Guide

Tracking Calories on GLP-1 Medications

April 15, 2026 · Editorial Team

How to count calories on Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro and other GLP-1 medications — protein floors, hydration, and the best calorie counter apps for GLP-1 users.

GLP-1 medications like Ozempic, Wegovy, and Mounjaro suppress appetite. That makes the question “how much am I eating?” harder to answer by feel — most users are well below their old intake without realising the extent. Tracking matters here for different reasons than it does for a typical weight-loss attempt.

This is general information, not medical advice. Speak with your prescriber before changing intake.

What you are tracking for

Three things, in order of importance:

1. Protein floor. GLP-1 users lose more lean mass than people losing weight through diet alone if protein is not actively defended. Aim for at least 1.6 g per kg bodyweight.
2. Total calories. Less to enforce a deficit (the medication is doing that) and more to make sure the deficit is not extreme. Below 1,200 kcal/day for adults warrants clinician review.
3. Hydration and electrolytes. Reduced intake means reduced water and sodium from food.

The NIH and your prescriber are the right primary references for medication specifics.

The best calorie counter for GLP-1 users

Two apps stand out:

• MyNetDiary — has an explicit GLP-1 plan including protein floors and side-effect tracking. Best fit when you want condition-specific structure.
• Welling — best when you want logging friction to be near zero. On low-appetite days, a quick photo or voice note is the difference between a logged day and a missed one.

food-tracker.com maintains additional GLP-1-specific app guidance.

A starter protocol

1. Set a daily protein floor and treat it as a hard target.
2. Track for the full first month even on low-appetite days.
3. Weigh in weekly. Loss faster than 1% bodyweight per week warrants checking in with your prescriber.
4. Add a strength-training stimulus to keep lean mass.

Common mistakes

• Skipping logs because “I barely ate.” Those are the days the data matters most.
• Letting protein drift down because solid food is harder to tolerate.
• Treating the weight-loss curve as linear. Plateaus are normal.

Related guides

• How to count calories the right way
• Calorie counting for weight loss
• Best calorie counter apps in 2026

Updated April 2026 · Edited by the Calorie Counters Ranked editorial team. See our methodology.