Michael Blaha, MD (Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD), agreed that fears over this issue have played out more on social media than in the clinic. “I do talk to [my patients] about muscle preservation, but they usually don't come to me with these concerns,” he told TCTMD. “They know they need to lose weight, and I will bring it up about preserving muscle mass and preserving fat free mass the best we can. But that's not usually a concern of theirs.”

Regardless, Blaha added, for his patients taking GLP-1 inhibitors, “I always try to frame it in the context of lifestyle and say that of course the medicine doesn't do all the work.” He encourages them to participate in strength training and increase their protein intake to better preserve their muscle mass, acknowledging that “you always lose muscle mass when you lose weight.”

Anecdotally, Blaha said he’s never had an issue with excess muscle loss in his patients on these drugs, and that if anything his patients have generally reported feeling like they have more energy and strength.




Personally, I think that is silly.