How Does Muscle Loss Happen?

Many situations such as unhealthy diets, long-term weight loss adventures and lack of physical activity can lead to unwanted muscle loss in individuals and lead to deterioration of body composition.

How Does Muscle Loss Happen?

The goal of people who follow a weight loss diet or try to lose weight with their own methods should be fat burning. In order for the weight to be lost mainly from fat mass, a healthy diet should be followed, regular exercise should be done and care should be taken to meet the protein requirement. If these precautions are not taken, the body will try to compensate for the energy deficit that occurs during the diet as a result of the destruction of muscle tissues and their use in energy production. This situation causes muscle loss, accompanied by sagging and regional fat problems in the body. Apart from visual problems, muscle loss also negatively affects health. As the body’s strength and endurance decrease, physical performance weakens, and disorders related to the functions of organs that are primarily composed of muscles may occur. In order to be protected from all these, it is essential to start working to prevent muscle loss while losing weight or to regain muscle loss if such a situation occurs.

Symptoms of Muscle Loss While Losing Weight

Experiencing muscle loss while losing weight brings with it some symptoms. Being careful about these is very important in order not to lose health while dieting. Symptoms of muscle loss while losing weight include:

• Fatigue, low energy, constant sleepiness or waking up tired in the morning
• Fatigue or weakness easily
• Negative changes in mood
• Having balance problems
• Sagging occurs in areas where muscles are densely located, such as cheeks and arm muscles
• Despite losing weight, the problem of fat in areas such as the belly and hips does not decrease sufficiently

People who experience such symptoms during the diet process or after losing weight are likely to experience muscle loss. For this reason, it would be beneficial for people experiencing such symptoms to contact a health institution, have routine blood tests and undergo a general examination. It will be easier to notice muscle loss in people who follow a diet under the supervision of a dietician, as their body composition is regularly monitored with the help of body analysis devices. People who are found to have muscle loss after a doctor’s examination or dietitian control and body analysis should start the necessary work to compensate for muscle loss.

What Causes Muscle Loss?

The weight loss process occurs when the body breaks down body tissues and obtains energy from them due to not receiving enough energy through food. Since the body’s glycogen stores will be depleted in a short time, the body’s fat tissues and muscle tissues consisting of protein are used to obtain energy, and thus, weight loss occurs day by day. Although the body’s primary preference is fat tissue, muscle loss may occur due to reasons such as following very low-calorie diets, losing weight rapidly in a short time, staying hungry by eating small meals, not protecting the muscles by doing enough exercise, and not being able to meet the protein requirement. With a correct and healthy slimming diet in accordance with healthy nutrition principles, weight loss will occur from a very high percentage of fat mass. However, unfortunately, muscle loss is very common during the weight loss process due to wrong diets and lack of a regular exercise plan. It is essential to start the weight loss process consciously by being informed about the causes of muscle loss in order to avoid this negative situation.

When Does Muscle Loss Start?

It is natural that a certain amount of muscle mass will be lost in every weight loss diet. However, an increase in this rate is definitely an undesirable situation during the weight loss process. The answer to the question of when muscle loss begins is quite variable. People who follow a very low-calorie diet or whose protein intake is not sufficient may experience rapid muscle loss even in the first days of losing weight after starting this diet. However, stopping or neglecting exercise during the diet process will also cause muscle loss. Severely reducing calorie intake to increase the speed of weight loss can be stated as another wrong behavior that will cause muscle loss to begin.

How to Compensate for Muscle Loss?

It is very important for people who experience symptoms of muscle loss while losing weight to take measures to compensate for this situation without losing their health. It is possible to compensate for this situation in people who lost muscle due to wrong practices and unhealthy nutrition. For this, first of all, health checks must be carried out. If there is no problem regarding blood values, you should consult a dietitian to obtain information about your daily protein requirement, and necessary changes should be made in your nutrition plan to fully meet this requirement. Starting to exercise regularly is a must to regain muscle loss. In order to strengthen muscles and replace lost muscle tissues, it is necessary to combine protein intake and regular exercise. In addition, if the weight loss process is to be continued, the nutrition plan should be reviewed and necessary dietary adjustments should be made with the help of a dietitian to determine the correct weight loss rate. Individuals who continue to experience muscle loss despite a correct nutrition plan and regular exercise may have a different underlying health problem. In such a case, it is recommended to consult a physician and undergo a detailed health check-up.

What Are the Foods That Prevent Muscle Loss?

One of the issues that can be taken into consideration to prevent muscle loss or compensate for muscle loss while losing weight is foods that prevent muscle loss. Foods that are natural and healthy and contain high amounts of protein are very effective in preventing muscle loss and building new muscle mass. The most important of these nutrients are:

• Egg
• Dairy products such as milk and cheese, yoghurt and kefir
• Dry beans
• Nuts such as walnuts, hazelnuts and almonds (limited amount)
• Fish and seafood

Meeting the needs of minerals such as calcium, magnesium and potassium, which play important roles in performing muscle activities, is also essential to protect against muscle loss. While implementing a healthy and balanced nutrition plan, taking care to consume sufficient amounts of the above food groups will ensure that these minerals are adequately absorbed into the body. In addition to all this, it is necessary to exercise regularly at least three days a week to avoid muscle loss. Making exercise a part of life and continuing it continuously after the diet will be beneficial for both preserving muscle mass and healthy living. If you want to lose weight and at the same time take the necessary precautions to prevent muscle loss while losing weight, it is beneficial to start a diet by consulting your doctor and dietician. . By paying attention to the suggestions above, you can protect yourself from muscle loss while losing weight in a healthy way, and if you have already experienced muscle wasting, you can start taking the necessary precautions to compensate for this situation.