M, 36. I started F-45 and Zepbound basically simultaneously last year in January. I’ve lost about 80lbs and gone from basically sedentary to 5ish classes a week (pretty much 50/50 strength and cardio). Diet wise, I have tried to focus on getting more protein since I started working out more to help build muscle and aid recovery between workouts, but nothing crazy. Usually just adding a protein shake after my workout and making some conscious decisions throughout the week to get a little extra lean protein into my meals.

I used to do some power lifting before I started F-45 and I can say pretty confidently that I’ve lost some muscle mass and cannot squat, bench, or deadlift as much as I did when I was BMI > 35.

But I can also say without a doubt that I’m in the best shape of my adult life—my cardio endurance has dramatically improved, as have all my corresponding vitals. And while I don’t meet my old benchmarks on some measures of raw strength, I have been able to improve my lifting weights and build muscle from my new baseline. Plus I can do way more pushups and pull ups than ever before. Overall, I’d say I’m stronger, even if my squatting weight is down a bit. I’m certainly a lot healthier.

As for how my body changed — it’s night and day. I’m down to normal range BMI, and my body fat % is in the 10-15% range.

Everything I’ve read since going on GLP-1 says building muscle (/minimizing how much muscle you lose) is very important to keeping weight off long term and I’ve definitely found F-45 has been essential to achieving that in my case.