Dairy and eggs
Cheddar on a GLP-1: protein, portions and how to actually eat it
About 25 g of protein per 100 g (3.5 oz), block, full fat, for around 400 calories. A matchbox-sized piece, about 30 g (1.1 oz), gives roughly 8 g of protein for 120 calories.
To reach 30 g of protein from cheddar alone you would need about 120 g (4.2 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 cheddar sits on a GLP-1
Cheddar packs about 25 g of protein into 100 g (3.5 oz), which makes it one of the most compact whole food proteins there is, and it comes with 400 calories and a lot of fat in the same 100 g. On a GLP-1 that fat sits for a long time, so a big wedge of cheese late in the day is a reliable way to feel awful. A small piece, 30 g (1 oz), is a different story: 8 g of protein, no preparation, no smell, and it makes other food taste of something.
When your appetite is small
Keep it grated in the fridge and add it to things rather than eating it in slabs. A small handful, about 30 g (1 oz), melted through eggs, over soup, into mashed potato or on beans adds 8 g of protein to a stop that was falling short, and takes up no extra room on the plate.
Three ways to prepare it
Grated over anything hot
Soup, eggs, beans, a baked potato. Heat melts it into the food, and the salt and fat lift a flat palate.
Cheese and apple, cut small
Cubes of cheddar with slices of apple is a cold, crunchy snack that many people can face when a meal is out of the question. About 8 g from the cheese.
Melted into a small toastie
One slice of bread folded over with cheese and ham, pressed in a pan. Half the bread of a normal toastie and about 15 g of protein.
What to eat it with
Something sharp or sweet to cut the fat: apple, pickle, chutney, tomato, mustard. Cheese and crackers is fine as a snack, but crackers fill you up faster than cheese does, so keep the ratio in favour of the cheese.
How it compares
| Food | Protein per 100 g | Energy per 100 g | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cheddar | about 25 g | 400 kcal | this page |
| Parmesan | about 35 g | 400 kcal | See the page |
| Halloumi | about 22 g | 320 kcal | See the page |
| Cottage cheese | about 11 g | 100 kcal | See the page |
All figures are typical values for the food as eaten, block, full fat, not laboratory figures for a particular brand.
Australian, US and UK names
Cheddar in all three countries, though Australia sells most of it as tasty cheese, with mild, tasty and vintage in place of the UK's mild, mature and extra mature and the US's mild, sharp and extra sharp. Pre-grated cheese is dusted with starch to stop it clumping and melts slightly less well.
Questions people ask
How much protein is in a slice of cheddar?
A standard slice is about 20 g (0.7 oz), which gives roughly 5 g of protein and 80 calories. Three slices is a useful 15 g add-on to eggs or beans, but as the only protein in a meal cheese fills you up on fat long before you reach 30 g.
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.