On Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro or Zepbound, appetite drops — so protein, the macro that protects your muscle, is the first thing to slip. Here's the number, why it's set that way, and how to hit it. Or skip ahead to the protein calculator.
GLP-1 medications work largely by turning down appetite. That's the point — but it has a side effect most food-tracking apps miss: when you eat less of everything, you eat less protein too. And protein is exactly the macronutrient you can least afford to lose, because it's what defends your muscle while the fat comes off.
This page gives you a practical number, explains why it's set against your goal weight rather than your current weight, breaks it down per meal, and lists honest, easy ways to hit it on the days you're barely hungry. Everything here is graded the way researchers grade it — kept only if it survived a deliberate attempt to refute it.
For most people losing weight on a GLP-1, aim for a daily protein floor of about 1.6 g per kg of your goal weight, and a target of about 2.0 g per kg of goal weight. If you're an older adult, lean toward the upper end — roughly 2.1–2.2 g/kg — because ageing muscle needs a bigger push to respond.
Why goal weight and not what the scale says today? Because protein need tracks your lean (fat-free) mass, not your fat mass. If you're carrying excess fat, basing protein on current weight over-states the number — you'd be feeding muscle you don't have. Goal weight is a simple, no-scan stand-in for a lean-mass target. As a rough adherence anchor, that lands many people somewhere around 80–120 g/day. Get your exact number →
Each claim graded the way researchers grade it, kept only if it survived a deliberate attempt to refute it.
The number is the easy part. The hard part is getting it in when the medication has quietly switched your appetite off. These five habits do most of the work.
Appetite tends to be best soon after a dose wears off and earlier in the day. Eat your biggest protein hit while you still can, before the window closes.
Build the plate around the protein and eat it before the carbs and veg. If you fill up early — and you will — the part that protects muscle is already in.
There's a per-meal threshold that actually triggers muscle protein synthesis. Spreading protein across meals beats one giant steak at dinner — over 50, aim at the top of that range.
Greek yogurt, eggs, fish, lean meat, tofu, cottage cheese — and a protein shake when solid food feels like too much. High protein per bite, low effort to eat.
Because of the per-meal threshold, three or four protein-anchored eating moments do more than two. Small and frequent beats large and rare when appetite is low.
Protein defends muscle; resistance work defends it further. Two short, gentle strength sessions a week make the protein you do eat go further.
These numbers are an informational guide, not a diagnosis, prescription, or substitute for your clinician. Your GLP-1 dose and plan are between you and your prescriber — show them your protein target so they can sanity-check it for you, ideally with a dietitian.
Protein is generally safe with healthy kidneys; existing kidney disease changes that and may require limits. Seek care for dizziness, fainting, chest pain, persistent nausea or vomiting, or any thoughts of disordered eating.
Radical Fat Loss does this math for you every day — and guards your protein while your appetite is low. Pre-launch; join the early list for one email at launch.
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