Meat and poultry
Bacon on a GLP-1: protein, portions and how to actually eat it
About 28 g of protein per 100 g (3.5 oz), grilled, middle or back rashers, for around 280 calories. Two rashers, about 50 g (1.8 oz), give roughly 14 g of protein for 140 calories.
To reach 30 g of protein from bacon alone you would need about 107 g (3.8 oz). On a small appetite that is often more than one sitting allows, which is why we pair it rather than chase the whole target from one food.
How bacon sits on a GLP-1
Bacon looks like a high protein food and mostly behaves like a fat and salt delivery system. Two rashers is about 14 g of protein, which is half a protein stop, and it comes with enough fat to sit heavily for hours. It is not off the menu, it simply cannot be the protein in the meal.
When your appetite is small
Use it as flavour rather than as the protein. One chopped rasher through eggs, a soup or a bowl of beans makes the whole thing taste of something when your palate has flattened, at a cost of about 7 g of protein and not much room.
Three ways to prepare it
One rasher chopped through eggs
Two eggs and a rasher is about 20 g of protein and tastes like a proper breakfast on a morning when nothing appeals.
Grilled until crisp, then broken over something
Crisp bacon crumbled over soup, beans or a baked potato adds salt and smoke without much volume.
Baked, not fried
Oven bacon renders more of the fat out, which is worth doing if rich food has been sitting badly.
What to eat it with
Pair it with eggs, beans or a dairy protein, so the meal has a real protein source and the bacon does the flavour. Bacon on toast alone is a meal you will feel for three hours and get 14 g out of.
How it compares
| Food | Protein per 100 g | Energy per 100 g | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bacon | about 28 g | 280 kcal | this page |
| Ham | about 18 g | 110 kcal | See the page |
| Prosciutto | about 27 g | 250 kcal | See the page |
| Eggs | about 13 g | 150 kcal | See the page |
All figures are typical values for the food as eaten, grilled, middle or back rashers, not laboratory figures for a particular brand.
Australian, US and UK names
Australian middle bacon includes both the eye and the streaky tail. UK back bacon is the leaner eye only. American bacon is streaky, which is fattier again, so protein per rasher is lower there.
Questions people ask
Is bacon a good protein source on a GLP-1?
Not really. It is about 28 g per 100 g but a realistic serve is only 50 g, and the fat load is high. Treat it as seasoning alongside eggs or beans rather than as the protein.
Your number comes first
Knowing what is in a food only helps once you know how much you are aiming for. The target is 1.2 to 1.6 g of protein per kg of your goal weight, not your current weight, which for most people is 90 to 140 g a day.
Work out your protein targetMore on eating well when your appetite is small: high protein foods for a small appetite, how much protein on a GLP-1, and every food we have written up. The whole system in five documents is the Keep Muscle Kit, A$47 / US$29 / £23.
EverStrong provides nutrition and strength coaching and education. It is not medical advice and does not replace your prescribing doctor.