Fasting Myths: Muscle Loss Misunderstood

Remember that headline that tore through your feed? “Intermittent fasting eats your muscle!”

The study looked legit, but the internet panic was all for nothing.

When you peel back the layers, the paper proves one thing: bad design makes for great

clickbait. The infamous TREAT trial claimed that fasters lost a whopping 65% of their weight

from lean mass. That’s when the media meltdown kicked off. But what the press

release conveniently forgot to mention? The protocol had zero protein targets and zero exercise

instructions. Participants could eat one bagel in their eight-hour window and call

it a day. Uncontrolled calorie cutting always chews through muscle; fasting was just