Eating enough on the days you can't
On GLP-1s, some days your appetite just doesn't show up. Here's a protein-first floor for those days — no forcing, no shame, just a shorter list of what matters.
If you’re on a GLP-1, you know the days I mean. You planned chicken and rice. Your body voted for three crackers and a nap. The medication is doing exactly what it’s supposed to do — and dinner is suddenly a negotiation.
The internet’s advice for these days is mostly “eat more protein!” — which is like telling someone with a flat tire to “drive better.” So here’s the practical version.
Shrink the goal, keep the order
On a no-appetite day, your full macro plan is not the assignment. The assignment is a floor, in priority order:
- Protein first. Whatever you can eat, make the first bites protein. Not because carbs are bad — because on reduced intake, protein is what protects muscle, and muscle is what you don’t want to lose while the scale moves.
- Fluids and electrolytes second. A lot of “I feel awful” days are really “I drank 400ml of water by 4pm” days.
- Everything else is bonus. Truly. Fiber tomorrow. Micronutrients this week. Today: protein and fluids.
Numbers that fit the day
A useful floor for most people is 1.2–1.6 g of protein per kg of goal body weight across a week, not a perfect daily hit. One low day doesn’t wreck the average — which is exactly why you should log it instead of hiding from it.
Small-volume, high-protein options that tend to stay welcome on rough days:
- Greek yogurt or skyr (15–20 g per small tub)
- A ready-to-drink shake (25–30 g, no chewing required — this is their moment)
- Cottage cheese, eggs, a few slices of deli turkey
- Bone broth with collagen if solid food is a hard no
Log the day anyway
Here’s the part I care most about: a 600-calorie day is data, not a failure. Log it. In Macroline there’s no red screen, no streak broken, no “you’re under your goal!” scolding — because a pattern of low days is something you and your prescriber genuinely want to see coming. Three of them in a week is worth a conversation. One of them is just Tuesday.
Tracking on the medication isn’t about restriction — your appetite is handling that part. It’s about making sure what little you do eat is doing the most work. Protein first. Water second. Grace throughout.