Thanks to the support of GLP-1 weight-loss medications like semaglutide and tirzepatide, people that once struggled with their weight are finally losing pounds. Often quickly and drastically.
GLP-1’s are no doubt the best medications to treat obesity and lose weight. If you are one of the thousands who can attest that weight loss drugs work, we’re sure you are ecstatic to finally see the number on the scale go down and be able to fit into a smaller clothing size you never thought could be possible.
However, the weight you are losing might not be all body fat. Those lost pounds or your smaller frame could mean that you are losing muscle mass.
The goal isn’t to lose weight; it’s to lose fat. But it’s easy to lose muscle in the process. It can happen to anyone, especially when dieting. However, muscle loss is a problem we are seeing with many people taking GLP-1 weight loss medications.
You don’t want to lose muscle. Muscle loss can prevent you from fully benefiting from the full effects of GLP-1 medications and impact your metabolism long-term, resulting in the inability to keep the weight off and potentially leading to other health issues as well.
Unfortunately, the number on the scale and being able to fit into your “skinny” jeans can’t tell you what kind of weight you’re losing. However, there are ways to better determine if the weight is fat or muscle. Even better, there are simple strategies you can implement to help ensure you preserve muscle while primarily losing fat.
In this article, we’ll shed some light on why losing muscle seems to be a common problem for people on GLP-1 weight loss drugs, tell you why losing muscle is dangerous, and give you some effective strategies to both accurately measure body composition and ensure you preserve muscle while on GLP-1 weight loss drugs.
How GLP-1’s Work In The Body to Promote Weight Loss
There is a lot to unpack about how GLP-1 medications work. If you want the full rundown, read “Semaglutide: Everything You Need To Know.” There are also a lot of myths floating around about these drugs, which we talk about in this article.
But in short, GLP-1 medications like semaglutide and tirzepatide belong to a class of drugs called glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists. These medications mimic a natural hormone your body produces called GLP-1 (glucagon-like peptide-1), which plays several crucial roles in helping you maintain or achieve a healthy weight.
Some studies suggest that GLP-1s reduce activity in the brain’s reward centers related to food, meaning less emotional or impulsive eating. Many patients report that foods they once craved no longer sound appealing. There’s also emerging evidence that GLP-1 receptor activation may improve lipid metabolism and reduce inflammation, which can support better fat utilization and improve metabolic health overall.
However, the three primary ways we know GLP-1 works in the body to help with weight loss are improved blood sugar control, delayed stomach emptying, and appetite suppression.
- Improved Blood Sugar Control – GLP-1s enhance insulin secretion (in a glucose-dependent manner) and suppress glucagon release. This helps stabilize blood sugar levels, which can reduce sugar cravings and improve metabolic flexibility—your body’s ability to burn fat efficiently instead of storing it.
- Delayed Stomach Emptying – GLP-1s slow the rate at which food leaves the stomach, which prolongs the feeling of fullness after meals and helps reduce the urge to snack or overeat. This effect is often more pronounced in the first few months of treatment.
- Appetite Regulation – GLP-1 medications activate receptors in the brain that control hunger and satiety. This reduces cravings and leads to lower calorie intake, which is the primary driver of fat loss.
A suppressed appetite and fewer cravings sound great to anyone wanting to lose weight, and they can be. In fact, these “side effects” are what led researchers to explore GLP-1s for more than just diabetes control, which was their original intended use.
This led us to where we are today, with millions of people using GLP-1s to successfully lose weight and combat obesity (and, as a result, improve overall health and quality of life).
However, there’s one critical catch. Some of the lost pounds and shrinking inches that many people experience while taking GLP-1s are the result of not only fat but valuable muscle disappearing, which you definitely want to avoid.
How GLP-1s Contribute to Muscle Loss
GLP-1 medications don’t directly “attack” your muscles, but they can indirectly lead to muscle loss because of their effects on appetite and digestion.
Because GLP-1s can significantly suppress your hunger and slow how quickly food moves from your stomach to your intestines, you naturally eat less, often drastically fewer calories and nutrients than your body requires to maintain muscle.
