Why Your Body Regains Fat (But Fights To Build Back Muscle)

Welcome to the positive corner of the internet. Every weekday, we help you make sense of the complex world of wellness by analyzing the headlines, simplifying the latest research, and providing quick tips designed to help you stay healthier in under 5 minutes. If you were forwarded this message, you can get the free daily email here.

Today’s Health Upgrade

• Why you regain fat faster than muscle (and what to do about it)

• Another health benefit of drinking coffee?

• Recipe of the week

• The myth of “the right path”

• Giveaway of the day

On Our Radar
Why Your Body Regains Fat Faster Than Muscle After Dieting (And How To Stop The Cycle)

Gaining fat doesn’t just feel easier than building muscle. It’s an unfortunate biological reality. 

But now, a new review digs into why the body seems almost “too good” at regaining fat, and how you can protect against it.

Scientists pulled together decades of research to explain a frustrating pattern: when people regain weight, fat recovers quickly, but muscle lags behind.

Across the studies, a trend started to appear: metabolic rate stayed unusually low even after weight was regained. In one study, participants restored 44% of lost fat but only 28% of lean mass during refeeding. In another study focused on contestants from the show Biggest Loser, contestants showed similar trends six years later, with metabolic rates still nearly 500 calories lower than expected and proportionally more fat regained.

The scientists proposed a theory still unproven in humans: during weight regain, your muscles may enter a temporary “low-power mode.” They suggest that an enzyme called D3 may reduce active thyroid hormone inside muscle, slowing its energy use. If muscle burns fewer calories and rebuilds slowly, the body has an easier time shuttling excess fuel toward fat storage.

In other words, your body tries to restore fat first, not muscle, which is why sustainable, strength-focused weight loss protects you far better than fast fixes.

Animal studies support this muscle “energy conservation mode,” though human trials have not confirmed this mechanism yet.

Even though the mechanism is theoretical, the message is practical and empowering if you want to prevent weight regain.

If you’re cutting calories, prioritize building and protecting muscle. Strength training during a deficit helps counter the lag in muscle recovery. It’s also another reason why you’ll want to avoid extreme dieting. Severe calorie cuts seem to amplify metabolic slowdown.

While most people focus on the diet itself, it’s just as important to plan for the “after” period. The months after weight loss are when your body might be most eager to regain fat, and consistent training and adequate protein could help shift the balance.

And while everyone wants to hit their goals quickly, think sustainability, not speed. Slow, steady changes protect your metabolism and your muscle.

Weight cycling — losing and regaining repeatedly — appears to raise the risk of sarcopenic obesity, where higher body fat is paired with lower muscle mass and strength. The scientists found that people with five or more weight cycles had 4 to 6 times higher risk of low muscle mass or poor grip strength.

Health
Could Your Morning Coffee Lower Your Risk of MS? 

If you needed another reason to savor your daily cup of coffee, this might be it.

New research suggests that drinking coffee may reduce your risk of developing multiple sclerosis.

Researchers analyzed 10 observational studies involving over 19,000 people to better understand the connection between coffee and multiple sclerosis, a chronic disease that damages the nervous system and disrupts communication between the brain and the body. The studies reviewed included both case-control and population-based data, making it one of the most comprehensive investigations to date on the topic.

The scientists found that people who drink coffee may be up to 58 percent less likely to develop MS, event after accounting for potential confounders, such as age, gender, and lifestyle.

Researchers believe caffeine’s neuroprotective and anti-inflammatory effects could be a reason for the connection. Caffeine can cross the blood-brain barrier and may suppress inflammatory pathways that contribute to the breakdown of nerve insulation (myelin) seen in MS. It also modulates immune system activity and may reduce oxidative stress, both of which are involved in MS progression.

If you’re looking for a cup that locks in all the health benefits of coffee and gives you access to some of the best beans in the world, we recommend Cometeer. Each cup of Cometeer coffee is precision-brewed and contains between 100 mg and 180mg of caffeine, plus more antioxidants than a handful of blueberries.

While this isn’t proof that coffee prevents MS, it adds to the growing evidence that your morning brew could have protective effects for your brain and nervous system. 

Research suggests 2 to 4 cups per day could be helpful (you need to figure out your tolerance), as long as you skip the sugar-laden extras. Science still has more to learn, but this research is another reason to keep that coffee habit brewing strong.

Pump Up Your Diet 
Crispy Sweet Potato Mash

A simple, nourishing recipe that turns a single sweet potato into a satisfying, high-fiber meal or snack.

Sweet potatoes excel at something many carbs don’t: keeping you full. Their combination of soluble and insoluble fiber slows digestion and stabilizes blood sugar, leading to steadier energy instead of spikes and crashes. That makes them a simple tool for appetite control and better workouts. This recipe can be a standalone snack, meal, or side. 

Ingredients (Serves 1)

• 1 medium sweet potato

• 1 teaspoons olive oil

• Pinch of salt

• Optional toppings: Greek yogurt, fried egg, pinch of cinnamon

Instructions

1. Cook the Sweet Potato: Pierce the sweet potato several times with a fork. Microwave on high for 6 minutes, or until fully softened. (Alternatively, if you’re patient, bake at 400°F for 45–50 minutes.)

2. Mash: Carefully cut the sweet potato open and scoop the flesh into a bowl. Mash with a fork, then mix in salt, a drizzle of olive oil, and cinnamon, if using.

