Legumes, soy and plant protein
Lentils on a GLP-1: protein, portions and how to actually eat it
About 9 g of protein per 100 g (3.5 oz), cooked or tinned, drained, for around 115 calories. A cup, cooked, about 150 g (5.3 oz), gives roughly 14 g of protein for 172 calories.
To reach 30 g of protein from lentils alone you would need about 333 g (11.7 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 lentils sits on a GLP-1
Lentils are soft, cheap and need no chewing, and at about 9 g per 100 g (3.5 oz) they carry more protein than most plant foods. The catch on a GLP-1 is fibre. A cup of lentils is about 14 g of protein but also a lot of fibre and bulk, and in a stomach that is already emptying slowly that can mean feeling full for the rest of the day on half a protein stop. Red lentils, which collapse into a puree, are the easiest version; whole brown or green lentils hold their shape and take more room.
When your appetite is small
Keep the serve at half a cup and put a real protein beside it. Half a cup, about 75 g (2.6 oz), of lentils under a poached egg or next to a small piece of fish is a plate of about 20 g that does not leave you overfull. Tinned lentils, rinsed, make this a two minute job.
Three ways to prepare it
Red lentil dal, kept thin
Red lentils, stock, turmeric and ginger, cooked until they fall apart. A thin dal in a mug is about 10 g and goes down like soup.
Tinned lentils warmed with a poached egg
Rinse a tin, warm it with a little olive oil and lemon, and put an egg on top. About 20 g in a small bowl, from the cupboard.
Lentil and vegetable soup, blended
Blending removes the texture that some people cannot face, and a blended soup carries a spoon of Greek yoghurt on top for another 3 g.
What to eat it with
An egg, a piece of fish, yoghurt or feta, which lift the protein and add the leucine that lentils are short of. Lemon, cumin and a little fat make them taste of more. Lentils with rice is a filling plate that is still light on protein.
How it compares
| Food | Protein per 100 g | Energy per 100 g | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lentils | about 9 g | 115 kcal | this page |
| Chickpeas | about 8 g | 150 kcal | See the page |
| Split peas | about 8 g | 120 kcal | See the page |
| Black beans | about 9 g | 130 kcal | See the page |
All figures are typical values for the food as eaten, cooked or tinned, drained, not laboratory figures for a particular brand.
Australian, US and UK names
Lentils in all three countries. Australia and the UK sell tinned brown and green lentils and dried red, green and puy; in the US they are canned lentils, and red lentils are sometimes labelled masoor in Indian grocers. Puy and French green lentils hold their shape best, red lentils dissolve.
Questions people ask
Are lentils a complete protein?
Not on their own. They are low in one essential amino acid, methionine, and lower in leucine than animal protein, so a cup of lentils does less for muscle than the same grams from eggs or dairy. Paired with an egg, cheese or yoghurt in the same meal, the gap closes.
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.