How much protein do I need on a GLP-1?

Why the number is high: standard protein guidance (0.8 g/kg) assumes weight stability. In a steep deficit, the body draws on lean tissue, and studies of dieting adults consistently show higher protein (1.2–1.6+ g/kg) plus resistance training sharply reduces the muscle share of weight lost. GLP-1 deficits are as steep as diets get, so the higher band applies — anchored to goal weight, not current weight. Translate to a real target: goal 60 kg (132 lb) → ≈75–95 g/day; goal 70 kg (155 lb) → ≈85–110 g; goal 85 kg (187 lb) → ≈100–135 g. Precision matters less than the floor: most appetite-suppressed people who don’t engineer protein land at 40–60 g and quietly fund their loss with muscle. Getting there on a shrunken appetite (the actual hard part): - Protein owns the first bites of every meal — eat it before fullness arrives, because fullness arrives early now. - Know the per-serving math: chicken breast (4 oz) ≈30 g; Greek yogurt cup ≈15–20 g; 2 eggs ≈12 g; cottage cheese cup ≈25 g; whey scoop ≈25 g; tofu block ≈20 g. Three protein-anchored meals + one protein snack reaches most targets. - Liquid protein is legitimate, not cheating — on nauseous or zero-appetite days, a shake or smoothie delivers 25–30 g that a plate of chicken never would. Many users keep one daily by default. - Distribute, don’t binge it — 25–40 g per sitting across the day beats one heroic dinner for muscle synthesis. Pair it or lose it anyway: protein without a muscle-use signal still leaks lean mass — resistance training 2–3×/week is the other half of the contract (why both). Edge cases: significant kidney disease changes protein math — that’s a prescriber conversation (advanced CKD is generally a GLP-1 contraindication anyway). Protein quality arguments are second-order; hitting the gram floor with foods you’ll actually eat wins.