How much protein should you eat on a GLP-1?

How much protein should I eat on a GLP-1?

Most adults on a GLP-1 can aim for 1.2 to 1.6 grams of protein per kilogram a day, or a flat 80 to 120 grams, if they have no kidney disease.

That comes from a joint advisory published in 2025 by the American College of Lifestyle Medicine, the American Society for Nutrition, the Obesity Medicine Association and The Obesity Society. The wording is careful. It says higher targets “have also been proposed during active weight reduction”. It does not present them as a rule proven in GLP-1 trials. It also says protein alone is unlikely to protect muscle without structured strength training.

The same advisory gives a second route for people who find per-kilogram sums tiring: set an absolute target of 80 to 120 g a day, which it describes as 16% to 24% of energy on a 2,000 kcal diet. Its reason is adherence.

Which body weight do you multiply: actual, adjusted or goal?

For people with obesity, the advisory says it is unclear whether to use actual weight, corrected (adjusted or ideal) weight or fat-free mass, and that actual weight can significantly overestimate protein needs.

The advisory names fat-free mass as possibly the best base. It gives 1.5 g per kilogram of fat-free mass a day as a more accurate figure, but that needs a body-composition scan. Goal weight is not one of the options it lists.

When you have no scan, you can bracket your answer. Work out the range on your actual weight and on a reference weight. The two results show the plausible span. The reference weight below is the weight at a body mass index (BMI) of 25 for your height, which is 25 × height in metres squared. That is this site’s simple stand-in for “corrected weight”, not a method the advisory prescribes.

Worked examples for three body weights

The table applies 1.2 and 1.6 g/kg to actual weight and to the BMI 25 reference weight for three example adults. The weights and heights are made up for the arithmetic.

Example	Actual weight	Height	Reference weight (BMI 25)	1.2-1.6 g/kg on actual	1.2-1.6 g/kg on reference
A	85 kg (187 lb)	1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)	76.6 kg (169 lb)	102-136 g	92-122 g
B	105 kg (231 lb)	1.70 m (5 ft 7 in)	72.2 kg (159 lb)	126-168 g	87-116 g
C	135 kg (298 lb)	1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)	79.2 kg (175 lb)	162-216 g	95-127 g

Example C shows the problem. Multiplying actual weight gives up to 216 g a day, well above the advisory’s absolute range of 80 to 120 g. The reference-weight range of 95 to 127 g sits close to that range.

For example A, the two methods overlap at about 102 to 122 g. The gap widens as weight rises above the reference. For example C, the absolute 80 to 120 g range is the closer fit than the 216 g figure. A dietitian can confirm.

How does the 1.2-1.6 g/kg target compare with the 0.8 g/kg RDA?

The 1.2-1.6 g/kg target is 50% to 100% higher than the 0.8 g/kg recommended dietary allowance (RDA) for the general adult population.

The advisory notes the RDA is under review by the National Academies. The table sets the main reference points side by side for the same three examples, using actual weight except where stated.

Reference point	Source	Rule	A (85 kg)	B (105 kg)	C (135 kg)
General RDA	Advisory	0.8 g/kg	68 g	84 g	108 g
Floor, do not go below	Advisory	0.4-0.5 g/kg	34-42 g	42-52 g	54-68 g
Active weight loss, proposed	Advisory	1.2-1.6 g/kg	102-136 g	126-168 g	162-216 g
Absolute alternative	Advisory	80-120 g	80-120 g	80-120 g	80-120 g
Prolonged ceiling	Advisory	under 2 g/kg	under 170 g	under 210 g	under 270 g
CKD G3-G5	KDIGO 2024	0.8 g/kg; avoid over 1.3 g/kg	68 g	84 g	108 g

The advisory does not say whether the floor applies to actual or corrected weight, so treat the floor column as an upper bound on what the floor could be. The absolute 80-120 g row is the only one that needs no weight at all.

What if you have kidney disease?

Adults with chronic kidney disease (CKD) stages G3 to G5 should not use the 1.2-1.6 g/kg range without their kidney team, because KDIGO suggests 0.8 g/kg a day for them.

KDIGO’s 2024 guideline suggests maintaining 0.8 g/kg body weight a day in adults with CKD G3 to G5, graded 2C, a weak recommendation based on low-quality evidence. It adds a practice point to avoid high intake, above 1.3 g/kg a day, in adults with CKD at risk of progression. The guideline also flags that low-protein targets are not suited to people with sarcopenia, cachexia or undernutrition, so this is a decision for a nephrologist or renal dietitian.

If you have diabetes, a kidney transplant or any kidney result you are unsure about, ask before changing your protein intake. Dehydration from vomiting or diarrhoea can also injure the kidneys, which the advisory flags for people on GLP-1s.

How do you split protein across meals?

Divide your daily target by the number of times you can eat, and aim for roughly 20 to 35 grams each time instead of one large serving.

The reason is small stomachs and small appetites. The advisory suggests eating the protein food first in a meal and favouring compact foods such as fish, eggs, Greek yogurt, cottage cheese and nut butters. It says vomiting is more likely after large meals.

Daily target	3 meals	4 eating times	5 eating times
80 g	27 g	20 g	16 g
100 g	33 g	25 g	20 g
120 g	40 g	30 g	24 g

A lab study in 2014 gives one anchor for single-sitting size. In healthy young men, muscle protein synthesis plateaued after about 0.24 g/kg of high-quality protein in one meal, and in older men after about 0.40 g/kg. That is about 20 g and 34 g for an 85 kg adult. The data come from retrospective analysis of small experiments in healthy men, so use them as a rough guide only.

What is the minimum on days you can barely eat?

The advisory says protein should not fall below 0.4 to 0.5 g/kg a day in adults, because lower intake can lead to muscle atrophy and functional impairment.

For example A that is about 34 to 42 g on actual weight. Hitting a floor on a bad day is different from living at it. If you are below it for several days, or you cannot keep fluids down, contact your prescriber. The advisory mentions anti-nausea medicines as an option for clinicians and flags dehydration from vomiting as a risk.

Small, low-volume options help on those days. The advisory lists fish, eggs, Greek yogurt, cottage cheese and nut butters as low-volume choices, and says some people use high-protein shakes. Check the label for grams, because brands differ. This page gives no per-food gram figures because we have not yet sourced them.

Does the target change for Zepbound, Wegovy, Ozempic or the pills?

The advisory treats semaglutide, tirzepatide and similar medicines as one group and gives a single protein range, so the target does not change by brand.

That means the answer to “how much protein should I eat on Zepbound” or “on Wegovy” is the same range as above. Your own number depends on weight, age, kidney function, activity and what your prescriber advises. The advisory is about GLP-1s for obesity. If you take one for type 2 diabetes, ask your clinician whether the same range suits your care.

What the evidence cannot tell you

The 1.2-1.6 g/kg figure is a proposal, not a result from a trial of GLP-1 users, so no one knows the best number for you. The advisory says outright that the right weight base and the best approach are unsettled.

What it does state firmly is that higher protein alone is likely inadequate to preserve muscle without structured resistance training. For more on the full picture, start with the guides or go to the GLP Muscles homepage. This page gives published ranges, not personal dosing or treatment advice. Your prescriber or a registered dietitian can set a target for your situation.