The short answer is No. And we have 133lbs of client data to tell you why.
This week at Cobra Command in Basehor, we are doing a lot of talking about nutrition coaching. We have a 90 Day Nutrition Cycle starting on Tuesday, Sept 8th, so a lot of questions are being asked. So, I pulled some awesome data to help you understand weight loss, and what it means to you.
You’ve probably heard that losing weight means losing muscle along the way. And sadly, that is usually true. But it doesn’t have to be. With the right coaching, then right measurements, that doesn’t have to happen.
When somebody drops weight without nutrition support (coaching or a dietitian), 20 to 30% of what comes off tends to be lean mass. Muscle. The stuff that actually fires your metabolism up, keeps you strong, and keeps you independent as you get older.
So you end up lighter (yeh!!)… But you also end up weaker. And when the weight yo-yo’s back a year later… the muscle doesn’t tend to come with it.
That’s the trap. And it’s exactly why we track body composition instead of the number on a scale.
What We Actually Measure
Every nutrition client at Cobra starts their custom journey with an InBody scan.
It splits your weight into skeletal muscle mass, body fat mass, and body water. So we can see what’s really changing instead of guessing at it. It also gives us an amazing baseline to adjust not only your nutrition, but your fitness goals as well.
The most magical thing that we get from the InBody Scan is your basal metabolic rate. This is the bare minimum caloric intake you need to be alive. We use that to ensure we are fueling you for your life, your workouts and to determine what will work the best for your body on this journey.
Here’s what it actually looks like for 4 of our clients.
CHRISTIE is 54 Years Old. In 13 months she went from 210 pounds to 184. Her body fat dropped from 45% to 36%… and she GAINED muscle while she did it.
STEPH is 34 and was already fit and active before she started. She went from 164 to 144 in 10 months. Body fat from 35% down to 23%. She gained close to 2 pounds of skeletal muscle.
KARA is 29 and had the most to lose. Body fat from 48% to 38%. Across 52 pounds of total loss she only gave up 2 pounds of muscle.
JENNA is 37 and has been at this the longest. She lost 36lbs over three and a half years. Body fat from 36% to 23%. And she maintained her muscle mass and became a resident badass in the process.
Add all four together.
They lost 133 pounds between them. 129 of those pounds were fat.
That’s 97% fat loss.
Now compare it to the 70 to 75% you’d expect from dieting on your own, and you can see what the coaching is actually doing here. It isn’t making anybody lose faster. It’s making sure the right thing comes off.
Why Muscle Is the Whole Game
Your muscle is your metabolic engine. It’s what burns calories while you sit still, what keeps your bones dense, and what lets you carry groceries and get off the floor at 70.
Lose it and everything gets harder. Your metabolism drops, so you have to eat less just to stay the same size. You get weaker. And the next time you try to lose weight it’s harder than it was the time before.
That’s why so many people feel like every attempt is worse than the last one. Because it is. They’ve been quietly dismantling their engine for years.
So What Makes the Difference?
3 things make the biggest difference:
Enough protein. Most people trying to lose weight are eating about half of what they’d need to hold onto muscle.
Enough food. Aggressive calorie cuts strip muscle fast. Slow and steady isn’t just gentler on you, it protects the exact thing you’re trying to keep.
Strength training. Not more cardio. Lifting is what tells your body that muscle is still needed.
All four of those women trained while they lost. And sceince is proving that strength training isn’t optional.
Want to see what your numbers look like?
Our 90 Day Nutrition Cycle starts the week of September 8th and runs through the first week of December.
Nutrition coaching is $89 every 2 weeks. Same price whether you already train at Cobra or you’ve never set foot in the building.
Want the training too? Nutrition PLUS unlimited CrossFit is $170 every 2 weeks. If you’re already a member that’s just an upgrade to the Founders Membership. If you’re new, there’s a one-time $388 to get started, which covers 4x 1:1 Fundamentals sessions (to help you learn proper form & technique) and your first nutrition block.
Either way you get a plan built for your body, weekly coaching and accountability, and InBody scans so you can actually see what’s changing.
And at the end of the 90 days, you choose. Keep going, or move to whatever membership fits your life from there. Our goal is that you walk out knowing how to do this on your own.
Book a No Sweat Intro at Cobra Command in Basehor and we’ll get you scanned.
-Jill