Does Ozempic Cause Muscle Loss in Women Over 40?

Nikkiey: This new obsession with weight loss drugs, it is getting out of hand. These medications are powerful. They absolutely work. But the bigger question is, do they actually teach you how to live in a body that's fueled properly, that's metabolically active in a healthy way, that's strong, and that's sustainable once you stop the medication? Because the answer to that, I believe for 95% of the population, is no.

What's up, everybody? Hey, you guys. Welcome back to another episode of The WarriorBabe Show, or if this is one of your first episodes, welcome, and boy, are you in for a treat. On these episodes, we talk about mindset, methodologies, and tactics that will help you lose body fat, build muscle, be strong, and feel insanely confident. My friends, on this episode today, episode 301, we're going to get real. We're probably going to get the realest of real that I've gotten in all of the 300 episodes on this podcast platform, because today, we're going there.

You guys already read the title. You already know what this is about. I have stayed too quiet on this topic for too long. I have watched one too many videos. I've watched one too many reels, one too many testimonies. I've seen celebrities posting about this, and honestly, it's getting to the point where I can't not say something anymore. Because this new obsession with weight loss drugs, it is getting out of hand. And here's what I'll say about this. These medications are powerful. They absolutely work.

They suppress the appetite. They change blood sugar response. They can even improve insulin sensitivity in certain people. People lose weight. But the bigger question is, do they actually teach you how to live in a body that's fueled properly, that's metabolically active in a healthy way, that's strong, and that's sustainable once you stop the medication? Because the answer to that, I believe, for 95% of the population is no.

Because no drug can build discipline. No prescription can teach you how to eat, how to train, how to recover properly. No shot in your stomach can fix the habits that got you stuck in the first place. So today, I'm going to say everything most people won't. I'm going to do my best. And guys, keep in mind, this is my opinion on the topic. I want to talk about how these drugs actually work, what the research says about the muscle loss no one's mentioning, and what you must be doing if you want your results to last beyond a prescription, okay?

So I want to go there. I want to get to the truth. You guys know that I will bring real, raw, honest conversations here. And sometimes they're going to be uncomfortable. But in the midst of them all is some type of truth, okay? So we're going to go there today.

Before we even talk about Ozempic and Wegovy or any other GLP-1, we have to start with muscle. I just want to talk about muscle first, because this is the missing piece of the entire weight loss conversation. Let me just tell you something. After 40, after even, I would argue, 35, 37, your later 30s, your body is changing whether you like it or not. Use me as an example. I just shared with you guys on a Life Update podcast a couple episodes ago what I have been going through in the past six, seven months.

I, at 35, am experiencing low testosterone. I, at 35, am experiencing a low, down-regulated thyroid. It's inevitable. Our body is going to change whether we like it or not. For the majority of you guys, your estrogen drops. Your ability to build and maintain muscle mass decreases. We lose up to 3% to 8% of muscle mass every single decade after the age of 30.

And the less muscle that you have, the slower your metabolism is going to run. This isn't just about aesthetics and looking toned. My friends, this is about survival. This is about longevity. This is about feeling and being strong. Muscle is the engine that drives your metabolism. It determines how efficiently you burn fat, how you balance your blood sugar, and even how regulated your hormones are.

So when a woman starts one of these types of drugs, and suddenly she's eating 800 calories a day, that muscle tissue, that very thing that's protecting her metabolism, becomes the first casualty. It becomes the first thing that the body is going to go after, because these things are suppressing an appetite. So when somebody is now not eating enough and under-eating, it's the same thing. It's going for the thing that is metabolically active. Your body thinks it's starving. It doesn't know that you're on a weight loss journey. It just knows fuel is scarce. And when fuel is scarce, it starts burning through both fat and muscle.

And here's where it gets even more dangerous. Once you lose that muscle, you can't just bounce back easily. It is that much harder to rebuild, especially in menopause, especially in perimenopause, especially in post-menopause. You're weaker, you're more tired, your joints ache, your blood sugar fluctuates, and you start to feel that midlife stuckness that so many women describe, or that "I just don't feel like myself anymore."

That was what I shared with you in that episode with the Life Update. I just didn't feel like myself. I felt like something was off. And we are the ones that are the most in tune with our bodies. And when someone says, oh, it's just you getting older, it's not the case. That's not aging. What I'm describing here, that's you under-muscling. And no GLP-1 is going to fix that.

