GLP-1 Diet & Nutrition: What to Eat on Ozempic, Wegovy & Mounjaro

GLP-1 medications like Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro, and Zepbound change how much you want to eat — which means what you eat matters more than ever. When your appetite shrinks, every bite has to work harder to keep you nourished, strong, and feeling well. This guide covers how to eat well on GLP-1 medication: how much protein you actually need, how to handle nausea, and how to build meals around a smaller appetite.

Basilino is a food companion, not a medical service. This article is general information, not medical advice — always follow your prescriber or dietitian.

How GLP-1 medications change the way you eat

GLP-1 receptor agonists slow how quickly your stomach empties and quiet the appetite signals in your brain. The result is that you feel full sooner, stay full longer, and often lose interest in food altogether. That's the point — but it creates three practical problems:

• You eat less, so it's easy to under-eat protein and key nutrients.
• Rich, greasy, or very sweet foods can trigger nausea when the stomach is emptying slowly.
• Dehydration and constipation are common, because you're consuming less overall.

The goal isn't to eat more — it's to make the smaller amount you do eat count.

Protein is the priority

When you're losing weight quickly, some of that loss can come from muscle unless you protect it. Protein is what preserves muscle, keeps you full, and steadies energy.

A common target is roughly 60–100g of protein per day, or about 1.0–1.5g per kilogram of body weight, though your own number depends on your weight, activity, and your care team's guidance. The challenge on GLP-1 medication is hitting that in far fewer bites.

Practical ways to get there:

• Lead every meal with protein. Eat the chicken, eggs, fish, tofu, or Greek yoghurt first, while your appetite is highest.
• Lean on protein-dense foods: Greek yoghurt, eggs, cottage cheese, fish, chicken, lean beef, tofu, tempeh, edamame, and legumes.
• Spread it across the day. Three smaller protein hits are easier to absorb — and to stomach — than one large one.
• Keep easy options on hand for low-appetite days: a protein shake, a boiled egg, a tub of skyr.

Fibre, hydration, and the unglamorous essentials

Eating less makes constipation more likely, and slowed digestion can make it worse. Fibre and fluids are your friends:

• Aim for steady fibre from vegetables, fruit, oats, beans, and whole grains — increase it gradually to avoid bloating.
• Drink consistently through the day rather than gulping large amounts at once (which can feel uncomfortable on a full-feeling stomach).
• Don't drown your appetite — try to drink between meals rather than filling up on liquid right before eating, so you've got room for protein.

Eating through nausea

Nausea is the most common GLP-1 side effect, especially after a dose increase. Foods that help on a queasy day tend to be gentle, plain, lower-fat, and not too sweet:

• Bland, starchy foods: toast, rice, oats, crackers, plain potatoes.
• Cool or room-temperature foods, which smell less strong than hot ones.
• Ginger (tea, or in cooking) settles many stomachs.
• Small, frequent bites rather than full meals.

Foods that commonly trigger nausea: fried and greasy dishes, very rich or creamy meals, heavy sauces, and a lot of sugar at once. This is exactly why Basilino flags "gentle-day" recipes and tags rich, fried, or spicy ingredients — so you can pick what your stomach can handle today.

Building a GLP-1-friendly plate

A simple template for a satisfying, well-tolerated meal:

• Half a palm to a palm of protein — the non-negotiable, eaten first.
• A fist of vegetables or fruit for fibre and micronutrients.
• A small amount of slow carbs — oats, rice, potato, or whole grain — for steady energy.
• A little healthy fat for flavour and satiety, kept modest so it's easy on the stomach.

Portions will be smaller than you're used to. That's fine — consistency across the day matters more than the size of any single meal.

A sample gentle day

• Breakfast: Greek yoghurt with berries and a spoon of oats (high protein, gentle, fibre).
• Lunch: A small portion of chicken or tofu with rice and steamed veg.
• Snack: A boiled egg or a protein shake if appetite is low.
• Dinner: Baked white fish with potato and greens — light, lean, easy to digest.

How Basilino helps

Every Basilino recipe shows protein, fibre, and calories per serving, with gentle-day options and clear flags for the ingredients that tend to upset GLP-1 stomachs. You can track your daily protein against a goal, save the meals that work for you, and clip any recipe from the web — and we'll calculate the protein for you. It's a cookbook built for exactly this: eating well when you're eating less.

Sources & further reading

This guide is general information, not medical advice. For authoritative guidance, see:

• NHS — The Eatwell Guide (balanced diet, fibre, food groups)
• NHS — Constipation (fibre and fluids)
• British Dietetic Association — Protein

Your prescriber or a registered dietitian can give protein and nutrition targets tailored to you.

Start free — create an account, no card needed.