5 tips for staying lean and muscular without GLP-1
One of the first people I got to know at the gym was a thickly-set bodybuilding guy who needed help cleaning up his diet. One day, while I was in the sauna, he sat next to me, and it wasn’t long before the fitness questions started rolling in. Shortly into the conversation he got on the topic of weight loss and Ozempic. He joked that I must secretly take GLP-1 — and that’s the real reason I have abs and he doesn’t.
The truth is, while GLP-1s do help a lot of people, I don’t take them and don’t need to. Why? Well, it comes down to a few habits I have developed over the years.
Here are my tried and true tips for staying lean and muscular without the help of Ozempic, Wegovy, or whatever generic GLP-1 you can get your hands on:
Weight train consistently, especially whole body exercises 4-5/wk
Focus on low intensity cardio rather than high intensity cardio—the reason: respiratory exchange ratio. Your homework is to look this up.
Intermittent fasting (IF)—that is 8 hrs of eating and 16 hrs of not eating. Studies have shown IF benefit includes weight loss/fat loss, heart health, autophagy, improved blood sugar level, etc.
Carb-up with starchy carbohydrates every time you weight train with the carb/protein ratio of 4:1 or 3:1.
When not doing #3, eat 1.2-1.6 grams/kg/day of protein and fill 1/2 plate w/veggies (fibrous carbohydrates) in each meal.
There you have it 5 quick things you should/can do right away. Good luck with your ab project. I’ll see you in Adonisville.