#157 - Why we should Focus on Building Muscle instead of Losing Weight

A common pitfall of just focusing on losing weight (especially via restrictive diets) is losing significant muscle. When we lose muscle, we lose strength, and our metabolism drops. Less muscle means we burn less calories, and are more likely to regain weight (plus a bit extra) if we end a diet and return to normal eating. Why is muscle so important for women? It helps us stay strong, functional, and capable of doing all the things we want to do in life. Muscle acts as a reservoir for sugar - it has a huge impact on reducing blood sugar levels, and therefore risk of diabetes and other diseases. Having more muscle is strongly associated with living longer and having a better quality of life. As women, focusing on building muscle won’t make us big and bulky - we don’t have the testosterone levels for that. Instead, it will improve our strength, health, and quality of life, increase our metabolism, help us ‘tone up’, and make fat loss easier. So how do we build muscle? Two key principles: protein and strength training. More info and advice is in the episode. You can also find more in my blog post: Strength Training - Why it's a Must for Women If you enjoy this podcast, please share it or leave a rating or review - it helps me reach more people who could benefit, and I really appreciate it. And if you need any help, have any questions or want to get in touch, email [email protected] Or head to my website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠hayleyplummer.co.uk⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Or come find me on social media: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠facebook.com/hayleyplummerpt/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠instagram.com/hayleyplummerpt/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