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.

When people who lift weights cut calories, men might keep more muscle than women if they eat more protein.

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.

When overweight women after menopause lose a moderate amount of weight, their muscles start making more protein—even if they don’t lift weights—because their body is trying to use food more efficiently after eating less.

In women who are overweight or obese after menopause, gaining muscle from exercise without cutting calories might actually make the body worse at handling blood sugar — so more muscle doesn’t always mean better health in this group.

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.