Meat and poultry
Turkey breast on a GLP-1: protein, portions and how to actually eat it
About 29 g of protein per 100 g (3.5 oz), cooked, skinless, for around 135 calories. Four thin slices, about 120 g (4.2 oz), give roughly 35 g of protein for 162 calories.
To reach 30 g of protein from turkey breast 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 turkey breast sits on a GLP-1
Turkey breast has slightly less protein per gram than chicken breast and noticeably fewer calories, which makes it the best choice on this page if your problem is that you fill up before the protein is finished. It is also drier than chicken, so the same rule applies twice over: wet it or shred it.
When your appetite is small
Sliced turkey from the deli counter needs no preparation at all. Four slices rolled around a stick of cheese is about 25 g of protein, costs nothing in effort, and is cold and mild, which is what most people can face in the first days after a dose step.
Three ways to prepare it
Buy it sliced from the deli
Skip the cooking entirely. Deli turkey breast is already the softest version of this food, and it is the one that gets eaten.
Poach a whole breast in stock
Twenty minutes in simmering stock, then cooled in the liquid, gives you five days of moist slices rather than one dry roast.
Mince it and make small rissoles
Turkey mince with grated zucchini and an egg makes soft patties that stay moist. Two of them is about 25 g.
What to eat it with
Cranberry, mustard, avocado or a yoghurt dressing all work. Turkey with plain bread and nothing else is the version people put down after two bites.
How it compares
| Food | Protein per 100 g | Energy per 100 g | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Turkey breast | about 29 g | 135 kcal | this page |
| Chicken breast | about 31 g | 165 kcal | See the page |
| Chicken thigh | about 26 g | 209 kcal | See the page |
| Ham | about 18 g | 110 kcal | See the page |
All figures are typical values for the food as eaten, cooked, skinless, not laboratory figures for a particular brand.
Australian, US and UK names
Turkey breast everywhere, but the sliced deli product is called turkey breast in Australia, turkey lunch meat or deli turkey in the US, and turkey slices or wafer thin turkey in the UK.
Questions people ask
Is turkey better than chicken for protein?
Marginally. Turkey breast is about 29 g per 100 g against chicken breast at about 31 g, with fewer calories. The difference is too small to matter next to whether you actually finish the 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.