Weight management medication can be life-changing for people living with obesity. These medications can help to reduce your appetite, manage blood sugar, and support weight loss. However, when we lose weight, this is lost from both fat tissue and beneficial lean muscle mass. It’s therefore important during a period of weight loss to try to preserve the lean muscle.

Strength-based, or resistance, exercises can help reduce muscle loss during weight loss, helping to maintain your strength, support your metabolism, and improve overall body composition.

Why Muscle Matters: When it comes to weight management, many people focus on losing fat. But your muscles play a big part in your overall health and also need attention when improving your health. 

Here’s why muscle matters:

• Burn energy all day:
  
  • Muscle uses energy even when you’re resting, helping to boost your metabolism and burn calories . 
• Keeps blood sugar in check: 
  
  • Healthy muscles help your body use insulin better, which helps manage blood sugar and lowers the risk of type 2 diabetes.
• Supports long-term, sustainable health: 
  
  • Muscle keeps you strong and mobile as you age, helping with balance and tasks like lifting, walking, or even playing with your children or grandchildren.
• Helps with long-term weight management: 
  
  • Keeping your muscles strong while losing fat keeps your metabolism working well, making it easier to maintain your weight long-term

The Risk of Losing Muscle: When you lose weight, especially when you lose it quickly, some muscle loss can happen along with fat. Without enough resistance (strength) exercise and proper nutrition, you might feel weaker and miss out on the full benefits of your health improvement journey.

How Resistance Training can help: Resistance training is any exercise that makes your muscles work harder, like lifting weights or using resistance bands. Even using your own body weight for exercises like squats or push-ups can make a huge difference! 

Here’s why it’s a great addition to your routine:

• Builds strength: It helps protect muscles during weight loss.
• Bone health: Bones are not dissimilar to muscle - they get stronger the more you use them and the best way to keep bones strong is by doing regular weight-bearing exercise. 
• Benefits Metabolism: Keeping your muscles strong and healthy can boost your metabolism, helping your body manage energy more effectively.
• Makes daily activities easier: Tasks like carrying shopping or climbing stairs feel easier.
• Reduces risk of injury: Keeping your muscles strong can help to reduce the chance of strains, sprains and other injuries, as well as helping with balance and coordination.
• Lifts your mood: Regular exercise can reduce stress and boost happiness by releasing “feel-good” hormones  in your brain.

Getting Started with Resistance Training: adding resistance training to your routine can seem intimidating, but it doesn’t have to be! Here’s how to get started:

• Use Roczen Move: Head to the Explore section of the App to check out our resistance training guided exercise videos.
• Start mall: Aim for 2–3 weekly sessions of around 10-15 minutes to start with, focusing on all major muscle groups.
• Choose the right weights: Start with bodyweight exercises like planks, squats, and lunges. As you progress, increase repetitions and add weights or resistance bands for more challenge, ensuring safety. Everyday items like water bottles can work as weights, so there’s no need for expensive equipment!
• Consistency and progression: Stay consistent by starting with 2-3 short sessions a week, doing what feels right for your body. Over time, as your strength and endurance improve, you can increase the frequency, session length, or resistance to keep progressing. 
• Rest and recover: Make sure you take rest days between sessions to let your muscles recover and repair. 

Pairing Training with Nutrition: Your muscles need fuel to grow and repair. Eating enough protein is key so it is important to include a variety of nutritious and high-in-protein foods in your meals at least twice daily, such as:

• Lentils, chickpeas, beans or tofu
• Chicken, fish, or lean beef
• Eggs or dairy products like yoghurt and cheese
• Nuts, seeds, or soy-based foods

If you are unsure about your protein intake, your Roczen clinician can help arrange a dietitian consultation to guide you.

Building a Stronger Future:

‍Weight management isn’t just about losing fat, it’s about becoming healthier and feeling your best. Adding resistance training to your routine can protect your muscles during periods of weight loss, support your bones, protect you from injury and benefit your metabolism. With the right tools and support, you’re working towards building a healthier, stronger future.