Weight-loss injections have changed how a lot of people in Dubai lose weight. If your doctor has prescribed a GLP-1 medicine such as semaglutide (brand names include Wegovy and Ozempic) or tirzepatide (Mounjaro), your appetite may drop sharply and the scale may move faster than it ever has. What the scale does not tell you is what that weight is made of.
I’m Gawhar Ahmad, a licensed pharmacist and the head coach at Being Fit. Clients often message me after their first few weeks on one of these medicines with the same worry: “I’m losing weight, but I feel weaker.” This article is my practical answer, as a coach: how to train and eat so that you keep as much muscle as you can while your doctor manages the medicine.
Key takeaways
- When you eat much less, part of the weight you lose can be muscle. Training and protein are how you protect it.
- Two or three full-body strength sessions a week, plus daily walking, is a sensible starting point for most people.
- Put protein first at every meal, eat smaller meals more often if a big plate feels like too much, and drink water through the day.
- Judge progress by strength, tape measurements and body composition, not only by the number on the scale.
- We don’t prescribe, sell or supply anything. Your doctor stays in charge of the medicine.
Speak to your doctor first
Before you start a training plan, check with the doctor who prescribed your medicine that this kind of exercise is right for you, especially if you have diabetes or take other medicines that lower blood sugar. If you feel dizzy, faint or unwell during a session, your coach stops the session and we ask you to contact your doctor. Only use a medicine prescribed for you by a licensed doctor and dispensed by a licensed pharmacy.
Why muscle matters when your appetite drops
According to the NHS, these medicines reduce appetite and help you feel full for longer, and they are meant to be used alongside diet changes and exercise. When you are eating far less than before, your body does not only use stored fat. A share of what you lose can come from lean mass, including muscle. A 2024 review of GLP-1-based treatments found that the amount varies a lot from study to study.
Muscle is what keeps you strong on the stairs, steady on your feet and able to enjoy the body you are working towards. It also makes the everyday things easier: carrying shopping, playing with your children, getting up from the floor. So in my view the real goal is not simply a lower number. It is losing fat while keeping your strength, and that is the job of your training and your plate.
What I tell clients to do in the gym
A 2025 joint advisory from US medical and nutrition organisations recommended resistance training and appropriate nutrition to help preserve muscle during GLP-1 treatment. In practice, this is how we set up a plan at Being Fit:
- Two or three full-body strength sessions a week. Squats, hinges, pushes, pulls and carries, with the weight or the reps going up step by step.
- Walking and light activity on the other days. Built into your routine, not treated as a punishment for eating.
- A lighter option ready for flat days. If you feel queasy or low on energy, we swap the hard session for a walk, mobility work or a shorter workout rather than skipping altogether.
- Honest tracking. Strength numbers, tape measurements and body composition next to your weight, so we can see whether you are losing fat or muscle.
- Training where it suits you. At home, in your building gym, at a partner gym or online, at a time that suits you.
You don’t need to train like an athlete. Consistent, well-coached sessions you can keep doing beat an aggressive plan you abandon after three weeks.
Eating for strength on a small appetite
The hardest part for most people is not the training. It is eating enough of the right food when you are simply not hungry. These are the habits we build with you:
- Protein first at every meal: eggs, Greek yoghurt, labneh, fish, chicken, lentils or tofu, before the rest of the plate.
- Smaller, more frequent meals and snacks when a large plate feels like too much.
- Vegetables, fruit and whole grains for fibre and micronutrients while your total intake is low.
- Water through the day, with more on training days and in the Dubai heat.
Every Being Fit package includes a customised nutrition plan, and a qualified nutritionist / dietitian is part of our team. You log meals and daily check-ins in the Being Fit app, so your coach can adjust things week by week.
Where a pharmacist helps, and where it stops
Because I’m a pharmacist, I understand how these medicines work and which common side effects get in the way of training, such as nausea, a small appetite and low energy. That helps us plan sessions, hydration and meal timing around how you actually feel.
But Being Fit is a training team, not a clinic. We don’t prescribe, sell or supply anything. We never recommend a medicine, give advice on doses or timing, or tell you when to start or stop one. Those decisions stay with your doctor, and we encourage you to keep your doctor updated on your training.
Habits that outlast the medicine
Studies have found that weight often returns after these medicines are stopped; in the STEP 1 trial extension, people regained much of the weight they had lost within a year. However long your treatment lasts, the strength, the routine and the way of eating you build now are what you keep. That is why we design plans you can continue: realistic sessions, food you enjoy and progress you can see.
If you’d like the deeper pharmacist’s view on side effects and muscle loss, read my guide Weight-loss jabs and exercise: a pharmacist’s guide.
Prefer to train with a woman?
Deeksha and Syrine coach strength training for women, and Juanita coaches Pilates and posture. Sessions can be women-only, at home, in a private setting or online, and training is hijab-friendly. See our female personal trainers in Dubai and menopause coaching.
Using a weight-loss medicine and want to keep your muscle? Book your free trial and assessment, WhatsApp us on 058 572 2691 or see our personal training and packages pages.
Frequently asked questions
Can you train me if I’m on Ozempic, Wegovy or Mounjaro?
Yes, alongside your doctor’s care. Ozempic and Wegovy are brand names of semaglutide, and Mounjaro is a brand name of tirzepatide; all are prescription medicines. We coach your training, protein habits and lifestyle. Your doctor manages the medicine.
Do you prescribe or supply weight-loss injections?
No. We don’t prescribe, sell or supply anything, we don’t dose any medicine, and we don’t advise on starting, stopping or changing one. Please speak to your doctor about your medicine.
How many sessions a week will I need?
Most plans start with two or three strength sessions a week plus daily walking, adjusted to how you feel. Our packages include 12, 16 or up to 20 sessions a month.
What if I feel sick or tired before a session?
Tell your coach. We can swap a hard session for a walk, mobility work or a lighter workout. If symptoms are severe or do not settle, stop training and contact your doctor.
Why does a pharmacist-led team matter if you don’t prescribe?
I understand how these medicines work and which side effects affect training, so your plan, hydration and meal timing take them into account. Medical decisions always stay with your doctor.
Sources
- NHS: Semaglutide
- NHS: Tirzepatide
- Mozaffarian D, et al. Nutritional priorities to support GLP-1 therapy for obesity: a joint advisory. Am J Clin Nutr, 2025
- Neeland IJ, et al. Changes in lean body mass with GLP-1-based therapies and mitigation strategies. Diabetes Obes Metab, 2024
- Wilding JPH, et al. Weight regain and cardiometabolic effects after withdrawal of semaglutide: the STEP 1 trial extension. Diabetes Obes Metab, 2022
This article is general information about exercise and eating habits, not medical advice, and it does not recommend any medicine. Weight-loss medicines must be prescribed and monitored by a doctor. Do not start, stop or change a medicine without medical advice.
