By now, you’ve probably heard the buzz. Semaglutide— the drug that fuels super-popular injectable weight loss drugs Ozempic and Wegovy, along with Rybelsus, their oral equivalent —is the hottest star in the weight-loss universe. And just like any Hollywood A-lister, it’s being relentlessly dragged into the tabloids over a slew of scandals. We’ll only tackle one here: that semaglutide “causes muscle wasting.” (I’ll wait while you clutch your pearls, and perhaps pass out on your fainting couch.) OK, you awake? Let’s continue:
Semaglutide absolutely does NOT cause muscle wasting. At all.
Semaglutide absolutely does NOT cause muscle wasting. At all.
Let’s Get One Thing Straight: Semaglutide Isn’t Some Sort of Muscle-Hungry Parasite
Semaglutide works by suppressing your appetite—essentially making you feel full faster and reducing the urge to snack on half the pantry at midnight. Is it magic? Well, it certainly feels that way to a lot of people who’ve struggled with their weight. But what it’s not doing is sneaking into your muscles under cover of darkness and eating away at your hard-earned gains. The drug doesn’t come with a special “destroy muscle” button.
So why on earth are we seeing headlines about muscle loss?
Spoiler: Any Meaningful Weight Loss Can Include Muscle Loss
Here’s a newsflash: Whenever someone loses a significant amount of weight—whether it’s due to diet, exercise, that new “sleep more, weigh less” trick, or yes, semaglutide—they risk losing some muscle mass. Why? Because when you lose weight quickly, without careful attention to nutrition and training, your body doesn’t just burn through fat stores; it can tap into muscle for energy, too. This isn’t semaglutide’s fault. It’s just how human biology works. Think of muscle as the body’s favorite emergency protein source when food is scarce. If you’re not feeding it properly, it’s going to break down.
No Protein, No Problem—Wait, That’s Actually a Big Problem
The main reason people are freaking out about muscle loss is simple: hunger suppression often leads to less overall food intake. That can be a good thing if you’re aiming to shed pounds, but not if you end up skimping on protein. Protein is the building block of muscle. Eat too little of it, and no matter what weight-loss method you’re using, you’ll risk losing muscle mass. It’s not about semaglutide per se—it’s about keeping your protein intake high enough to maintain that muscle while the scale heads south.
Do You Even Lift, Bro?
Yes, that’s the other big piece of the puzzle. Strength training is crucial. If you’re losing weight—on semaglutide or otherwise—and you’re not challenging your muscles, guess what’s going to happen? They’re going to say, “Hey, since we’re not really needed around here, let’s just shrink!” The body is annoyingly efficient that way. Without resistance training, you’re essentially telling your muscles “hey, sorry, you’ve made some great contributions over the years but we just don’t need you around here anymore. It’s nothing personal, Muscles, but we’re letting you go.”
That’s a breakup letter you don’t wanna write, trust me. Continue hitting the gym consistently to strength train. If you can’t go to the gym, do the basics at home: walk with a weighted vested or loaded backpack, do squats, do pushups, do dips and pull-ups if you can find the right types of bars/rails/handles or whatever you can find. Triple-bag a Wal-mart bag then fill it with canned food/milk jugs/soda cans — anything with weight — and you can do a passable biceps, triceps and shoulders workout. Anything that gives your muscles a halfway decent pump tells your body, “Hey, we still need you around here, thanks for your service.”
Blaming semaglutide for muscle loss = blaming Viagra because you can’t get laid
When it comes to muscle loss during weight loss, pinning the blame on semaglutide is reminiscent of another taboo invention from Big Pharma. The introduction of Viagra in the 90s meant that millions of men who couldn’t previously rise to a sexual occasion now could do so once again. But it doesn’t deliver willing sexual partners to your doorstep. Let’s face it, all the Viagra in the world won’t help you find a lover if you’re an asshole — even an asshole with a very firm erection.
Likewise, semaglutide is just a tool — an incredibly effective one, sure — that gets you back into the fitness game by tamping down your body’s desire to eat as much as it did before. After it does that, you gotta choose to eat the right things, which in this case is protein, proetin, protein. Because your dietary choices and fitness habits are always what determine whether you maintain muscle mass, no matter what supplements you are or aren’t taking.
Final Thoughts: Beware the lazy media when it comes to science.
Look, it sucks to admit this, but the media is absolutely terrible when it comes to stories about research. Most reporters have zero education in how to understand and interpret research studies, and how to gauge whether they are or aren’t conclusive enough to justify writing about. It’s much easier to make a sensational assumption, throw up a sensational headline and story, and enjoy the clicks it receives (and, often, the increased pay they receive for those increased clicks). Whether it’s misleading, counterproductive, or an outright lie, rarely enters the equation, sadly.
Semaglutide isn’t a muscle-sucking vampire lurking in the shadows of your biceps. It’s a medication that helps control your appetite so you can lose weight more effectively. If you’re mindful—eating enough protein, doing some strength training, and not falling for every clickbait headline—you’ll protect those muscles.
In other words: Calm down, lift weights, eat protein, and whether you’re using semaglutide or not, you’re far more likely to look like the after pic than the before pic above.
