GLP-1 protein calculator: your daily target, split into meals you can actually eat
Losing weight on a GLP-1 without losing strength starts with protein. This calculator applies published dietetics standards — 1.2-1.6 g/kg of adjusted body weight — to your numbers, then breaks the target into 3-4 smaller meals sized for a suppressed appetite. Free, no email, sources shown.
· Last verified 2026-08-05
Your daily protein target
90 g(range 80-105 g)
1.4 g per kg of adjusted body weight (65 kg / 144 lb reference weight)
Per-meal breakdown
~23 g × 4 meals
Spreading protein across 4 smaller meals fits a suppressed appetite and matches the ~0.4 g/kg-per-meal pattern in the muscle-protein literature (Schoenfeld & Aragon 2018). Aim for 25-40 g at each sitting.
Why not your full body weight?
Scaling protein to total weight over-targets when weight is well above the Devine ideal-body-weight estimate (57 kg for your height/sex). Standard clinical practice uses an adjusted weight — ideal weight plus 25% of the difference — so your target tracks lean tissue, not total mass. Details on the methodology page.
The hardest part: 90 g is a lot of food when you're not hungry
What ~23 g of protein looks like in real food (USDA FoodData Central values, rounded):
| Food | Portion | Protein |
|---|---|---|
| Cooked chicken breast | 100 g (3.5 oz) | 31 g |
| Canned tuna, drained | 3 oz | 20 g |
| Nonfat Greek yogurt | 170 g single-serve cup | 17 g |
| Low-fat (1%) cottage cheese | 1 cup (226 g) | 28 g |
| Large egg | 1 egg | 6 g |
| Cooked lentils | 1 cup (198 g) | 18 g |
| Firm tofu | 1/2 cup (126 g) | 11 g |
| Whey protein powder | 1 scoop (~30 g, typical) | 24 g |
Disclosure: some links below are affiliate links — if you buy through them we may earn a commission, at no cost to you. It never changes the math or the food advice. How we make money.
Educational nutrition information, not medical advice — confirm your plan with your prescriber or a registered dietitian. Next step: turn the target into a weekly muscle-preservation plan →
How this calculator works (and why it exists)
I built this because the protein advice around GLP-1 medications is either vague ("eat more protein!") or a sales funnel for whatever the calculator's owner sells. LeanGLP computes a number from the published literature and shows its work — that's it.
The range. Reviews and meta-analyses of protein intake during intentional weight loss support ~1.2-1.6 g/kg/day for preserving lean mass (Leidy et al., Am J Clin Nutr 2015; Kim et al., Nutrition Reviews 2016). For people doing resistance training, benefits plateau around 1.6 g/kg/day (Morton et al., Br J Sports Med 2018 meta-analysis), which is why lifting 2+ days a week moves your recommendation to the top of the range — as does age 65+, following the PROT-AGE working group's direction for older adults.
The reference weight. Above ~120% of the Devine ideal-body-weight estimate, the calculator switches to adjusted body weight (IBW + 25% of the excess) — the standard clinical-nutrition correction so targets track lean tissue instead of total mass. This matters: it's the difference between telling a 250 lb user "eat 180 g" (discouraging, unnecessary) and a defensible ~105 g.
The per-meal split. Muscle protein synthesis responds meal by meal — roughly 0.4 g/kg per meal across four meals in the sports-nutrition literature (Schoenfeld & Aragon, JISSN 2018), with 25-30 g/meal as the practical anchor (Paddon-Jones & Rasmussen 2009). On a suppressed appetite, the per-meal number is the one that decides whether the day works.
What it will never do. No dose math, no titration calculators, no reconstitution tools — medication decisions belong to you and your prescriber. Label schedules are reproduced verbatim with sources on the reference pages. Every formula and citation is on the methodology page. Built by The LeanGLP Team — background on the about page.
Common questions
How much protein should I eat on a GLP-1 medication?
The weight-loss nutrition literature supports roughly 1.2-1.6 g of protein per kg of body weight per day to help preserve lean mass during intentional weight loss — applied to an adjusted body weight when current weight is well above the ideal-body-weight estimate. For most people that lands between 75 and 125 g/day. The calculator above applies the published formulas to your numbers and shows every source.
Why does the calculator use adjusted body weight?
Protein needs track lean tissue, not total mass. When current weight is more than about 120% of the Devine ideal-body-weight estimate, standard clinical practice applies g/kg targets to an adjusted weight — ideal body weight plus 25% of the excess — so heavier users aren't given inflated targets that are impossible on a suppressed appetite.
Why does muscle loss happen with GLP-1 weight loss?
Any large, fast weight loss includes some lean mass, not just fat. In the STEP 1 trial's DXA substudy, lean body mass accounted for roughly 39% of total weight lost with semaglutide; the SURMOUNT-1 substudy with tirzepatide showed roughly a quarter. Adequate protein plus resistance training at least twice a week is the established countermeasure during caloric restriction.
Is it hard to hit these protein targets with no appetite?
Yes — that's the honest hard part, and it's why the calculator splits the target into 3-4 smaller per-meal numbers. Eating protein first at each meal, keeping ready-to-eat options around (Greek yogurt, cottage cheese, shakes), and treating the per-meal number as the unit of success makes it workable for most people.
Does this calculator tell me anything about my medication dose?
No — deliberately. This site computes nutrition targets only. Dose schedules live on our label-reference pages, which reproduce the official FDA prescribing information with links to the source documents, and dosing decisions belong entirely to you and your prescriber.
Is this medical advice?
No. It's educational nutrition math built from published standards, with every formula documented on the methodology page. Confirm your plan with your prescriber or a registered dietitian, especially if you have kidney disease or other conditions that change protein needs.