The best protein tracker for GLP-1 users is Protein Buddy: 7 apps compared

Protein Buddy is the best protein tracker for GLP-1 users. On semaglutide (sold as Ozempic and Wegovy) or tirzepatide (Mounjaro and Zepbound), the number that slips is protein, and Protein Buddy is built around exactly that number: one figure on the Home screen, a meal logged in seconds, and a target that takes the medication into account.

Semaglutide and tirzepatide both slow the emptying of the stomach and can reduce appetite,²³ and tirzepatide acts on a second gut hormone as well, though people and clinicians usually call all four "GLP-1s".¹

Protein Buddy is our app, and we built it to be the best protein tracker there is. Below, it sits next to the six biggest food trackers: MyFitnessPal, Cronometer, MacroFactor, Lose It!, Cal AI and YAZIO. Every fact about those six comes from their own website, help center or store listing, read on 24 and 25 September 2026.

The quick verdicts

• Protein Buddy: best for tracking protein on a GLP-1. One protein number, logged in seconds by photo, voice, barcode or a typed sentence, against a target that factors in the medication.
• MyFitnessPal: a calorie diary first. Calories left is its daily number, and its GLP-1 feature logs doses and symptoms.
• Cronometer: every micronutrient, protein one of 95+. Calories, macros, vitamins and minerals in a detailed food diary.
• MacroFactor: weekly calorie coaching, no free version. Targets adjust each week from your log.
• Lose It!: a calorie budget, with GLP-1 Support in Premium. It logs the medication, and custom protein goals are a Premium feature.
• Cal AI: calories from a photo. Scan results need a subscription.
• YAZIO: a calorie counter with AI photo in Pro. Macro goals are set as percentages.

Why do calorie-first apps work against you on a GLP-1?

Because they are built around a ceiling, and on a GLP-1 the number at risk is a floor.

A calorie counter's daily number is what you have left before you stop. MyFitnessPal recommends a daily net calorie target and shows how many calories remain as you log,⁷ and Lose It!'s free tier is built on a personalized daily calorie budget.²² That design fits a diet where the hard part is eating less.

On these medications, eating less is the part that tends to happen anyway.

What gets harder is eating enough protein. The same advisory notes that a reduced appetite and taste aversions can make adequate protein difficult to reach, suggests eating protein-rich foods first in a meal, and warns that low protein from a reduced appetite may contribute to muscle loss, particularly with older age or around perimenopause and menopause.¹

Three things follow for the app you choose:

• A small day looks like a good day. On a calorie screen, a day of very little food reads as a day comfortably under budget. On a GLP-1 that same day is often short on protein, which is the number you needed to see.
• A protein goal set as a share of your calorie target moves whenever that target does. MyFitnessPal's free version sets macro goals by percentage, YAZIO sets macros as percentages, and Lose It! lets Premium users set protein as a percentage of calories or in grams.⁸³⁰²³ At 20%, an 1,800-calorie target gives a 90 g protein goal; lower the target to 1,200 and the goal is 60 g. Protein Buddy sets the goal in grams, so it stays put whatever happens to your calorie target.
• A full diary is heavy on a low-appetite week. Tracking fades even in research settings: in two six-month weight-loss trials, fewer than half of participants were still logging after week 10.⁶ Every extra field makes the hard week, often the one after a dose increase, the week the log stops.

When you might want calories too

If your prescriber or dietitian wants calories, carbs or fat watched as well, keep protein first and add the rest beside it. Protein Buddy adds any of them with a goal of its own while the Home screen keeps its one protein number; the fiber section below shows where. If they want a full diet record for a clinical reason, follow what they ask for.

Protein Buddy: best for tracking protein on a GLP-1

Protein is the whole point of Protein Buddy, and on a low-appetite day it is exactly the number you need.

• One number on the Home screen. Today's protein in large type, with the grams still to go underneath, for example 45g left today.
• A meal logged in seconds, five ways. Photograph the plate, say what you ate, scan a barcode, or type "half a pot of skyr", tap Estimate and the grams fill in. On iPhone, say "Log protein in Protein Buddy" and answer with the grams, without opening the app.
• A target made with the medication in mind. The suggested daily target uses your weight, age, activity, goal and whether you take a GLP-1. On a GLP-1, a drop in weight does not bring a lower suggestion, because the number is there to help protect muscle while the weight comes off. If your prescriber gave you a different number, tap the gold goal card at the top of Settings and set it in 5 g steps.
• What you actually ate, in one tap. Stopped halfway? On a photo or voice result, the portion switch offers ½, ¾, All and ×1½, and the grams follow.
• Ideas that fit a smaller appetite. Ask the Assistant what to eat and, when a lot of protein is still left, it splits it into small moments across the rest of the day instead of one big meal. Photograph a menu, a buffet or a food counter and Protein Scout ranks what to eat next for the protein you have left, with GLP-1 use taken into account.
• Room for more when you want it. Calories, carbs, fat and fiber can sit beside protein with goals of their own, and protein stays the headline either way.
• Free forever where it counts. Manual entry, barcode scanning, typed meals and Siri are free forever, along with your target, your history and two-way Apple Health or Health Connect sync. Photo, voice and Protein Scout come with 3 free tries each, and no account is needed to start.