Muscle is one of the most important things that you can have on your body. Muscle is medicine, period. If you lose it, you lose your firepower. If you build it, you build your freedom and you build strength and you build longevity. So if you're thinking about going on one of these drugs, that's the conversation you should be having with yourself: how am I protecting my muscle while I'm on it? Because if you don't, it's not just a smaller number on the scale. It's a slower metabolism. And that's the real trap that you can get into. Okay.

So now I want to move past opinions for a second, because my opinion on it is that the conversation that's not being had is the muscle side of it. But to go beyond that, I want to talk about what the data is actually saying. I have done research. I have read medical studies, dove into data. There's solid research out there. There have been multiple analyses showing that up to 40% of the total weight loss on GLP-1 medications comes from lean body mass. Can you just let that sink in for a second? Four out of every 10 pounds is muscle, not fat. So 40% of the total weight loss that is happening with these medications is coming from your body's muscle mass.

If you are a woman in midlife, 40, 45, 50, where muscle loss is already happening faster due to hormonal changes, that percentage could be even higher. So yes, I will obviously not ignore the obvious. These drugs can help you lose weight. But the thing that's not happening behind closed doors or in certain conversations with doctors is that they're not telling you what kind of weight you're losing. And that matters, because your lean mass isn't just cosmetic.

It's not like, okay, I can just go get it fixed. Dude, that is your metabolic rate. That is your metabolic health. That is your insulin sensitivity. That is your blood sugar stability. That is your energy levels. That is your posture. That's your longevity. That is so much more than "I can go fix this if it gets ruined." When you lose muscle, like I said, the first thing that tanks is your metabolism. That means the minute you stop taking the drug, your appetite comes roaring back.

But your ability to burn calories has dropped drastically at this point. And this is some of the stuff that people don't think about, because again, they want the tangible thing. They want the weight loss. But they don't think about the things that happen when you take a drug. That's what it is. Point blank. It is a drug. That's why so many people gain the weight back. And often people are gaining more back. And often what studies are showing is there are so many more terrible risk factors coming with these things.

And it's not because the drug stopped working, but because, again, the metabolism got slower while people were on it. Again, something you can't see or feel, but it's happening internally. There are studies out now about this.

Not to mention, okay, this is the physical thing that's happening. Add an emotional layer to this. The mental fatigue of thinking, I finally lost the weight and I don't feel strong. I feel tired and I can't eat without gaining weight. Does that not sound like a repeatable process that has happened for so many women throughout their decades of life? It is just the same thing packaged up differently. My friends, that's so heartbreaking.

That is why you can probably feel a lot of passion coming from my words right now. I feel like I'm yelling into the microphone. I am very passionate, as are the WarriorBabe coaches and the WarriorBabe leaders, about educating women. I don't want to scare you. I don't want to judge you. Heck, I've talked to so many women that have come up to me, and I'm like, wow, you lost so much weight. They're like, yeah, I'm on Ozempic. I'm like, that's awesome. Sometimes it's not my place to say certain things. But I will ask questions, I'll get curious about their journey, and I'll educate them if they feel a certain way or if they're open to receiving the feedback.

But on this podcast, I will speak what I want to speak, and there are going to be some people that aren't going to like what I'm talking about, and that's okay. There are some people that are probably listening right now who are on these medications. I'm going to get to that in a second. And you're like, but Nikkiey. That's okay. And there are going to be some people that send this to their friends and say, girl, I want you to listen to this episode. And hopefully I can encourage or empower somebody to slowly wean off of these things.

Let me remind you and share with you that there are tons of WarriorBabes that come through our doors on these types of medications, and thank God they do, because some of them would just quit cold turkey and stop, and they'd gain that weight back, with the emotional layer I just talked about. But when they come into the program, the coach they're working with has the ability to wean them off in the right way and get them leaning on what we believe is the most important thing: the lifestyle habits. Ain't no GLP-1 going to teach you how to build habits that will sustain weight loss.

That's why I get so passionate about this. Yes, these things work. Yes, they're prescribed for certain individuals, and that should really stay the lane they're in. But they have entered into the weight loss space. They work. I've seen influencers talking about their testimonies on it, people that have struggled with cravings, and they've helped with the craving aspect. They've helped people overcome those things. But at the end of the day, they will only work if you are developing the lifestyle habits while you are using them.

