right and
(09:45):
not feel too stuffed or too full, and and there might be a tiny
optimal advantage for musclebuilding, but I'm not asking you
to do that for that reason.
Uh, and then the next thing is,of course, you know, if you
have an aversion to a specificsource of protein, like chicken.
You got so many other options.
You've got fish, shrimp, dairyeggs, plant-based options,
you've got tofu, tempeh, all ofthat.
(10:06):
Just make sure you get enough,right.
Just make sure you get enough.
There's also whey proteinversus pea and rice protein if
you need to supplement.
So the other thing that happensbeyond protein is, of course,
your nutrients, and I don't meannutrition like your food, but
your actual nutrient,micronutrient sufficiency,
because when you're losingweight rapidly and you're not
(10:26):
taking up in as much food orcalories, you're then reducing
your intake of essentialvitamins and minerals, and so
you may need to supplement morethan you would in the past and
you may lead to a deficiency ifyou don't right.
And so what are we talkingabout?
Well, I like multivitamins as acatch-all vitamin D if you need
it, calcium if you need it,omega-3 supplements, magnesium,
(10:48):
for sure.
But you may have other needs.
Vitamin C, you know, you mayhave other needs, that, even
iron, sometimes for women, butagain, that's between you and
your medical practitioner, basedon your specific needs, based
on your history.
And then I alluded to thisalready but you've got to be
mindful of your actual calorieintake.
If anyone's taking GLP-1s andnot tracking their food, I think
they're doing themselves adisservice, because you're going
(11:10):
to have significantly reducedappetite and could potentially
eat way too little.
Yeah, you're losing weightGreat.
But you're also going to losemuscle and you're going to have
additional nutrient deficiencies.
You're going to be low onenergy.
It's going to be this kind ofvicious cycle.
It's not going to feel great.
So, actually, you know,determining your appropriate
calorie target, which, in myopinion, would be no more, no
(11:34):
more than 1% of your body weighta week maximum.
Okay, for most people that arenot on these drugs, a half a
percent is usually reasonable,maybe 0.75.
When you're on the drug becauseyou have so much less appetite,
you end up going moreaggressively, but sometimes too
extreme.
So track it.
Use Macrofactor.
Use my code Wits and Weights toget two weeks free.
Try it out.
(11:54):
Link in the show notes.
Use Macrofactor and track yourfood so that you know how much
you're eating and how much youshould be eating to continue at
that rate.
By the way, that's the only appthat will do that for you,
because it can calculate yourmetabolism and tell you true
calorie targets for you.
All right, so if protein is thefoundation of preserving muscle
from a food perspective, thenresistance training is what
(12:18):
actually makes that possible.
So listen up, I could have putthis as number one, but I wanted
to start with the food side,because it's very unique to
these meds.
But resistance training hasbeen clearly demonstrated time
and again as the most effectiveintervention to maintain muscle
mass during weight loss and thenwhen you're not losing weight.
Of course, it's how you buildmuscle, and this becomes even
(12:41):
more critical when using thesemeds, mainly because the meds
get you to go at a more extremerate of loss, like we've talked
about, but not too extreme,right, okay.
So in practical terms what thislooks like is probably a
minimum of two, but ideallythree strength training sessions
per week, potentially four onceyou get into it and you're like
, hey, this is a lot of fun, I'mgetting strong, et cetera, but
(13:09):
three days a week, full body,mainly compound lifts and use
progressive overload.
Now we're not going to get intogreat detail on how to do all
that in today's episode.
If you're not sure what I'mtalking about.
I've got plenty of episodes onthis.
I did one recently calledstrength versus hypertrophy.
I think it's going to be aclassic.
It's a really good overview ofthis, of all the principles, and
then from there you can branchoff into other episodes or reach
out to me.
But I think the most effectiveapproach, just at a high level,
(13:30):
includes compound movements thatengage multiple muscle groups.
So we're talking about squatsor, if you can't do squats, leg
presses for your lower body,deadlifts for your hamstrings
and back and posterior chain,bench presses for your chest,
for your triceps, overheadpresses for your shoulders, and
(13:51):
then like rows or pull downs foryour back, for your biceps,
things like that, and then youcould throw other fun stuff in
there if you've got the time andinclination.
But for those new to resistancetraining, I think a very simple
three-day full body using thesebasic lifts is super solid,
something like starting strength.
We've got workouts in ourPhysique University that will
get you started and then you canmove up into more intermediate
(14:13):
programs.
Definitely, working with acoach is super recommended early
on, even if it's just a fewsessions to get your form dialed
in.
Or again, if you're workingwith us or in our Physique
University, you can submitvideos anytime for free as part
of the program and get a formcheck and you're going to get
where you need to be.
