Can Weight-Loss Be Bad?

I had an interesting chat with one of our members recently.

She had a question.

She had been going through a period of calorie deficit and increased activity to lose some weight. However, when checking her bodyfat percentage and muscle mass on the scales at her gym she noticed that although she had lost body-weight, her muscle mass was shown as being less.

This can be a real head f**k if you’re not prepared.

Whenever we go thought a weight loss phase, there will almost always be a degree of muscle loss that goes with it. The degree of this will be dependant upon the severity of the diet, the amount of resistance training you are doing, and the amount of protein in your diet. But, even with all those things dialled in, there will still be some muscle loss.

This is why, except in cases where there is an unhealthy amount of body-fat to lose, we never advocate ‘dieting’ as the approach to changing body composition.

Why does it matter if we lose muscle?

Muscle is the body’s buffer for EVERYTHING.

Metabolism

Hormones

Energy levels

Physical resilience

Let’s have it right, just looking better.

Muscle is the most expensive tissue the metabolism has to run. Fat costs it very little. ESPECIALLY where cardio is the main training focus as is often the case in typical weight-loss protocols.

If we think in terms of saving money. What is cheaper on fuel? A Ferrari or a Prius?

The body thinks in these same terms. If you cut the income (calories) it will try to save money elsewhere (trade in the Ferrari for a Prius).

In short, the body starts to pair down muscle and hang on to body-fat, because it doesn’t understand you’re trying to look better. It just knows that income is down and it has to balance the books.

This is why sometimes you can see scale weight go down, but body-fat percentage actually go up!!!!

Any dieting phase should be approached with the long game in mind, with not too drastic a cut. A deficit of 200-400 calories is enough. Prioritise protein (2g per kg of bodyweight) and don’t go mental on the cardio. Excessive cardio tells the metabolism I do a lot of stuff that doesn’t require strength or muscle. We don’t want to send that signal. Instead, choose short duration HIIT or anaerobic work such as sprint intervals on a rower, assault bike, or hill at the end of a strength workout. These are kinder to your joints than flat sprints and help ignite the metabolism whilst sending a strong muscle preserving signal.

Remember above all else, the body is the ultimate machine in self preservation and will do everything it can to prioritise its survival. Unfortunately these signals have not adapted to our modern lifestyle so it still views everything as either threat or famine.

Our goal is to use a scientific approach to outsmart it and hack the system.

GmfL

If you’re confused by all this and need a nudge in the right direction, we can offer online consultations where we can look at what you’re doing and help you make the adjustments required to start making progress in a way that works with your body, not against it. Drop us a reply to this email and we’ll schedule a call.