How Much Protein on GLP-1 to Protect Your Muscle

On a GLP-1 like Ozempic, Wegovy or Mounjaro, a useful target is 1.2 to 1.6 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight per day, split across your meals. So a person around 70 kg is aiming for roughly 85 to 110 grams a day. The reason is simple: when you lose weight fast on reduced calories, your body burns muscle alongside fat unless you give it enough protein and a reason to keep that muscle.

Muscle loss is the quiet risk of GLP-1 treatment that no one warns you about. Studies on rapid weight loss show that a meaningful share of the weight lost can come from lean mass, not just fat. Losing muscle slows your metabolism, weakens you, and makes the weight easier to regain later. Protein is your main defense against that.

The catch on a GLP-1 is appetite. With your stomach emptying slowly and hunger blunted, hitting 100 grams of protein when you can barely finish a plate feels impossible. The fix is to make protein the first thing you eat at every meal, before the bread, the rice or the vegetables, so it gets in while you still have room.

Think in concrete portions rather than grams in your head. Three eggs give about 18 grams, a 150 gram chicken breast around 35, a pot of Greek yogurt 15 to 20, a scoop of whey 20 to 25, a tin of tuna about 25. Stacking two or three of these across the day gets most people to target without forcing huge meals.

Spread it out instead of loading one meal. Your body uses protein best in doses of 25 to 35 grams at a time, and on a small appetite you physically cannot eat 100 grams in one sitting anyway. Three meals plus a protein snack, each carrying its share, is far easier and more effective than trying to cram it into dinner.

Pair the protein with resistance training, even light. Protein gives the building blocks but muscle only holds on if you ask it to work. Two or three short sessions a week with bands, weights or bodyweight movements, plus a daily walk, tells your body to keep the muscle it has rather than break it down for fuel.

Tracking protein by eye is where most people fall short, because it is easy to feel like you ate plenty when you did not. Mello reads your protein from a photo of your plate and shows a running daily total against your target, so you know at a glance whether you need one more protein-rich bite before bed. Download Mello and see your real protein numbers.