Fish and seafood
Tuna steak on a GLP-1: protein, portions and how to actually eat it
About 29 g of protein per 100 g (3.5 oz), cooked, yellowfin, for around 130 calories. One small steak, about 120 g (4.2 oz), gives roughly 35 g of protein for 156 calories.
To reach 30 g of protein from tuna steak alone you would need about 103 g (3.6 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 tuna steak sits on a GLP-1
Fresh tuna is the highest protein fish you can buy at about 29 g per 100 g, and it is very lean, so it is light on a slow stomach. It is also the fish most easily ruined: cooked through, it becomes dry and chalky, which is close to unswallowable on a bad appetite day.
When your appetite is small
Sear it rare and slice it thin. A 100 g serve gives about 29 g of protein for around 130 calories, and sliced thin it eats like sashimi rather than like a steak.
Three ways to prepare it
Seared rare, sliced thin
Ninety seconds a side on a very hot pan. The middle should still be red.
Raw, as poke or tartare
Diced raw tuna with soy, sesame and avocado is soft, cold and easy, and it is about 25 g in a small bowl.
Cubed and stirred into rice at the last second
The warmth of the rice cooks the outside and the inside stays soft.
What to eat it with
Soy, sesame, avocado, ginger, lime. Fat is the missing element in tuna, so avocado or a sesame dressing makes a small serve much more satisfying.
How it compares
| Food | Protein per 100 g | Energy per 100 g | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tuna steak | about 29 g | 130 kcal | this page |
| Salmon | about 25 g | 208 kcal | See the page |
| Tinned tuna | about 25 g | 116 kcal | See the page |
| Kangaroo | about 26 g | 120 kcal | See the page |
All figures are typical values for the food as eaten, cooked, yellowfin, not laboratory figures for a particular brand.
Australian, US and UK names
Yellowfin in Australia and the US, often sold as ahi in the US. The UK sells yellowfin and sometimes bigeye. All are around 28 to 30 g of protein per 100 g cooked.
Questions people ask
Is fresh tuna higher in protein than tinned?
Slightly, at about 29 g per 100 g against 25 g for drained tinned tuna. Tinned is a fifth of the price and needs no cooking, which usually matters more.
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.