Your Mounjaro/Wegovy diet plan: meal planning and exercise tips

Diet and lifestyle tips for weight loss medication users

In this guide

Meal planning and exercise tips

The basics

If you're reading this guide, you're probably aware of Wegovy and Mounjaro and how these injectable weight loss medications work. You might even be ready to start treatment.

If so, you probably have questions about diet and exercise. Here at SemaPen, we're often asked questions like these:

'Will I stop enjoying food while I take the medication?' (answer: no!)
'Do I have to stick to a strict or basic diet?' (answer: no!)
'Will I need to exercise more to get the results I want?' (answer: yes – unless you're very active already)

In this guide, we look at questions like these in more detail. We also share some quick tips for planning healthy meals and building a regular exercise routine.

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What does the Wegovy/Mounjaro weight loss diet look like?

With SemaPen, your diet while on Mounjaro or Wegovy doesn't look all that different to any healthy, balanced diet.

Here's the thing: we're food lovers. So, when we created our weight loss programmes, it was really important to us that our subscribers could enjoy the food they love too.

This means no bland, overly restrictive diet plans. Instead, it's about enjoying your favourite foods in moderation – and perhaps making a few changes to cut down on unhealthy ingredients.

Remember that word: 'moderation'. Among the most useful habits you can gain while losing wait is learning to moderate your portions.

And the medication should give you a big helping hand. Wegovy and Mounjaro help to control food cravings and make you feel full, so you're likely to eat less during meals and snack less frequently.

How to create a diet plan: what to eat on Wegovy or Mounjaro

As with any weight-loss diet, getting a healthy balance of nutrients is really important.

So, when you craft your Mounjaro or Wegovy meal plan, focus on four key food groups.

Food group	Examples	Proportion
Lean protein	Poultry, fish, lean red meat, tofu, eggs, dairy	25%
Complex carbohydrates	Brown rice, wholewheat pasta, quinoa, other whole grains	25%
Fruits and vegetables	Berries, bananas, citrus fruits, kiwi, leafy greens, cauliflower, carrots, cucumbers etc.	50%
Healthy fats	Olive oil, avocados, nuts	A little

Ideally, each meal should include these food groups in the correct proportions. In other words, the perfect plate would consist of

50% fruits and vegetables (for essential vitamins, minerals and antioxidants)
25% lean protein (to help with muscle maintenance and appetite control)
25% complex carbohydrates (for sustained energy)
A small amount of healthy fats (to help with nutrient absorption)

Tips to help with meal planning

Don't forget hydration

Hydration plays a key role in digestion, circulation and other essential bodily functions. Aim to drink eight to 10 glasses of water per day – and try to avoid alcohol, as this can make you

dehydrated.

Consider cooking methods

The way you cook your meals is almost as important as the ingredients you use. Steaming, boiling or grilling food is much healthier than deep-frying or shallow-frying. Roasting, air-frying and stir-frying can be healthy options, too – as long as you go easy on the oil.

Planning is everything

New diet habits take time to learn. So, to give yourself the best chance of success, plan ahead and make life easy for yourself. Try batch-cooking and freezing ingredients for later – and use leftovers to create new meals. Keeping a meal diary can help you stay on track, too.

Are there any foods to avoid?

Yes – but these aren't unique to the Mounjaro and Wegovy diet. As with any healthy, balanced diet, you should try to avoid these types of foods as much as possible:

Fatty and sugary foods: these foods are pound-pilers. If you want to improve your health and lose weight, swap fast food and sweets for healthier alternatives.
Spicy and heavy foods: some people who use weight loss injections experience mild to moderate stomach upsets – at least to begin with. Avoiding these foods will give your belly a break.
Alcohol: booze is bad news for losing weight. It makes you dehydrated (which affects metabolism) and makes you crave exactly the kinds of foods you should avoid. Drinking alcohol can also make side effects worse.

But remember: moderation, moderation, moderation. An occasional treat is OK – but the bulk of your diet should still consist of lean proteins, complex carbs and healthy fruit and veg.

Mounjaro, Wegovy and exercise

A balanced diet is only part of the picture. To maximise the benefits of Mounjaro or Wegovy, it's important to exercise regularly as well.

In fact, it's essential. In clinical trials, participants lost an average of 15% of their body weight on Wegovy¹ and 21% on Mounjaro². But to achieve these results, they had to maintain a healthy diet and increase physical activity, as well as take the medication.

The good news is that you don't have to become an Olympic athlete overnight. Our advice is to do physical activities you enjoy and have fun with it. Not only will it help with weight loss, but it can also improve muscle tone, increase energy and boost self-esteem.

Exercise tips

Don't push yourself too hard

Pushing yourself a little bit is good. But don't be tempted to do too much too fast – you'll only burn out and you risk injuring yourself. It's better to set realistic goals (say, 30 minutes of moderate exercise per day) and gradually increase physical activity as you become more comfortable.

Keep an exercise schedule

Most of us have busy schedules nowadays. It's all too easy to say, 'I don't have time for exercise – it can wait until tomorrow'. The solution is to make time. Schedule 30 minutes or so for a moderate workout every day – and make sure you stick to it.

Get your friends involved

Consider joining a fitness class or gym with a friend. There are few better ways to stay motivated than having a pal along for the ride. Better still, you'll be less likely to miss classes and sessions when your friend relies on you to turn up.