If you take a weekly injection, you may notice a pattern: appetite drops and stomach side effects are strongest in the first day or two after the dose, and after each dose increase. Not everyone feels this, but if you do, it helps to plan those days differently.
Make the plate smaller, not emptier
The aim on injection day is not to skip food. It is to eat smaller amounts of gentle food, with protein first.
- Split the day into four to six small eats instead of three meals.
- Keep each plate to side-plate size.
- Lead with protein: eggs, yogurt, cottage cheese, chicken, white fish or tofu.
Foods that are usually easier
- Plain or lightly seasoned chicken, turkey or white fish
- Eggs, soft scrambled or boiled
- Greek yogurt, cottage cheese, kefir
- Rice, potatoes, toast, crackers
- Soft-cooked vegetables like carrots and zucchini
- Clear soups and broths
Foods that can wait a day or two
- Fried and greasy food
- Very rich, creamy or spicy sauces
- Large portions of raw vegetables
- Very sweet desserts and drinks
- Fizzy drinks, if they make you feel bloated
A simple make-ahead menu
Cook the day before, so you are not standing at the stove when food feels hard.
- Breakfast: two cottage cheese egg cups (made on Sunday)
- Mid-morning: a glass of kefir, sipped slowly
- Lunch: chicken and rice soup with crackers
- Afternoon: ½ cup cottage cheese with cucumber
- Dinner: baked cod with mashed potato and peas
That day adds up to roughly 100 g of protein in small, mild portions.
Fluids
Sip water through the day, between meals rather than with them. If you can't keep fluids down, or you have severe or lasting stomach pain, contact your prescriber or seek care.
Sources
This article shares general food ideas, not medical advice. Talk to your prescriber about your dose, side effects and any condition that changes what you should eat.
