GLP-1 Meal Plan: A Full Week on Ozempic and Wegovy
The problem has flipped. You are eating maybe half of what you used to, so the question is no longer how to eat less. It is whether the half that is left is the right half.
A GLP-1 meal plan is not a normal week with smaller portions written on it. It is a different shape of eating: protein first, volume down and density up, fluid between meals rather than with them, fiber built up slowly. Below is a full seven days built that way, a protein figure for each day, a bad-day version and a shopping list.
-> What to Eat on Ozempic: A Complete GLP-1 Diet Guide
Usually it is the wrong half. On Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro or Zepbound the easy things go down first, and protein is what gets left on the plate.
01The four rules this GLP-1 meal plan is built on
Protein first. Not protein included, protein first, the first thing on the fork at every meal. If you only get through a third of the plate, this rule decides whether that third was chicken or rice.
Volume down, density up. Smaller plates that carry something. A big bowl of salad fills the space you have with water and leaves.
Fluid on purpose, between meals. Most fluid arrives with food, so when meals shrink, drinking shrinks too. Sip through the day, away from the plate.
Fiber up slowly, with the fluid. Constipation is the most common complaint I hear on these medications, and fiber without extra fluid makes it worse.
One paragraph on why, then the food. Ozempic and Wegovy contain semaglutide, Mounjaro and Zepbound contain tirzepatide, and all four slow stomach emptying and change satiety signalling. Food sits longer, you feel full sooner. The complete GLP-1 diet guide covers the mechanism.
02Your protein number, with actual arithmetic
Rapid weight loss takes some lean tissue with the fat, on these medications as with any other. Protein and resistance work are the levers you have, which is why the target becomes the point of the plan.
A reasonable working target is around 1.2 g of protein per kilogram of body weight per day. The clearest published anchor for it is the PROT-AGE position paper led by Bauer, in the Journal of the American Medical Directors Association in 2013, which recommended at least 1.0 to 1.2 g per kilogram for healthy adults over 65. That paper is about ageing, not GLP-1 medications, and I would rather say so than dress it up. The problem in the middle is the same one: keeping muscle while the rest comes off.
The arithmetic for a woman of 70 kg (154 lb): 70 multiplied by 1.2 is 84, so call it 85 g a day. Across four eating occasions that is roughly 20 g each, which is a pot of Greek yogurt, or two eggs with cheese, or 100 g (3.5 oz) chicken.
About 1.2 g of protein per kg of body weight. For 70 kg (154 lb) that is roughly 85 g a day, or 20 g at each of four small meals.
Almandoz and colleagues, in Obesity in 2024, put protein, fiber, micronutrients and fluid at the center of what people on antiobesity medications should be counselled about. The 2025 joint advisory led by Mozaffarian, also in Obesity, pairs adequate protein with resistance training. Your own number depends on your size, age and kidney function, so let your prescriber set it.
Build the week around these
Greek yogurt, skyr, cottage cheese, eggs, chicken, turkey, white fish, salmon, canned tuna, lentils, tofu. Milk and protein powder for days when chewing feels like work. Potatoes, rice, oats and rye bread in small portions, with cooked vegetables and soft fruit.
Keep these small for now
Large raw salads, fried food, creamy sauces, and fizzy or sweet drinks with no protein in them. The reasoning, with a swap for each, is in foods to avoid on Ozempic.
The seven day GLP-1 meal plan
Small portions, protein first, one snack a day, no calorie counts. Days 2 and 5 are deliberately low-effort, because week three of a dose increase is not the week for a new recipe. Repetition is on purpose: cooking once and eating twice is a feature here. To swap a meal, the 50 healthy meal ideas suit the same appetite.
Day 1, cook once
Breakfast: 150 g (5 oz) Greek yogurt with peanut butter and berries.
Lunch: 100 g (3.5 oz) roast chicken, a small baked potato, cooked carrots.
Dinner: 120 g (4 oz) salmon with 40 g (1.5 oz) dry weight quinoa and zucchini. Cook double, it becomes tomorrow's lunch.
Snack: 100 g (3.5 oz) cottage cheese with a kiwi.
Protein for the day: roughly 90 g.
Day 2, low effort, nothing to cook
Breakfast: two scrambled eggs on one slice of toast.
