What if your weight loss efforts were actually working against you? Terrible, right?! In this episode, I break down the hidden dangers of traditional weight loss strategies and ways to shift your focus to improving your body composition over weight loss to achieve the results you want.
Weight loss has become synonymous with being really healthy but there’s more than meets the eye here. Skinny does not automatically indicate health! It's so important to learn how to lose weight while protecting your muscles or else they may shrink in the process. I explain the two categories of weight loss and how we can change the conversation around it to be more effective.
Once you understand that not all weight loss is good weight loss, you can really begin to see how not all calorie deficits are the same. I explain what happens when muscle gets destroyed. Once you begin to experience weight loss, it's so important to not back down from workouts but to keep pushing. I talk through the risks of homeostasis on your brain and body during this process. If you follow my strategies for calculating your ideal calorie deficit, I promise you that weight loss can be comfortable and straightforward!
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Transcripts
Holly Perkins:
A study published in the journal Nutrition Reviews concluded that, on average, 11 to 24% of weight loss mass is attributed to a reduction of lean tissue—that's muscle. With that comes the negative consequence of reduced metabolic rate, which in turn increases the likelihood of regaining body mass, mainly in the form of increased body fat.
Holly Perkins:
What if your weight loss efforts were actually working against you? The truth is, focusing on the scale alone can lead to muscle loss, a slower metabolism, and long-term weight regain. In this episode, we're breaking down the hidden dangers of traditional weight loss strategies and how to shift your focus to body composition for lasting results. So keep listening.
Holly Perkins:
Hello and welcome! I am so glad that you're here. If you are new, welcome. I'm Holly Perkins, and after 30 years in practice, I know a few things about helping you become stronger and leaner so that you can feel better now and age well tomorrow. If your goal is to lose weight, today's episode is going to help clarify something so that you become better along the way—not just smaller. For the most part, we, as a society, tend to view weight loss as a good thing, as worthy of celebrating.
Holly Perkins:
Somehow, it has become synonymous with health, and the truth is, that could not be further from the truth. I will agree that many women love the feeling of being skinny—I know I do. I love when I feel small and tight and lean. I love the feeling when my clothes are a little bit big, I do. And if we set aside the internal excitement, the joy, the emotional aspect of losing weight, it's really helpful to look at weight loss with a more objective filter because weight loss does not equate to an improvement in health.
Holly Perkins:
You might think that—the media certainly leads us to believe that—and losing 10, 20, or even 30 pounds does not mean that you'll be healthier. It's not a given. It can mean that if you do it right and if you do it in a way that protects your muscle because your muscle is your metabolism. That all being said, we do have an obesity epidemic here in the United States. It's actually really easy to be classified as obese. I think a lot of people hear that word and think it means morbidly obese, where you are 50, 60, or 100 pounds overweight.
Holly Perkins:
And that's not true. Obese, depending on which classification you go with, can either be 30 to 35% body fat, which, oh, by the way, is not that much. It's actually really easy to get into the territory where you're at an increased risk of disease because of your body fat. So, it might be a very health-positive thing for you to lose weight because of this. I tend to think of weight loss in two different categories.
Holly Perkins:
The first is weight loss for appearance purposes—because you want to look better, you want to feel leaner, or you want to be more fit. In this case, it's not really about a true threat to your health. It's really more about feeling better and reinforcing your health in the future. Here, weight loss is really to make your life better on a number of levels, and I very much support this motivation.
Holly Perkins:
There is no better feeling than when you feel tight and lean and strong, and you just feel good in your body—no matter what that body weight is. It really is the best. Now, the second category is when your body weight and body fat have reached a worrisome level where you're at risk of disease.
Holly Perkins:
This is usually when your body fat is above 30% and/or your doctor has said that you have some health markers that indicate diabetes or other disorders that are linked with lifestyle and body fat. Two different motivations to lose weight, right? One is very important, and one is respectable. Both motivations
Holly Perkins:
are legit. In my opinion, what needs to change is how we think about it and how we talk about the phrase "weight loss." That is why I encourage my community to:
Change your language to say, "My goal is to achieve a lower number on the scale." You could even say, "My goal is to become healthier, and that means I want to become more muscle and less fat."
