GLP-1 support:
nutrition and training in New Zealand
Wegovy and Mounjaro work. That was never the argument.
The question is what you’re left holding when the prescription stops.
Appetite suppression solves the hardest part of a deficit for you — which is exactly why it’s easy to lose more than fat.
Trial data consistently shows a meaningful share of the weight coming off as lean mass(which includes water and organ tissue), and lean muscle mass is what keeps your metabolic rate up and your body functional at seventy.
None of that is an argument against the medication.
It’s an argument for doing the other half of the work while you’re on it: enough protein, enough resistance training, and habits that still exist on the other side.
The other half of the work
01
Protein, and more than you’d think
Your protein target doesn’t fall just because your appetite did. It has to make up a much bigger share of a much smaller plate, which is harder than it sounds when you’re full after half a meal.
02
Resistance training, twice a week minimum
Protein gives your body the raw material to hold onto muscle. Training is the signal telling it to bother. Without the signal, the protein doesn’t do much on its own.
03
Habits that outlive the prescription
Most people regain a significant amount of weight after stopping, and it returns as fat, not as the muscle they lost. What you build now decides what that looks like.
The part that’s actually hard
Hitting 130 grams of protein is arithmetic. Hitting it when food has lost its appeal is where most plans fall over.
I’m a chef as well as a qualified nutritionist. That’s the half of this that most GLP-1 advice skips entirely.
Karl — chef
& qualified nutritionist
Hamilton, NZ
Who this is for
Already on Wegovy, Ozempic, Saxenda or Mounjaro
About to start, and want to do it properly from day one
Coming off, or planning to
Told to “just eat more protein” and left to work out how
Sound like you?
Hamilton-based, online throughout New Zealand
Questions
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As a share of what you're eating, considerably more. Total intake drops; protein needs don't drop with it.
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Useful on bad days, but a diet built on them tends to collapse within weeks and leaves gaps in fiber and micronutrients.
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Usually. Meal size, fat content, texture, temperature and separating fluids from food all help. If it's severe or persistent, talk to your prescriber.
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No. In a deficit you're working to retain muscle, not add it. The result is a leaner shape at the same weight.
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No — most of my clients aren't. This page exists because people on these medications have needs that generic advice misses.
Disclaimer
Karl is a qualified nutritionist and chef. General information only, not medical advice. Decisions about starting, adjusting or stopping medication belong with your prescriber.