Meat and poultry
Lamb on a GLP-1: protein, portions and how to actually eat it
About 26 g of protein per 100 g (3.5 oz), cooked, leg or loin, for around 215 calories. Three thin slices off a roast, about 100 g (3.5 oz), give roughly 26 g of protein for 215 calories.
To reach 30 g of protein from lamb 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 lamb sits on a GLP-1
Lamb is fattier than beef for the same protein, which makes it richer on a slow stomach and one of the first things people report going off. Slow cooked lamb is the exception: shoulder cooked for hours falls apart, needs no chewing, and is far easier than a chop.
When your appetite is small
Take the meat off a slow cooked shoulder and keep it in its own juices. A hundred grams gives about 26 g of protein and needs no knife, which matters on a day when a plate of food looks like work.
Three ways to prepare it
Slow cooked shoulder, shredded
Four hours at low heat and it pulls apart. Keep it in the cooking liquid so it stays wet in the fridge.
Lamb mince in a soup or a soft kofta
Mince removes the chewing and carries spice well, which helps when taste has gone flat.
Thin slices off a roast leg
Leg is leaner than shoulder or chops. Sliced thin and served with yoghurt and mint, a small serve goes down easily.
What to eat it with
Yoghurt, mint, lemon and cucumber. The acid and the cold cut through the fat, which is the thing that makes lamb hard work on a GLP-1.
How it compares
| Food | Protein per 100 g | Energy per 100 g | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lamb | about 26 g | 215 kcal | this page |
| Steak | about 29 g | 210 kcal | See the page |
| Beef mince | about 26 g | 180 kcal | See the page |
| Pork loin | about 27 g | 180 kcal | See the page |
All figures are typical values for the food as eaten, cooked, leg or loin, not laboratory figures for a particular brand.
Australian, US and UK names
Lamb leg and shoulder are named the same way in all three countries. In the US, lamb is less common in supermarkets and is often sold frozen or from a butcher, and cuts may be labelled American, Australian or New Zealand.
Questions people ask
Is lamb too fatty on a GLP-1?
Chops and shoulder are rich enough to cause trouble if fat is sitting badly. Leg, trimmed, is about 26 g of protein per 100 g and is usually fine in a 100 g serve.
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.