You're going to get stronger,you're going to build muscle and
then, if you're on these drugs,what this will look like is
(14:35):
maintaining all that muscle sothat you prioritize fat loss.
That is how you lose fat.
It's not cardio right.
It's not cardio ever.
It's not cardio right.
It's not cardio ever.
It's lifting weights, buildingmuscle, holding onto that muscle
so that you lose fat, and sothat's how we improve our body
composition and you don't getskinny fat, frumpy, weak, low
energy, all of that.
Speaking of energy, energy cansometimes be quite a bit lower
(14:57):
while you're on GLP-1 medsbecause of the lower calorie
intake, especially if you'regoing more aggressively.
So it's kind of ironic notironic, but like you've got this
ability to eat less becauseyour appetite's less, but then
there are other negativeconsequences if you do it too
aggressively.
So many of my clients who areon these drugs, I still don't
want them to go at the fulllevel of aggressiveness because
of the negatives to their otherbiofeedback, like their energy,
(15:20):
like their recovery, their sleep, their stress, all of that
stuff.
So you want to have realisticexpectations around your workout
intensity, right your trainingintensity, because it could be
compromised a bit if you'regoing really aggressively and
you don't have much energy.
And so I really focus onconsistency right, getting to
the gym three days a week anddoing the program and trying to
(15:43):
progress right.
You're not necessarily going tochase all time maximum personal
records, but if you'relistening to this podcast and
you're not and this is all newto you anyway you're probably
going to have some growthregardless.
Just get in the gym three daysa week and do it, do the
training right, focus on slowlyprogressing and do the training.
The timing can also help,depending on your injections.
(16:06):
So this is specific to the meds.
Some clients find that trainingshortly after their injection,
when appetite is most suppressed, actually allows them to
maintain their energy level, butothers prefer training right
before their injection or theirmeal, when energy might be
slightly higher.
Right, so it's verypersonalized, but you need to
track this stuff and figure itout.
(16:26):
Um, and then you you don't needto be a power lifter, a
bodybuilder, whatever.
It's just moderate resistancetraining with barbells, maybe
dumbbells and machines,depending on what you have
access to is going to give youmassive, significant benefits
compared to just not doing it.
You've got to train, you've gotto resistance train and then do
it for the rest of your life.
There's so many benefits tothat.
(16:47):
We're not they're outside thescope of today's episode, but I
have plenty of other episodesthat get into that and then I
think the final piece of thepuzzle here is planning for what
happens when I'll say if andwhen you decide to reduce or
discontinue GLP-1 therapy and Isay it in that subtle way
because some people might feellike they want to stay on it for
(17:07):
a while.
They're asked by their doctorto do so.
There could be metabolic orhealth reasons for doing so.
Maybe you've come off of themand found that it's very
difficult for you to continuemaintaining your habits even
when you've done everythingright, and it's just your brain
and your genetics are that way.
Again, I'm not here to judge.
(17:29):
A lot of folks, though, want totry and then eventually get off
of the drugs and discontinuethem, and they understand that
this is a lifelong thing, thatwe need to do this the right way
and set yourself up for success, because the research is clear
that weight regain is verycommon after stopping these meds
.
In the Step 1 Extension Study,participants regained two-thirds
of their lost weight within ayear after discontinuation.
(17:50):
But guess what?
This does not have to be youroutcome.
It's also a very typicaloutcome, even when people are
not on these drugs and gothrough weight loss, and I think
that's actually an empoweringstatement I just said, because
what it means is it's not reallythe drugs, it's the fact that
the drugs allow you to have acalorie deficit, and then the
lifestyle is not in place at thesame time to allow you to come
(18:13):
off the drugs and maintain it,just like somebody who's not on
these drugs loses weight thewrong way and loses muscle and
then regains their weight thatway, it's the same thing really.
So the wrong way and losesmuscle and then regains their
weight.
That way, it's the same thingreally.
So if you can plan properly,you can maintain your results,
and this planning begins monthsbefore you stop the medication.
So here is my approach to this.
I've done this with clients.
(18:33):
It works really well.
I can refer you to individualswho've done this.
It works okay.
The first thing you're going todo is gradually transition to
maintenance calories.
You're coming out of a deficit.
You're increasing your caloriesto maintenance while you're
still on the medication, andthis gives your body time to
(18:54):
adapt to higher food intakewhile the appetite suppressing
effects are still present, withthe caveat that you might want
to reduce the dose.
So you do this in conjunctionwith your doctor and you talk to
them and you say, hey, I'vebeen working with Philip, where
I've been listening to hispodcast, I've been training,
I've been tracking my food, I'vebeen eating plenty of protein.
(19:15):
Right, I'm active, I'm anathletic fitness lifestyle
individual, not like I wasbefore, when I first came to you
, doc, but now I am, I've got mylifestyle in place and I want
to eventually get off thesedrugs.