Without sufficient calories (particularly from protein), your body begins searching for alternative energy sources, and muscle tissue is often broken down during this process, especially when inadequate protein is available.
Additionally, rapid initial weight loss can accelerate muscle breakdown because your body responds aggressively to a sudden calorie deficit, increasing the likelihood that muscle, not just fat, will be used for energy.
Then, to further complicate things, if you’re not actively stimulating your muscles through resistance or strength training, your body has even less reason to hold onto muscle mass during significant calorie restriction.
So, are you losing weight? Yes! But if you aren’t taking appropriate steps to preserve muscle, the rapid weight loss you’re experiencing isn’t all fat loss.
Some of the lost pounds and shrinking inches will be the result of muscle loss, which can not only sabotage your fat-loss efforts and the ability to keep it off long-term but also be dangerous to your overall well-being.
Why Losing Muscle Instead of Fat Is Dangerous
You may have noticed people claiming that GLP-1 medications aren’t working as well as anticipated, or when they stopped taking them, the weight rapidly returned. Or, maybe you’re experiencing this yourself and have turned to the internet looking for answers.
Of course, other factors can come into play, such as not getting GLP-1 medications from a reputable provider, improper dosing, or lack of proper medical guidance. However, a primary reason many people hit plateaus while taking GLP-1s or quickly regain weight after taking weight-loss injections is that they aren’t just losing fat—they are also losing muscle.
When you’re losing weight, it’s exciting to see the numbers on the scale quickly drop and feel your clothes fitting looser. But if you’re losing muscle along with (or worse, instead of) fat, you’re setting yourself up for both short-term and long-term setbacks, along with other possible health issues that can stem from muscle atrophy.
Here are some of the primary reasons why you want to ensure that you are losing fat and not muscle while using GLP-1s:
Losing Muscle Slows Down Your Metabolism
Muscle is what keeps your metabolism strong. The more muscle you have, the more calories your body burns, even when you are doing nothing but sitting on the couch binge-watching your favorite show or sleeping.
Essentially, losing muscle slows down your metabolism, and a sluggish metabolism will make it difficult, if not impossible, to maintain weight loss long-term.
Even worse, it drastically raises the risk of regaining weight, often more than you lost, leading to a frustrating cycle that can leave you feeling discouraged and worse off metabolically than when you started.
Losing Muscle Lowers Your Energy and Daily Calorie Burn
Losing too much muscle can also result in reduced energy levels. This can not only leave you feeling physically weak, but it also slows down something called NEAT, short for non-exercise activity thermogenesis.
NEAT refers to the non-workout calories you burn during everyday movements like walking, standing, cleaning, or even fidgeting, and it plays a bigger role in your total daily energy expenditure than most people realize. In fact, NEAT can account for up to 15–30% of your total daily calorie burn.
When your muscle mass drops and your energy levels tank, your NEAT naturally declines, which is a recipe for stalled fat loss.
Muscle Loss Impacts More Than Just Weight (It Can Damage Long-Term Health)
Beyond just your metabolism and energy levels, muscle mass is essential for overall strength, bone density, mobility, and longevity in general.
Losing muscle can result in joint pain, poor posture, increased risk of injury, slower recovery after illness or activity, and less stability or balance with age.
Side note: Researchers have discovered that GLP-1 agonists can do more than help people lose weight and manage diabetes. To learn more, read “GLP-1 Agonists: More Than Just A Weight Loss Drug?”
Bottom Line
If you aren’t taking active steps to preserve muscle while on GLP-1 medications, you’re likely losing more muscle than fat.
That means you could find yourself dealing with the same weight-loss struggles you had before taking GLP-1s—like weight-loss resistance, weight regain, a sluggish metabolism, and difficulty maintaining lasting weight-loss results.
For GLP-1s to help you lose fat (not just scale weight), you must do everything possible to preserve muscle mass.
How to Not Lose Muscle While Taking GLP-1 Medications
GLP-1 weight-loss medications can be an incredible tool for fat loss, but without the right strategies in place to preserve muscle mass, they can do more damage than good and work against both your short and long-term results.
