On a GLP-1 you eat roughly 30–40% less than at maintenance, and protein is the macronutrient most likely to fall short when appetite drops. Inadequate protein during rapid weight loss is the biggest driver of the muscle loss seen on body-composition scans. The American Diabetes Association Standards of Care — 2025 recommends 1.2–1.6 g/kg ideal body weight per day for adults on GLP-1 therapy, roughly 60–100 g/day for most people. This card pulls the targets, GI-friendly foods, foods to back off during titration, and the resistance-training pairing onto one page.
Daily protein target by body weight
| Body weight | Target grams/day | Practical food combinations |
|---|---|---|
| Adult <150 lb | 65–80 g | 3 eggs + Greek yogurt 1 cup + 4 oz chicken ≈ 66 g |
| 150–200 lb | 80–110 g | Protein shake + cottage cheese 1 cup + 5 oz fish + 2 eggs ≈ 96 g |
| >200 lb | 100–130 g | 2 protein shakes + 6 oz chicken + Greek yogurt 1 cup + 2 eggs ≈ 124 g |
| Active / resistance-training | Add 20% to the above | Add a second poultry or fish serving on lifting days. |
Targets are grams per day, not per meal. Use ideal body weight if your BMI is above 30 — the ADA target is anchored to lean mass, not adipose tissue.
High-density protein foods
- Chicken breast — 25 g per 3-oz cooked serving; densest whole food per calorie.
- Greek yogurt (plain) — 15–20 g per cup. Easier on the stomach than meat during early titration.
- Eggs — 6 g per large egg. Two eggs at breakfast is 12 g before any other food.
- Cottage cheese — 12–14 g per half cup. High in slow-digesting casein — useful for evening meals.
- Fish (salmon, tilapia, cod, tuna) — 20–25 g per 3-oz serving.
- Whey or plant protein shake — 20–30 g per scoop. Easiest way to close a 20-g gap when appetite is gone.
- Legumes (lentils, black beans, chickpeas) — 8–15 g per cup. Introduce fiber gradually during titration.
GI-friendly foods on a GLP-1
- Room-temperature foods are best tolerated. Very cold or piping-hot foods trigger nausea when gastric emptying is slowed.
- Bland, simple meals during titration weeks. The dose-step day and the 2–3 days after are the highest-nausea window.
- Low-fiber early, ramp by 5 g/day. A sudden 30 g fiber bolus on top of slowed emptying causes cramping and bloating.
- Hydration ≥2 L/day. The Wegovy and Zepbound labels warn that dehydration plus a GLP-1 raises acute kidney injury risk.
- Smaller, more frequent meals. Gastric distention is the most common nausea trigger.
- Slow eating, full chewing. Slowed emptying means the “I’m full” signal lags — stop at comfortably-full.
Avoid or reduce
- Alcohol. The Wegovy and Zepbound labels both list pancreatitis as a warning, and alcohol is the most common environmental pancreatitis trigger.
- High-fat meals during titration. Fried foods, cream sauces, and large fatty cuts are the top reflux and nausea triggers in the first 4–6 weeks.
- Gas-producing foods early on. Raw cruciferous vegetables, raw onions, and carbonated drinks bloat a slowed stomach.
- Oversized portions. Forced gastric distention is the most reliable way to provoke vomiting on a GLP-1.
- Liquid calories. Smoothies, juices, and sweetened coffees deliver calories without the satiety signal solid protein triggers.
Common mistake: eating too little protein
The trap most patients fall into is treating a GLP-1 as a license to skip meals because they are not hungry. The result at 3–6 months is fatigue out of proportion to weight loss, hair shedding, slow loss after the first big drop, and DEXA scans showing 30–40% of lost weight came from lean mass instead of the expected 15–25%. If you cannot hit your target from food, a daily 25–30 g protein shake is the lowest-friction fix.
Resistance training pairing
The S-LITE trial (Lundgren et al., NEJM 2021, PMID 33951361) randomized 195 adults after a low-calorie diet to liraglutide, exercise, both, or placebo for one year. The combined group lost the most weight and the smallest fraction of lean mass — exercise alone preserved muscle, and adding it to a GLP-1 doubled the body-composition advantage. Practical translation: 2–3 resistance sessions per week (compound lifts, progressive overload) plus the protein target above is the most-evidence-based muscle-preservation combination on a GLP-1.
What this cheat sheet does not cover
This card is the general adult outpatient nutrition framework. It does not cover diabetes-specific carb counting, chronic kidney disease protein restriction (0.6–0.8 g/kg may be required), bariatric pre-op liver-shrinking diets, pregnancy nutrition, or pediatric dosing. For any of those, your prescriber and a registered dietitian should drive the plan.
Related on Weight Loss Rankings
- All cheat sheets — the full one-page reference library.
- Top GLP-1 Muscle Preservation Studies — the PubMed-ranked evidence trail behind the protein and exercise recommendations.
- Top GLP-1 Plateau Questions Answered — what the community asks when the scale stops moving and what the data actually says.
- GLP-1 Protein Calculator — the interactive version of the table above, with ideal-body-weight adjustment built in.
Sources
- American Diabetes Association. Standards of Care in Diabetes — 2025. Section 5: Facilitating Positive Health Behaviors and Well-being to Improve Health Outcomes. Nutrition therapy recommendations 1.2–1.6 g/kg ideal body weight protein for adults on weight-loss pharmacotherapy. Published by the ADA at diabetesjournals.org.
- Lundgren JR, Janus C, Jensen SBK, Juhl CR, Olsen LM, Christensen RM, et al. Healthy Weight Loss Maintenance with Exercise, Liraglutide, or Both Combined. New England Journal of Medicine. 2021;384(18):1719–1730. PMID 33951361. DOI 10.1056/NEJMoa2028198. The S-LITE trial — combined exercise plus liraglutide preserved the largest fraction of lean mass.
- DailyMed. WEGOVY (semaglutide) injection prescribing information. SetID ee06186f-2aa3-4990-a760-757579d8f77b. Warnings on dehydration, acute kidney injury, and pancreatitis used for the alcohol and hydration sections.
- DailyMed. ZEPBOUND (tirzepatide) injection prescribing information. SetID 487cd7e7-434c-4925-99fa-aa80b1cc776b. Warnings on dehydration, acute kidney injury, and pancreatitis.
- Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics Evidence Analysis Library. Adult Weight Management Guideline: protein intake during energy-restricted diets. Confirms the 1.2–1.6 g/kg target for preserving lean mass.
- Wadden TA, Tronieri JS, Butryn ML. Lifestyle modification approaches for the treatment of obesity in adults. American Psychologist. 2020;75(2):235–251. PMID 32052997.