Calculating Your Protein Target For Weight Loss

Dr Catherine Hyatt

October 25, 2024

To lose weight healthily, it’s important to raise your protein intake. If you’re not sure where to start, our Levity experts will show you a simple protein calculator to work out how much to eat during your weight loss journey. We’ll also explain what protein is, and why you need to eat enough of it to get the best long-term results.

What is protein?

Protein is an essential part of a healthy diet. It's made up of molecules called amino acids. These amino acids are the building blocks that help the human body repair, grow and maintain lean muscle mass during weight loss.

It’s helpful to picture these amino acids as a Lego set, with bricks that come in different shapes and sizes. To build all the structures in your body like muscles, tissues, tendons or joints, you need a variety of bricks.

Some of these special bricks (called essential amino acids) can't be made by the human body on its own, so you have to get them from what you eat. Think of it like buying specific Lego pieces to complete your model.

If your diet has enough protein, you'll have all the necessary bricks you need for building muscle, recovering from training sessions and repairing any of your body’s structures better. [1]

Why is protein important for weight loss?

Ask any healthcare professional, nutritionist or personal trainer, and they’ll agree that adding more calories from protein to your diet is key to healthy weight loss. If you’re taking weight loss medications, a high-protein diet is even more important – whether your exercise and activity levels are high or not. Protein will help you keep, repair and grow lean muscle mass by providing those harder-to-find Lego bricks we talked about earlier (essential amino acids). Therefore a higher daily intake of protein can help your body hold onto lean muscle mass and not lose it.

Eating a high-protein diet that's rich in essential amino acids, and tailored to your body’s unique needs, will also help you lose more weight from body fat instead of muscle. What’s more, our bodies digest protein slower than other foods like simple carbohydrates – helping you feel fuller for longer, so you’re less likely to overeat if you're on a calorie deficit (eating fewer calories a day). [2]

How much protein should I eat to lose weight?

The amount of protein foods you need to eat depends on your age, sex, height, weight, and physical activity. The amount may also change depending on whether or not you are pregnant or breastfeeding. [3]

For people who are on weight loss medications like Ozempic or Wegovy, or who are losing weight quickly, our experts recommend that you eat at least 7 grams of protein for every 20 pounds of body weight, per day.

Easy tips to eat enough protein

Once you know how much additional protein to eat per day, you can then use our guide, or the Dietary Guidelines For Americans and your daily calorie intake, to plan healthy meals. These might have complete protein foods, protein supplements like whey protein powder or plant-based protein powder, or snacks like Greek yogurt to help increase your protein intake. To find out how much protein a food has in it, you can check the label on the pack. This will say how many grams of protein there are in every serving, and how many servings there are in every pack. Try adding extra protein as a snack, like peanut butter to apples or celery sticks, or eating a boiled egg, to make reaching your target easier.

Finally, to keep track of your protein per day, we suggest writing down the food and amounts of protein you eat on a daily basis. You can even add notes about how certain foods make you feel, or which recipes you really enjoyed.

Discovering healthy meals or protein shakes that taste delicious, give you energy and have high-quality protein are like gold dust – so keep them handy. Enjoying these dishes regularly will make it much easier to stay motivated and reach your weight loss goals.

Need help setting your protein target?

If you’re considering weight loss medications like Ozempic, Mounjaro or Compounded Semaglutide, using a protein intake calculator will give your weight loss journey a big helping hand. Not sure what your daily protein requirement is? Levity's clinical team is here to help you.

As part of a Levity treatment plan, you have access to the newest clinically proven weight loss medications that have helped our customers lose up to 15% of their body weight. Combined with expert guidance and support, our team will be by your side at every step, whenever you need us.

Find out what treatment is suitable for you here.

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