The good news is that muscle loss while on GLP-1s isn’t inevitable. You just need to know how to approach it the right way. Here are eight easy ways to preserve muscle while on GLP-1s:
1: Don’t Skip Meals or Drastically Restrict Calories
One way GLP-1 medications like semaglutide and tirzepatide help you lose weight is that they significantly reduce your appetite. Your first thought is probably, “Great! I’m losing weight without feeling hungry.” It is logical to think this is a good thing, and it can be, considering a primary driver of weight gain and obesity is chronic overeating.
However, while not having much of an appetite does make eating less easier and being in a calorie deficit is necessary for fat loss; it can quickly become a problem if you start skipping meals or severely under-eating (especially protein) simply because you’re not hungry.
When your body doesn’t get enough calories consistently, it doesn’t just burn fat; it starts breaking down muscle. If you want to lose weight and keep it off, you don’t want this to happen.
We know it can be tempting to go with the flow, embrace not being hungry, and think you are doing yourself a favor. But you need to eat regular, balanced meals while on GLP-1 medications.
Skipping meals might feel harmless in the short term, but long term, it encourages muscle loss, slows your metabolism, and sets you up for rebound weight gain. If your goal is sustainable fat loss, then fueling your body properly is key.
Practical Tips For Eating When You’re Not Hungry
If you’re struggling to eat because you simply don’t have an appetite, eat smaller meals and focus on lower-volume, higher-calorie foods. These are foods that deliver more calories and nutrients in a smaller serving size, so you can meet your body’s needs without feeling uncomfortable.
Typically, when dieting and trying to lose weight without GLP-1s, it’s common to feel hungry or unsatisfied between meals. To help combat this, we’d normally suggest prioritizing higher-volume foods—things like leafy greens, vegetables, broth-based soups, and other options that take up space in your stomach and help you feel full on fewer calories.
However, because GLP-1s suppress appetite and slow digestion, if you feel too full to eat, we actually recommend the opposite. That way, you get the calories (especially from protein, which we will discuss next) needed to preserve muscle without being overly full or uncomfortable.
The following foods are considered low volume but more calorie-dense. Eating these types of foods can help you get enough calories without requiring you to eat a large volume of food.
- Nuts or nut butters
- Adding healthy oils (olive, avocado, flax, or coconut) to meals
- Full-fat Greek yogurt or cottage cheese instead of fat-free or low-fat versions
- Whole eggs and animal protein with a higher fat percentage instead of egg whites or leaner cuts of meat and fish.
- Protein shakes made with whole milk or unsweetened coconut milk instead of water or lower-calorie milk or milk alternatives.
- Whole-grain or sourdough bread instead of more filling carbs like sweet potatoes, brown rice, or quinoa.
Bottom Line
When taking GLP-1s, you need to nourish your body with what it needs (especially protein), even if you aren’t hungry. Smaller meals with the right foods can go a long way in helping you preserve muscle, avoid nutrient deficiencies, and maintain your results.
2: Prioritize Adequate Protein Intake Every Day
Not skipping meals is only one part of the equation; what you eat at those meals matters. While eating complex carbs and healthy fats are an essential part of a balanced diet, protein is your best friend when you’re trying to lose fat instead of muscle.
Only protein can provide the amino acids your muscles need to repair and maintain themselves. Without enough protein, your body starts pulling from muscle to get the energy and nutrients it needs, and that’s when muscle loss begins.
Preventing muscle loss by eating enough protein matters at all times. But it is crucial when you’re in a calorie deficit and actively losing weight, and even more so if you’re using GLP-1 medications as a weight loss tool.
That’s because, unlike traditional dieting efforts that often leave you hungry and thinking about food, GLP-1s can do the opposite. They are known to significantly suppress your appetite, which makes it easy to undereat or skip meals without even noticing.
So, when you do eat, even if you eat less, you must prioritize protein above all else to preserve muscle while on GLP-1s.
How Much Protein Should You Eat While Taking GLP-1 Medications?
