How Much Protein on GLP-1: Your Daily Floor and Target

How much protein on GLP-1 you need depends on your body weight. Our chart uses two numbers: a floor of about 1.2 g per kilogram a day, which you defend on bad days, and a target of about 1.6 g per kilogram if you strength train, which you aim for on good days. A 2025 joint advisory on nutrition for GLP-1 treatment also offers a simpler absolute range of 80 to 120 g a day.

The chart below turns both numbers into grams, and the sections after it explain where they come from and who should not use them.

GLP-1 protein chart: floor and target by body weight

Find your weight in the left column to see your daily GLP-1 protein floor and target in grams.

Grams are rounded and use 1 kg = 2.2 lb. These numbers use your current weight. Floors from 225 lb up and targets from 175 lb up go past the 80 to 120 g range in the 2025 joint advisory, and 2026 European guidance bases protein on an adjusted body weight instead, so if your number is above 120 g, ask your clinician or dietitian which weight to use.

Who should not use this GLP-1 protein chart

This GLP-1 protein chart is not for everyone. Do not use it without your clinician if any of these apply to you:

• Kidney disease. The KDIGO 2024 kidney guideline suggests keeping protein at 0.8 g/kg a day for adults with chronic kidney disease stages 3 to 5 and advises against more than 1.3 g/kg a day when kidney disease may progress. Both numbers in the chart are well above the 0.8 g/kg level.
• Medications that affect your kidneys. Ask before you raise your protein.
• Pregnancy or breastfeeding. Your clinician should set your number.

If none of these apply, the chart is a reasonable starting point to discuss at your next appointment.

Where the GLP-1 protein floor and target come from

The GLP-1 protein floor and target in the chart come from our protein cheat sheet, and each one lines up with published guidance in a specific way.

The floor, 1.2 g/kg a day. A 2025 joint advisory from four US medical and nutrition societies notes that higher targets, such as 1.2 to 1.6 g/kg a day, have been proposed above the general recommended amount of 0.8 g/kg, so the floor sits at the low end of that range. It also matches expert advice for adults over 65: at least 1.0 to 1.2 g/kg a day for healthy older adults (PROT-AGE 2013; ESPEN 2014), and at least 1.2 g/kg for those who exercise (PROT-AGE).

The target, 1.6 g/kg a day, if you strength train. In a review of 49 trials with 1,863 people, gains in fat-free mass from strength training leveled off at about 1.6 g/kg a day on average, with a wide margin of 1.03 to 2.20. Those people were healthy, mostly younger, and not dieting, so this is a starting point, not a proven number for people on a GLP-1 medication. Our guide's calculator uses 1.4 g/kg instead if you do not strength train.

What other guidance says. 2026 European guidance suggests, for suitable patients, 1.0 to 1.5 g/kg of adjusted body weight a day during the active phase of treatment, at least 60 g a day, and 25 to 30 g of protein at each main meal (Dobbie 2026). The 2025 joint advisory also offers the absolute range of 80 to 120 g a day and advises against a prolonged intake of 2 g/kg a day or more.

How to reach your GLP-1 protein number on a small appetite

Plan your GLP-1 protein number meal by meal. The 25 to 30 g per main meal in the European guidance is a useful unit: three meals like that plus a 15 to 25 g snack come to about 90 to 115 g, enough for the floors up to about 160 to 200 lb in the chart. Above that, you need a bigger snack or a fourth small meal.

• Build meals that carry 25 to 35 g. Our breakfast, lunch and dinner recipes land between about 21 and 35 g each.
• Eat the protein first. The 2025 joint advisory suggests eating protein-rich foods first in a meal so they get eaten before you feel full.
• Fill the gaps with snacks. A cup of Greek yogurt or cottage cheese adds about 24 to 25 g on its own.
• Aim for 5 good days out of 7. Our cheat sheet sets the goal at hitting your floor 5 days out of 7, because aiming for a perfect week is how people quit in week three.

Our guide's protein calculator works out your own floor and target, and its trackers let you log each day's protein against your floor. See the protein calculator in our guide.

Frequently asked questions about protein on GLP-1

Is 100 grams of protein a day too much for a woman on GLP-1?

For most women it is not, unless you weigh under about 110 lb: 100 g sits inside the 80 to 120 g a day range in a 2025 joint advisory on nutrition for GLP-1 treatment. If you have moderate to advanced kidney disease, the KDIGO 2024 guideline suggests about 0.8 g/kg a day, so ask your clinician first.

Is 2 eggs a day enough protein on GLP-1?

No. Two large eggs carry about 12 g of protein, far below the lowest floor in the chart on this page, which starts at 76 g a day.

Which body weight should I use for my protein number?

The chart uses your current weight. Guidance notes that current weight can overestimate needs at higher body weights, and 2026 European guidance uses an adjusted body weight instead, so ask your clinician or dietitian which weight fits you.

More GLP-1 meal ideas

Knowing how much protein on GLP-1 you need is the first step; eating it is the second. See GLP-1 snacks for 16 high-protein snack ideas, and a full GLP-1 meal plan day that adds up to about 108 g.

Get the protein calculator in our guide

Our guide turns your GLP-1 protein number into meals. The download includes:

• A protein calculator for your own floor and target
• The protein cheat sheet and printable trackers
• 30 high-protein recipe cards: 8 breakfasts, 8 lunches, 8 dinners and 6 snacks
• The Gentle Week: seven days of meals with one shopping list
• A 10-module guide covering protein, a beginner strength plan, fiber and fluids, and eating out

See what is inside our guide.

How this chart was made

The chart comes from our protein cheat sheet. We recomputed every cell from pounds in September 2026: each gram value is the weight in pounds divided by 2.2, times 1.2 or 1.6, rounded to the nearest gram. With the exact conversion, four cells come out 1 g lower.

We then checked each source the cheat sheet cites against the original paper and added the newer GLP-1 guidance, the kidney guideline and the notes on which body weight to use.

References

1. Mozaffarian D, Agarwal M, Aggarwal M, et al. Nutritional priorities to support GLP-1 therapy for obesity: a joint advisory from the American College of Lifestyle Medicine, the American Society for Nutrition, the Obesity Medicine Association, and The Obesity Society. Obesity. 2025;33(8):1475-1503
2. Bauer J, Biolo G, Cederholm T, et al. Evidence-based recommendations for optimal dietary protein intake in older people: a position paper from the PROT-AGE Study Group. J Am Med Dir Assoc. 2013;14(8):542-559
3. Deutz NE, Bauer JM, Barazzoni R, et al. Protein intake and exercise for optimal muscle function with aging: recommendations from the ESPEN Expert Group. Clin Nutr. 2014;33(6):929-936
4. Morton RW, Murphy KT, McKellar SR, et al. A systematic review, meta-analysis and meta-regression of the effect of protein supplementation on resistance training-induced gains in muscle mass and strength in healthy adults. Br J Sports Med. 2018;52(6):376-384
5. Dobbie LJ, Tolvanen L, Alves D, et al. Nutritional, functional, and psychological considerations for incretin-based therapies in adults: an EASO, EFAD, and ECPO Consensus Statement. Lancet Diabetes Endocrinol. 2026;14(9):754-777
6. Kidney Disease: Improving Global Outcomes (KDIGO) CKD Work Group. KDIGO 2024 Clinical Practice Guideline for the Evaluation and Management of Chronic Kidney Disease. Kidney Int. 2024;105(4S):S117-S314

This article is for education only and is not medical advice. It explains general protein ranges and says nothing about your medication. Talk to your clinician before you change how much protein you eat, especially if you have kidney disease. Read our full medical disclaimer.