Does lifting actually protect muscle on this, or is that just gym talk?

Answer

The best controlled trial in the class found the exercise-plus-drug arm lost the most fat while preserving the most lean mass.

In more detail

S-LITE, a one-year Danish randomized trial, compared liraglutide 3.0 mg, supervised exercise, both combined, and placebo after an eight-week low-calorie diet. The combination arm produced the greatest fat loss with the best preservation of lean mass, and a substantially better lean-to-fat loss ratio than the drug alone. It is a single trial on an older compound in the class, and it is the strongest evidence available on the question.

Source

Lundgren et al. 2021 (PMID 33951361).

Educational use only, never medical advice. No doses.