Protein needs vary from person to person, but as a general guideline, most people should aim to eat around 0.8 to 1.2 grams of protein per pound of ideal body weight per day to preserve muscle while losing fat.
For example, if your ideal weight is 150 pounds, that means roughly 120 to 180 grams of protein per day. Hitting that goal consistently makes a huge difference in preserving muscle and keeping your metabolism working for you—not against you.
Easy Ways to Hit Your Daily Protein Target While on GLP-1s
Animal protein sources like chicken, beef, turkey, fish, and eggs are a great option. They’re dense in protein and complete in amino acids. You should try to incorporate these protein-rich foods into your diet as much as possible.
However, animal protein isn’t the only way to hit your daily protein goals, and might not be the best thing to reach for if your appetite is low or you don’t feel like eating a full meal.
Below are some easier, more strategic ways to boost your protein intake, especially if you feel too full to eat while taking GLP-1 weight-loss drugs.
Plan Your Meals Around Protein First
While balanced meals with protein, carbs, healthy fats, and fiber are always the goal, always start with protein as your base, then build from there.
Prioritizing larger portions of protein and eating them first ensures that no matter how small your appetite, your body first gets what it needs most— protein. This isn’t something that should only be reserved for larger meals. Your snacks should also always include a protein source.
Use Protein Powder
Using a quality protein powder is one of the easiest ways for people taking GLP-1s to eat enough protein, especially when heavier meals aren’t appealing. Protein powder is convenient, light, quick to digest, and nutrient-dense (meaning you can get 20–30+ grams of protein per small serving without feeling overly full).
One thing you’ll want to make sure of, though, is that the protein powder you use contains a complete amino acid profile with all nine essential amino acids. Otherwise, you aren’t giving your body the essential building blocks for protein synthesis.
Whey protein is typically a safe bet because it naturally contains all the essential amino acids your body needs. However, if you use plant-based protein, check the label. Many vegan and plant-based protein powders are formulated with only one or two plant proteins, which isn’t enough to be considered a complete protein.
If you prefer a plant-based protein, make sure it includes a blend of plant proteins (like pea, rice, and hemp) to ensure you’re getting a complete amino acid spectrum.
Also, as much as we love collagen for skin, hair, and joint support, it also does not provide a complete amino acid profile. It’s fine to include it as a supplement or even mix it into other protein sources like cottage cheese or Greek yogurt, which are complete proteins. But on its own, collagen shouldn’t be counted toward your daily protein goal.
Eat High-Protein Dairy
Protein-rich dairy sources like Greek yogurt and cottage cheese are ideal for small snacks or light meals. They’re easy to digest, don’t require cooking, and pack around 15–25 grams of protein per serving—without taking up much space in your stomach.
And if you don’t (think) you like cottage cheese or plain Greek Yogurt, maybe you just haven’t gotten creative enough. These protein sources don’t have to be eaten alone. They can also be used to create really delicious, balanced meals and snacks.
Just Google “cottage cheese recipes,” and you’ll see what we mean. In the meantime, here are a few high-protein dairy ideas to get you started:
- Use it to make ice cream or frozen yogurt. We promise that if you use the right recipe, you will not taste it!
- Add to smoothies or to create parfaits (add protein powder for an added protein boost.)
- Use it to make protein pancakes or as an addition to baked goods that are typically all carbs and fat to make them protein-rich.
- Add it to eggs or use it as a base for a savory bowl (if you haven’t tried the viral cottage cheese sweet potato beef bowl, you’re missing out).
Consider an Essential Amino Acid (EAA) Supplement
While whole-food protein is always best, an EAA supplement can be a helpful addition, especially on days when you fall short.
A quality EAA supplement, which usually comes in powder or pill form, can help provide the full spectrum of essential amino acids your body needs to preserve muscle without requiring a full meal or digestion time.
EAAs are not a replacement for real food, but they can potentially help support muscle retention when appetite or food volume is low. You could also consider amino acid supplementation via IV Vitamin Therapy.