The full comparison of protein trackers sets Protein Buddy against the same field without the GLP-1 lens.

MyFitnessPal: a calorie diary first, protein second

MyFitnessPal is for keeping a full calorie diary. Its help center describes a daily net calorie target that you log meals and exercise against to see how many calories are left.⁷ The free version sets calorie and macro goals by percentage, and its Free vs Premium page lists Barcode Scan, Meal Scan, Voice Log and macro tracking with custom goals as Premium features.⁸⁹ Its App Store listing adds GLP-1 support for logging doses, setting medication reminders and noting how you feel, without saying which tier includes it, and its AI Coach is for Premium users.¹⁰

Why Protein Buddy for protein: a dose log records the medication. Protein Buddy records the protein and puts it on the Home screen, where a calorie diary puts calories left. If you are moving over, a MyFitnessPal alternative for protein walks through the switch.

Cronometer: every micronutrient, protein one of 95+

If you want every vitamin and mineral counted, that is Cronometer's job. Its App Store listing tracks calories, macros and 95+ vitamins and minerals in a detailed food diary, and scans barcodes for free.¹¹ Photo Log, Voice Log and its Crono Coach sit in the paid Gold plan,¹² as does Siri food logging on iPhone,¹³ and using the app starts with creating an account and confirming it from an emailed link.¹⁴ It syncs with Apple Health and Health Connect,¹⁵ and its App Store listing does not mention GLP-1.¹¹

Why Protein Buddy for protein: on a GLP-1 the number to watch is protein, and Protein Buddy shows it on its own, in large type, with no account to create before your first log. A free Cronometer alternative for protein compares the two side by side.

MacroFactor: weekly calorie coaching, no free version

MacroFactor is for people who want their calorie and macro targets coached week by week. It estimates your energy expenditure from what you log and your weight trend, then recommends calorie and macro adjustments at a weekly check-in.¹⁷ Its own FAQ says a meal left out of the food log lowers the estimated expenditure and the calorie recommendations that follow.¹⁶ It has no free version, only a 7-day trial; it logs by photo, description, speech, barcode and nutrition label, offers Siri shortcuts, connects to Apple Health and Health Connect, and starts with an account.^16182019

Why Protein Buddy for protein: on a GLP-1, half-eaten plates and forgotten snacks are normal. Protein Buddy's target comes from your profile rather than from how complete your log was, so a day you only half logged never moves it. A MacroFactor alternative for protein goes further.

Lose It!: a calorie budget, with GLP-1 Support in Premium

Lose It! is built around a daily calorie budget, which its free Basic tier covers along with a weight-loss plan.²²²¹ Its App Store listing announces GLP-1 Support as new in Premium, for logging your medication and viewing estimated GLP-1 levels.²¹ Premium also holds photo meal logging, AI Voice, the barcode scanner, advanced tracking of macronutrients such as protein, and syncs with HealthKit and other fitness apps.²¹ Its help center says custom nutrient goals, protein included, are a Premium feature, set as a percentage of calories or in grams.²³

Why Protein Buddy for protein: Lose It!'s GLP-1 feature tracks the medication. Protein Buddy tracks the protein, with a goal in grams from a short quiz that asks whether you take a GLP-1.

Cal AI: calories from a photo

Cal AI is for counting calories from a photo. Its website says you snap a photo, scan a barcode or describe a meal to get calories, protein, carbs and fat.²⁴ Its App Store listing builds a plan from lifestyle questions and says food scanning analysis results require a subscription,²⁵ and its Google Play listing is written around calorie counting and a calorie deficit.²⁶ The App Store listing does not mention GLP-1, and its FAQ says you sign back in with your Google account or Apple ID to get your data back.²⁵²⁷

Why Protein Buddy for protein: Protein Buddy's photo result leads with the protein grams, and the portion switch turns a half-eaten plate into the right number in a tap. The Cal AI alternative for protein compares the two.

YAZIO: a calorie counter with AI photo in Pro

YAZIO is a calorie counter with a food diary and customizable calorie goals, and its store listing promises instant access with no signup.²⁸ It sets the macro split as percentages of carbohydrates, protein and fat,³⁰ its help center says AI photo recognition, first free for everyone, is now part of Yazio Pro,²⁹ and its listing announces voice and text food tracking without naming a tier.²⁸ It writes nutrients to Apple Health and exchanges data through Health Connect on Android,³¹³² and its listing does not mention GLP-1.²⁸

Why Protein Buddy for protein: no account to start here either, plus a protein goal in grams that no calorie target can shrink, and a target that accounts for GLP-1 use.

Side by side

Protein Buddy's everyday tools wait behind no plan, and GLP-1 use is part of how its goal is set. For the calorie side of the field, calorie counter apps compared, protein first uses the same sources.

How do you choose a protein tracker on a GLP-1?

