Women are losing weight right now. However, they may also be losing muscle and you’ve probably noticed this shift. More and more women are using GLP1s, sometimes at lower doses, compounded versions, getting access much more easily than before. And for a lot of women, the weight is coming off. Hooray.
The battle is shifting, we’re winning. Yay. Losing weight. And yet, for a lot of women, even though the weight is coming off, they’re not feeling better. They might feel tired, less strong, and less motivated. And I hear this a lot, maybe even a little flat, that meh feeling, you know, in their body. It’s not being explained clearly, like why is this happening?
And it’s because it’s not just about weight loss. It is just a fact. That when appetite drops significantly, you eat less. And when we’re eating less and if we’re not intentional, we’re not going to be getting in the nutrients that our body needs, maybe not getting enough protein, which we know are building blocks for muscle. And we also know that at this stage in life, post-reproductive years, we are progressively losing muscle just because of that, because of aging and the hormone changes. And so this can really have long-term effects.
And we know from the research that when you lose weight, especially without enough protein and without enough strength training, a portion of that weight that you’re losing can come from muscle. And when that happens, energy drops, metabolism changes, and can really slow way down. Your body starts to conserve, and it’s harder to maintain this way of life long term. And most women don’t realize this. And because you’re not just losing fat, you’re losing muscle.
How GLP-1 Medications Affect Muscle Loss After Menopause
And one thing we are learning is that muscle is that organ of longevity. And without it, we can become frail and weak. And this isn’t something most women want. You know, we’re thinking more about size. I want to be tiny. I want to be small. And there’s nothing wrong with wanting to lose weight in a healthy manner. And we know there’s so many benefits of losing weight, but it can be at a cost.
And that cost can be frailty, sarcopenia. That’s where that comes from, the frailty. It’s that loss of bone, loss of muscle as we’re aging. And I don’t know about you, but I’m all about being lean and fit and strong and active versus skinny, tiny, and frail. You know, society has brainwashed us as women forever. You know, we need to be small. We need to be tiny. And gosh, I am hopeful that the tide is turning and that as women we can show up as strong, independent, capable, active, taking the world on and finding that balance between living in our best body, our strong, fit, lean body that can carry us through this life in a way that we can live and grow and enjoy, right?
GLP-1 and Muscle Post-Menopause: Why This Stage of Life Changes Everything
Active. I want to be hiking and biking and doing all these active things. Well, if I’m just skinny without muscle, chances are I’m at much greater risk for injuring myself, falling and hurting myself. And we know what that leads to. Hospital stays or surgeries or these things that can really encompass us, you know, that later life that doesn’t lead to those things of being active and healthy and enjoying your grandkids and all those things.
So a little bit of a tangent before I get into the educating on this, but I really believe that this matters so much more. It’s not just about skinny. It’s about fit, healthy, lean. Stacy Sims says it all the time. We are meant to take up space. Especially at this stage in life and as women, not to become less visible by making ourselves smaller. And so it’s to stay strong and capable and metabolically healthy as we age.
And you know that doesn’t mean that a GLP-1 is good or bad. It just means that if and when you decide on that route for weight loss, it is just as important to have the lifestyle and the knowledge of how to work with that GLP-1 so that you can get all the benefits of healthy aging alongside it. So let me show you what I mean.
Skinny versus strong after menopause and the truth about GLP-1 weight loss.
Let’s dive in. If you are on a GLP-1, you may be losing weight and that’s awesome. You may have been fighting this battle for quite a long time and you’re finally getting the results. However, you may also feel like you don’t have as much energy. You’re not as motivated. You don’t feel as strong in your body.
And I hear this a lot. The issue is weight loss does not equal better health and smaller does not equal stronger. And this is just a really important mind shift that as women I really believe we need to be thinking about and discussing openly because a lot of women are doing this in secret. All of a sudden, they’re losing weight. And truthfully, there is nothing wrong with using a GLP-1. It is a medication that helps with a disease. That disease being obesity. And if you are obese, this is a gamechanger. This can bring on so many health benefits.
The issue and what I see a lot is maybe women who have entered menopause and they’ve gained a little weight around their middle and they’re now deciding to use a GLP-1 to get that weight off. And it’s a tool. And I’m going to say that again. It is a tool in our toolbox. But like any project, right, you’re not just going to use one tool. You’re not just going to use a hammer. Usually you need a nail and you need a screwdriver and you might need a couple other tools. Not that that’s my wheelhouse, but just an analogy, right, to bring it home.