Lunch: yesterday's salmon flaked through 100 g (3.5 oz) cooked rice with cucumber and lemon.
Dinner: a bowl of lentil soup with 30 g (1 oz) cheddar melted on toast.
Snack: a protein shake with 200 ml (7 fl oz) milk, sipped over an hour.
Protein for the day: roughly 88 g.
Day 3
Breakfast: overnight oats: 40 g (1.5 oz) oats, 150 ml (5 fl oz) milk, a scoop of protein powder.
Lunch: one can of tuna, drained, with new potatoes, tomatoes and olive oil.
Dinner: 100 g (3.5 oz) ground turkey in tomato sauce over a small portion of pasta.
Snack: one hard-boiled egg and a few olives.
Protein for the day: roughly 92 g.
Day 4, injection day, deliberately gentle
Breakfast: 150 g (5 oz) Greek yogurt with a little honey. Nothing hot, nothing rich.
Lunch: broth-based soup with 80 g (3 oz) shredded chicken and a little rice.
Dinner: a poached egg on toast with a quarter of an avocado.
Snack: a protein shake with 200 ml (7 fl oz) milk.
Protein for the day: roughly 78 g, the lightest day, on purpose.
Day 5, low effort, assembled not cooked
Breakfast: 150 g (5 oz) cottage cheese with chopped peach and a sprinkle of oats.
Lunch: rye bread with 80 g (3 oz) smoked mackerel or ham, cucumber and a hard-boiled egg.
Dinner: 100 g (3.5 oz) store-bought roast chicken, microwavable rice, steamed green beans.
Snack: 150 ml (5 fl oz) kefir and a small handful of walnuts.
Protein for the day: roughly 86 g.
Day 6
Breakfast: two eggs on sourdough with wilted spinach.
Lunch: leftover chicken in a small wrap with hummus and grated carrot.
Dinner: 120 g (4 oz) white fish with new potatoes and peas.
Snack: 100 g (3.5 oz) Greek yogurt with berries.
Protein for the day: roughly 84 g.
Day 7, batch cook for next week
Breakfast: a protein shake with 200 ml (7 fl oz) milk and half a banana.
Lunch: 100 g (3.5 oz) shrimp with rice noodles, bell peppers and sesame oil.
Dinner: turkey meatballs from 100 g (3.5 oz) ground turkey in tomato sauce, with a small potato. Double the batch and freeze half.
Snack: 30 g (1 oz) cheese with an apple.
Protein for the day: roughly 86 g.
The order, every single time: protein, then vegetables, then the starch. It is the first thing I change for a client on a GLP-1. If you stop after four bites, and some days you will, those four bites did the work.
The bad day version of the plan
Some days nothing solid will go down. That is not the plan failing.
Those days look like this. A protein shake in the morning, sipped rather than drunk. Broth-based soup at lunch with a little chicken in it. Yogurt in the afternoon. Plain toast or a poached egg in the evening if you can face it. Fluids all day, in small amounts.
One or two days like that are fine. Several in a row is a call to your prescriber rather than something to tough out, and the side effects article has the full list of what needs a doctor.
05What changes when the dose goes up
The week after a dose increase is the predictable hard week. Wharton and colleagues, in Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism in 2022, found gut side effects with once-weekly semaglutide clustered during and shortly after dose escalation, and were mostly mild to moderate.
So plan for it. Go back to the gentler end of the week for a few days: Day 4 twice, more liquid protein, less fat, earlier dinners. Step back up when your stomach settles.
06The shopping list
One person, one week, leftovers planned in.
Protein
2 chicken breasts, 300 g (10 oz), or a store-bought roast chicken, 2 salmon fillets, 240 g (8 oz), 1 white fish fillet, 120 g (4 oz), 150 g (5 oz) shrimp, 200 g (7 oz) ground turkey, 1 can of tuna, 8 eggs, red lentils.
Fridge
Greek yogurt, 500 g (17 oz), cottage cheese, 250 g (9 oz), kefir, cheddar, 1 liter (34 fl oz) milk, hummus.
Produce
Carrots, zucchini, bell peppers, green beans, peas, spinach, cucumber, tomatoes, potatoes, berries, kiwi, apple, banana, avocado.
Cupboard
Oats, rice, quinoa, pasta, rice noodles, rye bread, protein powder, peanut butter, walnuts, olive oil, canned tomatoes, stock.
