Powders, shakes and convenience
Collagen on a GLP-1: protein, portions and how to actually eat it
About 90 g of protein per 100 g (3.5 oz), hydrolysed peptides, dry, for around 360 calories. A heaped tablespoon, about 15 g (0.5 oz), gives roughly 14 g of protein for 54 calories.
To reach 30 g of protein from collagen alone you would need about 33 g (1.2 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 collagen sits on a GLP-1
Collagen peptides are about 90 g of protein per 100 g (3.5 oz), they dissolve in hot or cold liquid with no taste and no thickness, and that is exactly why they are tempting on a GLP-1. The catch is what kind of protein it is. Collagen has no tryptophan and very little leucine, so it does not trigger muscle repair the way whey, eggs or meat do. It is a real protein for skin, joints and gut lining; it is not the protein that keeps your muscle. Count it as a bonus, not toward your target.
When your appetite is small
Have it if you like it, in coffee or tea where nothing else would go, and keep counting your protein as though it were not there. If you want a powder that disappears into a hot drink and counts, unflavoured whey isolate does that too. A heaped tablespoon of collagen, about 15 g (0.5 oz), is 14 g of protein on the label and closer to nothing for muscle.
Three ways to prepare it
Stirred into morning coffee
It dissolves in a hot flat white with no change in taste or texture. The coffee still counts as the milk's protein, not the collagen's.
In a mug of bone broth or soup
Collagen into broth is more of the same protein. Pleasant, warming, and still not a muscle stop; add an egg to the broth if you want it to count.
Blended into a whey smoothie
Collagen alongside whey is fine; the whey does the muscle work and the collagen rides along. Do not swap one for the other.
What to eat it with
Whey, eggs, milk, meat, fish: anything with leucine in it. Collagen pairs with a complete protein or it pairs with nothing useful for muscle.
How it compares
| Food | Protein per 100 g | Energy per 100 g | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Collagen | about 90 g | 360 kcal | this page |
| Whey isolate | about 90 g | 370 kcal | See the page |
| Bone broth | about 4 g | 15 kcal | See the page |
| Protein water | about 4 g | 15 kcal | See the page |
All figures are typical values for the food as eaten, hydrolysed peptides, dry, not laboratory figures for a particular brand.
Australian, US and UK names
Collagen peptides, hydrolysed collagen or collagen powder in all three countries, bovine or marine. Vital Proteins is common in the US, the UK and Australia. Gelatin is the same protein in a form that sets, and bone broth is the same protein in a mug.
Questions people ask
Does collagen count as protein for keeping muscle?
No. It is a protein by weight, about 14 g in a heaped tablespoon, but it lacks tryptophan and is very low in leucine, so it does not stimulate muscle repair. Take it for skin or joints if you want to; get your muscle protein from whey, dairy, eggs, meat, fish or soy.
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.