What to eat on Zepbound, Ozempic, Wegovy or Saxenda
Are you taking Zepbound, Wegovy, Ozempic, or Saxenda and wondering what to eat? These GLP1 medications use the ingredients Tirzepatide (Zepbound), Semaglutide (Zepbound), and Liraglutide (Saxenda) for managing the disease of obesity. I’m here to help you navigate to EAT while taking one of these medications. Hint: it’s not all the different from bariatric surgery.
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What is a GLP1? How are Zepbound, Ozempic, Wegovy, and Saxenda different?
In this blog series, I have been going through all seven FDA-approved medications for chronic weight management. Zepbound, Wegovy, and Saxenda are medications approved for obesity management and are GLP-1 medications. Ozempic is FDA-approved for Diabetes but uses the same ingredient, Semaglutide, as Wegovy.
Here are some links for videos and blogs where I have covered each of those drugs:
You’ll hear Obesity and Diabetes treatment medications referred to as GLP1s. What does that mean? GLP-1 is an acronym for Glucagon-like peptide-1. This hormone occurs naturally in the body and aids in appetite control, digestion, and blood sugar control. Medications that we call “GLP1s” are GLP-1 agonists. An agonist means the drug mimics the natural hormone.
This is why natural GLP-1 supplements don’t have the same effect as prescription GLP-1 medication. Naturally increasing GLP-1 in the body isn’t the same as a powerful agonist medication.
Ozempic and Wegovy use the same ingredient (Semaglutide) but at different doses. Ozempic is focused on Diabetes and Wegovy is focused on Obesity treatment. Patients who have diabetes may find it easier to get Ozempic covered by insurance and utilize its benefits for weight loss while controlling blood sugar.
Zepbound uses the same active ingredient (Tirzepitide) as Mounjaro but at different doses, for the same reason listed above for Wegovy and Ozempic.
Saxenda is the first GLP-1 agonist to market using the ingredient Liraglutide. On average, it is not as effective as Zepbound and Wegovy but there is no one-size-fits-all approach to weight control and many patients have had success with the drug.
What to eat on Ozempic, Wegovy, Saxenda or Zepbound? The three main nutrition priorities while taking a GLP1.
At the risk of oversimplifying, there are three main priorities when it comes to nutrition on one of these medications. These priorities are the same for bariatric surgery patients as well. Whether someone has had surgery and is utilizing medicine to continue managing weight, or if someone is using medication and has not had surgery, these nutrition priorities remain the same.
What to eat when taking Zepbound, Ozempic, Wegovy, or Saxenda? Whatever you do, you need to prioritize water, lean protein, and fiber.
Hydration
The official recommendation for water intake is to divide your current body weight in pounds by 2.2.
This puts your body weight into kilograms. It is recommended you drink one ounce for every kilogram of body weight.
If this is an overwhelmingly high number, aim for 100 ounces a day of hydrating fluids.
This is extra hard when a GLP-1 medication is causing diminished thirst. You may need reminders, water bottles with benchmarks on them, and different flavors or temperatures to keep you sipping all day.
Hydration is a BIG deal whether you’ve had surgery or not and using Zepbound, Wegovy, Ozempic, or Saxenda. It also helps produce more weight loss when you have a hydrated body.
Here is a blog and video for more help on how much water to drink and how to increase your intake!
Lean Protein
Protein is a HUGE priority when it comes to what to eat with a GLP-1 like Wegovy, Zepbound, Ozempic or Saxenda.
For one, protein is awesome at hunger and portion control. For two, it’s imperative to preserve lean muscle mass during a time of rapid weight loss.
Each time you plan a meal, ask yourself “Where is the protein?” This is why my recipe library is packed with protein-first recipes! You can browse the recipe library here.
In the next article I share, we’ll talk more about managing symptoms that can make protein intake difficult. One tip for now, avoid grazing on protein all day to get it in, even with protein shakes.
These medications cause delayed gastric emptying so sipping on a filling protein shake throughout the day can make it harder to get protein-focused meals in at mealtime, which is the bigger priority. Aim for three protein-focused meals a day instead of grazing. We’ll talk next time about when protein shakes may be helpful though.
Fiber
Fiber is another priority with these medications but a complicated one because of gastric emptying.
Vegetables are a wonderful way to get in fiber so pair fresh veggies with your lean proteins. However, you might want to keep them soft or cooked if raw veggies are causing belching, heartburn, or nausea.
Fruit is another great help for fiber but you’ll want to start with protein so it doesn’t cause blood sugar changes, and so you don’t fill up on fruit and miss out on the protein priority.
Whole grains might be tricky if they cause any swelling in your stomach and take even longer to digest. Think oats that sit on the counter and swell the longer they sit in liquid. They may have their place, but even crackers can cause more nausea for patients on a GLP-1.
Stay tuned, this information will be available in my new course soon! Hop on my to be the first to know when it drops! Okay Steph, get me on the list!
The role of meal planning while taking Zepbound, Ozempic, Wegovy, or Saxenda
Perhaps more than ever, meal planning is KEY to eating well while taking Ozempic, Wegovy, Saxenda, or Zepbound.
If you aren’t hungry and you didn’t plan for your next meal, it’s a recipe for skipping the meal. The point of the medication is not to undereat and skip meals. That can be hard on metabolism in the long run not to mention losing the opportunity to get lean protein in and maintain lean body mass.
Having a plan for getting healthy, protein-focused meals on the table should be a part of every patient’s game plan.
Need help? That’s what I’m here for! Over 600 recipes, weekly menus, and a customizable meal planner inside Premier Access! Find out more here.
Managing symptoms and working with providers
Of course, the way you reach those three priorities of water, protein, and fiber is different for every patient using a GLP-1 medication. This is why I strongly advise working with a Registered Dietitian specializing in nutrition for weight management. Many RDs are able to use your health insurance benefits for visit fees.
Stay tuned, next up I will cover managing symptoms on GLP-1 medications! Don’t forget to hop on my for free weekly recipes!