Bottom Line
If you aren’t eating enough protein, you are bound to lose muscle, especially while on GLP-1 medications. If your GLP-1 medication has significantly reduced your appetite and you’re not hungry, at the very least, hit your daily protein goals.
An easy way to do this is by prioritizing eating protein first. It’s far easier to fill in other nutritional gaps with a high-quality multivitamin, greens powder, or mineral supplement.
3: Engage in Regular Strength Training
Many people think they can get weight-loss injections, and it’s their hall pass never to have to step foot in a gym. While you can lose weight without working out, if you aren’t strength training at least a couple of times a week, chances are that at least some of that weight is muscle.
Muscle loss can also occur if you aren’t giving your muscles the right stimulus, like strength training. Strength training, even if your goal isn’t to add muscle, helps your body protect and preserve what muscle you do have—even when overall calories and appetite are reduced.
Your muscles aren’t going to stick around on their own when they’re not being used. They need stimulation to preserve themselves. Without regular strength training, you risk losing muscle mass along with fat, negatively impacting your metabolism.
Beginner-Friendly Exercise Tips While on GLP-1 Medications
- Always prioritize strength training over cardio. Cardio is excellent for heart health and can help support fat loss, but it doesn’t do much to protect muscle. Ideally, you should perform some sort of resistance training three to four days a week. At the very least, aim for two to three full-body strength workouts each week.
- While strength training with weights or resistance bands is ideal, if you are a beginner or don’t have access to a gym, bodyweight exercises (like squats, push-ups, lunges) can also be very effective for preserving muscle—as long as you stay consistent and challenge yourself as you progress.
- You don’t need to spend hours exercising. 20–40 minutes is all you need to get in a good strength training session. Even 10 minutes of intentional movement is better than nothing. The most important thing is that you are consistent.
- Don’t go too hard, too fast. If your body isn’t used to strength training, even with only body weight, you could end up overly sore or even injured. This could result in skipping workouts or giving up before you’ve built any momentum. There’s no need to push yourself to the limit on day one. The goal is to gradually build strength over time.
Bottom Line
There are several lifestyle habits that restrict you from losing weight and GLP-1s like semaglutide can help. However, if you aren’t consistently strength training while on GLP-1s, you’re likely losing more muscle weight than you realize.
You don’t need to spend hours in the gym, lift heavy, or follow a complicated routine. But your muscles need a reason to stick around. A few strength workouts each week can make all the difference in preserving muscle, protecting your metabolism, and keeping the weight off for good.
4: Stay Hydrated
Staying hydrated might not sound like it has much to do with muscle, but hydration plays a bigger role in muscle preservation and overall health than most people realize. Proper hydration supports nearly every system in your body, including digestion, metabolism, muscle function, and recovery.
When you’re not drinking enough water, it can impact your energy, make it harder for your body to perform during workouts, and even slow the rate at which you build or maintain muscle.
Dehydration also makes you more prone to muscle cramps, fatigue, and soreness—all things that can derail your consistency.
On GLP-1 medications, hydration is especially important. These drugs can lead to slower digestion and changes in bowel habits, and not getting enough fluids can make those side effects worse. Some people also experience nausea, which can make them less likely to drink enough water throughout the day.
Practical Tips for Staying Hydrated on GLP-1s
- Keep a water bottle with you at all times and sip throughout the day (don’t wait until you’re thirsty).
- Add electrolytes, especially if you’re working out regularly or experiencing side effects such as nausea or diarrhea.
- Infuse water with lemon, cucumber, or berries if plain water feels unappealing.
- Track your intake if you’re someone who forgets or struggles to drink consistently.
- Include hydrating foods like cucumbers, oranges, watermelon, and broth-based soups.
- Consider IV Vitamin Therapy
Bottom Line
Your body needs water to function properly, preserve muscle, support energy levels, and maintain a healthy metabolism. Staying hydrated is a simple step that makes a big impact, especially while your body is adjusting to GLP-1 medications.
5: Consistently Monitor Your Body Composition
If you are eating enough protein and strength training, chances are any drops in scale weight, body measurements, or clothing sizes are primarily from fat, not muscle. However, the only way to know for sure is to use tools that are designed to track body composition.