So that's the conversation I want to have, but before I even get to that, I want you to understand what's happening underneath the surface. You start realizing that the real solution isn't in the shot. It is in the daily choices you make every single day. That's why I'm so passionate about this, because I feel like this is just history repeating itself, packaged up and handed out a little bit differently.

Ladies, are you feeling frustrated with body changes you're experiencing during menopause? It's time to take control. If you're between 45 and 65 years old and tired of struggling with body fat and muscle loss, WarriorBabe is here for you. At WarriorBabe, we've helped over 18,000 women just like you lose body fat, build toned muscle, and understand their bodies better with personalized plans based on hormone and thyroid testing and more. Imagine knowing exactly what your body needs to see real results, and results that last. Don't wait anymore. Take charge of your health and join our community of strong, empowered women. Visit warriorbabe.com/apply today to start your transformation. That's warriorbabe.com/apply. All right, let's get back to the show.

Okay, so the real conversation I want to have with you guys. Like I said, some of you are listening to this right now and you're on these medications, and some of you are considering it because nothing else has worked and you're tired of trying. You've seen the testimonies. You've seen people have successful weight loss. You've seen the pictures. Let me also add here: you see the pictures, but do you know what those women dealt with after the picture, or when they stopped, six months, seven months, eight months, a year after coming off of it? Some of them have success. Some of them won't, and they'll end up right back where they started or worse.

Here's the truth. There's a wrong way to use them and there's a right way to use them. The wrong way is what most people are doing right now. They start the drug, they stop eating, they skip meals, and then they celebrate this fast weight loss without understanding what's actually changing in their body. Maybe some of them have never lifted weights. Some of them stopped lifting weights because now they're too tired and they think it's unnecessary. They're like, I'm reaching the goal. I'm losing the weight. They eat maybe 600 calories a day. They're getting dizzy. They're losing muscle. They're telling themselves, I'm finally losing the weight.

But what's not happening is they're not building a better body. They're literally breaking their body down. They're breaking their metabolism down. And then when you stop the drug, again, that hunger skyrockets. It comes right back. It's just like the quick-fix fad diets of the past. Like I'm saying, they're repackaging it and selling it in a different fashion. The hunger skyrockets. You start overeating, and then that cycle begins again and again and again. The hamster wheel of being on the same freaking journey over and over again. Heartbreaking.

Let me just say something, first and foremost, to the one that's listening to this: it's not your fault that this keeps happening. That is literally just the way the body is designed to respond when it's starved and not supported in the right manner.

The right way to use these medications, if you choose to, if you are on them, is to treat them like a temporary bridge, not a destination. For example, if I go back and look at old mainstream challenges back in the day, gyms throwing out "60 days to this result" — some of that stuff is still in the space. Think of it that way. It's a temporary bridge to get that person to where they want to be.

If you choose to use it — I'm hoping and encouraging you that you don't, but if you choose to, for medical reasons, I understand that, okay? Maybe someone is 250 pounds and they're using it as a bridge, not as the ultimate end-all, be-all way they're going to lose this weight. So I understand that there are pockets of those individuals. Let that be known.

But if you choose to, and you're using it as a temporary bridge, that means you keep strength training, or you incorporate strength training two to three times per week, to protect your muscle. You prioritize eating protein. I don't care if you're not hungry. Even when you're not hungry, you prioritize eating that protein.

The main thing I want to say, as I continue on this tangent about the suppression of your appetite — I'm rubbing my head, because it's just crazy to say that the drug does that. I understand that there are people that deal with cravings. I understand that people really mentally struggle with those things. But this is what I encourage those of you who are struggling with those things to do: bring awareness to the situation while you are on this type of drug. What does that feel like for you, in your body and your brain? Mentally train yourself to recognize what that feeling feels like, so that when you come off of it, you have trained yourself, for however long, to recognize this is what it feels like, versus this is what it feels like when I have these cravings. Because then you are training yourself to be able to sustain yourself without the drug. Now you know what it feels like. You have awareness with it, okay? So, end rant on that.

Going back: please make sure you eat, even if your appetite is suppressed, even if you're not hungry. Your body still needs that fuel. Your muscle needs it. The main thing in all of this that people aren't talking about is the muscle aspect, and that's what I want to bring light to with this episode. So prioritize the protein to help you maintain and keep that muscle, and do the strength training to protect that muscle.

