Losing weight with a GLP-1? Here's how to preserve your muscle mass.

Jenn Glass has been taking a GLP-1 since last November. The 53-year-old mother of three has already lost more than 30 pounds, but she's focused on something beyond the number on the scale.

WCCO joined Glass for a DEXA scan at Human Powered Health in Edina, Minnesota. The test measures body composition, including muscle mass and visceral fat, which is stored around internal organs.

It's part of a comprehensive program through Astride Health to make sure weight loss is happening safely.

"For about 40 years, I gained and lost the same 30 pounds, probably more than a dozen times," said Glass.

Initially, the idea of taking a GLP-1 didn't fit with her beliefs.

"I'm a farm girl from southwest Minnesota and my farmer grandfather said, 'You work harder and you eat less. That's how you lose weight.' So getting into that GLP-1 conversation, I'll be honest, I really felt like it was me saying, 'I'm a failure. I can't do this by myself,'" said Glass.

But after the added symptom of increasing inflammation during menopause, she decided it was time to try something different. The program she's on includes baseline testing, body scans and a plan to protect her long-term health.

Dr. Chuck Svendsen, chief medical officer at Astride Health and former bariatric surgeon, says he's a "huge fan" of GLP-1 medications. 

"What I really want more than anything is for people to get healthy," said Svendsen.

He says losing pounds doesn't automatically mean getting healthier.

"All of weight loss involves not just losing fat but also losing muscle," he said. "So, you know, we talk about weight loss in general. What everybody means is fat loss, right? Nobody wants to lose bone mineral density. Nobody wants to lose muscle mass."

That's why he says anyone using a GLP-1 should focus on two key muscle-preserving strategies.

"If you want to keep that muscle mass, you need to move that muscle mass. So, you want to do the strength training, you want to make sure that you're getting your protein in," he said.

Glass is lifting weights and now works out five days a week. There's a family focus on eating less while increasing protein, but she says the biggest change isn't physical.

"My mindset, 100%. This is my lifestyle now. I'm not going to start again," said Glass.

For women, Svendsen says there is also power in combining GLP-1s with hormone replacement therapy. Combining them can lead to enhanced fat burning, preserved muscle mass and more energy.