NUTRITION
"HEALTHY" ISN'T A PLAN
Why food trends miss the point, and why protein matters even more on a GLP-1 medication.
"Eating healthy" is one of the most misleading phrases in wellness. It sounds like a fixed category of good food. In practice, most people's idea of healthy comes from packaging and social media, not physiology.
Granola, protein bars, juices, smoothie bowls, "clean label" snacks. Some are fine. Many are built to look healthy while working a lot like the processed foods they're positioned against. A label tells you how a product is marketed. It doesn't tell you what it does to your hunger, your energy, or your body composition.
That gap matters for everyone. It matters even more if you're taking a GLP-1 medication, when you're eating less food and every bite has to do more work.
THE SCALE OF THE PROBLEM
Ultra-processed food isn't a fringe part of the American diet. It's most of it. According to CDC data from August 2021 to August 2023, people in the U.S. age 1 and older got 55% of their calories from ultra-processed foods. Adults averaged 53%, and kids and teens averaged nearly 62%. The top sources included sandwiches and burgers, sweet bakery products, savory snacks, and sweetened drinks.
The shelves reflect that. A 2023 study in Nature Communications used machine learning to score how processed foods are and estimated that more than 73% of the U.S. food supply is ultra-processed.
Not every processed food is a problem. The 2025 joint nutrition advisory on GLP-1 therapy notes that some ultra-processed foods, such as those built on whole grains, fruit, yogurt or seafood, may be neutral or even beneficial depending on what's in them. That's the point: the category on the box tells you less than what's actually inside it.
WHY "CLEAN" LABELS DON'T GUARANTEE RESULTS
A food can be organic, non-GMO and gluten-free and still work against your goals. Labels answer marketing questions. Your body asks different ones:
- How much protein does it deliver? Many "healthy" snacks are mostly carbohydrate with little protein.
- Does it keep you full? Processing often strips out the fiber and structure that slow digestion and control hunger.
- What are you getting for the calories? A large smoothie with fruit, juice and granola can carry the calories of a full meal without the protein of one.
WHAT ACTUALLY DRIVES RESULTS
Changing body composition comes down to a few unglamorous things done consistently:
- Enough total energy for your goal. Not a guess. Knowing your resting metabolic rate gives you a real starting point.
- Protein at every meal. It supports muscle repair and keeps you full.
- Mostly whole and minimally processed foods, such as vegetables, fruit, beans, whole grains, fish, eggs, dairy and lean poultry.
- Resistance training, so the weight you lose is mostly fat, not muscle.
Trend-driven eating gives you the feeling of doing the right thing. Structured eating gives you something you can measure.
IF YOU'RE ON A GLP-1 MEDICATION
GLP-1 medications such as semaglutide (Wegovy, Ozempic) and tirzepatide (Zepbound, Mounjaro) work largely by reducing appetite. In studies cited by the joint advisory from the American College of Lifestyle Medicine, the American Society for Nutrition, the Obesity Medicine Association and The Obesity Society, people on these drugs ate 16% to 39% fewer calories. Less food means less room for error.
Not all the weight you lose is fat. In the STEP 1 trial of semaglutide, about 38% of the weight lost was lean mass, which includes muscle along with other non-fat tissue. In a body composition substudy of the SURMOUNT-1 trial of tirzepatide, about 25% of the weight lost was lean mass. Some lean loss happens with any large weight loss, and the advisory notes the amount also depends on how fast you lose weight, how much you cut calories, and whether you strength train. Muscle supports strength, metabolism and independence as you age, so it's worth protecting.
Protein targets. The joint advisory lays out these reference points:
- The standard RDA for adults is 0.8 g per kg of body weight per day.
- Higher targets of 1.2 to 1.6 g/kg/day have been proposed during active weight loss.
- Because actual body weight can overstate needs in people with obesity, about 1.5 g per kg of lean body mass per day may be more accurate. That number requires knowing your body composition.
- A simpler alternative is an absolute target of 80 to 120 g of protein per day.
- Intake shouldn't fall below 0.4 to 0.5 g/kg/day, and long-term intake at or above 2 g/kg/day should be avoided.
When appetite is low, the advisory suggests lower-volume, protein-dense foods like fish, eggs, Greek yogurt, cottage cheese, and nuts or nut butters, with shakes or fortified foods as a backup.
