Your daily protein, water & calorie targets on semaglutide or tirzepatide
Built for people taking Wegovy, Ozempic, Zepbound or Mounjaro. Enter your details once and get evidence-banded protein and hydration targets, a safe calorie floor, your titration timeline with what to expect at each dose, and a realistic plateau projection based on the STEP and SURMOUNT trials.
🥩Daily protein target 1.2–1.6 g/kg band
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Evidence band (1.2–1.6 g/kg)—
Per meal (3–4 meals)—
Reference weight used—
How this is calculated
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Evidence: protein needs of 1.2–1.6 g/kg/day during intentional weight loss (Leidy et al. 2015, Am J Clin Nutr; Phillips & Van Loon 2011; ESPEN obesity guidance). On GLP-1 therapy clinicians commonly target the upper half of the band to protect lean mass.
💧Daily hydration target thirst is blunted
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How this is calculated
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🔥Calorie floor & intake range Mifflin-St Jeor
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Never-below floor (kcal/day)
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Suggested intake range (moderate deficit)
Estimated BMR (resting burn)—
Estimated TDEE (total daily burn)—
Muscle-preservation note: GLP-1 appetite suppression can push intake far below safe levels without you noticing. Eating under your floor for weeks accelerates lean-mass loss, hair shedding and fatigue — and does not improve long-term results. If you can’t reach the floor for more than a few days, tell your prescriber.
How this is calculated
BMR via Mifflin-St Jeor (10×kg + 6.25×cm − 5×age, +5 men / −161 women), multiplied by your activity factor for TDEE. Suggested range = TDEE minus 500–750 kcal. The floor is the higher of the clinical minimum (1,200 kcal women / 1,500 kcal men) and ~90% of your BMR. All values are estimates.
🗂️Your daily targets card
Everything on one card — print it and stick it on the fridge.
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📅Dose-week titration timeline
FDA-label escalation schedules. Step-ups happen only if the previous dose was tolerated — your prescriber may go slower.
📉Plateau projection trial-average curves
Your weight projected along the average trial curve. Real-world results vary widely — treat this as a map of the typical road, not a promise.
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GLP-1 receptor agonists like semaglutide (Wegovy, Ozempic) and dual-agonist tirzepatide (Zepbound, Mounjaro) work by turning down appetite and “food noise”. That is exactly what makes them effective — and exactly what creates three quiet risks: eating too little protein, drinking too little water, and dropping calories so low that the weight you lose includes a large share of muscle. This tool turns the published evidence on each of those risks into personal daily numbers.
Protein: the 1.2–1.6 g/kg evidence band
Research on intentional weight loss consistently lands on 1.2–1.6 grams of protein per kilogram of reference body weight per day — substantially above the standard RDA of 0.8 g/kg — to limit lean-mass loss. Because total protein needs scale with lean tissue rather than fat mass, the calculator anchors to an adjusted reference weight when your BMI is 30 or above, so a larger body isn’t pushed toward an unrealistic 200-gram target. Your activity level and resistance training move you within the band.
Hydration: why GLP-1 users get dehydrated
These medications blunt thirst along with hunger, slow stomach emptying, and — during dose step-ups — can cause vomiting or diarrhoea. The calculator uses the common clinical heuristic of about 33 ml per kilogram of body weight per day with a 2-litre minimum, plus a bonus for hot climates or heavy training, and lists the early warning signs worth acting on.
The calorie floor
Your basal metabolic rate is estimated with the Mifflin-St Jeor equation, the formula most validated against measured resting metabolism. The suggested intake range applies a moderate 500–750 kcal deficit to your total daily burn — but the headline number is the floor: the higher of the widely used clinical minimum (1,200 kcal for women, 1,500 kcal for men) and roughly 90% of your BMR. On a GLP-1, undershooting is the common failure mode, not overshooting.
Titration timelines and the plateau curve
The dose timeline mirrors the FDA-label escalation schedules — 0.25 → 2.4 mg over ~17 weeks for semaglutide and 2.5 → 15 mg over ~21 weeks for tirzepatide — with what most people feel at each stage. The projection chart maps your weight along digitized averages of the STEP 1 and SURMOUNT-1 trial curves (estimates), including the plateau that typically arrives around weeks 60–72. Seeing the plateau on the map before you hit it is the best protection against quitting at exactly the wrong moment.
Frequently asked questions
How much protein should I eat on Ozempic or Wegovy?