On top of that, make sure your calories aren't dropping too low. It's not that you stop eating or you under-eat. That is the biggest epidemic in the fitness space for women specifically: we don't eat enough food. And so there's the education around eating more food. You can eat more food and you can lose weight. It's not your responsibility to know how to do that. That's why there's WarriorBabe, a coach, a program that's going to support you in understanding how to make sure you're not dropping your calories too low.

Anyway, back onto this. The right way to use it: strength training, prioritizing your protein, making sure your calories aren't dropping too low, bringing awareness to that feeling in your body and your mind when the cravings aren't there. Focus on hydration, focus on electrolytes, focus on fiber, focus on supporting your digestion and your hormones.

Ladies, are you feeling frustrated with body changes you're experiencing during menopause? It's time to take control. If you're between 45 and 65 years old and tired of struggling with body fat and muscle loss, WarriorBabe is here for you. At WarriorBabe, we've helped over 18,000 women just like you lose body fat, build toned muscle and understand their bodies better with personalized plans based on hormone and thyroid testing and more. Imagine knowing exactly what your body needs to see real results, and results that last. Don't wait anymore. Take charge of your health and join our community of strong, empowered women. Visit warriorbabe.com/apply today to start your transformation. That's warriorbabe.com/apply. All right, let's get back to the show.

You don't just ignore those things when you are on this. And most importantly, my friends, hear me loud and clear: if you choose to do this, or you're on it right now, have an exit plan. Because staying on these meds forever is not realistic. It's not healthy for most people. You can use them strategically, maybe to break through — you're 250 pounds and you really need to lose the weight, or you need to regain insulin sensitivity, or you're battling the cravings, or, or, or. But you also want to be building the habits that make the results stick when you come off of them. Because if you're using the drug without fixing your food habits, without resistance training, without a strategy to protect your metabolism, you are not setting yourself up for success.

Yes, the medication can help you lose weight, but only your habits will help you lose the fat and keep it off. That's what makes me spiral with this, because again, people just want the quick result. I understand that. I get it. But aren't you tired of being on the same hamster wheel, just packaged up and sold to you differently?

Guys, at the end of the day, it literally just comes down to your daily habits. What got you here? What got you to being overweight? What got you to being uncomfortable and unhappy in your body? How can you change it? I know it's easier said than done, but it's a lot easier than going and putting your body on a drug.

I want to talk about things that are actually proven to work, like the framework we use in WarriorBabe. We've had people come into the program on these GLP-1s, and obviously we want them not to be, but they have the support of working with a coach. The wean-off process focuses on protein-focused nutrition, eating protein in every meal. It's not optional. That's the building block for your muscle, for your hormones, for your recovery, for your metabolism, and most women are eating half of what they need on a daily basis. You guys know that from listening to these episodes over and over again. The thing I bring up the most is that women don't eat enough in general, and women don't eat enough protein. Okay?

The next part of the framework is strength training. You don't have to live in the gym, but please do two to three focused strength training sessions a week. Focus specifically on weights and progressive overload, because that's what's going to change your body composition completely. Strength training is your metabolism's best friend.

Another thing is: stop starving. You can't shrink your way to strength. Yes, you can lose weight, but dude, you're just going to be a skinnier, fatter version of yourself. You're not going to have muscle. Under-eating is going to slow your metabolism, and it's going to trigger the same hormonal chaos that makes fat loss harder in the first place.

The other thing is bringing awareness to how you manage your sleep and your stress. You can train and eat perfectly, but if your cortisol is high and you're sleeping five hours a night, your body is going to cling to that fat. So if you're going on these drugs to lose the weight, but you have the habit of sleeping five hours a night, your cortisol is through the roof, and your hormones are in chaos, when you come off that drug, that's still going to be there. All right?

When you do these things consistently — when you focus on eating the right stuff, eating enough, getting the right protein intake, strength training, not starving yourself, managing your stress and your sleep, and bringing awareness to the habits that got you here in the first place — when you do these things consistently, your body is going to respond. And guess what? You're going to start feeling way more in control. You're going to know what's driving the progress for you. You're going to feel more energetic. You're going to feel more alive. And that's what it's really about. It's not just about the weight loss. It's about longevity, vitality, strength. Muscle, as Dr. Gabrielle Lyon says, is the organ of longevity. And the thing these drugs go after is muscle.

