Dietary protein intake and resistance exercise can attenuate fat-free mass and skeletal muscle loss during caloric restriction, but may not completely abrogate it.

Dose- dependent FFM retention can be achieved through increases in dietary protein intake during weight loss interventions. However, FFM losses are not completely abrogated [55], and protein intakes as high as threefold the recommended daily allowance may be required to attenuate endogenous protein breakdown that occurs during clinical weight loss trials [56]. Addition of aerobic and resistance exercise attenuates losses of FFM [44] and may even preserve age- related SMM loss from caloric restriction [57].