So maybe I'm going to titratedown by a fraction of the dose
while you then increase thecalories, all right.
The second thing is and thisshould go without saying, but I
(19:39):
want you to make sure that yourresistance training program, by
this point, is consistent andprogressive, because by the time
you start tapering off the meds, this is going to be like a
well-established habit.
It's just part of yourlifestyle.
Strength training above all,okay.
Third, I want you to learn andpractice mindful eating
strategies while you're on themeds, that you're just going to
(20:02):
continue, mindful eatingstrategies while you're on the
meds, that you're just going tocontinue.
And that could be a number ofthings that could be simply
eating slowly, you know, uh,planning your meals in advance,
meal prep, meal planning To me,that is a form of mindfulness as
well.
It could be, you know, learningto estimate your foods visually
so you you eat reasonableportions, balancing your macros
right.
That's what I mean by mindful,not just the you know, put your
(20:24):
fork down between each bite typeof thing, but more of the
mindfulness of the eating andthe mindfulness of the planning,
prep, logging, tracking, all ofit, all right.
And then I want you to connect.
So this is number four I wantyou to consider a gradual
tapering strategy.
So I already alluded to thiswhen I talked about going to
maintenance.
But people have success tapering.
This is true of most things notall, but most types of dosing
(20:49):
approaches where your healthcareprovider can help design this
for you so your body adjusts tothe changing appetite signal
because it is fairlyproportional to the medication,
right?
And so that way you don't justget a sudden rebound and all of
a sudden feel like you'restarving and you could eat
anything.
So for most of my clients, I'mgonna transition, or I'm going
(21:10):
to recommend transitioning, notjust to maintenance but actually
slowly toward a slight caloricsurplus that coincides with the
tapering process and gets youinto a really a building growth,
a high energy state of thinkingright, where you are now
setting up structure and controlabout your eating, even when
(21:33):
you're eating more enough toslightly gain weight.
And it's a very different wayto live than the reason you
gained weight before, where itwas uncontrolled, you couldn't
control your appetite signals orwhatever.
Now we're going to direct yourincreasing appetite toward
muscle growth rather than fatstorage and towards something
that benefits you right, andthat's a beautiful thing in my
(21:55):
opinion.
So it's really about having aplan before you stop.
I don't want you to justdiscontinue it and have no
strategy and then, even worse,not having done any of these
things to begin with.
Anyway, right, you put thelifestyle in place, the training
, the protein, the tracking verysimple, right, just the simple
pillars.
Yeah, you can get increase yourstep count.
Yes, you should focus on sleepand stress.
(22:15):
All that's great.
But the big ones are reallytraining, protein, tracking,
right, consistency, controllingyour mindfulness or having a
mindful approach to not onlyeating but planning, prep and so
on, and then tapering your dosedown as you bring the calories
up and potentially bring thecalories even more up, past
maintenance to a slight buildingphase, and it all just lines up
(22:36):
really well.
After that you can see how youfeel, not being on the meds,
eating plenty of food, buildinggrowth.
It should help manage thehunger really well at that point
, because most people who aregaining weight to build muscle
actually don't have much hunger.
When they do, it's because theydo need to eat more food, but
it kind of mentally frees yourbrain from even having food
(22:57):
noise because you don't get thehunger and you're off the
medication, and it creates anice positive association with
food.
Then, after you build musclefor, let's say, six months now
you can go potentially intomaintenance or another fat loss
phase without the medicationsand that's like your next phase
of your overall approach thatyou can experiment with.
That's well beyond the scope oftoday's episode.
(23:20):
So what's really cool aboutthese medications is they
present a unique opportunity forbody recomp.
That isn't possible when you'renot in the meds.
And I'm not telling everyone togo out and get your injections.
What I'm saying is is if you'reon these medications, because
they so effectively managehunger, they can create an
environment where you can be ina calorie deficit without the
(23:42):
hunger or even brutal hunger,depending on how you've done it
that normally accompaniessignificant weight loss.
Right, most people, when you'reon these drugs, are not going
to really be able to push atthat 1% for very long, but when
you're on the drugs, you kind ofcan.
I mean, I've had clients who arelike yep, I'm not hungry, yep,
I'm not hungry, and here we arein this like pretty significant
deficit.
(24:02):
So then you can get somesubstantial fat loss in a short
amount of time while preservingyour muscle.
If you do it with lifestyle,you've got to have the meds with
the lifestyle, okay.
And I've had clients who've gotamazing body composition
transformations, who were on themeds initially just to lose
weight.
We got them actually thinkingin terms of fat loss and body
(24:24):
comp training and nutrition andit helped them do it.
