JJ Virgin4x NYTimes Best Selling Author, Certified Nutrition Specialist, Fitness Hall of Famer

Don't LOSE muscle after 35!

27 Dec 2024 · 1 min

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In this segment of her YouTube video, JJ Virgin warns that typical, poorly designed diets can cause substantial muscle loss—ranging from 25% to 50%—and that the risk escalates with age. She cites a 2009 clinical trial involving 67‑year‑old participants that compared a diet‑only group to a diet‑plus‑exercise (resistance training) group. Both groups lost similar weight and fat, but the diet‑only group lost 4.3% of muscle mass, whereas the exercise group lost only about 1%. Virgin uses this evidence to argue that anyone, especially older adults, should never embark on a weight‑loss diet without incorporating resistance training, emphasizing the importance of exercise to preserve muscle.

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When you look at the average diet out there, a poorly designed diet, it can cause anywhere from 25 to 50% muscle loss. Muscle loss gets worse as you get older. There was a 2009 clinical trial that concluded that weight loss in older adults often includes muscle loss, especially when they are just doing it through diet alone. I don't believe anyone should ever go on a diet without including resistance training. This study was a study of individuals around 67 years old, and they had diet only and diet plus exercise groups. And what they found was the diet-only and exercise groups lost similar body weight and fat, but the diet-only group also experienced significant muscle loss, 4.3%, while the exercise group preserved most of their muscle mass. They only had a 1% loss. Now, this is huge. This highlights that need for making sure that if you are ever going on a diet, you're always doing exercise. In fact, let's just say it, just always make sure that you're doing exercise, you're getting that resistance training in.