And so super important that when we think about taking a GLP-1 or if you are on a GLP-1, we want to make sure that our nutrition is supporting us. Lack of appetite is going to drive down what our nutrients look like that we’re able to get in. And when we are eating less, it is just harder to get in what our body actually needs to maintain muscle, prevent sarcopenia, which is bone and muscle loss, because we’re already losing it as we age and especially in menopause.
So it is important just to be aware of this and know that we need to support ourselves if we are taking a GLP-1. What does the best menopause weight loss coaching look like? Right? Where do these coaches focus to help women who are taking a GLP-1 or not taking a GLP-1.We’re going to protect muscle, not just weight loss. There’s that balance. Train the body, not just give advice. So these coaches have knowledge of how do you build muscle? Not just, oh, go eat protein and strength train. Well, how do we actually put that into play in a logical way that makes sense for your body, my body at this stage in life, whether or not you’re on a GLP-1, right?
With all menopause coaching we also want to look at long-term health. You know, unfortunately, we’re all impatient. We want it and we want it now. And today’s day and age, right, we can do that. There’s a pill. There’s this quick fix that we want and we want it. We don’t want to work for it. Let’s just be honest. We’re human. So what we think we have to put into doing this without a medication is at some point there’s some sacrifice. There’s going to be some shifts. There’s changes.
And of course I just want to bring it in that for obese individuals and women who just can’t get past a certain weight and have tried and tried and tried and tried and tried, I think a GLP-1 can certainly be supportive and we have to build a plan that we’re able to do long-term. We can’t just think, oh, short-term lose weight, that’s all I need. Because the problem is when we just lose weight, we can increase our frailty rate as well. And that’s not where we want to be.
Skinny versus strong. Skinny: lower muscle, slower metabolism, lower energy. And then strong. What does that look like? Metabolically active. And when I think of this, I think of when we have taught the body at this point to be metabolically active, we are able to switch over from burning fat to burning sugar, more likely burning sugar to burning fat. But your body is metabolically flexible and your body is efficient. And that can certainly happen on a GLP-1 as long as you’re supporting it with additional tools.
And so strong is stable energy. You’re not up and then down and then up and then down. And we’re resilient. We’re not getting sick. We’re not breaking bones. We’ve got muscle in a lean, fit way. I’m not talking bodybuilder muscle. That’s really hard to do and that certainly isn’t what we’re after. We just want protective muscle because muscle protects our bones, protects our brain, protects our metabolism. There’s so much more behind the scenes beside just physique that muscle is protecting us from.
And so after menopause, what happens. Muscle loss accelerates. We just naturally lose more muscle as we age. That’s a fact. Metabolism slows down and insulin resistance increases. And I’ve talked about this in other blogs, like hiring a personal trainer over 45 — the main reason women gain weight after menopause is insulin resistance. Our body is not efficient at using energy. It is more apt to store and this shows up in inflammation in the body and fat storage around the middle, that visceral fat.
And so what GLP-1 medications can help with, right, they reduce your appetite, they slow your digestion and they actually improve insulin response. So that is why they are working with your body in a way to help you lose weight. That’s a good thing. So again that’s a tool. So with that we want to also understand what the research shows us, right, and that is that when appetite decreases food intake decreases. And without however without protein and strength, muscle loss increases. We lose muscle mass. With less muscle our metabolism slows down which is why we feel lower energy. So this is that cascading effect that happens.
And so what we’re seeing now right is more availability of GLP-1s, easier to get, micro-dosing approaches are happening, compounded versions, and like I said easier to get online. You don’t even need a doctor to prescribe it. And now we’re also coming out with pill versions. So more and more women are going to be doing this. It’s what it is. This is a weight loss drug that can be helpful as a tool.
So weight loss, however, may include muscle loss, under fueling, and metabolic breakdown. And then undereating brings on low fuel. And it’s kind of like a car that’s sputtering along when you’re running out of gas. It just isn’t moving very efficiently. It’s certainly not something you’d want to take on a highway. And I think of that like those active trips. If you’re really low on energy, it’s going to be really hard to find that motivation. Not only that, the issue too is that compounded low fuel is going to compound and over time decrease energy and that motivation. Less drive to move. And the long-term risk, gosh, it’s real. The loss of strength, decreased mobility, and increased frailty. This is where that skinny versus strong comes in. Skinny can bring on frailty. I just have this picture in my mind of what that looks like and I think I’m scared enough of it that I’m just not willing to take that risk. And I’m sure you aren’t either and nobody wants that.
