Protein & muscle

Lose Fat. Keep Muscle.

When you're barely hungry, protein is usually the first thing to fall off your plate. Your body then pulls what it needs from muscle. Less muscle means a slower metabolism, less strength, and a harder time keeping weight off if you ever stop the medication.

Step 1

Find Your Number

Aim for 0.8 to 1 gram of protein for every pound of your goal weight. Use your goal weight, not today's weight. A 240-pound person doesn't need 240 grams; the target follows the body you're building toward.

Start at the low end. If you're lifting, or your pharmacist says you're losing muscle, work toward the top.

Daily protein targets by goal weight
Goal weight	Low end (0.8)	High end (1.0)
130 lb	104 g	130 g
150 lb	120 g	150 g
170 lb	136 g	170 g
190 lb	152 g	190 g
210 lb	168 g	210 g

Habit 1 · Protein first

Build Every Meal Around About 30 Grams

Eat the protein before anything else on the plate. You'll fill up fast, so make the first bites count. Spreading protein across the day also works better than trying to catch up with one big dinner you can't finish.

What 120 grams looks like

A real day for a woman with a 150-pound goal. Normal food, normal portions.

Breakfast

32 g

2 scrambled eggs 12 g

1 cup plain Greek yogurt with berries 20 g

Lunch

26 g

3 oz grilled chicken on a salad (deck-of-cards size) 26 g

Afternoon snack

16 g

1 string cheese 7 g

1 oz beef jerky 9 g

Dinner

25 g

4 oz baked salmon with roasted vegetables 25 g

Closing the gap

+22 g

1 scoop Phormula-1 Clear, mid-morning or after dinner 22 g

The day adds up to 121 grams

Food alone: 99 g. The shake closes the last 22.

Breakfast 32 g Lunch 26 g Snack 16 g Dinner 25 g Phormula-1 Clear 22 g

Aiming for the top of the range? Add a Level-1 bar as a second snack (+20 g) and you're at 141.

Swap List: What a Serving Gets You

Mix and match to hit about 30 grams a meal. Numbers are typical; brands vary, so check the label.

Breakfast

Plain Greek yogurt, 1 cup: 20 g
Cottage cheese, ½ cup: 13 g
Ultra-filtered milk, 1 cup: 13 g
Eggs, 2 large: 12 g
Regular milk, 1 cup: 8 g

Lunch & dinner

Chicken breast, 3 oz cooked: 26 g
Tuna, 1 can drained: 25 g
Salmon, 4 oz cooked: 25 g
93% lean ground beef, 3 oz cooked: 22 g
Shrimp, 3 oz cooked: 20 g
Deli turkey, 3 oz: 15 g
Black beans, ½ cup: 7 g

Snacks

Beef or turkey jerky, 1 oz: 9 g
Edamame, ½ cup shelled: 9 g
String cheese, 1 stick: 7 g
Peanut butter, 2 tbsp: 7 g
Hard-boiled egg, 1: 6 g
Almonds, 1 oz (about 23): 6 g

From our cooler

Phormula-1 Clear, 1 scoop: 22 g
Level-1 bar, 1 bar: 20 g

Same protein as a chicken breast, and it goes down when a plate of food won't.

Quick eyeball rule: a palm-size piece of meat or fish (about 3 oz) is 20 to 25 grams. Two palms a day plus breakfast and a snack gets most people close.

Habit 2 · Drink some of it

Close the Gap You Can’t Eat

Most patients get 80 to 100 grams from food on a good day. On a bad day, when nothing sounds good, it's half that. A protein drink goes down easier than a plate of food, and a clear one sits lighter than a milkshake. We picked 1st Phorm because it's third-party tested and our own staff drink it. Ask for a sample at the counter.

Our first pick · 22 g protein

Phormula-1 Clear

Whey isolate that drinks like a sports drink, not a milkshake. Zero sugar. Easiest on a queasy stomach.

[PRICE]

1st Phorm Level-1 Chocolate Crunch protein bars

Grab and go · 20 g protein

Level-1 bars

For the car, the desk, or the afternoon slump. Keep one in your bag for days you skip lunch.

[PRICE]

1st Phorm Salted Caramel collagen supplement

Hair, skin, nails

Collagen with Dermaval

An add-on, not a protein replacement. Collagen doesn't count toward your daily number the way whey or meat does.

[PRICE]

Habit 3 · Lift something

Protein is the material. Lifting weights tells your body to use it.

Without some strength work, extra protein mostly gets burned for energy. You don't need a gym membership.

Two or three 20-minute sessions a week
Bands, dumbbells, or bodyweight: squats to a chair, wall push-ups, carrying groceries in one trip
Time a protein meal or a shake within a couple of hours after
Check with your doctor before starting if you have heart, joint, or balance problems

Not sure you're getting enough?

Tell us what you ate yesterday. We'll show you where the gap is and the cheapest way to close it.

Book a free GLP-1 check-in

General education, not medical advice. Protein values are typical averages from common food labels and vary by brand and preparation. If you have kidney disease, ask your prescriber before raising your protein.

These statements have not been evaluated by the FDA. These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.