Protein Calculator for a GLP-1
Your protein target in actual grams — plus the number that matters more on a small appetite: how much to get into each small meal.
Your target
Daily target
131 g
a middle target
Research range
114–163 g
the ISSN band of 1.4–2.0 g per kg of body weight
Per meal
33 g
spread across 4 smaller meals
If that feels impossible right now, start around 98–122 g a day. An expert consensus for the weight-loss phase on a GLP-1 puts protein at 1.2–1.5 g per kg of body weight — a gentler, evidence-based band for exactly this situation. On the days you can barely eat, the protein you get down beats the target you miss entirely.
A planning estimate, not medical advice — protein needs are personal, and anyone with kidney concerns or other medical conditions should set their target with a healthcare provider rather than a calculator.
Which number should you actually use?
There are two credible bands and they answer different questions. An expert consensus for people losing weight on a GLP-1 recommends 1.2–1.5 g per kg during the weight-loss phase — a realistic band for an appetite that’s been turned down. The sports-nutrition band of 1.4–2.0 g per kg is aimed at people training regularly and wanting to hold onto or build muscle.
If you’re lifting a couple of times a week, the higher band is a reasonable aim. If you’re in a rough stretch and barely eating, start at the lower one and build. The target you hit beats the target you admire.
And the honest caveat, from the same consensus that gave us the number: protein alone doesn’t increase muscle mass. It gives your body the material; resistance training is what asks it to keep the muscle. Neither does much without the other.
You now have the number. The other half — the training that gives your body a reason to keep the muscle that protein is feeding — is what Mira does: short, form-scored strength sessions through your phone, built around how you feel that day.
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