I'll say faster, true, faster.
Yeah.
Let's just not beat around thebush, because they didn't have
the hunger, but we didn't wantto go so fast that it'd affect
them in other ways and they gotit over fairly quickly.
So you know we're talking 40,50, maybe 60 pounds of fat over.
I don't know what are we saying?
(24:45):
A nine, 12 month period.
I may have the numbers off.
We don't want to go past 1% aweek, but some clients come in
and start there.
You know they're 350 pounds,right, so it's all relative Um,
and then they'll actually gainsome lean mass in the process.
So actually get some recomp,which is totally possible when
you have a lot of weight to lose.
And for many people that seemslike an impossible thing to do
without the appetite managementbenefits of the meds.
(25:07):
And that's why I am veryopen-minded to what you need as
an individual, even though I'mnot out there being like, yeah,
come, take these drugs and thenjoin my program.
It's not like that, it's hey, Iwant to help you do what you
want to do with the drugs orwithout them.
Okay, the I want to help you dowhat you want to do with the
drugs or without them.
Okay, the medications are notmagic pills, although some would
argue they're pretty close.
The problem is they're.
(25:28):
The magic that they do cause ismisleading, because weight loss
by itself isn't going to getyou what you want to be.
You want to have fat loss.
So if you pair it withlifestyle, that's where you're
going to get the great results.
And then the habits and themuscle that you build during the
process that becomes yourfoundation for the new you that
doesn't need these meds anymore.
Potentially, right, potentially.
(25:48):
Again, I don't want to makeanyone feel guilty Like, hey, I
tried all this, I came off themeds.
I felt like I couldn't controlmy appetite.
There may be deeper or moregenetically linked challenges
for certain people.
So main takeaways here GLP-1meds are powerful tools to lose
weight, but they work best whencombined with lifestyle to
(26:11):
optimize fat loss, bodycomposition, holding onto muscle
right.
Otherwise you can lose up to40% of your body mass as muscle.
Number two you want toprioritize protein of 0.7 to one
gram per pound of your goalbody weight, even when you don't
feel like you can eat it.
And that's where you have toget creative.
How do you get it in liquids,different timing, et cetera.
Number three resistancetraining has to be a
non-negotiable part of yourroutine.
Resistance training, not just aYouTube workout, right?
(26:35):
Not just randomly going to thegym, but actually training with
progressive overload to signalto your body that muscles should
be preserved.
Number I think I'm on numberfour here.
You want to plan fortransitioning to a lower or off
of the medication well inadvance.
Come up with a plan to do it.
Reach out to me, work with yourmedical practitioner.
Now doctors, in my opinion,most of them don't understand,
(26:57):
don't understand building muscle, losing fat, body composition,
energy balance they really justdon't.
They don't have much trainingand nutrition in lifting.
Some do right, more do now thanin the past but many don't.
And so, unless you have areally good feeling for that
being the case with yourpractitioner, reach out to me,
listen to the show, join us inPhysique University.
(27:18):
We'll help you do that.
And so it's a strategicapproach, right, where these
meds are just objective tools tohelp with the appetite.
They're catalysts, and if youdo all the other things that's
going to set you up sustainablyfor the rest of your life, all
right.
So I hope that clarified yourapproach to these meds.
Whether you're thinking aboutthem, you're on them.
You want to come off them.
(27:38):
You're unsure about the beststrategy for a situation?
I off them.
You're unsure about the beststrategy for a situation.
I'm not offering medical advice.
I'm not recommending them oneway or the other.
I'm just trying to help younavigate them, if that's in your
realm.
So, if you want to talk aboutit, I offer a free 15-minute
rapid nutrition assessment.
Again, during this Zoom call,which is not a sales pitch at
all, we're going to identifyyour biggest challenge right now
(27:59):
and create a plan to address it.
And if you want to talk throughthese meds maybe you're on them
.
You want to know what's my planto get off?
We can talk about that.
Just some advice that you canimplement, starting right now.
Click the link in the shownotes to schedule it or go to
witsandweightscom and until nexttime, keep using your wits
lifting those weights.
And remember it's not aboutlosing weight, it's creating a
(28:21):
strong, healthy body that youdeserve.
I'll talk to you next time hereon the Wits and Weights podcast
.
Popular Podcasts
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Intentionally Disturbing
Join me on this podcast as I navigate the murky waters of human behavior, current events, and personal anecdotes through in-depth interviews with incredible people—all served with a generous helping of sarcasm and satire. After years as a forensic and clinical psychologist, I offer a unique interview style and a low tolerance for bullshit, quickly steering conversations toward depth and darkness. I honor the seriousness while also appreciating wit. I’m your guide through the twisted labyrinth of the human psyche, armed with dark humor and biting wit.