Relying solely on the scale can be deceptive. A decreasing number doesn’t necessarily mean you’re losing just fat; you could be losing precious muscle, too. And while they are better tools for determining fat-loss progress than the scale, using your clothing size or even what you see in the mirror also does not guarantee that your results are fat and not muscle loss.
The best way to ensure that you are primarily losing fat instead of muscle is to track your body composition (your ratio of fat to muscle) using tools that are designed to analyze and monitor shifts in body fat percentage, lean mass, and water retention over time.
Ways to Track Body Composition to Ensure You’re Losing Fat Instead of Muscle
A Professional Body Scan
The most accurate way to track body composition is a professional body composition scan. The two most popular are InBody and DEXA.
InBody scans use bioelectrical impedance to measure total body water, fat mass, and lean body mass. DEXA (Dual-Energy X-ray Absorptiometry) scans use low-level X-rays to measure bone density, fat tissue, and lean tissue with a high level of precision.
When all protocols are followed before a scan, they are an extremely reliable and detailed tool for tracking fat loss versus muscle loss, especially over time.
Body Fat Calipers
If you can’t get a professional body scan, the next best thing is probably getting your body fat tested using a caliper. These small handheld devices, also sometimes called skinfold calipers, can be a relatively accurate, quick, and affordable way to measure body composition over time.
However, they also have a lot of room for error, especially if the person taking the measurements isn’t trained, or the skinfold sites aren’t measured consistently. Still, they are a better tool for determining body composition compared to a scale, and when used correctly, they can help you track overall fat-loss trends and skinfold thickness over time.
Smart Scales
They aren’t perfect, but a smart scale that measures more than just your body weight can be a decent way to help track body composition trends over time. Often, the medical clinic you go to for GLP-1 or even gyms have these scales on site. However, it would be better to purchase one to have at home so that you can weigh yourself under proper conditions for the most accuracy (which we will explain next).
You don’t have to get the most expensive model, but do look for a smart scale that, at the minimum, tracks estimated body fat percentage, muscle mass, and water weight. And while not necessary, it would help if the scale syncs with an app to help you monitor and track changes.
Also, don’t forget to follow best practices for when and how to weigh yourself. This is true whether you are using a regular scale that only provides body weight or a smart scale that offers more advanced data points.
Weigh yourself:
- On the same scale each time
- First thing in the morning, before drinking water or eating
- After urinating, and ideally, after a bowel movement, if you consistently have one each morning. If not, just do it after urinating. Just be consistent. You’d be shocked how much extra weight can show up on the scale just from food volume and waste sitting in your digestive tract.
Again, many factors can skew the data that is collected on smart scales. While they can determine general trends in muscle and fat mass, they can’t always differentiate between actual muscle loss and short-term water fluctuations, inflammation, or glycogen depletion. All of which can mislead you if you’re only looking at numbers without context.
Bottom Line
While progress photos and how your clothes fit can give you clues, it’s not always easy to know if you are losing fat or muscle. It can be hard to tell if you’re losing fat or muscle just by looking, especially to the untrained eye.
Regularly tracking your body composition can give you the data you need to help ensure you’re actually losing fat and not muscle mass while on GLP-1s.
6: Manage Stress
We often think of stress as purely emotional, but stress can also have a physical impact on your body and your ability to lose fat or preserve muscle. It becomes much harder to lose fat and maintain results when you’re constantly in a high-stress state.
When stress is chronic, your body produces more cortisol (the primary stress hormone), which can interfere with muscle repair, sleep, digestion, and even how your body stores fat. Additionally, high cortisol levels over time can also increase inflammation, reduce your motivation to exercise, trigger emotional eating, and even blunt your body’s ability to respond to fat-loss strategies.
We aren’t saying you need to eliminate all stress from your life (that’s unrealistic), but creating small daily habits to manage it can make a big difference.
