👖 What should I eat on GLP-1?

When you're on GLP-1, you're eating less — sometimes a lot less. That makes what you eat matter more than it ever did before.

The person on GLP-1 doesn't need a separate menu — they need the same food in a smaller portion with protein at the center. The first GLP-1 drug came from a Gila monster — a peptide found in its saliva, exendin-4, mimicked human GLP-1 so closely that it became the basis for exenatide, the first GLP-1 medication approved in 2005.

A common target during weight loss is around 1.2 grams of protein per kilogram of bodyweight per day. On GLP-1, hitting that target can get harder because appetite drops.

Protein helps preserve muscle while losing weight. On GLP-1, research shows that up to 40% of weight lost can come from fat-free mass, which can include muscle as well as other lean tissue. Adequate protein intake and resistance training may help reduce unwanted lean-mass loss.

Eat your protein early in the meal. Appetite can fade quickly, so it helps to get the most important part of the plate in first.