The MALAI Journal
Practical, research-backed guides on protecting muscle, managing side effects, and getting the most from your GLP-1 medication.
Two rules govern everything published here. A clinical number is tied to the prescribing information or the study it came from, named in the sentence that uses it — and where no good evidence exists, that gets said rather than smoothed over. Second, advice is written per molecule. Ozempic and Wegovy are both semaglutide; Mounjaro and Zepbound are both tirzepatide. What differs between the brands is the licence, the dose ceiling and who pays, and almost everything written about GLP-1 nutrition flattens that distinction.
Lean tissue is 15% to 60% of the weight lost on a GLP-1, depending on the study. This 4-week protein protocol — adapted to your medication, dose and titration phase — gives you the daily targets, meal templates and progress checks that protect strength while you lose fat.
We read all four prescribing documents end to end — 645,000 characters. Not one contains advice about drinking. Here is what they do say that bears on it, and why the honest answer depends on what your medication is licensed to treat.
All four prescribing documents count belching, each at a different rate. Not one mentions a smell. That gap is where the confusion about sulfur burps lives — and where the only intervention with a measured effect size contradicts the usual advice.
The 'up to 40%' muscle-loss number gets repeated everywhere, but the real research shows a much wider range — 15% to 60% depending on the study. Here's what actually predicts where you land, with the trial data.