Tips for Managing Stress
- Go for a short walk outdoors
- Practice deep breathing or guided meditation
- Journal to process thoughts or release mental clutter
- Do a short stretching or yoga session
- Read a book, listen to calming music, or a podcast you enjoy
- Cut back on commitments or people that drain your energy
- Set boundaries with screen time and social media
- Say no to things that don’t align with your priorities
- Consider natural stress-lowering supplements
You don’t have to implement all of these stress-relieving strategies. Even picking one or two that appeal to you the most or that you can be the most consistent with can help lower cortisol and bring you back into a more balanced state.
Bottom Line
Chronic stress increases cortisol, which can interfere with muscle retention, fat loss, and even appetite signals. Managing stress isn’t just about feeling better mentally; it’s about protecting the physical results you’re working hard for. If you’re doing everything right with food and training but ignoring stress, it could be the missing piece.
7: Prioritize Quality Sleep
Poor or inconsistent sleep can increase hunger hormones like ghrelin, reduce insulin sensitivity, and elevate cortisol. Not prioritizing sleep could keep you from having the energy needed to get in a muscle-preserving strength training session and affect how much you move (NEAT).
These are all things that can create issues that can potentially contribute to muscle loss or inhibit muscle preservation and interfere with how well GLP-1 medications work.
If you’re trying to hold onto muscle, getting enough sleep is crucial. And if you are strength training (which, again, is crucial for not losing muscle mass), sleep is even more important because that is the primary time when your body repairs itself.
While everyone has different sleep needs, most adults do best with 7 to 9 hours per night. But it’s not just about how long you sleep. The quality of your sleep and sticking to a consistent sleep and wake cycle also matter.
Tips for Better Sleep
Most people can’t climb into bed and fall asleep instantly, not toss and turn or wake up numerous times throughout the night, or stick to a consistent wake and sleep schedule without intention and a bedtime routine.
Here are a few mall habits that can improve your sleep quality and help your body recover properly while on GLP-1 medications:
- Stick to a consistent sleep and wake time (even on weekends)
- Limit or avoid caffeine in the afternoon and evening
- Avoid large meals or alcohol within a couple of hours of bedtime
- Create a wind-down routine to help signal to your body it’s time to rest
- Dim the lights and reduce screen time 1–2 hours before bed
- Use blue light filters or blue light–blocking glasses in the evening
- Keep your bedroom cool, dark, and quiet (have white noise or similar calming sounds playing if you can’t sleep in silence)
- Try natural sleep supplements (if cleared by your healthcare provider)
It might take a little trial and error, but take a few of these tips and see which ones work best for you. Small changes to your nighttime habits can lead to deeper, more restorative sleep and better results overall while on GLP-1 medications.
Bottom Line
Poor sleep makes it harder to recover, build or preserve muscle, regulate blood sugar, and manage cravings. Inconsistent or low-quality sleep can quickly stall your fat loss progress and increase your risk of muscle loss—even if your diet and training are dialed in. Prioritizing sleep isn’t optional if you want lasting results.
8: Regularly Have Your Hormones Checked
If you are getting your GLP-1 injections from a trusted and educated healthcare provider who specializes in medical weight loss, chances are they will suggest (or possibly even require) a complete blood panel, including key hormone markers, before prescribing GLP-1 medications.
There are many reasons why getting a medical evaluation that includes blood work is important before taking semaglutide or other GLP-1 agonists. One being that hormonal health plays a critical role in weight loss, muscle preservation, metabolism, and energy.
Balanced hormones are key for sustainable results. If certain hormones are too high or too low, you could struggle to lose weight— even on GLP-1 medications. Hormonal shifts can happen naturally with age, so it’s even more important to check hormone levels if you’re over 35. Especially if you are experiencing common signs of hormone imbalance.
However, hormone changes that can lead to weight gain or the inability to lose weight can occur for reasons other than age. Regardless of age, if something feels off and you have any symptoms of hormone imbalance, you should get your hormones checked.
Hormones and weight gain have many connections, so regular hormone blood work is especially important if you are struggling to lose weight or hitting weight-loss plateaus despite being on GLP-1’s and doing everything “right”.