1. Start from the number that slips. On a GLP-1 that is protein, not calories. Choose the app that puts protein on its home screen rather than inside a diary.
2. Choose what you will still open on a bad day. The week after a dose increase, or a day of nausea, is when a heavy diary stops. Seconds per meal is the feature that matters.
3. Check the goal is in grams. A goal set as a share of your calorie target shrinks every time your calorie target does. How much protein on a GLP-1 explains where the figures come from.
4. Check which plan each feature needs. The table above names it cell by cell. A tracker only helps while you keep using it, so the everyday parts, logging and your goal, should not wait behind a trial.
5. Add calories only if your care team asks. Protein Buddy puts them beside protein when you want them, and keeps them out of sight when you do not.
6. Bring the log to your appointments. A record of what you actually ate is the most useful thing a tracker gives your prescriber, and the section on clinical signs below says when to share it.

Feeling full no longer means you ate enough

Normally, how much you ate and how full you feel move roughly together. Imprecise, but usable.

Appetite suppression breaks the link. The fullness arrives early and the food does not, so a day that felt like enough can contain 45 g of protein against a target of 110. There is nothing to notice from the inside, because the only sensation you have is the one the medication produced.

Estimating intake from memory is hard to begin with. Remove the feedback that usually corrects the estimate and it gets harder.

The half-eaten plate

A meal is served, logged, and then half of it is left. The log says 35 g and the person ate 18 g. Repeat that at two meals a day and the record describes somebody else's diet.

The fix is small: log what went in, not what was served. In Protein Buddy, tap ½ or ¾ on the portion switch of the photo or voice result, or tap the entry in History, tap Edit and set the grams you ate. History opens from the calendar icon at the top right of the Home screen.

What to log, and when

What the week tells you

Looking at seven days rather than one turns a log into something with an answer in it.

• How many occasions carried real protein? Four small ones beat two large intentions.
• Which days collapsed, and why? If they cluster after an injection or a dose increase, that is a pattern you can prepare for. The 2025 advisory notes that stomach side effects are more likely when treatment starts and when the dose goes up, and lists smaller, more frequent meals among the ways to ease nausea.¹
• Is the trend falling? Intake can drift down as doses climb, and the drift is invisible day to day.

The falling trend is the reason to keep any record at all. The self-monitoring literature consistently associates continuing to track with better outcomes, and the operative word is continuing: a method that is too heavy for a bad week gets dropped in the bad week, which is the week it was needed.⁵

In Protein Buddy, History does part of this reading for you. Once you have a week or two logged, its insights show which part of the day brings you the most protein, compare your weekdays with your weekends, and set your last four weeks side by side.

Protein and fiber together

Constipation is common during weight loss on these medications, and the 2025 joint nutrition advisory encourages fluids and fiber from food, with fiber-rich foods added gradually.¹ For many people that makes fiber the one extra number worth watching.

Protein Buddy is protein-first tracking. Calories, macros and fiber are optional, and protein is the only number shown by default. In Settings, What to track adds fiber (or calories, carbs and fat), each with its own goal under Nutrition goals, and leaving only protein ticked keeps them out of sight. With fiber on, History shows the day's fiber against its goal under the protein arc, while the Home screen still shows one number. Photo, voice, typed and barcode logs add their fiber automatically.

Tracking protein and fiber together covers the daily routine, and constipation on a GLP-1 covers the food side and the symptoms that need your prescriber rather than more fiber.

Why the number is worth defending

Around a quarter of the weight lost in the tirzepatide body composition analysis, a 160-person substudy of the SURMOUNT-1 trial followed for 72 weeks, was lean mass, and the share was the same in the placebo group.⁴ So it is not a drug effect: losing weight costs some lean mass however you lose it. Protein intake is one of the few things you control that affects that, and the 2025 advisory is clear that it works alongside structured strength training rather than replacing it.¹ Strength training on a GLP-1 covers that half, and protein and muscle loss on GLP-1 medications goes deeper on the lean mass question.

What the number should be is less settled than most pages admit. There is no established GLP-1-specific protein target. The 2025 advisory notes that 1.2 to 1.6 g per kilogram a day has been proposed during active weight loss, a figure carried over from weight-loss research outside GLP-1 treatment, and offers a fixed 80 to 120 g a day as a simpler alternative. Neither is an established requirement.¹ How much protein on a GLP-1 explains where the figures come from. The target itself is one to agree with your prescriber.

You cannot manage a number you are not measuring, and on a suppressed appetite you cannot feel it either.

Tracking one number instead of everything covers the general method, and what to eat when nothing appeals covers what to do once the log tells you the answer.

When the log is telling you something clinical

If your record shows a week of very low intake, or a steady decline over a month, show it to the clinician who prescribed your medication rather than resolving it alone. The 2025 advisory lists food logs and food photos among the ways clinicians and dietitians reassess intake during treatment,¹ and a log turns "I have not been eating much" into something specific enough to act on. People considering treatment can use the questions to ask before starting a GLP-1 to prepare for that conversation.

A note on medical advice

This page compares apps and explains a way of logging. It is not medical advice, and nothing here changes how you take your medication. Your prescriber or dietitian sets your protein target and tells you what else to watch; a tracker helps you reach what they set.

When you are ready to start the record, download Protein Buddy and log the next thing you eat, however small.