How to Prevent Muscle Loss While Taking Ozempic and GLP-1 Medications
By Dr Anjali Mahto, Dr Charlotte Keigwin
Patients using GLP-1 medications such as Ozempic, Wegovy, and Mounjaro can experience muscle loss alongside fat loss if active steps are not taken. While these medications have redefined what is possible in weight management by reducing appetite and improving insulin sensitivity, their effectiveness can come with the unintended consequence of losing muscle mass if no structured plan is in place. This muscle loss is not just a cosmetic concern, it can impact your metabolism, strength, posture, and long-term health.
GLP-1 medications suppress appetite, improving insulin sensitivity, and support consistent calorie deficits. As a result, they enable many to achieve meaningful fat loss where other methods have failed. Yet while the numbers on the scale may fall, a critical question often remains unasked: what, exactly, are you losing?
Weight loss without a strategy can lead not only to the reduction of fat but also to the quiet erosion of muscle. This loss is not merely a cosmetic inconvenience; it is a biological setback that can affect metabolic health, strength, and the sustainability of weight loss for years to come.
Why Muscle Matters Beyond Aesthetics
Muscle is often seen as something aesthetic, an optional extra for athletes or those who spend hours in the gym. In reality, muscle is one of the body’s most essential tissues for health and longevity. It is metabolically active, supporting glucose disposal, stabilising blood sugar after meals, and maintaining insulin sensitivity. It influences mitochondrial function, helping cells produce energy efficiently and respond flexibly to different fuel sources.
Muscle is also an endocrine organ, releasing molecules known as myokines during contraction. These include irisin, which plays a role in energy expenditure and the browning of fat tissue; interleukin-6, which helps regulate inflammation and metabolic health; and brain-derived neurotrophic factor, which influences brain health and cognitive function.
Structurally, muscle provides the scaffold beneath the skin, preserving posture, supporting joints, and contributing to the body’s contours. It is what allows the body to move with strength and stability, what keeps people active, and what supports bone density through mechanical loading. It is also, critically, a determinant of resting metabolic rate, the amount of energy the body burns at rest.
The Quiet Cost of Rapid Weight Loss
During weight loss, particularly when appetite is suppressed, the body may not simply draw on fat stores for energy. Without sufficient protein intake and the presence of anabolic signals, the body will also break down lean tissue, including muscle, to meet its energy needs. Research indicates that without a plan to protect muscle, up to forty per cent of weight lost during GLP-1 therapy may come from lean body mass.
This muscle loss can manifest in subtle but meaningful ways: a gradual decline in strength, slower recovery from activity, reduced endurance, and increased fatigue. It can also lower the metabolic rate, making it harder to maintain weight loss in the future, as the body requires fewer calories to function. Aesthetically, the loss of muscle can reveal or worsen skin laxity, leading to concerns about hollowing in the face and changes in body contour, often described by patients as ‘Ozempic face’.
Why Muscle Loss Happens on GLP-1 Therapy
GLP-1 receptor agonists work by reducing appetite and slowing gastric emptying, which naturally leads to reduced calorie intake. While this is beneficial for fat loss, it can also result in insufficient protein consumption, depriving the body of the essential amino acids required for muscle protein synthesis.
Simultaneously, the state of calorie deficit itself creates a catabolic environment, where the body breaks down tissue to meet energy demands. In the absence of anabolic stimuli, such as resistance training or targeted muscle activation, the body will draw from muscle as well as fat, accelerating lean tissue loss. Appetite suppression can make it challenging to consume the quantities of protein required to maintain muscle, particularly over months of treatment.
Muscle, Metabolic Health, and Ageing
Muscle preservation is not only about maintaining appearance during weight loss. It is a critical component of metabolic health and healthy ageing. Muscle loss, or sarcopenia, is a natural part of ageing, but it can be accelerated by inactivity, inadequate protein intake, and rapid weight loss without appropriate support. Sarcopenia contributes to frailty, loss of independence, reduced balance, and an increased risk of falls and fractures.
Maintaining muscle during weight loss supports mitochondrial health and helps prevent the decline in metabolic flexibility that can occur with age. It also ensures that the benefits of fat loss are fully realised, supporting glucose metabolism, hormonal health, and the ability to remain physically active as the body changes.
How Pure Impact Supports Muscle Preservation
At Self London, we believe that weight loss should not compromise the structures that sustain health. Pure Impact, using advanced PlyoPulse technology, forms part of our integrated approach for patients on GLP-1 therapy who wish to protect muscle while achieving fat loss.
Pure Impact delivers high-intensity electromagnetic stimulation to deep and fast-twitch muscle fibres, provoking supramaximal contractions beyond what is typically possible through voluntary exercise alone. These contractions stimulate satellite cells, essential for muscle repair and growth, and support hypertrophy and strength. They also increase local circulation, improving nutrient delivery and supporting recovery.
