A low-carb diet can help you lose weight quickly, but one downfall is its ability to drain your body of metabolism-revving muscle. Luckily, new research reveals that there is something you can do to combat this side effect.
A study published in the European Journal of Applied Physiology found that high-intensity training reduces the muscle loss usually related to a calorie- and carb-reduced diet. Researchers found that four-minute intervals of intense exercise (10 in total, with several minutes of rest between) helped maintain lean muscle — allowing the study's subjects to hang on to more of their muscle than those who were only on a diet. Learn these key points before tackling your own high-intensity routine: