Losing Weight? Don't Lose Muscle or Bone!

Losing fat is the goal - but rapid or poorly planned weight loss often costs you muscle and bone as well. That weakens strength, slows metabolism, reduces everyday function, and raises fracture risk, especially as we age. The scale may go down, yet you can end up weaker and more fragile than when you started.

Protect both with three essentials:

• Eat more protein. Aim for 1.2-1.6 g per kg of body weight daily, spread across meals. Adequate protein gives your body the building blocks it needs to hold onto muscle instead of breaking it down for energy during a calorie deficit. Older adults in particular benefit from hitting this higher range because of age-related anabolic resistance.
• Lift or resist. Do progressive resistance training 2-3 times a week. Challenging your muscles with weights, bands, or bodyweight exercises signals the body to keep (and even build) lean tissue. The same loading also stresses bones, helping maintain density and reduce osteoporosis risk.
• Go slow. A moderate calorie deficit - roughly 0.5-1% of body weight per week - plus calcium, vitamin D, and some weight-bearing activity keeps most of the loss coming from fat rather than muscle or bone. Extreme restriction accelerates lean-tissue breakdown.

Weight-loss drugs such as GLP-1 agonists can accelerate fat loss dramatically, but research shows roughly 20-25% of the total weight lost is often lean mass (including muscle) unless higher protein intake and regular strength training are deliberately added.

Crash diets and extreme deficits burn muscle and bone along with fat. Combine smart nutrition - including quality protein shakes and products from Herbalife - with consistent strength work and you can drop weight while staying strong, functional, and resilient.