And so it is again finding that balance. How can we do this in a way that’s safe and healthy and leads us to that longevity, that healthy lifestyle from here on, where we’re not ending up with a broken hip in a hospital or long-term care at a way too early age.
What a GLP-1 Plan for Post-Menopausal Women Should Actually Include
So what actually does work? Strength training. This is my wheelhouse. I really enjoy watching and supporting and working with women at this stage in life. And maybe they’ve never strength trained before. And I’m telling you, you can make such a difference if you start today. The best time to start was probably 20 years ago, but the second best is today. So it’s never too late to build strength. Just building a supportive strength training programme structure that works in your life for your physiology is huge, huge. And it does work.
Adequate protein. And this is another one. This is so important to support our muscle. So making sure we’re getting enough protein — an easy way to think of it is one gram of protein per pound of your ideal body weight. That can be quite a bit. So getting that in, a minimum of 100 grams a day, is really optimal. And I’m just throwing that out there as a guideline.
Blood sugar stability. This goes back to that insulin resistance. Those two go hand in hand. So I think of it like a kitty roller coaster — very, very small shifts in our blood sugar during the day versus that adult roller coaster that leaves you winded. Because if you’re somebody that needs a snack an hour after you eat or needs a long nap later in the day, chances are your blood sugar is not stable. And unfortunately this supports a lack of energy and can throw off your hormones — insulin being one of them and cortisol being another, which again can lead to weight regain. And so we want to see that stabilising using adequate protein, fat and fibre on a steady consistent basis throughout the day with enough rest in between the times we eat. No constant snacking throughout the day.
And then recovery and sleep. Really, without sleep and consistent good healthy sleep — and not just time but efficiency of sleep. Are you getting deep sleep, enough deep sleep, enough REM sleep? Is your HRV, your heart rate variability, on the higher end showing that you’re recovering, your body is recovering? We really want to adjust and adapt everything to those markers. And again this is something that having this knowledge base is really important. And this is something that the best menopause weight loss coaches are looking at. It’s not just one tool. It’s the whole picture.
What else supports healthy weight post-menopause?
It’s the different pillars of health. Sleep, exercise, nutrition, and nervous system regulation. We know that’s a biggie. So we want to make sure we’re looking at all these pieces together. Think the toolbox, the tools, using the tools that work to give us that long-term health, longevity.
So here’s the thing. If you are using a GLP-1, make sure you’re pairing it with strength training and getting enough protein. I think we hear this ad infinitum. And the key is getting the right structure and coaching to help you do that. That’s really where I think today we’re needing to step into this space. If you are on a GLP-1, how do you incorporate this in a way that works for your body? Meaning, if you’re low on energy, if you’re really struggling to eat enough, how do you make this work? And I think that is a really important thing to ask yourself if you are taking a GLP-1 — how am I doing with that? Or am I just taking the medication maybe without a lot of guidance or structure or coaching?
What happens if I stop taking a GLP-1?
And this is something that can really help not just right away but long term. Or maybe you’re somebody who was on a GLP-1 but went off of it. A lot of times we see unfortunately the rebound. Why? Because we didn’t maybe change our underlying habits or emotional eating tendencies or we didn’t build in the structure of healthy living alongside the GLP-1. So we can lose the weight but then again the weight can easily come back because we will go back to being insulin resistant, because the drug gave us that ability to balance the blood sugar a little bit, reduce the hunger. So we were more insulin sensitive meaning our body wasn’t going to store the fat in our middle area.
So we have to learn the tools to support our body with and without the medication. And again, the goal, what is it. It’s to be fit, lean, and strong versus skinny. And not frail. We want long-term health, sustainability in a way that we can enjoy and love our life with energy, motivation, vigor. This is what I think we all want.
Metabolic Health and Muscle After Menopause: The Long Game
And so it’s not you, it’s the approach. And we need that holistic approach with whatever tools you want to put in your toolbox. We can make that work. It’s just a matter of putting the pieces together in a way that is going to bring you the results you want long term. And so the important thing is that we learn how to do this the right way for you today.
Don’t just aim to get smaller. Aim to get stronger. And that’s what supports your metabolism and your energy and how you age. So if you want help doing this in a way that actually supports your body now, make sure to take a look at our 30-Day Reset.
