This story mentions GLP-1 drugs, which are FDA-approved for weight management in adults diagnosed with obesity or with overweight and at least one weight-related health condition. For your safety, only take medication that has been prescribed to you by a licensed health care professional and dispensed by a state-licensed pharmacy.
The recent protein hubbub is teetering on overblown—not every snack food needs to be jacked up with the stuff. But there is one group of people who should pay extra attention to protein: those who take GLP-1 drugs (like Ozempic and Mounjaro for type 2 diabetes and Wegovy and Zepbound for weight management).
The way these drugs work, in part, is making you feel full quickly, so you wind up eating less, which is what spurs weight loss. And when you “shrink your overall food budget,” there are fewer opportunities to fit in key macros like protein, Dominique Adair, MS, RD, a registered dietitian and clinical director at weight-inclusive health care company Knownwell, tells SELF.
Falling short on protein can be especially problematic for folks on GLP-1s because around 25% of the pounds shed on these drugs, on average, consists of muscle and lean body mass, JoAnn E. Manson, MD, DrPH, chief of the division of preventive medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, tells SELF. And protein is the most important nutrient for combatting such loss. Read on to learn why loading up on protein is so critical for GLP-1 users, how much you should aim for, and tips for fitting it into your diet.
While some loss of muscle mass is bound to occur with dropping pounds on a GLP-1, if you’re not supplying your body with substantial protein, you’re at risk of losing even more of this essential tissue. A dip in muscle mass translates to less strength and stability, which doesn’t just limit what you can do in the gym, it can affect your health down the line, “threatening your mobility and putting you at greater risk of falls and fractures,” Dr. Manson says.
Beyond keeping you physically stable, muscle is also the main tissue that soaks up glucose (a.k.a. sugar) from your blood, helping boost your glucose tolerance and ward off metabolic conditions like type 2 diabetes, Dr. Manson points out. It’s a big reason why she also emphasizes staying active while on a GLP-1, especially fitting in at least 30 minutes of strength training two to three times per week—for stronger muscles and insulin sensitivity.
Plus, an ample supply of muscle is key to a well-functioning metabolism and in turn, weight maintenance, Jennifer Lynn-Pullman, RDN, a registered dietitian and manager of clinical dietetics at Vida Health, tells SELF. So, if you don’t eat enough protein to keep your muscles strong, your metabolism could take a hit, making it tougher to maintain weight loss long-term.
Experts recommend aiming for 1 to 1.5 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight each day, or about 0.5 to 0.7 grams per pound. So a 150-pound person on a GLP-1 would need 75 to 105 grams of protein a day; a 200-pound person would need 100 to 140. That’s around 50% more protein per day than the recommended dietary allowance (RDA) for a typical non-GLP-1-user. (People who exercise regularly or are over age 60 are also advised to take in more protein than the average person because protein is essential for muscle recovery and older folks tend to lose muscle mass faster than younger people.)
Getting that much protein generally requires eating it at every meal and snack. A high-protein breakfast might look like two to three eggs, perhaps with cheese folded in (because, yes, cheese is itself a great protein source), or a bowl of Greek yogurt topped with nuts—each of these nets out to around 15 to 25 grams of protein. For lunch or dinner, incorporating a piece of chicken, salmon, or beef could get you upwards of 30 to 40 grams of protein; Adair says a deck-of-cards-sized chunk of meat or fish is about 20 grams, for reference. Tinned fishes like tuna, sardines, and anchovies can also contain 20 or more grams (and there’s plenty of non-sandwich ways to eat them). And working nuts (and nut butters), seeds, and other high-protein snacks into your daily rotation can get you the rest of the way there.
What if you’re vegan or plant-based? It’s trickier to hit that 75-plus grams of protein recommendation, but with some planning, the experts say it’s doable. Adair suggests focusing bigtime on legumes—like beans, peas, lentils, edamame, and peanuts. Other vegan protein sources like tofu and tempeh also make for great meat substitutes (and serve as blank canvases for flavor). And don’t forget about high-protein grains like oats and quinoa. You may have heard that all of these plant proteins aren’t complete proteins like the animal ones, meaning they don’t contain all nine essential amino acids; this is largely true, but they all generally lack just one or two of them—and not the same ones. So eating a wide variety of them can give you the equivalent nutrition as complete proteins.
