Losing Weight With a GLP-1? Keep Strength Training in the Plan
GLP-1 medications have changed the landscape of weight loss. But losing weight is only part of the picture — preserving muscle and strength matters too.
GLP-1 medications have changed the conversation around weight loss. For many people, these medications are producing real, meaningful results that may have been much harder to achieve through lifestyle changes alone.
But we also talk to people who assume that once the weight is coming off, the “hard part” is handled. That’s the assumption we want to push back on.
Whether you’re on a GLP-1 right now, thinking about coming off one, or losing weight the old-fashioned way — through nutrition and training — there’s one piece of the plan that doesn’t change:
You need to keep training for strength.
At Excellence™ In Fitness, that’s the core idea behind our Body of Excellence™ Program. We’re not in the business of making people smaller. We’re in the business of making sure the person who reaches their goal weight can still carry groceries up a flight of stairs, keep up with grandkids, and stay independent for decades — not just fit into smaller jeans.
What Happens After You Stop the Medication
A 2026 analysis published in EClinicalMedicine pulled together 48 studies looking at what happens to people's weight after they stop GLP-1 medications. Six of those — randomized controlled trials covering 3,236 participants — gave researchers enough data to model a trajectory.
The number that jumped out: about a year after stopping treatment, people had regained roughly 60% of the weight they'd lost.
It’s important to put that number in context. It’s a modeled average from six trials, not a prediction of what will happen to any one person. And it doesn’t mean the medications “don’t work.” While people are taking them, they can produce substantial weight loss. What the research shows is that holding onto those results after treatment ends can be genuinely hard, for a lot of people.
Which raises the real question we think matters more: what are you doing during the weight loss to set yourself up for the years after it?
That's where strength training earns its place — not as a bonus once the scale hits your goal number, but as part of the process from day one.
Evidence-Based Insight
Research published in 2026 estimated that about 60% of treatment-associated weight loss was regained one year after GLP-1 medications were discontinued.
That figure is a modeled estimate from randomized controlled trials—not a prediction of what will happen to every individual.
The Scale Lies by Omission
Here's something that doesn't get said enough: losing 30 pounds isn't the same thing for every person who loses it. Some of that weight is fat. Some of it is lean mass — and lean mass includes muscle.
A 2026 meta-analysis in Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism looked at 20 randomized trials and over 15,000 participants, comparing lean mass loss across semaglutide, tirzepatide, liraglutide, and lifestyle-only approaches. On average, lean mass made up:
35.2% of weight lost on semaglutide
25.4% on tirzepatide
26.8% on liraglutide
Those are averages, not predictions for any one person, and lean mass isn't identical to muscle — but the pattern is worth noting. The lifestyle interventions in that same analysis that incorporated resistance training showed the most favorable lean-mass outcome: about 17.5% of the weight lost came from lean mass.
So the question we ask our clients isn't just "how much weight did you lose this month." It's "what did you keep." Strength, mobility, balance, and function tell you a lot more about your health than the scale does on its own.
Why This Matters More After 40
Muscle isn't about how you look in a mirror. It's what lets you get out of a chair without thinking about it, carry your own luggage through an airport, hike a trail, garden for an afternoon, or chase a grandkid across a yard. That capacity doesn't take care of itself — especially as we get older and during periods of significant weight loss, when some lean tissue can be lost along with fat.
That's why we don't wait until someone hits their goal weight to start talking about resistance training. It belongs in the plan from the beginning — GLP-1 or not.
Our coaches build each program one-on-one, around the person in front of us: their goals, their limitations, and where they're starting from. Learn more about how our private, one-on-one personal training works at Excellence In Fitness. The point was never just burning more calories. It's building something that gets more valuable every year you keep it.
“Don’t just focus on the weight you’re losing.
Pay attention to the strength you’re keeping..”
Lifting Doesn’t Just Change What You Lose — It Changes How You Lose It
A 2025 systematic review and meta-analysis in BMJ Open Sport & Exercise Medicine looked at 25 randomized trials examining resistance exercise during dietary weight loss.
The finding that stood out: adding resistance training didn’t necessarily make people lose more weight.
It changed what they lost.
Compared with diet alone, resistance training helped protect fat-free mass, increased fat-mass loss, and improved muscular strength.
Two people can step on the scale and see the same amount of weight loss — but what happened underneath that number can be very different. One may have preserved more of the tissue that supports strength and physical function.
For adults focused on healthy aging, that difference matters.
Does Strength Training Prevent Weight Regain After Stopping a GLP-1?
A well-designed randomized trial followed adults with obesity who first lost weight and were then assigned to a year of supervised exercise, liraglutide, the two combined, or placebo. Researchers then followed participants for another year after treatment ended.
The people who had participated in supervised exercise maintained their weight-loss results better after treatment ended than those who had received liraglutide alone. The combination of exercise and liraglutide also produced encouraging results.
But there’s an important distinction.
This study does not prove that strength training specifically prevents weight regain after stopping a GLP-1.
The exercise program included both aerobic and resistance exercise, and the medication studied was liraglutide — not semaglutide or tirzepatide. We don’t want to make a promise the research hasn’t actually established.
What the evidence does suggest is that building a consistent exercise habit while losing weight may give you something valuable to carry forward if your medication changes or ends.
You’re not starting over. You’ve already built the routine, the strength, and the consistency.
The Bottom Line
A GLP-1 can be a powerful tool for weight loss when prescribed and managed by your healthcare provider. Strength training serves a different purpose: helping you preserve strength, lean tissue, and physical function while your body is changing.
Whether you’re losing weight with a GLP-1, without medication, or preparing for what comes next, the goal shouldn’t be simply to weigh less.
The goal is to lose weight without losing the strength you’ll need for the years ahead.
At Excellence In Fitness, that is exactly what our Body of Excellence™ Program is designed to support: personalized, one-on-one strength training built around your body, your goals, and your long-term health.
Schedule a complimentary consultation at our Annapolis or Millersville personal training studios and discover how a personalized strength training program can help you preserve muscle, improve your health, and continue doing the things you love for years to come.
Our Commitment to Evidence-Based Information
Our Healthy Aging Insights articles are based on current evidence from leading medical organizations and peer-reviewed research. Our goal is to provide practical, trustworthy information to help you make informed decisions about healthy aging, strength training, and long-term wellness.
References
Eisa N, Barood O. Lean Mass Changes With Incretin Therapy Versus Lifestyle Intervention: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomised Controlled Trials. Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism. 2026;28(6):4818–4827.
West S, Scragg J, Aveyard P, et al. Weight Regain After Cessation of Medication for Weight Management: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. BMJ. 2026;392:e085304.
Binmahfoz A, Dighriri A, Gray C, Gray SR. Effect of Resistance Exercise on Body Composition, Muscle Strength and Cardiometabolic Health During Dietary Weight Loss in People Living With Overweight or Obesity: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. BMJ Open Sport & Exercise Medicine. 2025;11(3):e002363.
Jensen SBK, Blond MB, Sandsdal RM, et al. Healthy Weight Loss Maintenance With Exercise, GLP-1 Receptor Agonist, or Both Combined Followed by One Year Without Treatment: A Post-Treatment Analysis of a Randomised Placebo-Controlled Trial. eClinicalMedicine. 2024;69:102475.
Medical Disclaimer
This article is intended for educational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always consult your physician or another qualified healthcare provider before beginning any exercise program or making changes to your healthcare routine.