Fast-twitch muscle fibres are particularly important for strength and functional movement, yet they are often the first to atrophy during periods of inactivity or calorie restriction. By targeting these fibres directly, Pure Impact helps maintain functional muscle, supporting metabolism, posture, and the structural integrity of the body during weight loss.
Why Delivery by a Qualified Personal Trainer Matters
Pure Impact at Self London is delivered by our lead therapist, who is also a qualified personal trainer with a deep understanding of biomechanics and postural alignment. This ensures that treatments are not generic but are tailored to each patient’s needs, aligning with their goals and supporting structural health.
Sessions are adjusted based on how a patient’s body is responding to weight loss, targeting areas prone to weakness or postural changes and ensuring that the benefits of Pure Impact extend beyond aesthetics to include real improvements in strength, mobility, and day-to-day function.
A Comprehensive, Clinically Led Approach
Pure Impact forms part of a comprehensive, medically led plan to support effective weight loss while protecting health and structure. We begin with a detailed baseline assessment, including body composition analysis, waist circumference, blood pressure, and, where appropriate, blood tests to assess nutrient status. Rapid weight loss can unmask deficiencies, including low iron or B12 levels, which can affect energy and recovery.
We provide structured nutritional guidance designed to align with the appetite suppression associated with GLP-1 therapy while ensuring adequate protein intake. Our approach respects that many patients find eating challenging on GLP-1 medications, providing practical strategies to incorporate high-quality protein sources into a lower-volume diet.
We also recognise that changes in body composition can impact the skin, and for many patients, skin laxity becomes a concern during weight loss. We often combine Pure Impact with treatments such as Sofwave, supporting the skin’s structural integrity as fat is lost and ensuring that aesthetic outcomes align with improvements in health.
Addressing Concerns: ‘Ozempic Face’ and Exercise During GLP-1 Therapy
Facial hollowing and skin laxity, often described as ‘Ozempic face,’ are concerns raised by many patients during rapid weight loss. While topical skincare alone cannot prevent these changes, preserving muscle helps maintain the underlying structure that supports the skin. Sofwave can further enhance skin quality, working alongside muscle preservation strategies to protect both appearance and function.
Patients frequently ask whether exercise is safe and beneficial while taking GLP-1 medications. The answer is unequivocally yes. Exercise during GLP-1 therapy supports muscle preservation, improves metabolic health, and enhances overall wellbeing. However, it is important to tailor exercise to align with lower energy intake, ensuring that patients can move safely and sustainably.
How to Avoid Muscle Loss While Taking GLP-1 Medications
Many individuals search for ways to avoid muscle loss while taking GLP-1 medications, seeking to protect their strength, structure, and metabolism while achieving fat loss. The good news is that muscle loss during weight loss is not inevitable if the right measures are in place.
At Self London, we combine advanced EMS technology through Pure Impact, targeted nutritional strategies to ensure adequate protein intake, and movement guidance to align muscle preservation with effective weight loss. This approach supports patients in achieving their goals while maintaining the structures that contribute to long-term health and confidence.
Weight Loss That Protects What Matters
GLP-1 medications can be life-changing, enabling many to achieve fat loss and improved metabolic health after years of struggle. Yet the true success of weight loss lies in what is preserved along the way. Muscle is not expendable in the pursuit of weight loss; it is a critical part of health, strength, and the body’s ability to maintain a healthy weight over time.
At Self London, we believe in weight loss strategies that are intelligent, structured, and clinically led, respecting the complexity of the body while aligning with your goals. If you are considering or currently using GLP-1 therapy and wish to protect your muscle, strength, and structural health while achieving meaningful fat loss, we invite you to book a consultation with our team. Together, we will create a plan that supports your goals while ensuring your weight loss journey is one that enhances your health for years to come.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can GLP-1 medications cause muscle loss?
Yes. Without sufficient protein intake and the right exercise or muscle-stimulating protocols, up to 40% of weight lost on GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy can come from lean muscle mass, impacting strength and metabolism.
How can I prevent muscle loss while taking Ozempic?
A structured plan combining adequate protein intake, safe and effective movement practices, and advanced muscle stimulation technologies like Pure Impact can help preserve muscle during GLP-1 therapy.
What is ‘Ozempic face’?
‘Ozempic face’ refers to facial hollowing and skin sagging that can occur with rapid weight loss on GLP-1 medications, often linked to the loss of fat and muscle beneath the skin. Preserving muscle helps maintain facial structure, while treatments like Sofwave can support skin quality during weight loss.
Is it safe to exercise while taking GLP-1 medications?
Yes, and it is encouraged. Exercise helps preserve muscle, supports metabolic flexibility, and enhances overall wellbeing while on GLP-1 medications. It should be appropriately tailored to your energy levels and nutritional intake.
Why is muscle preservation important during weight loss?
Muscle helps maintain metabolic rate, supports posture, improves insulin sensitivity, and contributes to healthy ageing. Losing muscle during weight loss can lower your metabolism and make long-term weight maintenance more challenging.
