GLP-1 Grocery List: A Printable High-Protein Shop

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Protein first

Vegetables and fruit

Cupboard and freezer

The backup shelf

The backup shelf is the part people skip and then regret. It is what stands between a rough week and a week with almost no protein in it.

Work from your own target, not from a list. A 2025 expert consensus recommends 1.2 to 1.5 g of protein per kg of your current body weight a day while you are losing weight on a GLP-1 ^[2], and the 2025 joint advisory from four US bodies offers 80 to 120 g a day as a simpler target ^[1].

For an 85 kg person that is about 102 to 128 g a day, so roughly 700 to 900 g of protein food a day across everything you eat. Our protein calculator works out your range, and the 7-day meal plan turns this list into actual meals.

A week of shopping to hit around 110 g a day looks like this:

• From meat and fish: about 1 kg in total, which covers four or five dinners.
• From dairy: a large tub of Greek yogurt, two tubs of cottage cheese, 2 liters of milk.
• From eggs: a dozen.
• From cupboard protein: two cans of fish, two cans of beans or lentils, a block of tofu.
• From powder: a tub lasts three to four weeks at one scoop a day.

Buy less than you think of anything fresh. Appetite on these medicines is unpredictable, and food you throw away is money and guilt you do not need.

Most packaging shows protein per 100 g. Anything at 10 g per 100 g or more earns its place in your trolley when you are trying to hit a protein target on a small appetite.

Protein in a normal portion

Everyday foods, grams of protein per typical serving (USDA values)

Chicken breast · 100 g cooked31 g

Salmon · 140 g cooked31 g

Cottage cheese · 200 g tub25 g

Canned tuna · 1 can, drained25 g

Protein powder · 1 scoop24 g

Eggs · 3 eggs19 g

Lentils · 1 cup cooked18 g

Greek yogurt · 170 g pot17 g

Firm tofu · 150 g15 g

Milk · 250 ml glass8 g

20 g or more: a meal's worth on its ownUnder 20 g: pair it with something else

Protein per 100 g, from USDA FoodData Central ^[3]:

Two things the front of a packet will not tell you:

• "High protein" on the label is marketing, not a standard amount. A high-protein granola can still be mostly sugar. Turn it over and read the per 100 g column.
• Protein water and protein crisps are expensive ways to buy very little. A tub of cottage cheese usually beats them on both protein and price.

Nausea is common while your dose is going up. In the Zepbound trials it affected 25% to 29% of people depending on dose, against 8% on placebo, and most of it happened during dose escalation ^[4]. On Wegovy at 2.4 mg, 44% reported nausea and 24% vomiting ^[5].

Shop for those weeks before they arrive:

• Cold and smooth: Greek yogurt, high-protein puddings, kefir, smoothie fruit in the freezer.
• Liquid: ready-made shakes, milk, soy milk, broth.
• Plain and dry: crackers, plain toast, rice.
• Salty and simple: canned tuna, boiled eggs, cheese.
• Fluids: the 2025 consensus asks for more than 2 liters a day, and more if you are vomiting or have diarrhea ^[2]. Dehydration is the part that causes real trouble: the Zepbound label notes that reported cases of acute kidney injury mostly happened in people who got dehydrated from stomach side effects ^[4].

What to go easy on in the first days of a new dose: fatty food and a big pile of high-fiber vegetables. The joint advisory suggests smaller, lower-fat meals and holding back on high-fiber foods early on ^[1]. Build the fiber back up once things settle, aiming for at least 25 g a day for women and 30 g for men ^[2].

The most expensive items in the protein aisle are usually the ones with a picture of a dumbbell on them. These do the same job:

• Eggs. 6 g each, keep for weeks, need no recipe.
• Canned fish. 20 to 25 g a can, no cooking, lasts years.
• Chicken thighs instead of breast. Slightly less protein, much cheaper, harder to dry out.
• Cottage cheese. 25 g in a 200 g tub, and it works sweet or savory.
• Milk. 8 g per glass. A shake made with milk instead of water gains about 8 g for pennies.
• Lentils and canned beans. 18 g a cup, plus the fiber you are short on anyway.
• Frozen fish fillets. Cheaper than fresh, and they do not go off while your appetite is gone.
• Whole chicken. If you roast one, that is dinner plus two lunches of cold chicken.

Frozen vegetables belong in the same list. They are picked and frozen quickly, they keep for months, and on a GLP-1 that matters more than usual, because fresh produce tends to rot while you are not hungry.

Vegetarian

Swap the meat and fish for tofu, tempeh, eggs, Greek yogurt, cottage cheese, lentils, chickpeas and edamame. Two things to plan around: plant protein comes with more fiber, which is harder work in the first days of a new dose, and portions get bigger for the same protein. A soy or pea protein shake closes the gap without volume.

Dairy-free

Soy milk and soy yogurt are the only close swaps on protein. Almond and oat milk have very little, so treat them as a drink, not a protein source. Pea or soy powder covers the shake, and tofu, tempeh, eggs, fish and beans cover meals.

A no-cook week

Canned tuna and salmon, pre-cooked chicken, boiled eggs, Greek yogurt, cottage cheese, hummus, cheese, edamame, high-protein puddings, shakes, bagged salad and fruit. You can run a whole week on this list without turning on the stove.

Because the medicine does the eating-less part for you, and the protein is what slips.

A 2025 review of what people on GLP-1 medicines actually eat found intakes low in fiber and in several vitamins and minerals ^[6]. The authors are careful about it: "the current data are insufficient and do not allow any conclusions as to whether and to what extent the risk of micronutrient deficiencies could increase" ^[6]. So this is an argument for planning the shop, not for buying a cupboard of supplements.

Food is only half of it. The joint advisory says GLP-1 medicines should come with a structured exercise program including strength training at least three times a week ^[1]. Our free 12-week workout plan is the other half.