You will lose both on those drugs.

Once you are off them, you can regain some muscle "clean" without a dirty bulk.

How much protein are you eating? As others have said, protein and strength training are the key but strength training won't work unless you have the protein as well. FDA says 0.8 grams per kilogram of body weight but every protein expert I've heard says it is more like 1.5 if you want to gain muscle, which comes to a gram of protein per pound of body weight. It's a lot.

Anonymous wrote:How do you know you are losing muscle?

I think you should start working with a trainer. 20 minutes every other day could be more than enough but only if you are getting to progressive overload.

This. I lost weight on Zepbound and now have flabby arms with excess skin. But my arms were never toned. My thighs and calves were and they still look toned, but better now with less fat. I could flatter myself and say I lost muscle in my arms but I didn't.

First, how do you know? And second, do you mean you are losing only muscle and no fat? That's possible, but unlikely.

Generally you will lose both fat and muscle. (Similarly, if you lift and eat more to gain muscle, you will almost always also gain fat.) The goal is to minimize the muscle loss. As others said, that's done by strength training and making sure you get enough protein.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am on Zepbound and I am losing muscle, but not fat! I am lifting weights (about 20 minutes every other day).

What gives?

That’s a known side-effect. Lots of reports of people losing muscle on GLP-1 drugs.

Anyone who doesn't consume enough food and loses weight rapidly will report the same. It's not GLP specific.

GLPs make it very easy to not consume enough food and lose weight rapidly. It’s much harder without the drug. That’s the whole point.

You will always lose muscle in rapid weight loss. It is why these drugs are only for when the pros outweigh the cons. Can you reduce your dose?

How quickly are you losing weight?

The faster you lose weight/the larger the calorie deficit the more likely it is that you will lose significant muscle. One reason to lose at a slower rate is to reduce the risk of losing a lot of muscle.

when you say lifting how much are you lifting? 20 min is not a lot of time lifting so be sure you are really pushing it in those 20 min. Also eat a high protein diet..

lift more, lift heavier, add in other weight-bearing exercise like barre classes and walking with a weighted vest (potentially on a treadmill where you can control incline and pace). And really focus on eating enough protein and fiber and drinking enough water. Even with all of this you are probably going to lose muscle.

what you're doing is obviously not enough for you. Either step it up, reduce the GLP-1, or live with the muscle loss.

How do you know you are losing muscle?

I think you should start working with a trainer. 20 minutes every other day could be more than enough but only if you are getting to progressive overload.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am on Zepbound and I am losing muscle, but not fat! I am lifting weights (about 20 minutes every other day).

What gives?

That’s a known side-effect. Lots of reports of people losing muscle on GLP-1 drugs.

Anyone who doesn't consume enough food and loses weight rapidly will report the same. It's not GLP specific.

Anonymous wrote:I am on Zepbound and I am losing muscle, but not fat! I am lifting weights (about 20 minutes every other day).

What gives?

That’s a known side-effect. Lots of reports of people losing muscle on GLP-1 drugs.

You're likely not eating enough protein and not lifting enough.

What are you eating?

Lift more.

I am on Zepbound and I am losing muscle, but not fat! I am lifting weights (about 20 minutes every other day).

What gives?