What protein shake should I drink on Ozempic?

A small, cold glass with protein first. Half a cup of milk, 6 oz of plain Greek yogurt and half a cup of frozen strawberries is 22 g of protein in 187 calories, low in fat and easy to finish. Sip it slowly, and leave anything about the medicine itself to your prescriber.

On a GLP-1 drug like semaglutide (Ozempic, Wegovy) or tirzepatide (Mounjaro, Zepbound), the problem flips. Eating less is suddenly easy, and eating enough protein is the hard part. People either skip meals because nothing sounds good, or buy a big meal-replacement shake and leave half of it in the fridge. A small glass built around protein fits the way these drugs make you eat.

Think of each glass as a short meeting with a tight agenda. Protein is item one, because you might not get to item three.

The small glass

B

Small and protein first B

22 g protein, 187 calories, 3 g fat, no added sugar

What does the GLP-1 advisory say about protein?

In 2025, four US groups, the American College of Lifestyle Medicine, the American Society for Nutrition, the Obesity Medicine Association and The Obesity Society, wrote joint nutrition advice for people on these drugs. On protein they give options rather than one number: 1.2 to 1.6 g per kg of body weight a day during weight loss, or a flat 80 to 120 g a day, which they say may be easier to stick to. They also say it’s unclear which body weight the per-kg target should use.

For a 200 lb adult, 1.2 to 1.6 g per kg comes to about 110 to 145 g a day. The flat option is 80 to 120 g. A 22 g glass is a quarter of the low end of that, from something you can finish in ten minutes.

How do I make it work when I’m not hungry?

The advisory’s practical advice fits a small glass well.

• Small meals. For people who stop eating because of nausea, it suggests they “eat breakfast and then small meals every 3–4 h while drinking adequate fluids,” and notes that “vomiting is more likely to occur with large meals.”
• Go easy on fat and fiber at the start. It suggests “avoiding fatty or high fiber foods during the first few days of treatment,” and says avoiding large or high-fat meals can help with diarrhea. The small glass has about 3 g of fat, and we’d leave the peanut butter out until you know how you handle it.
• Protein first. It says “protein-rich foods can be consumed first in a meal to increase the likelihood of sufficient consumption,” and names Greek yogurt, cottage cheese, fish, eggs and nuts or seeds and their spreads. Some people, it adds, meet their target with high-protein shakes.
• Then fiber from food. After the first days it encourages “adequate fluids and fiber from foods.” Half an ounce of chia adds 4.9 g, so start with less and build up.

What other small glasses work?

The cottage cheese glass packs the most protein, and it’s salty (918 mg of sodium in the cup). Our cottage cheese berry recipe is the full-size version.

When should I call my prescriber?

Call if you can’t keep food or fluids down. The advisory warns that dehydration from severe nausea, vomiting or diarrhea can injure the kidneys. This page covers food only, and gives no advice on doses, timing or stopping a drug.

bodyfat.guide covers how the GLP-1 drugs work and whether they make you lose muscle. protein.guide adds up the rest of your day.

This page follows the 2025 joint advisory on nutrition with GLP-1 drugs from the American College of Lifestyle Medicine, the American Society for Nutrition, the Obesity Medicine Association and The Obesity Society, and USDA food data, all checked on November 14, 2026. It’s general information about food, not medical advice. Your prescriber decides anything about the medicine, and a symptom that worries you is a question for them.