What to Eat on Mounjaro in Singapore: A Hawker Guide

The injection turns the volume down on hunger. It doesn’t decide what goes on your plate. That part is still yours, and it is the part that decides whether you lose fat or muscle, and whether the weight stays off when you stop.

Here is how to eat well on Mounjaro or Wegovy when most of your meals come from a hawker centre, a food court or the office pantry.

The short answer

Eat protein first at every meal, aim for roughly 25 to 30g of protein each time, and fill the rest of a smaller plate with vegetables and a modest portion of rice or noodles. Go easy on anything deep fried or very oily, because it tends to sit heavily and make nausea worse.

Why protein matters more on GLP-1s

When you eat less, your body loses fat, but it can also lose muscle. For women in their 40s and 50s, who are already losing muscle with age, that matters. Muscle keeps your metabolism up, your joints supported and your shape firm rather than just smaller.

Guidance for people on Mounjaro generally suggests 1.0 to 1.6g of protein per kilo of body weight a day, at the higher end during weight loss (patient.info). For a 70kg woman, that is around 70 to 110g a day. With a small appetite, the only way to get there is to make protein the first thing you eat, not the last.

Ask your doctor what target suits you, especially if you have kidney concerns.

The hawker orders that work

These are easy to find, easy to eat when your appetite is low, and give you a decent protein hit.

• Sliced fish soup. Light, gentle on the stomach, and one of the best protein-to-calorie orders at any hawker centre. Ask for less mee hoon or skip it.
• Steamed chicken rice, breast meat, less rice. Eat the chicken first. Leave rice if you’re full.
• Yong tau foo, clear soup. Pick tofu, fish balls, fish cake and greens. Skip the fried items and go easy on the sweet sauce.
• Economy rice. One protein (steamed fish, tofu or chicken) plus two vegetables, with half rice.
• Teochew porridge. Choose steamed fish, egg or tofu over fried sides. Good for days when nausea is bad.
• Thunder tea rice. Plenty of vegetables plus tofu. Go easy on the peanuts and ikan bilis.

For breakfast, kaya toast is fine now and then, but two soft-boiled eggs alongside it do far more for you than the toast alone.

What to go easy on

This isn’t about good and bad food. GLP-1 medicines slow down how quickly your stomach empties, so very greasy or rich meals can sit there for hours and make you feel sick.

• Deep fried dishes: goreng pisang, fried chicken wings, prawn crackers
• Very oily noodles: char kway teow, fried Hokkien mee (share a plate or have a few mouthfuls)
• Large portions of anything, even healthy food. Stop at comfortably satisfied.
• Sugary drinks. Kopi and teh with condensed milk add sugar without filling you up. Try kopi C kosong or teh O kosong.
• Alcohol, which many people find hits harder on these medicines.

When you can only manage a few bites

Some days, appetite is close to zero. On those days, drink your protein and keep it simple.

• A high-protein yoghurt or a protein shake
• Soya milk (unsweetened or less sweet) from the drinks stall
• Two eggs, any style
• A small bowl of fish soup without the noodles

Under-eating shows up as dizziness, weakness and poor concentration. If that’s you, eat more and speak to your doctor.

Don’t forget fibre and water

Constipation is one of the most common side effects. Vegetables at every meal, fruit, oats and beans all help, as does drinking water through the day, which is easy to forget in Singapore’s heat.

What a day of eating can look like

This is a rough guide, not a prescription. Portions will be smaller than you’re used to, and that’s fine, as long as protein comes first.

• Breakfast: two soft-boiled eggs, one slice of kaya toast and a kopi C kosong
• Lunch: sliced fish soup with a small portion of mee hoon, plus a side of greens
• Afternoon: a Greek yoghurt or a less-sweet soya milk
• Dinner: economy rice with steamed fish, tofu, two vegetables and half rice

That pattern gives most women somewhere around 70 to 90g of protein without a single shake or meal prep box.

Frequently asked questions

Can I still eat rice on Mounjaro? Yes. Rice isn’t the problem. Eat your protein and vegetables first, then have as much rice as you comfortably can. Most people find they naturally eat less of it.

Do I need protein shakes? Not always, but they help on low-appetite days. Choose one with around 20g of protein and little added sugar.

Do I need to count calories on Mounjaro? Most people don’t. Counting protein matters more, because the medicine already reduces how much you eat.

Can I drink bubble tea? Occasionally. Go for less sugar or no sugar and a smaller size, and treat it as a treat rather than a drink.

The part the injection can’t do

Most people will come off GLP-1s at some point, and the habits you build now are what you keep. If the plate goes back to exactly what it was before, the weight tends to follow.

That’s the gap coaching fills. A Cover Story coach works alongside your doctor’s plan, not instead of it, helping you build protein-first habits around the food you actually eat. Cover Story is online personal training where 80% of the focus is nutrition and 20% is training, with your coach live on video for the full length of every training session, including the strength work that protects muscle.

If you’re on Mounjaro or Wegovy and want to make it count, book a free 30-minute consultation.

This article is general information, not medical advice. Speak to your doctor before changing your diet, especially while on prescription medication.

Written by Jo, fitness and nutrition coach at Cover Story.