Protein alone isn't enough. The advisory is direct about this: more protein is likely inadequate to preserve muscle without structured resistance or strength training. Lifting, or a mix of lifting and cardio, is what tells your body to keep the muscle.
Micronutrients, fiber and fluids. Eating much less makes it harder to get enough vitamins and minerals. The advisory flags iron, calcium, magnesium, zinc, and vitamins A, D, E, K, B1, B12 and C as nutrients of concern. It encourages adequate fluids and fiber from food, and it says supplements such as vitamin D, calcium, B12 or a multivitamin can be considered based on individual needs.
GI side effects change how you eat. In FDA labeling, nausea was reported by 44% of adults taking Wegovy 2.4 mg in weight-management trials (16% on placebo), and by 25% to 29% of adults taking Zepbound, depending on dose (8% on placebo). Diarrhea, vomiting and constipation were also common, mostly during dose increases. The advisory suggests smaller, more frequent meals, avoiding very fatty foods, going easy on high-fiber foods in the first few days of treatment, and not skipping meals for long stretches, which can make nausea worse. Dehydration from vomiting or diarrhea is a real risk; the Zepbound label warns of kidney injury linked to fluid loss.
Your prescriber manages your medication, dose and side effects. Talk to them before changing your diet, adding supplements, or starting a new training program, and tell them about any persistent GI symptoms.
WHERE MEASUREMENT FITS
You can't manage what you don't measure. An Evolt 360 body composition scan tracks lean mass and body fat over time, so you can see whether you're losing fat or muscle, not just pounds. A PNOĒ RMR test measures how many calories you burn at rest, which gives you and your coach a real number to build intake around. Valor Health pairs that testing with physician-guided protocols and 1:1 coaching in St. Augustine, FL.
THE TAKEAWAY
Stop asking whether a food is "healthy." Ask what it does for your protein, your fullness and your energy. If you're on a GLP-1, that question matters more: eat enough protein, lift, stay hydrated, cover your micronutrients, and track body composition, not just the scale. Trends change every year. Physiology doesn't.
KEY STATISTICS
55%
of calories eaten by people in the U.S. age 1 and older came from ultra-processed foods in August 2021 to August 2023 (adults: 53%). (CDC/NCHS Data Brief No. 536, 2025)
More than 73%
of the U.S. food supply is ultra-processed, according to a machine-learning estimate. (Menichetti et al., Nature Communications, 2023)
About 25%
of the weight lost on tirzepatide in the SURMOUNT-1 body composition substudy was lean mass. (Look et al., Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism, 2025)
1.2–1.6 g/kg/day
of protein has been proposed during active weight loss, or 80–120 g/day as a simpler target. (ACLM/ASN/OMA/TOS Joint Advisory, 2025)
SOURCES
Williams A, Couch C, Emmerich S, Ogburn D. Ultra-processed Food Consumption in Youth and Adults: United States, August 2021–August 2023. NCHS Data Brief No. 536, 2025. https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/products/databriefs/db536.htm
Menichetti G, et al. Machine learning prediction of the degree of food processing. Nature Communications, 2023. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-023-37457-1
Mozaffarian D, et al. Nutritional Priorities to Support GLP-1 Therapy for Obesity: A Joint Advisory From the American College of Lifestyle Medicine, the American Society for Nutrition, the Obesity Medicine Association, and The Obesity Society. 2025. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12125019/ (also Obesity: https://doi.org/10.1002/oby.24336)
Look et al. Body composition changes during weight reduction with tirzepatide in the SURMOUNT-1 study of adults with obesity or overweight. Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism, 2025. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11965027/
Wilding JPH, et al. Once-Weekly Semaglutide in Adults with Overweight or Obesity (STEP 1). NEJM, 2021. https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2032183
WEGOVY (semaglutide) Prescribing Information, U.S. FDA. https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/drugsatfda_docs/label/2024/215256s015lbl.pdf
ZEPBOUND (tirzepatide) Prescribing Information, Eli Lilly / U.S. FDA. https://pi.lilly.com/us/zepbound-uspi.pdf
DISCLAIMER
This article is for educational purposes and is not medical advice from Valor Performance & Wellness LLC dba Valor Health. It does not replace care from your physician or prescriber. Do not start, stop or change any medication, supplement, diet or exercise program without talking to your healthcare provider. Individual results vary.