GLP-1 · coaching protocol

What to do when the scale goes quiet.

Three NHS-style modules for the GLP-1 era: a four-step plateau-break protocol, a lean-mass macro target, and the strength-priority training case. Bundled with every Leanquill plan.

Section 1 · Reset protocol

Four steps when the scale stops moving.

Run them in order. Do not skip to step four — most stalls resolve at step two, and the protocol is short on purpose so you actually finish it.

01
Re-anchor calories
When the scale stops moving, the first thing to check is the food you’re actually eating this week, not a stricter plan. GLP-1 appetite suppression shifts — a serving that felt generous in week three can feel like overeating in week seven. Recalculate against your current weight, recalibrate against the plate, and leave it there for ten days before changing anything else.
02
Audit protein
A stalled loss on a GLP-1 is usually a protein problem disguised as a calorie problem. If your plate has drifted toward more carbs and more fats while the protein has held steady in absolute terms, total protein has fallen against your bodyweight. Weigh and log for one week, then look. The number tells you whether the stall is a food problem or a recovery problem.
03
Swap a session
Plateau weeks are also the weeks the body has adapted to the same stimulus. Swap one walk for a higher-intensity interval, or swap one strength session for a movement you haven’t done in a month. Novelty wakes the response; extra effort rarely does, and often makes adherence worse.
04
Sleep audit
Three nights under six hours suppresses leptin, raises ghrelin, and quietly undoes the appetite control the medication is giving you — long before the food does. Fix the sleep window first, then return to the plate. A 45-minute earlier bedtime is usually worth more than a tighter deficit.

Section 2 · Lean-mass macros

Two numbers worth memorising.

On a GLP-1, the diet works by quieting appetite — your job is to make sure the quiet appetite doesn’t quietly trade muscle for fat. Protein up, calories down, but not past these two floors.

Daily protein target

1.0–1.2 g

per lb of lean body mass

Anchor to total bodyweight at the lower end if you don’t have a lean-mass estimate. Three palm-sized servings across the day is the practical version of the target.

Calorie floor

1,400 / 1,600 kcal

floor for women / men

Below this, weight lost shifts from fat to muscle — and on a GLP-1 you can’t afford to give up lean mass you’ll need when the dose tapers down.

Section 3 · Strength-priority training

Why lifting is non-optional on a GLP-1.

The case for lifting

On a GLP-1 the weight comes off; what stays on is the thing you load. Strength work is the signal that tells the body the muscle it has is in active use — without that signal, a sustained deficit leans on lean mass before it leans on fat.

Lifting keeps the appetite signal honest. The GLP-1 calms the chemical side; the barbell keeps the mechanical side honest. Both matter, and a quiet appetite without an honest load ends in a softer taper than people want.

Joints and bones respond to load in a way cardio does not. A 20–25% bodyweight drop without strength work is a 20–25% loss of shock absorption in the knees and hips. Strength is the long-term insurance on the loss the medication buys you.

And when the dose tapers — whether at the end of a planned course or on a maintenance break — a body that has been lifting throughout has a calmer set point to return to. The weight you kept is the weight you don’t have to re-lose.

Weekly template

Three sessions, deliberate, not heroic.

3 sessions per week. Two compound (squat or hinge), one accessory (push, pull, or carry).
60–75 minutes total. Stop the session when the last set feels honest, not heroic.
Progress by reps before weight. Add 2.5 kg next session only if the last set finished with two reps in the tank.
Rest 2–3 minutes between compound sets, 60–90 seconds on accessory work. The timer is part of the program.

Two strength days at home — squats, hinge, push, pull, loaded carry — are enough to hit this template. The Adaptive plan writes the progression for you; the walk-and-portion guide covers a no-equipment starter.

Next step

Strength + a calmer plate.

Two-minute intake — current weight, GLP-1 status, the equipment you actually have, the foods you keep — and we generate a seven-day workout and meal plan that respects the protocol above.

Start the intake See the programs

Reading the four-week walk-and-portion guide first? That’s the place to start — it covers the walking and portion-plate basics this page assumes you’ve already tried.