Keep an eye on the scale, but focus more on improving your body composition so that you're at least 70% muscle.
If you just change the way you're framing it in your mind, it makes all the difference. The reason why I harp on this so much is because we know that weight loss comes with muscle loss—it just does—and that's a tragedy. It's something that we have to avoid, and I'm here to help you avoid that, especially if you're on a weight loss journey.
Holly Perkins:
Because what is the point of losing weight if you're losing muscle? Think about that for a moment. It can't be weight loss at all costs. It's got to be quality weight loss so that you're actually getting better. You may be tempted to think that if you lift weights during this weight loss phase and effort, you'll be fine. And, as you'll see in a moment, that's not true either.
Holly Perkins:
Weight loss is actually very tricky business, and I would argue it's why I'm in business. While I'm an advocate of helping you improve your body composition—and I hope someday you just stop worrying about the scale—that's the ideal scene. I know that the vast majority of women come to me because they want to be more muscle and less fat. A lot of times, that does mean a lower number on the scale. So I know this business. And guess what? The weight loss industry was estimated to be $163
Holly Perkins:
billion in 2024. I would argue it's even more than that, but that includes weight loss programming, supplements, medications, and equipment like gym memberships or gym equipment in general. It's not easy to lose weight, and that is why this industry is so big. And it's not easy to preserve or build muscle when you're in a weight loss phase.
Holly Perkins:
Most of the time, with weight loss comes muscle loss—almost always. I know this because I'm on this side of the desk, and I'm looking at DEXA scans of all of my clients. I know the frequency where weight loss also comes with muscle loss. I would argue it's about 40% of my clients—40% where they lose muscle if we're not really, really careful.
Holly Perkins:
So, if you're not working with a coach, the odds are even greater that if you're going to lose weight, you're probably going to lose some muscle along with it. This is why losing weight can make you weaker. In this episode, you'll learn:
The biggest myths about dieting and weight loss and why the scale isn't the best measure of success.
How losing muscle slows your metabolism and makes it harder to keep fat off in the long term.
Why calorie restriction alone often leads to weight regain and what to do instead.
You'll hear the role of strength training in preserving lean muscle while also shedding body fat and smart nutrition strategies to fuel fat loss without sacrificing strength.
Holly Perkins:
This triggers the body to use stored energy to meet its daily energy needs to keep you up and about, moving throughout your day. Your fat cells release triglycerides, which are broken down into glycerol and fatty acids, and those are then burned off for energy when you're in a calorie deficit. That's the whole burning fat concept. If your calorie deficit is too big, you run the risk of breaking down protein along with that fat through a process called proteolysis.
Holly Perkins:
It's when your body must break down protein to support the process, and that means that you're destroying valuable muscle. As muscle gets destroyed, two things happen. Number one, your metabolism slows, either temporarily or long-term. And this is surprising to a lot of people. Temporary slowing of your metabolism is a normal part of the weight loss process. This is where a lot of people get it wrong. They start to see and feel the symptoms of the downgrade in their metabolism, and then it tends to lead to behaviors that slow the weight loss.
Holly Perkins:
But once you understand it, you can work with it, and this is part of your body working to maintain homeostasis. As you lose weight, there's a downgrading in your metabolic rate, but if you ride it out, it will bounce back. But if your calorie deficit is too large or too prolonged, you can lose enough muscle that it permanently slows your metabolism. If you're breaking down that muscle and not building it back, there is going to be a reduction in basal metabolic rate.
Holly Perkins:
This makes it harder to keep fat off long-term because now your basal metabolic rate is lower, which means you need fewer calories during the day to stay alive but also to go about your day. You need fewer calories each day, and therefore, it makes it even easier to eat more calories than you need in a given day or week because now you need fewer calories. Muscle loss literally makes it easier to gain weight. And the second thing that happens is when muscle gets destroyed, you get weaker.
