Why the default setup is the wrong one for you
Out of the box, FuelForm shows protein, carbs and fat on the Home screen and puts calories at the centre. That's the right layout for someone whose main problem is eating more than they intend.
On a GLP-1, that is not your problem. The medication is producing the deficit whether you pay attention to it or not. Your problem is the opposite one: making sure the smaller amount you do eat contains what you need — which, as covered in protein and fibre on GLP-1 medication, means protein and fibre first.
So change the layout. It takes about five minutes and it changes what you see every time you open the app.
1. Put protein, fibre and sugar on the Home screen
Go to Profile → Nutrition Goals. Under Nutrient targets you can choose which three nutrients appear on your Home screen — the header shows a counter reading how many of the three slots you've used.
Six are available: protein, carbs, fat, sugar, fibre and sodium. Deselect carbs and fat, and select:
- Protein — the number you're defending
- Fibre — the one that stops the side effects and feeds the gut
- Sugar — the habit you want to watch, not the calorie
Carbs and fat don't disappear; every meal still records them, and they're still there in the breakdown and the trends. They're just no longer what the app puts in front of you first.
2. Set your own targets
In the same screen, set the actual numbers:
| Target | What to consider |
|---|---|
| Protein | Commonly cited guidance for preserving lean mass in a deficit is around 1.2–1.6 g per kg of body weight per day. Your clinician or dietitian should set your number, especially if you have a condition where protein is restricted. |
| Fibre | General adult guidance sits at roughly 25–38 g per day. If you're currently far below that, move toward it gradually and increase fluids at the same time. |
| Sugar | FuelForm leaves the sugar limit unset by default, because total sugar includes what's naturally in fruit and dairy. Set a personal limit if you want a line to track against. |
Protein, carbs and fat can be entered as percentages or in grams — use the % / G toggle. Fibre, sugar and sodium are set directly in their own units.
3. Don't chase the calorie number down
The calorie target FuelForm calculates comes from your goal, weight and pace. On a GLP-1 you may find yourself well under it without trying — and that is worth noticing rather than celebrating. Persistently very low intake is exactly the condition under which lean mass leaves fastest.
If you're consistently far below your target, that's information for your next appointment, not something to fix by eating less carefully.
4. Make logging survive the bad days
The most common reason a log becomes useless is a gap in it. On a GLP-1 you'll have days where food is genuinely unappealing and opening a tracking app feels absurd. Pick the lowest-friction method available:
- Voice — say "half a chicken salad and a yoghurt" while you're clearing the plate.
- Photo — snap what you ate, or what you didn't finish.
- Text — plain language, no database search.
- Barcode — for packaged food, where the label is exact.
FuelForm's AI produces an estimate and asks you to confirm it. When it isn't confident — a name with no quantity, for example — the entry is flagged for review and doesn't count toward your day until you approve it. That is deliberate: a log full of unreviewed guesses is worse than no log.
5. Log the leftovers, not the serving
This one matters more on a GLP-1 than for anyone else. If you order a meal and eat half, log half. The habit of logging what was served rather than what was eaten will make your protein average look fine while your real intake quietly runs well under it — which is the exact failure this whole setup exists to prevent.
Editing after the fact is fine: every ingredient, portion and macro stays editable, and totals recalculate when you change them.
6. Watch weeks, not days
Daily numbers on a GLP-1 are unusually noisy — appetite varies with dose timing, sleep and stress far more than it used to. Use the trend views: weekly averages for protein and fibre, and the weight trend rather than the daily weigh-in.
Two questions to ask on a Sunday:
- What was my average protein this week? If it's under target, the fix is structural — a default breakfast, a shake, something you don't have to decide about.
- Did fibre move at all? If not, and the gut symptoms are still there, that's a concrete thing to raise with your prescriber.
Optional: Apple Health
If you connect Apple Health, FuelForm can write your nutrition data and read weight — useful if you're weighing on a connected scale and want the trend without typing it. It's entirely opt-in, you choose exactly which data types to share in iOS, and the app works fully without it.
The bottom line
Five minutes of setup changes what you see every day: protein and fibre where the calorie number used to be, sugar as the habit signal, and a log that survives the days when you don't feel like eating.
The medication handles the deficit. This is the part it can't do for you.
Related reading: Protein and fibre on GLP-1 medication · What happens when you stop a GLP-1 · Your sugar intake collapses on a GLP-1