Muscle Plan
by Strong Mornings See our plans

How the plan works

A plan for eating and moving while you lose weight on medication, and after. Not medical advice: keep your prescriber's advice. 18+.

Why muscle

Weight loss, on medication or not, can include muscle. In the STEP 1 body-composition data, 5.3 of 13.6 kg lost (38%) was lean mass, which also counts water and organs; about half of lean mass is muscle [1]. In SURMOUNT-1, about a quarter of the loss was lean, the same share as placebo [2]. Studies range from 15% or less to 40-60% [3]. People on these medications eat 16-39% less [1], and in one study only 43% reached 1.2 g of protein per kg [5]. Muscle mass falls about 3-8% per decade after 30, faster after 60 [7].

Your protein target

1.2 to 1.6 g of protein per kg is proposed during weight loss [1] and is the range in the Dietary Guidelines 2025-2030 [12]. We use your weight, or an adjusted weight when yours is over 1.15 times the ideal weight for your height (Devine formula; adjusted = ideal + 0.4 x the excess) [18], because actual weight can overestimate need [1]. Your target is 1.2 g per kg, or 1.6 if you already do strength work twice a week; never over 2.0 or under 0.8 g per kg; rounded to 5 g.

With kidney disease the right amount is different and needs your doctor [17]: the check gives no target then.

Quick foods (standard USDA values): 2 eggs 12 g, Greek yogurt 3/4 cup 17 g, cottage cheese 1/2 cup 12 g, chicken 3 oz 26 g, salmon 3 oz 22 g, tuna 3 oz 20 g, protein shake about 25 g (check your label), milk 1 cup 8 g, string cheese 7 g, beans 1/2 cup 7 g, firm tofu 3 oz 12 g, turkey slices 2 oz 10 g. The check adds 5 g for each meal for the rest of the plate.

Strength

The US guideline is muscle-strengthening work on 2 or more days a week, all major muscle groups [13]; the 2025 joint advisory suggests 3 times a week, and says protein alone is likely not enough [1]. In diet trials of older adults, adding resistance training prevented most lean-mass loss [14][15]; trials on medication with training are still running [16]. Our 2 sessions use 6 moves each with a chair, a wall, a stair and water bottles, and grow from 2 sets of 8 to 3 sets of 12 over 12 weeks.

The habit score

Five factors from your answers, each shown on your result: protein gap (2 points from 25% under target, 1 from 10%), no strength work (2) or once a week (1), losing over 1% of your weight a week (1), age 50 or over (1), stopping soon or stopped (1). High is 5 or more, Moderate 3-4, Lower 0-2. It is a habit score, not a medical test.

Coming off

In the STEP 1 extension, two-thirds of the weight lost returned in the year after stopping [9]; in SURMOUNT-4, stopping led to about 14% regain over a year [10]. Most adults stop within a year [11]. The plan keeps protein, strength and activity in place before, during and after, and sends you to your prescriber for every medication decision. It promises no result.

Who does what

We are product designers and engineers. We read the sources below and built the rules, the moves and the menus into the app; the recipes and menus were drafted with an AI writing model and checked by us against USDA values. The spoken cues in sessions are a synthetic voice. No doctor or dietitian reviewed this plan, and nothing here replaces one.

Sources

  1. Mozaffarian D et al. Nutritional priorities to support GLP-1 therapy for obesity: joint advisory (ACLM, ASN, OMA, TOS). Am J Clin Nutr, 2025.
  2. Look M et al. Body composition with tirzepatide in SURMOUNT-1. Diabetes Obes Metab, 2025.
  3. Neeland IJ et al. Changes in lean body mass with GLP-1-based therapies. Diabetes Obes Metab, 2024.
  4. Wilding JPH et al. Semaglutide and body composition: STEP 1 analysis. J Endocr Soc, 2021.
  5. Johnson B et al. Suboptimal protein intake while using GLP-1 RAs. J Int Soc Sports Nutr, 2025.
  6. Report of an app study on protein intake, 2026 (primary not read).
  7. Muscle tissue changes with aging. NIH PMC review.
  8. GLP-1 RA therapy and skeletal muscle in older adults: narrative review, 2026.
  9. Wilding JPH et al. Weight regain after withdrawal of semaglutide: STEP 1 extension. Diabetes Obes Metab, 2022.
  10. Aronne LJ et al. SURMOUNT-4. JAMA, 2023.
  11. Rodriguez PJ et al. Discontinuation of GLP-1 RAs among US adults. JAMA Netw Open, 2025.
  12. Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2025-2030. USDA and HHS, 2026.
  13. Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans, adults. CDC.
  14. Sardeli AV et al. Resistance training prevents muscle loss induced by caloric restriction. Nutrients, 2018.
  15. Villareal DT et al. Aerobic or resistance exercise, or both, in dieting obese older adults. NEJM, 2017.
  16. ClinicalTrials.gov NCT06885736: lean-mass preservation with exercise and protein during therapy.
  17. KDOQI commentary on the KDIGO 2024 CKD guideline. National Kidney Foundation, 2024.
  18. Adjusted and ideal body weight (Devine). GlobalRPH.

Not affiliated with any drug maker. Photos: credits.