The evidence band for intentional weight loss is 1.2–1.6 g of protein per kg of reference body weight per day. On semaglutide, appetite suppression makes under-eating protein the default, so most clinicians steer patients to the upper half of the band — and to front-load protein early in the day, when nausea is usually mildest. For a 100 kg person with a goal of 80 kg, that typically lands between roughly 105 and 140 g/day. Use the calculator above for your exact band.
How much water should I drink on a GLP-1 medication?
About 33 ml per kg of body weight per day is a common clinical heuristic — roughly 2.5–3.3 L for most adults, never below ~2 L. Because GLP-1 drugs blunt thirst, schedule your fluids (e.g., a glass on waking, one before each meal, one mid-afternoon) instead of waiting to feel thirsty. Add ~0.5 L on hot or heavy-sweat days, and add electrolytes if you’ve had vomiting or diarrhoea after a dose increase.
What’s the lowest number of calories I should eat on semaglutide or tirzepatide?
Without direct medical supervision, the widely used minimums are about 1,200 kcal/day for women and 1,500 kcal/day for men — and staying near or above ~90% of your estimated BMR. Persistently eating below the floor speeds up muscle loss, hair shedding, fatigue and gallstone risk without improving long-term weight outcomes. If the medication has pushed your appetite below the floor for more than a few days, that’s a conversation with your prescriber, not a win.
Why has my weight loss plateaued — has the medication stopped working?
Almost certainly not. In STEP 1 (semaglutide) and SURMOUNT-1 (tirzepatide), average weight loss flattened around weeks 60–72 at roughly −15% and −21% respectively. As you lose weight your body burns fewer calories, so the same intake eventually balances out — that’s arithmetic, not failure. A plateau after substantial loss is the medication doing its job and then holding the result. Options at the plateau (dose, training, intake) are prescriber conversations.
What is the semaglutide (Wegovy) titration schedule?
Per the FDA label: 0.25 mg weekly for weeks 1–4, then 0.5 mg (weeks 5–8), 1.0 mg (9–12), 1.7 mg (13–16), and the 2.4 mg maintenance dose from week 17 — each step taken only if the previous dose was tolerated. Many prescribers deliberately go slower; slower titration is a tolerability strategy, not falling behind.
What is the tirzepatide (Zepbound) titration schedule?
2.5 mg weekly for weeks 1–4, then 5 mg, with optional 2.5 mg increases at intervals of at least 4 weeks up to 15 mg. Unlike semaglutide, three doses are maintenance-eligible: 5 mg (~16% average loss at 72 weeks in trials), 10 mg (~19.5%), and 15 mg (~21%). Plenty of people stay at 5 or 10 mg long-term with excellent results.
How do I avoid losing muscle while losing weight on a GLP-1?
Four levers, in order of impact: hit your protein target daily (the 1.2–1.6 g/kg band); resistance-train at least twice a week — muscle that’s being used is muscle the body keeps; never eat below your calorie floor; and prefer a steady loss rate over a crash. Studies of rapid loss with low protein and no training show lean mass making up a third or more of total loss — the calculator’s defaults are designed to keep you out of that zone.
How accurate are the projection numbers?
They’re averages, and you are not an average. The curves are digitized estimates from the published STEP 1 and SURMOUNT-1 trial figures — large, randomized trials, but reporting mean results. Real-world responses spread widely around the mean: some people lose considerably more, a meaningful minority lose much less, and dose, adherence, nutrition and genetics all move the needle. Use the chart to calibrate expectations and anticipate the plateau, not to grade your own week-to-week progress.
Free: the GLP-1 First-12-Weeks Checklist 📬
A printable week-by-week PDF — what to eat, what side effects to expect at each dose step, when to call your prescriber, and the grocery list that makes protein targets easy. Join the list and we’ll send it over.
Important — educational tool only, not medical advice. GLP-1 Companion provides general educational estimates based on published formulas (Mifflin-St Jeor), evidence bands (1.2–1.6 g/kg protein), FDA-label titration schedules, and averaged clinical-trial data (STEP 1, SURMOUNT-1). It does not know your medical history and is not a substitute for advice from your physician, prescriber or registered dietitian. Never change your medication dose, calorie intake or treatment plan based on this tool alone. If you experience severe vomiting, signs of dehydration, severe abdominal pain or symptoms of hypoglycaemia, seek medical care promptly. Trial-curve values are digitized approximations (estimates) of published figures.