The only way to know if hormone imbalances are contributing to your weight loss issues is to have key hormones that impact weight checked and closely monitored. These include, but aren’t necessarily limited to:
- Testosterone and estrogen (essential for muscle retention and fat distribution)
- Thyroid hormones (regulate metabolism)
- Insulin (impacts blood sugar and fat storage)
- Cortisol (a stress hormone that can work against you when chronically elevated)
Bottom Line
Hormones like testosterone, estrogen, insulin, thyroid, and cortisol play a significant role in how your body builds muscle, stores fat, and responds to weight loss. If something feels off despite doing everything right, don’t overlook your hormones.
Getting regular hormone blood tests is one of the smartest things you can do to stay ahead of any hidden issues that could sabotage your progress. If necessary, there are effective treatments to balance hormones, like bioidentical hormone replacement therapy.
There are a lot of myths about hormone replacement therapy (HRT). Truth is, HRT is a life changer (and even a life saver) for many.. To learn more about HRT for men or women, read “The Ultimate Guide to Hormone Therapy for Women: What You Should Know” or “Everything You Need To Know About Hormone Therapy For Men.”
Important Considerations When Choosing a Healthcare Provider to Order and Analyze Your Hormone Blood Work
First, avoid the temptation to order hormone labs online yourself and try to interpret the results. There are many reasons for this, one being that the ranges listed on lab reports are based on population averages, not optimal health.
Just because a result isn’t flagged as “out of range” doesn’t mean it’s ideal for you, especially if you’re already experiencing symptoms of hormone imbalance. If you attempt to read your results yourself, you could easily overlook a problem or make decisions based on incomplete or misunderstood data.
You must have someone qualified to not only order the correct blood panel, but also someone who understands how complex and interconnected hormones are and the many root causes of hormone imbalance.
Unfortunately, finding a healthcare provider with this kind of knowledge can be a challenge. Many healthcare providers (even OBGYNs who understand hormone health) still rely solely on whether your results fall within the standard “normal” reference range. Again, this doesn’t necessarily mean your hormones are functioning at optimal levels.
Normal labs don’t always mean optimal. If you’ve had a doctor tell you this, get a second opinion from a hormone health expert who understands this distinction and knows how to apply it in a personalized, evidence-based way that supports your long-term health.
Conclusion
GLP-1 weight loss drugs like semaglutide and tirzepatide are powerful medications that help millions of people lose weight and improve metabolic health. However, they can also lead to muscle loss if not used properly, which could result in slowed metabolism, weight regain, and other health complications that can undo your progress.
To prevent this, it’s crucial to follow the easy protocol outlined above, with the most important strategies being to prioritize protein intake and engage in resistance training, even if it’s only bodyweight exercises a couple of times a week.
Even more important is where you get your GLP-1 prescription. Never rely on trendy online providers or social media clinics that skip lab work and hand out medications without a thorough health evaluation.
Only work with a qualified weight loss expert who takes the time to do a full consultation that includes a medical review and comprehensive blood panel before starting any GLP-1 medication to ensure it’s actually safe for you.
If it’s determined that you are a good candidate, having a medical provider oversee your care also ensures proper dosing (which can drastically reduce the risk of potential GLP-1 side effects), monitoring for drug interactions, and adjusting for any other health factors that could impact your results or safety.
At Relive Health, our medical team isn’t only educated and experienced in prescribing GLP-1 medical weight loss medications—we specialize in personalized wellness with an emphasis on preventative care. Every patient receives a comprehensive 52-panel blood analysis and body composition scan, not just a basic check-up.
Our experts are trained to read these labs beyond the surface and help you understand your results. Then, if needed, they’ll build a personalized plan to optimize your health that may or may not include GLP-1 medications. In some cases, the right solution could be addressing underlying hormone imbalances through hormone replacement therapy (HRT) or other targeted interventions.
If you are ready to take the next step toward sustainable fat loss and better health with GLP-1 injections or other possible solutions that might be a better fit for you, use our clinic locator to find a Relive Health location near you and schedule your GLP-1 consultation today.