Holly Perkins:
That makes sense, right? I don't think I have to explain it. When you lose muscle, you're going to get weaker because muscle is what makes you strong. Less muscle means less ability to generate force, and therefore, you don't have the muscle fibers to push and pull against heavy objects all day long. This is exactly why the elderly get so weak—because of sarcopenia, the muscle loss that happens simply from aging. They lose the strength to simply be able to stand up out of a chair. It's terrible, and we don't want that to happen.
Holly Perkins:
The solution here is twofold. It seems obvious, but when you're in a weight loss phase, you have to put even more attention and effort into your strength workouts. You've got to put more love into the effort. Consistent strength workouts will, at the very least, limit muscle wasting, and if you push a bit harder, you can build muscle in a calorie deficit. It's not easy, but absolutely doable.
Holly Perkins:
There is one problem to be aware of, but I'll cover that in a moment. So not only do you have to be lifting every week, but you also have to be putting in extra effort in order to actually build muscle. And number two, you've got to pay attention to your daily energy intake, which is calories. I know it's a dirty word, but it's happening whether you're paying attention to it or not, and you have to make sure that you get about 25 to 30%
Holly Perkins:
of your daily calories from protein. Because of a calorie deficit, it is harder to make sure that you're getting the bare minimum of protein simply because you're eating less. And this is where it gets a little bit tricky because you need more protein, but you don't want to overlook carbs either.
Holly Perkins:
So what I see sometimes with people is their calories are really low, so they just eat more protein, and while that's certainly better than under-eating calories and under-eating protein, then it becomes a problem because you're not getting enough carbohydrates. And guess what? Surprise—carbohydrates are actually very important for building muscle and keeping your metabolism strong.
Holly Perkins:
When you're in a calorie deficit, the wiggle room is smaller, and you can't really afford to get lazy with your tracking of your food each day. It's like the stakes are higher because you have less to play with. If there are fewer calories, you now have to be really conscientious, really smart to make sure you're getting that bare minimum protein to trigger muscle synthesis. Another mistake to avoid that could make you weaker when you lose weight is the subtle and sneaky accumulation of fatigue that subconsciously causes you to either work out less or work out less hard.
Holly Perkins:
With weight loss comes additional general fatigue. And the last time I checked, we don't have a shortage of fatigue around here, certainly in my community. And so if you're someone who's already tired all the time, weight loss adds to that. It's just part and parcel of the process. It's pretty hard to avoid it. And depending on how big your deficit is, this fatigue can either be significant and apparent, making it really hard to work out, or most of the time, it's subtle, where you just don't feel like you have the juice to push during a workout.
Holly Perkins:
And maybe, maybe it's even out of your awareness. But if you stop and look at it, you realize, yeah, I haven't been going after my workouts. I haven't been going in there supercharged like a beast and enthusiastically working out. It's like I'm kind of just phoning it in. Your inner talk might say you're being lazy or you're not pushing yourself, but what I believe is that homeostasis is subtly brainwashing you to exert less so that you expend fewer calories.
Holly Perkins:
This is one of the ways homeostasis prevents weight loss. You've got to stay conscious of this because it's really easy to start skipping your workouts, especially when you see the scale go down. The worst scenario is you start to lose some weight, so you feel successful, and you get some of that sneaky fatigue. Your motivation and excitement about your workouts go down, and then you start to skip your workouts. Or, like I said, you start to phone them in, and you're not really challenging yourself during your workout.
Holly Perkins:
Hey, I've said it on this podcast a number of times, but if you haven't heard it, the point of any given workout is not to burn calories. The goal of your workout is not to lose weight. The goal of your workout is to stimulate your body so that when you go home and sleep, it recovers and becomes a more powerful machine. It becomes an engine that burns hot, and that is the goal of your workout.
Holly Perkins:
So if you go into your workout with that intention, then it's about pushing yourself. Now, I'm not talking about "no pain, no gain." I'm not talking about beast mode, but you do have to go in and push yourself 20% beyond where you currently are today—20% more than you feel like, pushing yourself 20% more weight on the leg press machine. You've got to push beyond where you are so that your body will adapt and become better.
