If overweight women in their late 60s cut their daily calories by 500 and lift weights three times a week for 13 weeks, they keep more of their muscle compared to those who don’t exercise—even though both groups lose the same amount of overall weight and fat.

Even if overweight, postmenopausal women lift weights while eating fewer calories, their body’s use of protein doesn’t change much—but they still keep their muscle mass.

Doing strength exercises like lifting weights while losing weight helps keep your muscles and bones strong, unlike just walking or cycling, which can make you lose more muscle and bone.

When overweight women after menopause eat fewer calories but don’t lose weight too fast, the weight they lose from their muscle and non-fat tissue is mostly just water going out, not actual muscle or minerals—no matter if they exercise or not.

Lifting light or heavy weights to exhaustion for 12 weeks didn’t change body fat or muscle mass in women who had never lifted before.

Older women who lift weights—even just one arm or leg at a time—gain muscle and fight off the natural muscle loss that comes with aging.