How much protein do you actually need on a GLP-1?
Thirty seconds. No email needed to see your number.
Most protein calculators get this wrong. They multiply your scale weight, which overstates protein needs at higher body weights — often by 30–45%. This one calculates on your adjusted body weight, which is what obesity-medicine guidance actually points to. Every source is listed at the bottom.
Step 1 of 2 — a few safety questions
First, is this tool right for you?
Protein targets are not safe for everyone. These questions decide whether we can show you a number at all.
We're not going to show you a number.
Step 2 of 2 — your details
Your numbers
Total inches — 5'5" is 65 in.
Your daily protein range
— g/day
- Per meal
- —
- Meals a day
- —
- Your BMI
- —
- Sense-check band — based on estimated lean mass
- —
On a GLP-1, four meals is often unrealistic. Early fullness is the whole problem. Put protein first at every meal, and use a shake to close the gap on the days eating is hard.
This is a general educational estimate, not medical or nutrition advice, and not a prescription. It is not personalised to your health, your medicines, or your lab results. Talk to your doctor or a registered dietitian before changing what you eat — especially if you have kidney disease, diabetes, or liver disease.
You have the number. Hitting it is the hard part.
Five emails over ten days — the practical part the calculator can't give you:
- Why "protein first" works, and the mechanism behind it
- What the muscle-loss studies actually say, panic removed
- The bad-nausea-day list — seven things that stay tolerable
- How to split protein across meals when you can barely finish one
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How this is calculated
- Ideal body weight is calculated with the Devine formula — 45.5 kg for females or 50 kg for males, plus 2.3 kg for every inch over 5 feet — with a floor at a BMI of 18.5.
- Adjusted body weight is ideal weight plus 25% of the difference between your actual and ideal weight. This is the step almost every other calculator skips. Applied smoothly rather than switching on at a BMI threshold, so the number doesn't jump.
- The multiplier is 1.2–1.6 g per kg of adjusted weight, rising to 1.8 at the top if you train with resistance at least twice a week, and lifting to a 1.4 floor if you're 60 or over and training.
- Age is not added on top. Older-adult guidance of 1.0–1.2 g/kg is a floor that weight-loss targets already clear. Stacking them is a common error.
- Bounds: never below 60 g/day, never above 2.0 g per kg of your actual weight. If you have type 2 diabetes and haven't had kidney function checked, the ceiling drops to 1.3 g/kg.
- Rounded to the nearest 5 g, because the evidence does not support precision to the gram.
The full disclaimer — please read it
About this estimate. Still Strong is an educational tool. It does not diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease, and it is not a substitute for advice from a qualified healthcare professional. The figures shown are drawn from published population-level guidance for adults losing weight. They are not individualised to you.
We can't tell you whether this amount is safe for you. Protein needs and safe upper limits depend on kidney function, liver function, medicines, and other conditions this tool does not assess. Chronic kidney disease affects an estimated 20–40% of people with diabetes and often causes no symptoms. If your kidney function has not been checked — eGFR and urine albumin-to-creatinine ratio — ask your clinician before increasing your protein intake.
Don't change your medicine. Never start, stop, or change the dose or timing of any prescription medicine, including GLP-1 medicines, based on this tool.
We don't promise an outcome. We do not claim that reaching these numbers will preserve muscle, prevent muscle loss, improve body composition, or change your weight. As of August 2026, no completed randomised controlled trial has established a protein target for people taking GLP-1 receptor agonists; a trial testing this question is under way.
Not for everyone. This tool is for adults aged 18 and over who are not pregnant or breastfeeding. Do not use it if you have chronic kidney disease, are on dialysis, have a kidney transplant or a single kidney, have liver disease, or have a history of an eating disorder.
Trademarks. Ozempic® and Wegovy® are registered trademarks of Novo Nordisk A/S. Mounjaro® and Zepbound® are registered trademarks of Eli Lilly and Company. Still Strong is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by these companies.
Sources
- Joint advisory on nutritional priorities during obesity pharmacotherapy (2025) — the 1.2–1.6 g/kg range, and the caution that actual body weight overestimates protein requirements.
- Devine BJ (1974) — ideal body weight formula.
- Krenitsky J (2005), Nutrition in Clinical Practice — adjusted (nutritional) body weight, 0.25 factor.
- Janmahasatian S et al. (2005), Clinical Pharmacokinetics — lean body weight estimation.
- Bauer J et al., PROT-AGE Study Group (2013), JAMDA — 1.0–1.2 g/kg/day for older adults.
- Moore DR et al. (2015), J Gerontol A — per-meal protein threshold in older adults.
- Longland TM et al. (2016), Am J Clin Nutr — higher protein during energy restriction with resistance training.
- KDIGO 2024 Clinical Practice Guideline for CKD — 0.8 g/kg/day in non-dialysis CKD; avoid exceeding 1.3 g/kg/day.
- American Diabetes Association — CKD prevalence of 20–40% among people with diabetes.
- AACE/TOS/ASMBS perioperative nutrition guidance — 60 g/day minimum.
Where guidelines disagree, this tool shows a range rather than choosing for you.