Muscle and weight loss. How to keep your strength while the scales go down
To keep your muscle while you lose weight, you need 3 things, protein at every meal, strength exercises at least 2 days a week and a slow pace of loss. That is true at 30, and even more so after 60.
A club coach looks at your situation with you and gives you the best advice.
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Muscle and weight loss, what is at stake
Muscle carries you, helps you walk and climb the stairs. It also uses energy at rest. When weight drops too fast, or when your plate is short of protein, the body loses muscle along with fat. The scales go down, but your figure sags, tiredness sets in and the energy you burn at rest falls. That is one of the drivers of weight regain.
Protein at every meal
Protein contributes to the maintenance of muscle mass. The UK reference for adults is about 0.75g of protein per kilo of body weight a day. Spreading it over your 3 meals helps your muscles use it. Eggs, fish, chicken, yoghurt, beans, lentils and tofu all have their place, and the Eatwell Guide shows where protein sits on a balanced plate.
For your own daily amount, our article on how much protein you need per day does the maths. Breakfast is often the meal with the least protein. That is where the easiest gain is.
Strength work, 2 days a week
The NHS physical activity guidelines for adults recommend strengthening activities that work all the major muscle groups on at least 2 days a week. You do not need a gym. Stand up from a chair without your hands, climb the stairs, do press-ups against a wall, carry the shopping. The NHS also has strength exercises to do at home. Start with 2 sessions of 20 minutes, then build up gently.
A slow pace
The faster the loss, the more muscle goes with it. A steady pace, without strict fasting or skipped meals, protects your muscle mass. The NHS suggests 0.5 to 1kg a week, or 1 to 2lb. Our guide to losing weight for good gathers the benchmarks.
After 60
With age, muscle shrinks faster if it is not used, and it rebuilds more slowly. The NHS guidelines for older adults add activities that improve strength, balance and flexibility on at least 2 days a week.
At this age, weight loss is decided with your GP, and the goal often becomes keeping your strength. Our page on losing weight after 60 looks at the plate in detail.
At the club
At Witney Nutrition Club, your coach trained in nutrition looks at the protein in your meals from the free assessment onwards, then supports you every day, so that your weight goes down without your strength following it.
This article gives general information. It does not replace the advice of your GP or another health professional.
Your weight loss curve
Enter your profile and the curve redraws straight away.
At the median pace, it would take about 11 weeks to lose 8 kg. At the gentlest pace, about 4 months.
The benchmark most often given for lasting weight loss is 500 g to 1 kg a week. That is the ideal zone of the chart. Above 1 kg a week on a regular basis, the body draws on its muscles as much as on its fat. That is the hatched zone.
An indicative projection. Every journey is personal and results vary from person to person. The calculation runs on your device, nothing is saved or sent. Over 65, talk to your doctor first.
How this curve is calculated
The top edge of the zone matches 500 g a week, the gentlest pace. The bottom edge matches 1 kg a week, the risk threshold.
The first weeks go faster, mostly water, then the pace slows. After 40, the median curve slows gradually, because metabolism slows. For the same effort, a man usually loses weight a little faster than a woman.
The journey curve adds plateaus of a few days and small regains, as in real life. It does not predict your own journey.
This advice is general. It does not replace medical advice.
Further reading
For day to day support, see the healthy eating programme.