Meat and poultry
Beef mince on a GLP-1: protein, portions and how to actually eat it
About 26 g of protein per 100 g (3.5 oz), cooked, lean, for around 180 calories. A small bowl of bolognese or chilli, about 120 g (4.2 oz), gives roughly 31 g of protein for 216 calories.
To reach 30 g of protein from beef mince alone you would need about 115 g (4.1 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 beef mince sits on a GLP-1
Lean beef mince is one of the few meats that stays easy to eat right through a dose step, because it is soft, it holds sauce, and it has enough fat to taste of something when your palate has gone flat. It also brings iron and zinc, which matters if you are shedding hair or feeling cold on very low intakes.
When your appetite is small
Portion it at 120 g cooked, which is about 31 g of protein, and freeze it in single serves inside a sauce. Reheated in a mug with a spoon, it is the least demanding red meat there is.
Three ways to prepare it
Chilli or bolognese, frozen in single portions
Cook 500 g at once, freeze in four containers, and every one of them is a 30 g protein stop that takes two minutes.
Cottage pie in a ramekin
Mince under a thin layer of mashed potato, in a small dish. The portion decides itself, which stops the plate looking impossible.
Browned into a soup
Mince, stock, tinned tomato and small pasta. Liquid protein food that is not a shake, which is a rare and useful thing.
What to eat it with
Tomato, onion and a soft carbohydrate. Rice, small pasta or mashed potato all carry it. Beef mince with a large raw salad is the version that defeats a small appetite.
How it compares
| Food | Protein per 100 g | Energy per 100 g | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Beef mince | about 26 g | 180 kcal | this page |
| Turkey mince | about 27 g | 150 kcal | See the page |
| Steak | about 29 g | 210 kcal | See the page |
| Lamb | about 26 g | 215 kcal | See the page |
All figures are typical values for the food as eaten, cooked, lean, not laboratory figures for a particular brand.
Australian, US and UK names
Beef mince in Australia and the UK, ground beef in the US. Australian packs are labelled by fat percentage, US packs are usually labelled as a ratio such as 90/10, and the UK sells 5% and 12% fat as standard.
Questions people ask
How much beef mince is 30 g of protein?
About 115 g cooked, which is roughly 4 oz, or around 150 g raw. One standard 500 g pack of raw mince is a little over four protein stops.
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.