When starting to lose weight, most people often focus on burning fat and cutting calories. But there is an equally important factor: maintaining lean muscle mass. Muscle not only helps the body look more toned; it is also a powerful “metabolic engine” that helps you lose weight effectively and maintain results long-term.
How does muscle affect weight?
1. Lean muscle naturally decreases with age
As we age, our bodies gradually lose lean muscle mass. Hormones change, muscles weaken, mobility decreases, bone density decreases, and the risk of weight gain increases. This has a significant impact on the health and quality of life of older adults. Therefore, in the weight loss journey, maintaining muscle is not only important, but also necessary for long-term health and flexibility.
2. Muscle increases metabolism, supporting sustainable weight loss
Muscles consume more energy than fat, even when the body is at rest. Therefore, people with more muscle often burn more calories during the day, helping to lose weight effectively, limit weight gain and keep the body toned after fat loss. Strength training is the best way to maintain lean muscle mass. For example, squats, push-ups or weight lifting.
How important is muscle to overall health?
Muscle is not just for aesthetics. It also plays a role in many important life functions such as:
- Regulating glucose metabolism and insulin sensitivity: Muscle is a powerful metabolically active tissue. It helps regulate blood sugar and reduce the risk of metabolic disorders, including type 2 diabetes.
- Maintaining strength and mobility: Less muscle means a weaker body, more falls, difficulty moving and loss of independence in daily activities, especially in older adults.
- Strengthen bone health: Strength training stimulates bone growth and increases bone density, helping to reduce the risk of osteoporosis and fractures with age.
How to maintain lean muscle mass when losing weight
Weight loss is not just about reducing the number on the scale. It is more important to lose fat while still maintaining lean muscle. And this is also a factor that determines body shape, health and metabolism.
To maintain muscle effectively, you need to combine the right exercise and appropriate nutrition, specifically:
1. Exercise is the foundation for maintaining muscle when losing weight
There are many methods to help maintain lean muscle mass during weight loss, but the most effective is strength training. This is a form that focuses on applying force to the muscles to stimulate them to grow and maintain firmness.
These exercises can include:
- Lifting weights
- Body weight training (squats, push-ups, planks, etc.)
- Resistance bands
- Pilates or strength-focused classes
As you age, maintaining muscle becomes more difficult because your body naturally loses muscle mass. Therefore, the older you get, the more you should prioritize strength training over cardio.
If you have never exercised before, start slowly. A common recommendation is to exercise twice a week, focusing on major muscle groups such as legs, hips, back, chest, and shoulders. You can gradually increase the weight, number of reps, or duration of your workouts to continue challenging your muscles. This is how you build muscle effectively.
2. Nutrition is the deciding factor in whether you retain muscle or not
You can exercise very hard, but if your diet is not supportive, you can still lose muscle during the weight loss process. Therefore, proper nutrition plays an extremely important role.
2.1. Protein
When losing weight, many people reduce both their total calories and… their protein intake, not realizing that the body needs protein to:
- repair muscles after exercise
- build new muscle fibers
- prevent muscle tissue breakdown
If you want to maintain muscle, you should maintain a higher protein intake than usual while in the weight loss phase.
A common minimum is 0.36g of protein per pound of body weight per day, but many experts recommend that strength trainers use a higher amount (around 0.7 to 1.0g per pound of body weight) to optimize lean muscle maintenance.
2.2. Cut calories the right way
To lose fat, you need to cut calories, but it’s important not to cut protein. Instead, cut from refined carbohydrates or excess fat. The goal is to create a moderate calorie reduction, not to push the body into a deep deficit, as this can easily lead to muscle breakdown.
- Eat a variety of foods and drink enough water: Increase green vegetables and fruits to provide vitamins and minerals.
- Eat enough protein at each meal: Drink plenty of water to support metabolism and recovery.
All of these factors help muscles function optimally and protect lean muscle during weight loss.
In short, maintaining lean muscle is the key to effective and sustainable weight loss. Muscle not only helps the body tone, but also increases metabolism, supports bone health and maintains mobility. Combining strength training with a protein-rich diet will help muscles grow, recover well and preserve lean muscle mass. Maintaining lean muscle not only results in a healthy physique but also improves strength, energy and quality of life in the long term.