3. Crisp in a Skillet: Heat a nonstick skillet over medium heat with a light brush of olive oil. Spread the mashed sweet potato into an even layer, pressing gently. Cook for 2–3 minutes per side, until golden and crisped.

4. Finish & Serve: Slide onto a plate. For extra protein, top with Greek yogurt or a fried egg. To increase the flavor and natural sweetness, add a pinch of cinnamon. 

Adam’s Corner 
The Myth Of The Right Path

I didn’t expect the moment to land the way it did.

Last week, I was in Los Angeles surrounded by the clanking of plates and the hum of nerves. We’d flown out members of The Pump Club app to train with Arnold, hear his stories, and— maybe without realizing it — continue to rewrite their own.

We’ve been encouraging all of you to bet on yourself. Because there’s something that happens when people stand in a place they’ve only imagined, next to a person whose posters once hung on their childhood walls. It becomes harder to pretend. The guard drops. The truth steps forward.

After the five members of Pump Club app worked out with Arnold, we all sat down together to eat, to reflect, and to look ahead. Everyone’s story affected me. Made me think about the different challenges we face, and how the gym truly is a space of empowerment and hope. 

Most of these conversations were not about weight loss or muscle gain, or about reps or macros. This was about the journey and the struggle. One woman, in particular, opened up about her path.

She described trying to make progress: not the shiny, linear kind we chase, but the real kind. The “one step forward and then you’re kicked in the face and thrown down the stairs” kind. 

The kind where goals don’t just feel far away; they feel like they live in another universe.

As she talked, I caught something in the corner of her voice. The top layer was filled with despair. But below the surface, the frustration was filled with confusion. As if she had been doing the “right things” and couldn’t understand why everything still felt wrong.

And I realized something I’ve seen again and again: The moment you finally step onto the right path, it doesn’t always look or feel like the right path.

In fact, it often looks like the worst possible time to be on it or the least likely way to get where you want to go. 

We’re told that when you figure things out or commit to the right behaviors, life is supposed to get better. Everything should fall into place. 

The reality? Sometimes, things get harder.
Bad luck hits.
Roadblocks appear exactly where the road was supposed to clear.

It’s easy to mistake this for failure. Or punishment. The real goal is to see beyond circumstance and understand that paving a new road while you walk it is the definition of living in a construction zone. It’s loud, annoying, and stressful. 

It’s easy to think, “If this were truly my path, wouldn’t it feel smoother? Wouldn’t the universe offer at least one sign of encouragement?”

But storms don’t clear just because you’ve decided to walk toward something better.

There’s an old idea I’ve always loved: be the buffalo. Cattle run away from storms. Buffalo walk straight into them.

The cattle end up traveling with the storm, stuck under the darkness far longer.
The buffalo meet the storm head-on.
And because storms move, the fastest way out is through.

No sideways shuffling. No circling and waiting. No half-measures.

Just one foot in front of the other, right into the thing that hurts.
It won’t feel heroic when you’re doing it.
It can feel brutal. Humbling. Lonely.

But then you reach the other side. And the air is different. And so are you.

You learn that you can survive something you once thought would swallow you. You understand that not quitting — especially when quitting feels rational — creates a kind of strength people rarely understand.

And here’s the twist:

That strength serves you not only in the next storm, but in the calm.

Because if you can apply that same honesty, grit, and consistency when life is quiet — not just when it’s falling apart — you become an unstoppable force.

The myth we tell ourselves is that when we’re doing the right things, life should get easier. It would be beautiful if that were true.

But sometimes doing the right things is simply the down payment for a future you can’t see yet. Sometimes you have to keep showing up when everything else is going wrong.
That is the quiet, unglamorous moment where things begin to turn in your favor.

Maybe not visibly. Maybe not immediately. But inevitably.

Because here’s the truth I’ve learned from battling my own demons, bouncing back from the dark and despair, coaching thousands of people, from sitting with our Pump Club members, from listening to their heartbreak, their resilience, their small victories that don’t look small up close:

Those who don’t quit can’t lose.

They may move slowly.
They may take longer than they hoped.
But they keep moving.

We are told life is about good and bad decisions. But good and bad are inevitable, and sometimes the bad is necessary to unlock the experiences that lead to wisdom and more good. 

Life is about action or inaction. The only “wrong” choice is no action at all.

Because movement — imperfect, unsteady, storm-soaked movement — eventually carries you somewhere better.

So wherever you are right now, even if it’s in the middle of a storm you didn’t ask for, keep going. Keep fighting. Keep believing, even if belief feels like a whisper.

You may not see it yet, but you are not off the path. If you can head into the storm and persevere, that’s a big step towards becoming someone who can handle the road ahead, no matter what it throws your way.

And that counts as the type of real progress that lasts. -AB

Lift Up The World 
The Peace of Mind Parents Deserve

If you’ve ever felt the weight of juggling work, family, and life, imagine doing it while wondering whether your child is safe every afternoon. For many parents, that’s the daily reality.

After-school programs don’t just help kids:  83% of parents say they give them peace of mind, and 90% say they make it possible to work outside the home.

This is the support After-School All-Stars provides in 80 cities nationwide, completely free. And 86% of parents report that their child’s confidence has grown because of it.

Every day this week, the Pump Club is pumping up After-School All-Stars by giving all of you the chance to win special gifts for donating. 

A chance to change a family’s day — and their child’s future — starts right here.

See below for today’s giveaway

—

Publisher: Arnold Schwarzenegger​

Editors-in-chief: Adam Bornstein and Daniel Ketchell