By reducing appetite, slowing stomach emptying and helping people feel fuller for longer, GLP-1 meds can lead to significant and sustained weight loss. However, while the number on the scales may be moving in the right direction, there is an important consideration that is often overlooked: not all weight loss is fat loss. If you want the science behind how GLP-1 meds work, read our previous blog here.
When losing weight rapidly, the body can also lose lean mass, which includes muscle. Like everything to do with your wellbeing it’s important to have a balanced perspective and understand how to turn weight loss into a long-term physical and emotional gain. Exercise, particularly resistance or weight training, is one of the most important lifestyle habits to adopt alongside GLP-1 medication.
Combining these medications with regular physical activity helps preserve muscle, improve health outcomes, and maximise long-term benefits. To cut to the chase you need to create a GLP-1 Health & Wellbeing Action Plan which is exactly what the team at Bodywise has done for you.
FIVE GLP-1 ACTION POINTS YOU NEED TO PLAN FOR
#1. Keeping your muscle mass matters
Muscle plays a crucial role in strength, balance, mobility, metabolic health and blood-sugar regulation. Maintaining muscle becomes increasingly important as we age because it helps us remain physically capable and independent.
Without adequate exercise, especially resistance training, studies suggest that a proportion of weight lost during dieting or GLP-1 treatment comes from lean muscle rather than fat. Losing muscle can make everyday activities more difficult, reduce physical function and lower the number of calories the body burns each day, potentially making weight maintenance harder in the future.
Maintaining muscle is particularly important for older adults, who naturally lose muscle mass with age. Preserving strength helps reduce the risk of falls, supports independence and improves quality of life.
#2. Vive la resistance
Resistance training is important for everybody. For those using GLP-1 meds it’s extra-important. Resistance training involves exercises that challenge your muscles against an external force. This may include free weights, resistance bands, weight machines or even bodyweight exercises such as squats, lunges and push-ups. When muscles are placed under resistance, they respond by becoming stronger and more resilient. This process helps counteract the muscle loss that can occur during weight reduction.
For people taking Wegovy or Mounjaro, resistance training offers several important benefits:
- Preserves lean muscle during weight loss
- Improves strength and functional fitness
- Supports a healthier metabolism
- Enhances posture and joint stability
- Improves bone density, reducing the risk of osteoporosis
- Helps maintain long-term weight loss
UK physical activity guidelines recommend muscle-strengthening activities involving all the major muscle groups on at least two days each week. The exercises do not have to be complicated or involve lifting heavy weights. Consistency is far more important than intensity, especially when starting out.
#3 Don’t swerve the cardio
While resistance training is essential for maintaining muscle, aerobic cardio exercise remains a vital part of a healthy lifestyle. So maintain brisk walking, cycling, swimming, jogging or dancing to improve cardiovascular fitness, lower blood pressure and support heart health. Regular aerobic exercise also helps increase calorie expenditure, improve insulin sensitivity and boost mood through the release of endorphins.
For many people taking GLP-1 medications, walking is an excellent place to begin. As fitness improves, gradually increasing duration and intensity can deliver further health benefits. Current physical activity guidelines recommend at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise each week, alongside strength training sessions. In summer walking outside can be lovely – come winter the gym can offer a much warmer and dryer environment!
#4 ‘We are what we eat’ still rules
Because GLP-1 medications can substantially reduce appetite and food intake, some people may find it more difficult to consume enough protein and other essential nutrients. Protein is particularly important because it provides the building blocks needed to maintain and repair muscle tissue. Accordingly healthcare professionals often encourage individuals using GLP-1 medications to prioritise protein-rich foods such as lean meat, fish, eggs, dairy products, beans, lentils and tofu. Adequate hydration is also important, especially when exercising.
Combining sufficient protein intake with regular strength training provides the best opportunity to preserve muscle while losing body fat.
#5 Build sustainable habits
Whilst starting an exercise programme does not require joining a gym, at a time when you’re adopting a positive and proactive mental attitude to weight loss a gym really can help build sustainable habits.
Building regular strength training, cardiovascular activity and good nutrition into your week is far more valuable than making dramatic changes that only last a few weeks.
A large part of that is being in a place where similar-aged, like-minded people are also focussed on their bodies. Perhaps most importantly the staff at Bodywise will coach, support and mentor you into developing good technique in an environment with which you may not be familiar. They also know a lot about nutrition.
At Bodywise, our role is to help people exercise safely and effectively, develop good technique and gradually build strength, fitness and confidence – particularly if exercise or resistance training is new to them.
BEYOND WEIGHT LOSS
Of course one of the greatest advantages of exercise is that its benefits extend far beyond changes in body weight. Regular physical activity improves energy levels, sleep quality, mental wellbeing and self-confidence.
In general, no matter what the scales show, people report feeling stronger, fitter and more capable in everyday life with a regular exercise regime. At the same time exercise reduces the risk of numerous chronic diseases, including heart disease, stroke, osteoporosis and certain cancers. For individuals living with type 2 diabetes, it can improve blood glucose control and enhance insulin sensitivity, complementing the effects of GLP-1 medications.
ALL THINGS CONSIDERED
GLP-1 medications like Wegovy and Mounjaro are powerful tools for achieving meaningful weight loss, but medication alone should only ever be a part of the picture. Exercise, particularly resistance training, is an essential complement for protecting lean muscle, maintaining metabolism, and supporting long-term health.
Quality and quantity, complement not replacement
By combining regular strength training, cardiovascular exercise, adequate protein intake and healthy lifestyle habits with GLP-1 therapy, individuals can improve not only the amount of weight they lose, but also the quality of that weight loss. The goal should not simply be to become lighter, but to become stronger, healthier and better equipped to maintain those improvements for years to come.
Ultimately, the most successful approach to GLP-1 treatment is one that views medication as a partner to lifestyle change, rather than a replacement for it. Building strength while losing weight helps ensure demonstrable health benefits well beyond a ‘number on the scales’.
By Al Campbell, The Bodywise Member and Author