The Pink Dietitian

How much protein should you be eating?

2026-08-02T00:00:00Z

The minimum

For healthy adults, the minimum is 0.8g/kg. For a 70kg person, this is 56g per day (PHE 2016).

It's estimated in the UK, adults eat 76g per day with older adults (65+) consuming slightly less at 67g per day (NDNS 2025). So for most, eating the minimum protein isn't so much of a concern.

The sweet spot

What about the amount of protein to support your movement? This is what the research recommends based on activity level.

Activity level	Activity description	Protein per day	Source
Sedentary	Little to no exercise	0.8g/kg	PHE 2016
Lightly active	Regular walking	1–1.2g/kg	Wu 2016
Moderately active	Strength training and some endurance	1.3–1.6g/kg	Wu 2016
Athlete	Heavy training sessions	1.6–2.2g/kg	Schoenfeld & Aragon 2018

For athletes looking to maximise muscle growth, protein should be split into 0.4–0.55g/kg/meal across a minimum of four meals in order to reach the 1.6–2.2g/kg/day (Schoenfeld & Aragon 2018).

In addition, older adults require slightly more protein at 1–1.2g/kg (Parker 2025). If you are 65+ and are very active, it is likely you need more than this.

How much is too much?

Whilst there is technically no safe upper limit for protein in healthy adults, there is some research which suggests higher intake of protein can place greater stress on the kidneys and puts you more at risk of kidney stones. If you are not an athlete or bodybuilder, staying below 2g/kg/day may be safer (140g for a 70kg person) (Harvard Health Publishing 2026).

Quality

It is important you are eating mostly good quality protein and by this I mean protein from whole foods vs a protein shake. One of the reasons for this is the food matrix.

The food matrix refers to the complex structure of food which you don't get in supplements where just one macro- or micro-nutrient is isolated. This means when you are eating tofu, you are not just getting protein, you are getting fats, calcium, manganese, copper, selenium, and isoflavones (Punoo et al. 2024).

Don't get me wrong, protein shakes can be useful if you are struggling to meet your protein target through food alone, but ideally, it is more beneficial for you to get your protein through whole foods.

In addition, it is recommended to try to avoid red meat or limit it to 70g/day as it is strongly associated with breast and gastric cancers (Sivasubramanian et al. 2023).

Animal protein vs plant protein

A common phrase I hear a lot from people is that plant protein is not as easily digested as animal protein. Whilst this is partly true, digestibility only varies slightly and is not as extreme as people think.

Another saying is that plant protein sources are not "complete" proteins (they don't contain all essential amino acids). There are many plant sources that contain all essential amino acids (soy, quinoa, chia seeds, buckwheat and hemp seeds) however it is recommended that eating a wide variety of plant protein can help support optimising nutritional value and better digestion (Maleky & Ahmadi 2025).

Protein sources for 20–25g

Food	Portion size	Protein
Chicken breast	100g	20.3g
Turkey mince	120g	21.6g
Eggs	4 eggs	25.2g
Baked beans	1 can	20g
Tofu	120g	20.6g
Soya beans	200g	22.4g
Tuna	100g	25g
Salmon	100g	22.1g
Lentils, cooked	300g	21.2g
Quorn mince	200g	21.8g

In summary

0.8g/kg is the minimum for healthy adults.

The right target depends on how you train: 1–1.2g/kg if lightly active, 1.3–1.6g/kg if you strength train, 1.6–2.2g/kg if you train heavily.

Adults 65+ need a little more, around 1–1.2g/kg.

If you are chasing muscle growth, split it into 0.4–0.55g/kg per meal across at least four meals.

There is no formal upper limit, but staying under 2g/kg/day is sensible unless you are an athlete.

Whole foods first; shakes are a useful top-up, not the foundation.

Limit red meat to 70g/day.

Vary your plant protein sources.

References

Harvard Health Publishing 2026. When it comes to protein, how much is too much? Harvard Health.

Maleky, F. and Ahmadi, L. 2025. Adhering to recommended dietary protein intake for optimizing human health benefits versus exceeding levels, RSC Adv, 15(12), pp.9230–9242. doi: 10.1039/d4ra08221d.

NDNS 2025. National Diet and Nutrition Survey 2019 to 2023: report, Office for Health Improvement and Disparities.