I feel like I'm swimming an uphill battle in the fitness industry sometimes, but believe it, I will continue to preach this truth, okay? Because here's the truth: weight loss drugs might make the journey faster. We all want to pop our body into the microwave and, 30 seconds later, out comes the body of our dreams. But they don't make it easier in the long run. Because if you skip the part where you learn how to fuel your body, how to lift, how to recover, how to show up for yourself, you're always going to be chasing the next quick fix, okay?

Again, with this episode I don't want to bring shame. I'm not anti-medication. I just believe there are conversations that aren't being had. You guys know how I feel about advocating for yourself, having education, knowing the why and the research. I'm pro-education. I'm pro-ownership, taking responsibility for where you are in your life. This is pro-you. So many of you think, with the weight gain you have or the hormonal chaos you have, that your body's broken. It's not broken. It just needs to be supported properly, in the right way, and fed and moved.

And don't even get me started on this one. If you follow me on Instagram, I posted this on my story a couple weeks ago: I was listening to the news, and now these things are being prescribed to kids. I'm just like, what? Kids? That's crazy to me. All they need to do is move their body. The world has become sedentary for the majority of people. Dude, if you just move your body and educate your kids on nutrition, learn these things yourselves and pass them down, be the role model — that's all those kids need. They don't need drugs. Isn't that crazy, when it's even said, that it's a weight loss drug? But anyway.

When you learn how to support your body in the right way — when you learn how to eat, when you learn how to train, when you learn how to live in alignment with how your metabolism actually works, recognizing that muscle is the biggest engine of your metabolic health — you'll realize you never needed a shortcut. You just needed the strategy of working out and eating better. It's literally that basic.

All right, so I knew when I sat down to record this episode that at the end of it, maybe somebody would be like, okay, I hear you and I feel you, but I'm on that right now and I don't have a wean-off process. So I wanted to gift you guys a specific program that's near and dear to my heart. If you're ready to learn how to rebuild your metabolism the right way — some of you are under-eating on this drug, and what you need to learn is how to rebuild your metabolism, retrain your metabolism, and slowly increase your calories so you don't gain weight back. If you've seen WarriorBabe success stories, go to warriorbabe.com and listen to some of them. People are eating more food and losing the weight. And I understand some of you don't know how to do that.

So I want you to start with The Ultimate Guide to Macronutrients. It's literally the foundation for everything I've talked about today. It's how you can get stronger, how you can lose fat, how you can keep it off, how you can build these habits, how you can understand nutrition, how you can eat better, how you can work out, all the things. Because the real prescription for lasting results isn't a medication. It is muscle. It is macros. It is your mindset. It is your awareness. It is you developing these things.

And I'll be the first one to tell you, all of what I'm saying here — muscle, macros, nutrition, working out — takes time. But if it was easy, everybody would be walking around with chiseled bodies, looking great. We would have a different rate of obesity in this world if it was easy. It takes time. It's not sexy to say. But if you are adamant about being healthy, and you know there are no shortcuts to being healthy, then let this be the first step you take: getting into The Ultimate Guide to Macros, or checking out WarriorBabe if you need a coach to help you along the process, okay? The link for the program is going to be in the description below. You literally have the ability to change your body, and no shot, no pill, no doctor can ever replace that.

All right, guys, that's it for today's episode. If you know a friend that needs to hear this, if you want to help them understand the education, mainly around the muscle aspect of this, the conversations that aren't happening, and also the mentality that somebody may be in, go send this episode to them. Go share it. Please, let's spread this one out there. Because if there's anything I want to be on this earth to do, it's to educate people that may not want to hear the thing but need to hear the thing, and to give them the truth around what it actually takes and requires to build a strong body, and to do it in a way that's healthy for you. Go share it with other women. Take a screenshot, put it on your story, tag me, hit me up in DMs on Instagram, whatever you've got to do. Start these conversations. All right, I love y'all, and I will see you in the next episode. Peace out.

Hey, really quick before you go, I have one small favor to ask. If this episode brought you value or sparked something in you, take just a moment to hit that review button. Your rating and review make all of the difference, helping more women discover the tools they need to transform their fitness and their confidence. It takes less than a minute, but it can change the path of someone else's journey. Thank you so much for leaving that review. I appreciate you so much.