My Postpartum Fat-Loss Progress + 10 Science-Backed Ways to Protect Muscle

Vanessa breaks down the biggest scientific takeaways and most actionable gems from her recent conversation with Dr. Lee Breen, one of the world's leading researchers in protein metabolism, resistance training and skeletal muscle health across the lifespan. Before diving into the latest research, Vanessa shares an exciting update from her postpartum fat-loss and body-recomposition journey: she has lost five pounds since beginning her gentle fat-loss phase two weeks ago. She explains the four simple food swaps that reduced her intake by only approximately 150–200 calories per day, why the initial change likely includes water and glycogen as well as body fat, and how she is using three to four resistance-training sessions per week to gradually reveal her muscle while continuing to exclusively breastfeed baby Taylor. Vanessa also shares why she is deliberately giving herself the longest possible runway, why she does not expect to continue losing five pounds every two weeks, and why she plans to wait until Taylor begins eating solid foods before bringing Protein-Sparing Modified Fasting days back into her routine. BACK TO SCHOOL SALE! For a limited time, save 40% sitewide at ketogenicgirl.com with code BACKTOSCHOOL40, including the Protein-Sparing Modified Fasting Library, ToneLUX Red Light Therapy Collection, and Tone Breath Ketone Analyzer. Australia, New Zealand & Southeast Asia: Save 75% on available ToneLUX and Tone products during the warehouse moving sale with code WAREHOUSE75, while supplies last. One of the biggest themes from Dr. Breen's research is that losing weight and improving your body composition are not necessarily the same thing. Vanessa explores why the scale cannot tell you whether you are losing fat, water or metabolically active tissue; how much lean mass may be lost during significant weight loss; and why regaining weight after dieting or discontinuing a GLP-1 medication could potentially leave someone with less muscle and a higher body-fat percentage than when they started. She also examines how much protein may be needed to protect muscle during weight loss. Is approximately 1.4 grams per kilogram enough, or should you aim closer to 2–2.2 grams per kilogram? And how should that target change based on your body size, activity level, age and the aggressiveness of your calorie deficit? Create your own custom protein blend at truenutrition.com/vanessa and use code VANESSA for 20% off your first order. Let Vanessa know what your custom blend is! Now shipping internationally. Vanessa explains why protein and resistance training are most powerful when used together, why at least two whole-body resistance-training sessions per week can provide an effective starting point, and how training tells the body where the amino acids from dietary protein are needed. She also unpacks Dr. Breen's research comparing whey and pea protein in middle-aged and older adults. Whey produced a greater leucine response—but did that translate into more muscle protein synthesis over the complete 10-day intervention? The full results were more nuanced than a simple animal-versus-plant-protein conclusion. They also revealed something potentially even more important about the effect of resistance training on the muscle's ability to use the protein being consumed. Vanessa finishes with Dr. Breen's fascinating prehabilitation research showing that a single resistance-training session helped protect older adults' muscle during five days of bed rest, emerging evidence on whey protein and glycemic control, and the essential questions anyone using a GLP-1 medication should consider to help protect muscle and improve the quality of their weight loss. In this episode: Vanessa's latest postpartum fat-loss and body-recomposition update How she lost five pounds during her first two weeks of gentle dieting Why those five pounds are unlikely to represent body fat alone The four simple swaps that reduced her intake by approximately 150–200 calories per day Why she expects her rate of weight loss to slow from here How she is approaching fat loss while exclusively breastfeeding Why she is deliberately giving herself a longer fat-loss runway Her goal of protecting her muscle—and potentially more facial fat and collagen—this time Why she is waiting until Taylor begins solid foods before reintroducing PSMF days How three to four weekly resistance-training sessions are supporting her body recomposition Why she plans to complete another DEXA scan at the end of the process Why losing weight and improving body composition are not necessarily the same thing How much lean mass may be lost during significant weight loss Why lean mass loss is not always identical to contractile-muscle loss What may happen to bod