Parker, T. 2025. Protein: how much do you need? British Heart Foundation.

PHE 2016. Government Dietary Recommendations, Public Health England, PHE publications gateway number: 2016202.

Punoo, H.A., Qureshi, I. and Mohammad, A. 2024. Phytochemicals in Tofu and Its Health Benefits, Biochemistry, IntechOpen. doi: 10.5772/intechopen.110733.

Schoenfeld, B.J. and Aragon, A.A. 2018. How much protein can the body use in a single meal for muscle-building? Implications for daily protein distribution, J Int Soc Sports Nutr, 15, 10. doi: 10.1186/s12970-018-0215-1.

Sivasubramanian, B.P., Dave, M., Panchal, V., Saifa-Bonsu, J., Konka, S., Noei, F., Nagaraj, S., Terpari, U., Savani, P., Vekaria, P.H., Samala Venkata, V. and Manjani, L. 2023. Comprehensive Review of Red Meat Consumption and the Risk of Cancer, Cureus, 15(9), pp. e45324. doi: 10.7759/cureus.45324.

Wu, G. 2016. Dietary protein intake and human health, Food Funct, 7(3), pp.1251–1265. doi: 10.1039/c5fo01530h.

How to eat well whilst taking GLP-1s

2026-08-01T00:00:00Z

Giving your body what it needs

Firstly, let's talk about malnutrition. This is where your body is not getting the nutrients it needs and, as a result, it is not able to function as well. Whilst one of the main reasons you may be taking GLP-1s is to lose weight, it's really important you do this in a healthy way to mitigate some of the risks of weight loss. Let's dive into the different ways you can do this.

Preserving muscle mass

Protein is involved in maintaining and building muscle mass, wound healing, and helping you feel satiated after a meal. During weight loss, you will not just lose fat tissue but also muscle. In order to minimise this muscle loss, a higher intake of protein is recommended.

For adults not losing weight, the protein recommendation is 0.8g/kg/day.
For adults losing weight, 1.2–1.6g/kg/day is recommended.

What does this look like? If you are 70kg, this is 84g–112g spread evenly throughout the day.

Bone health

Vitamin D and calcium both contribute to good bone health, which is more at risk when you are rapidly losing weight. It's important you are meeting your daily requirements of these to try to protect your bone density whilst losing weight. For more at-risk individuals, a supplement may be appropriate.

Vitamin D: 10µg / 400IU for adults
Calcium: 700mg for most adults

Resistance training is also very important for maintaining and building muscle mass throughout your treatment, and it helps build and maintain bone density.

Aim to strength train 2–3× a week
You can start anywhere! Even if it is using cans of baked beans whilst sitting down

Gut health

Fibre intake is important in gut health. It is recommended adults consume 30g of fibre a day, however only 4% of adults in the UK actually meet this. Whilst eating less, it can be even more challenging to meet this recommendation. Eating enough fibre can also help relieve some of the gastrointestinal side effects of taking a GLP-1, making it even more important.

Micronutrients

Some important micronutrients to make sure you are meeting are vitamin D, iron, calcium, magnesium, zinc, and vitamins A, D, E, K, B1, B12 and C. Micronutrient deficiency can cause symptoms of extreme fatigue, hair loss, skin irritation, poor wound healing and bruising.

Managing the side effects of GLP-1s

Nausea and vomiting
- Smaller but more frequent meals (5–6 meals a day)
- Aim for lower fat meals
- Herbal tea like ginger or peppermint may soothe nausea
- Dry crackers when nauseous
- If you are vomiting, an oral rehydration solution may be appropriate
Feeling full very quickly
- Again, try smaller but more frequent meals (5–6 meals a day)
- When eating a meal, eat the protein and fibre-rich foods first. This helps ensure you are meeting protein and fibre requirements, even if you are unable to finish your meal
Constipation
- Try to gradually increase your fibre by around 3–5g per week
- Stay hydrated with at least 2 litres of fluid per day (this includes coffee, teas and squash)
Diarrhoea
- Try to avoid greasy, high fat foods
- Consider reducing your fibre down if appropriate
Heartburn and reflux — this can be caused by delayed gastric emptying
- Avoid caffeine, alcohol and fizzy drinks
- Eat slowly, with the little and often approach
- Keeping a food and symptom diary can help identify foods which give you symptoms, so you can look to avoid them in future
Loss of interest around food
- Choose nutritious foods which are more palatable, such as smoothies, soups and protein drinks with fruit and vegetables blended in
- Unsweetened dairy foods may be more appetising, such as yoghurt, cottage cheese and milk
- Setting alarm reminders for meal and snack times