Holly Perkins:
And again, this is why I don't love the phrase "weight loss" as the goal, because as soon as you start to see progress, as soon as you start to see the scale move downward, you're going to start to feel successful—as you should, well deserved. But there is a tendency then to let up on your efforts, and usually, that takes...
Holly Perkins:
The form of letting up on your commitment to your exercise and/or how hard you're challenging yourself in your workout. And this happens even more if you're tired. If you're tired from the weight loss, you're less likely to show up for your workout or to push yourself to the degree that you actually become better.
Holly Perkins:
Now, listen, I'm speaking from experience. After being in the coaching chair for 30 years, I see this all the time in my coaching practice. Women are complicated, and it's an odd trick that the brain plays on you where, because you're winning, you don't push forward to the degree that you need to in order to really create permanent body change. It's really important to watch your psychology and your inner conversations, if you will, because your brain will play tricks on you in an attempt to prevent weight loss.
Holly Perkins:
This is homeostasis at play. On a very deep and mysterious level, your body wants to avoid weight loss at all costs because, on some level, it's a threat to your survival. Now, we know that's not actually true. We know that if you lose five or 10 or 20 or 30 pounds, chances are you're not really at risk, or the threat to your survival is not there, right?
Holly Perkins:
You're not going to die because you lose 10 pounds. But on a biological level, to the human species and homeostasis, all it knows is calorie deficit means we are not getting the calories we need to maintain the status quo. So there are two things to do in order to avoid the muscle loss and weakness that tends to come with weight loss.
Holly Perkins:
Number one, stay conscious of cumulative fatigue and show up for your workouts and push forward, even if you don't wanna. You may have to push harder than usual because you have to override the metabolic slowing from the weight loss. And so if you're someone where it already takes a lot for you to rally and show up for your workout, now you've got this added element where it's even harder to do that. I believe this is one—let's call it psychological or psychosocial—reason why weight loss is so hard. It takes a lot to motivate some days, it really does.
Holly Perkins:
Number two, keep an eye on your daily caloric intake and make sure that your calorie deficit isn't too big. Just so we're crystal clear here, you have to be eating less than you're expending. Or say it another way, you have to expend more energy than you take in, and that creates your calorie deficit. The calorie deficit could be 100 calories, it could be 1,000 calories. And oh yes, I've been there before, and it is not fun.
Holly Perkins:
While we could get really fancy here with some numbers, and I could sound real smart and scientific with all these wild calculations to figure out your calorie deficit, it's actually not that hard. And I'm going to give you two simple ways to do it. The first: multiply your current body weight by the number 10 and by the number 12. This is going to give you a range—two numbers—and this is your ballpark range for daily calories to aim for each day.
Holly Perkins:
And when you do this, you will be in a mild to moderate, safe calorie deficit, depending on how accurately you're actually tracking your calories, right? Some people don't want to track their calories, and that's totally okay. You'll just have less accuracy to this calorie deficit. And I would argue—I do argue, not would—that changing your body is actually so much easier if you know what your numbers are. If you are really conscientious and strategic and objective about where your calories are coming from and how you are fuelling your body...
Holly Perkins:
If you get good at that, changing your body, honestly, is a piece of cake. It's comfortable, it's easy. You will succeed faster than you ever have. I could go on and on, and the world has this immediate negative reaction to tracking their food and their calories. If you want to change your body, do yourself a favor. Get your journal out and have a conversation with yourself. Because if you'll just start to reframe how you look at the calories and the energy that you're giving your body each day—oh, it's the biggest gift. It's going to be so much easier for you to get the results that you want.
Holly Perkins:
You need to keep going to the finish line. If you're getting results, keep going. Don't change a thing. You'll know you're on the right track if you see signs of progress every two weeks, and I promise you can do it. I hope you enjoyed this episode, and I hope that you will stay tuned for another brand-new episode on Tuesday of next week. Stay strong, my friend.
