What can I eat on Mounjaro?

Simon Edward • 16 February 2026

Mounjaro can be a big helping hand for weight loss – but that doesn't mean you can eat anything and still lose weight. Learn what dietitians recommend.

Have you started taking Mounjaro to lose weight? Are you considering it?

Congratulations. With the right support, this could be the start of a life-changing weight loss journey. On average, people who take Mounjaro for 52 weeks lose 21% of their starting body weight.¹

That means if you weigh 20 stone (127kg) when your treatment begins, you could expect to weigh around 16 stone (100kg) in a year's time.

But that journey isn't always easy. Losing weight on Mounjaro requires hard work – including making changes to your diet.

There's a lot of confusing information out there about what you can and can't eat on Mounjaro. In this quick guide, we'll keep it simple.

Key facts

Mounjaro isn't a miracle drug – to lose weight safely and effectively, you still need to make changes to your diet and lifestyle.
Mounjaro works by slowing digestion and controlling appetite, which makes losing weight feel simpler for most people.
To lose weight safely and effectively on Mounjaro, you should eat a healthy, balanced diet made up of all the key food groups.

Can I eat anything I want on Mounjaro?

No.

This is one of the biggest myths about Mounjaro – that you can eat anything you want and still see the pounds drop off.

But Mounjaro doesn't work that way. It makes losing weight easierfor most people, but it doesn't change the underlying mechanisms that lead to weight gain and weight loss.

See, Mounjaro works by mimicking natural hormones in the body involved in digestion and appetite. By mimicking these hormones, Mounjaro can help you:

Feel full for longer by slowing digestion
Have less of an appetite by reducing 'hunger signals' to the brain
Better control snack cravings by controlling blood sugar levels

That's a big help, especially if you're prone to snacking or find it difficult to control portion sizes. But to lose weight, you still need to maintain a calorie deficit. In other words, you must burn more calories through daily activities than you eat through food.

Picture of a person eating a healthy plate of food.

That's why the advice for what to eat on Mounjaro is the same for any weight loss diet. You should aim to eat a balanced range of foods from all the key food groups. And most people should reduce their calorie intake, too – as a rule of thumb, the NHS recommends cutting 500 calories per day.²

Learn more about planning a calorie deficit.

What should I eat on Mounjaro?

The key thing is to eat a healthy, balanced diet while sticking to your daily calorie deficit. This means eating the right amounts of foods from the five key food groups.

The NHS Eatwell Guide recommends a diet made up of:³

Five portions of fruits and vegetables each day. These can be fresh, tinned, frozen, dried or juiced.
About ⅓ starchy foods, such as potatoes, bread, rice and pasta. These foods are good energy sources.
About ⅐ proteins, which help prevent muscle loss while losing weight. Try to eat lean cuts of meat and aim for at least two portions of fish each week.
About ⅒ dairy products, such as eggs, low-fat milk and low-sugar yoghurt. These contain calcium, which is good for bone health.
A small amount of healthy, unsaturated fats.

You should aim to limit foods that are high in fat, salt or sugar. That includes everyday items like butter and ghee, as well as treats like chocolate, crisps and ice cream. Most highly processed foods also fall into this category.

And don't forget to stay hydrated. The UK government recommends drinking six to eight cups of healthy fluids per day.³ Healthy fluids include water, low-fat milk and sugar-free drinks.

Losing weight on Mounjaro is still a challenge – but with the right support, it can feel much simpler. SemaPen's Mounjaro programme is built by UK experts and includes tailored, specialist support at every stage of your weight loss journey. With our guidance and unique weight loss tools, your target weight could be closer than you think. Why not download the SemaPen app and take our digital consultation to find out if you're eligible?

Sources

1. Jastreboff, A.M. et al. (2022) "Tirzepatide Once Weekly for the Treatment of Obesity" The New England Journal of Medicine, 387(3) https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMoa2206038

2. NHS Better Health (n.d.) Calorie counting. Retrieved from https://www.nhs.uk/better-health/lose-weight/calorie-counting/

3. NHS (2022) The Eatwell Guide. Retrieved from https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/eat-well/food-guidelines-and-food-labels/the-eatwell-guide/

This article was reviewed and approved by Sarah Abdula, Specialist Dietitian, on 3 February 2026.

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