A lot of these gastrointestinal side effects can happen when starting the medication and increasing doses. The symptoms can subside as you adjust to the new dose, so it may be about temporarily managing them until your body adapts.

How a dietitian can support you

Dietitians are really great at:

Motivating you throughout your weight loss journey, through the highs, lows and plateaus
Educating and supporting you to make healthy habit changes for the long term
Realistic aims and goal setting
Providing practical nutritional strategies to help you reach your goals
Monitoring possible nutritional deficiencies and side effects whilst taking GLP-1s
And don't forget celebrating your wins — the best part!

In summary

If you are planning to take a GLP-1, please talk to an appropriate healthcare professional to ensure any nutrient deficiencies and side effects are addressed. Adequate nutritional intake is key to supporting your health long term whilst taking GLP-1s.

GLP-1s: what they are, and what to consider

2026-07-31T00:00:00Z

What are GLP-1s?

GLP-1 is a hormone which is produced by our intestines after we eat a meal, and it does a number of things including telling us we are satiated. What the GLP-1 drugs do is mimic this signalling, however they last a lot longer than the hormone we produce in our body. GLP-1 which is produced in the body has a half-life of 1–2 minutes, whereas the GLP-1 medication has a half-life of around 7 days.

GLP-1 has effects in lots of places in the body which we are understanding more about as research is being done. Some key effects of GLP-1 are:

Improved blood glucose control
Impacts appetite regulation, specifically decreasing your appetite
Delays gastric emptying. It takes food longer to leave your stomach and continue along your digestive tract. As the food is in your stomach for longer, you feel fuller for longer

As a result, they have been shown to cause clinically significant weight loss ranging from 5–18% in trials (Mozaffarian et al. 2025).

The medication

There are a number of medications but some common ones are:

Semaglutide (Ozempic / Wegovy / Rybelsus)
Liraglutide (Saxenda)
Tirzepatide (Mounjaro). This acts on both the GLP-1 and gastric inhibitory polypeptide (GIP) pathway

Most medications are injectable, however there have recently been oral versions of some of the medications approved.

There are also trials being conducted now on a drug called Retatrutide which uses three pathways: GLP-1, GIP, and also glucagon receptor (GCGR). The drug is in phase 3 trials, which is the final stage of human trials.

Should I take GLP-1s for weight loss?

Well, this is a conversation you should have with your GP or healthcare practitioner on whether it is the right treatment for you, however I'll run through some points you may want to think about. Remember that GLP-1s are not meant to be an aesthetic drug. They are a medication to treat Type 2 Diabetes and obesity, which is a chronic disease resulting from complex interactions between many factors (WHO 2025).

Some considerations to think about:

There are no long term studies. Whilst the class of drugs has been around for 20 years, the recent GLP-1s are new drugs, therefore we don't have long term studies.
You may not lose weight on the drug (known as a non-responder).
If you are paying for the treatment privately, it can be costly, especially as you increase the dose.
The best outcomes when taking GLP-1s is when the treatment is paired with lifestyle changes. Are you ready to make these lifestyle changes?
In the UK, the drug has a licence for 2 years. Therefore, you need to think long term about what you will do after the 2 years. For example, what lifestyle behaviours can you continue with long-term.
Do you need psychological support? Body image challenges and disordered eating can come up during treatment, therefore it's important to consider where this support might be accessible.
There are side effects with taking the drug. The most common ones are nausea, vomiting, constipation, diarrhoea, reflux, bloating and stomach pain. Some less common side effects include pancreatitis, gallbladder and biliary disorders and kidney issues.
With any form of significant weight loss comes the risk of malnutrition. In particular, muscle and bone density loss.

In summary

If you are considering GLP-1s, go and have a chat with your GP or pharmacist to see if it is the right decision for you.