1. Find protein-rich foods you actually enjoy.
It can be tough to take down 75-plus grams of protein daily when your appetite has been slashed by a GLP-1. Trying to hit that goal with foods you don’t really like will just make it more of a chore, Adair says. She often encounters clients who are choking down chicken breast or tofu or powering through meal replacement drinks without pausing to consider if there’s a more pleasant way. “The habit is more likely to stick and your quality of life will be better if you take some time to experiment with protein and find the things you like,” she says.
2. Break it up throughout the day.
The more you spread out your protein intake, the easier it may be to fit it all in. Lynn-Pullman encourages clients to experiment with having five or six smaller protein-rich meals throughout the day. Eating a little bit every couple of hours, including 30 to 45 minutes after any workout, can help you avoid that uncomfortably full feeling, she says.
3. Eat the protein first in each meal.
Filling up on starchy components of a meal like pasta, bread, or potatoes can make it harder to stomach the protein afterward, Lynn-Pullman points out. So she encourages her clients to focus on the protein source first. With sandwiches and bowls, this may be trickier, but the point is to be strategic about your order of operations, if you can.
4. Separate your food and drink intake.
When you’re on a GLP-1, your stomach empties more slowly. So if you chug a beverage right before eating or continually drink one as you nosh, the liquid may wind up competing for real estate in your stomach with the food, making it tougher to eat a full meal’s worth of protein, Lynn-Pullman says. Hence why she recommends separating your food and fluid consumption throughout the day. If you feel the need to wash a bite down, it’s okay to take a small sip, she says, but generally focus on hydrating more outside of mealtimes.
5. Supplement with protein powder or premade protein shakes.
As with any other nutrient, protein is best consumed in whole foods, where it naturally exists alongside other macros like carbs and fat as well as micronutrients like B vitamins, iron, zinc, and calcium. But the experts say it’s a good idea for people who struggle to get enough via diet alone to supplement with protein powders or premade shakes.
A scoop of powder generally contains at least 20 to 25 grams of protein, and you can whip up a shake with even more by making it with milk (or better yet, ultrafiltered milk, which has 13 to 18 grams of protein per cup compared to typical milk’s 8 grams). Or add Greek yogurt and fruit, and turn it into a smoothie for more bang for your buck—Lynn-Pullman says it can be easier to take down the same calories and protein content in liquid versus solid form.
Ready-to-drink options can also fill the gaps in your protein intake; just keep an eye out for additives like sugar alcohols (e.g. sorbitol, xylitol) and sugar substitutes (for instance, monk fruit or stevia), which can spark GI trouble—something you may especially want to avoid, given GLP-1s can trigger digestive side effects too. And if you’re lactose-intolerant, it may be best to stick to drinks with plant protein sources like pea or soy, or whey protein isolate (versus regular whey protein or whey protein concentrate, both of which typically contain lactose).
6. Know that your body will adapt to a GLP-1 over time.
Taking a GLP-1 can be a big adjustment for your body, so it’s important to leave some time and space for that, Adair says. For instance, it might feel especially challenging to hit 100 grams of protein per day in the first week on a GLP-1, when eating much of anything is probably unappealing. But as you get used to the medication, your appetite may return a bit, any side effects may lessen, and you could settle into a new normal where that feels doable.
No matter what happens, “give yourself grace,” Adair emphasizes. Every body responds differently to these drugs, and it’s possible that you’ll need to make other protein or dietary tweaks to feel good and protect your health long-term. A dietitian who’s familiar with GLP-1 meds can assess your eating patterns and lifestyle, and figure out a plan that fits with both.
At SELF, our job is to present you—our reader—with science-backed information that you can use to guide the decisions you make about your body and health, which may or may not involve weight.
While research suggests having a higher weight may increase your risk for certain conditions, people can be healthy at every size. The categorizations of obesity and overweight can contribute to weight stigma, and they are often based on body mass index (BMI), which is not an accurate measure of health. For some people, pursuing weight loss can be harmful, for instance by leading to weight cycling or increasing the risk of developing an eating disorder; for others, it may be helpful for addressing health concerns or simply having an easier time existing in a world with rampant anti-fat bias. These conversations require nuance, and we hope to provide it. Before taking any medication or making decisions about your health, talk to your doctor or a health care professional.