What goes wrong with GLP-1 meal plans
Skipping meals altogether, because hunger is not there to remind you. Nothing feels wrong at the time, and the day ends on a yogurt and two cups of tea.
Drinking calories with no protein in them. Juice, a sweet latte, a fruit smoothie. If liquid is what you tolerate, make it useful: milk, kefir, a shake.
Going all in on salad. It feels virtuous and it is the wrong shape for this. Cooked vegetables in smaller amounts sit better on a slow stomach.
Treating the medication as the plan. Wilding and colleagues reported substantial weight loss with once-weekly semaglutide in the New England Journal of Medicine in 2021, in a trial where everyone also received lifestyle support. The drug handles your appetite, not what your body gets.
Alcohol and caffeine
Alcohol hits harder when you are eating very little, and it adds nausea and dehydration to what the medication already does. Coffee is fine, though on an empty stomach it makes queasiness worse, and if it stands in for breakfast it is part of the problem. Watch both for a week.
08Where your doctor comes in
Everything here is nutrition support. It is not medical advice, and it does not replace the person who prescribed your medication. Never change, pause or stop your dose because of an article, this one included.
Contact your prescriber, or seek medical care, if you cannot keep fluids down, if you are vomiting persistently, if you have severe or persistent abdominal pain, or if you have signs of dehydration. Those are not problems to fix with a different breakfast. The side effects article has the full red-flag list.
One more thing out loud. Eating very little for weeks on end is its own risk, not a bonus, so raise it at your next appointment. And if kidney disease, diabetes medication, disordered eating or a pregnancy is in the picture, this week needs adjusting by someone with your notes.
Want this week built around your body instead of mine?
A personalized meal plan sized for a small appetite: your protein target, your schedule, your foods, and portions you can actually manage.
See the Personalized Meal PlanFrequently asked questions
What does a GLP-1 meal plan look like?
Smaller plates built around protein, with vegetables and gentle carbohydrates in supporting roles, and fluid sipped between meals. Three small meals and a snack suits most women better than three normal-sized ones.
How much protein do I need on a GLP-1?
Around 1.2 g per kilogram of body weight per day works as a target, so roughly 85 g a day at 70 kg (154 lb). That number comes from the PROT-AGE position paper on older adults, not from a GLP-1 trial, so let your prescriber set yours.
Can I skip meals if I am not hungry on Ozempic?
An occasional missed meal is fine. Doing it most days is not, because protein and fluid have to fit into less food than before. Four small eating occasions on a loose schedule beat waiting for hunger that never arrives.
What should I eat on a bad day on a GLP-1?
Liquid and soft protein: a shake, a broth-based soup with a little chicken, yogurt, plain toast. Fluids sipped through the day. One or two days like that are fine, several in a row is a call to your prescriber.
Do I need to count calories on a GLP-1 meal plan?
Usually not. The medication is already handling how much you eat. Track protein instead for a couple of weeks, because that is the number most likely to be too low without you noticing.
Bauer J, Biolo G, Cederholm T, et al. (2013). Evidence-based recommendations for optimal dietary protein intake in older people: a position paper from the PROT-AGE Study Group. Journal of the American Medical Directors Association 14(8):542-559. PMID: 23867520. DOI: 10.1016/j.jamda.2013.05.021.
Almandoz JP, Wadden TA, Tewksbury C, et al. (2024). Nutritional considerations with antiobesity medications. Obesity 32(9):1613-1631. PMID: 38853526. DOI: 10.1002/oby.24067.
Mozaffarian D, Agarwal M, Aggarwal M, et al. (2025). Nutritional priorities to support GLP-1 therapy for obesity: a joint advisory. Obesity 33(8):1475-1503. PMID: 40445127. DOI: 10.1002/oby.24336.
Wharton S, Calanna S, Davies M, et al. (2022). Gastrointestinal tolerability of once-weekly semaglutide 2.4 mg in adults with overweight or obesity. Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism 24(1):94-105. PMID: 34514682. DOI: 10.1111/dom.14551.
Wilding JPH, Batterham RL, Calanna S, et al. (2021). Once-weekly semaglutide in adults with overweight or obesity. New England Journal of Medicine 384(11):989-1002. PMID: 33567185. DOI: 10.1056/NEJMoa2032183.
