Sponsored · Paid for by Curate
The number you cannot eat
If you're on appetite-reducing weight-loss treatment and can't finish a plate, your protein target has quietly gone up. The arithmetic of that, and what people are doing about it.
This article is a sponsored editorial. Curate paid for its placement; the editors of Health Daily Review wrote and checked it.
Four in the afternoon
There's half a chicken breast on the plate and it's going cold. You cooked it because you knew you should eat. You can't finish it, and the thought of finishing it is worse than the plate.
If you're on appetite-reducing weight-loss treatment, that's the shape of an ordinary day. Breakfast was a coffee. Lunch was a few forkfuls of something beige. By evening you've eaten maybe a third of what you used to, and nothing hurts. That's the part that catches people out. There's no pang, no alarm, nothing that tells you a number has slipped. The body that used to ask for food at eight in the evening has gone quiet, and the quiet is exactly why your intake falls hardest on the one macronutrient that's protecting lean tissue.
None of that's a discipline problem. The treatment turns the appetite down, as it's meant to. What it doesn't turn down is the target.
The target went up
General healthy-eating guidance puts the baseline at roughly 0.75 g of protein per kilogram of body weight a day[1]. During active weight loss the commonly cited figure is higher, in the region of 1.2 to 1.6 g per kilogram, to protect muscle, which works out at roughly 20 to 40 g of protein per meal for many adults[2].
So the number went up at the precise moment your capacity to eat it went down. Curate, the UK pharmacy that paid for this article, names the mistake that follows in its own published editorial: people notice the reduced appetite, eat much less overall, and unintentionally cut protein hardest, because meat and fish feel heavy when you are not hungry[2].
Trying harder at dinner doesn't fix that, because dinner is the thing that requires an appetite. Some of the protein has to come out of the meal.
Why the target went up
Some muscle loss is common during any substantial weight loss unless you act to prevent it[3]. That line is worth reading twice, because this gets misattributed constantly.
When researchers measured what actually comes off in a deficit, a body-composition substudy of 160 people reported that "approximately 75% was fat mass and 25% was lean mass", and reported a similar pattern in the placebo arm[4]. The placebo arm is why it matters. About a quarter of the weight lost in a deficit is lean tissue whether or not anyone's on a treatment. A network meta-analysis of 22 randomised trials covering 2,258 people found the same shape: weight down 3.55 kg, fat mass down 2.95 kg, absolute lean mass down 0.86 kg[5].
Why care about lean tissue beyond how you look in a mirror? Because muscle uses more energy at rest than fat does, so keeping it softens the drop in metabolic rate that follows weight loss. Faster loss tends to take more lean tissue with it, and resistance exercise at least twice a week signals the body to keep muscle[3]. Protein is the other half of that signal, and it's the half a reduced appetite takes away first.
What the studies actually measured
One thing to hold onto before you read any further. None of the research cited here is a trial of the Nourish Daily Shake. These are studies of nutrients and of what happens to a body eating in a deficit. The shake hasn't been tested in any of them.
Beyond protein, the smaller nutrients take a hit too. A review of nine very-low-energy diets found none of them met all nutritional benchmarks, with gaps in thiamine, magnesium and zinc in men and iron in women[6]. A narrative review of six studies found more than 60% of people on treatment sitting below estimated requirements for calcium and iron[7].
Fibre has the same problem, and it predates any of this. According to the British Dietetic Association's fibre guidance, the recommendation is around 30 g a day and the UK average sits at 18 g, roughly 60% of that figure[8]. That gap is the general population's, before anyone's appetite has been reduced.
Then there's hair, which comes up on every forum thread about this. Curate's editorial, citing the British Association of Dermatologists' patient leaflet, describes the shedding people notice a few months into rapid weight loss as usually a temporary phase called telogen effluvium, not lasting hair loss, showing two to three months after the trigger[9]. On the nutritional side, its line is that adequate protein, iron and zinc and a steadier pace of loss support hair through weight loss[10]. That's about the nutrients. If yours is persistent or patchy, that's a conversation with a clinician, not with a food.
The arithmetic
Curate prints the whole-food numbers in its own article, and they're the ones worth knowing. A chicken breast holds around 30 g of protein. Two eggs, around 12 g. A 150 g pot of Greek yoghurt, around 15 g. A tin of tuna, around 25 g[2].
Set those against a plate you can't finish. Half a breast. Then less. The foods carrying the most protein are the ones that feel heaviest on the days you need them most. The eggs go down more easily and carry less. The yoghurt is realistic and modest. A tin of tuna is openable, on a good day.
That's where a liquid earns its place, and Curate is honest about the size of that place. Shakes "are not essential, but they can be a useful top-up on days when your appetite is low or whole foods feel like too much. Whole-food protein should still do most of the work."[2] A shake is a way of moving 19 g of protein and 25 vitamins and minerals into 205 kcal of something you can actually swallow when the plate has defeated you.
| Option | Protein | Fibre | Vitamins and minerals | Effort when you can't face food |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A meal you can't finish | Around 15 g from half a chicken breast[2] | Varies with what's on the plate | Varies with what's on the plate | High. It's there and you can't face it. |
| A plain protein powder | Protein is the headline figure; check the label | Usually not printed on the front | Usually not the point of the product | Low, but only one job gets done |
| A multivitamin | None | None | Typically a wide spread; check the label | Low, but no protein and no fibre |
| Nourish Daily Shake, Chocolate | 19 g per 35 g serving[11] | 2.3 g per serving[11] | 25 vitamins and minerals per serving[11] | Low. One scoop into 250 ml of skimmed milk |
It's worth knowing how the shelf is arranged, because it explains why this is usually four purchases. UK retailers tend to split the job across separate products, a protein powder here, a fibre supplement there, a hydration stick, a collagen, a digestion capsule, and almost none of the headline protein products print a fibre gram on the front of the label[12].
What people say on the forums
British forum threads describe your afternoon without being asked to. Fibre comes up constantly. So does protein, usually as a worry about not getting enough of it, and hair in the brush at three or four months. Several posters name the same daily target, around 100 g of protein and 30 g of fibre. One described already reaching for protein shakes, powders and protein drinks once the appetite dropped, which is a habit the category didn't have to invent.
They're strangers on the internet and not customers of anything, so their self-diagnoses are worth what self-diagnoses are worth. The register is accurate, though. Very few of those posts describe a motivation problem. They describe a plate that's too big.
The number went up at the precise moment your capacity to eat it went down.
Who this is not for
This is the part of a sponsored article that usually gets left out, so it goes in plain sight.
Nourish isn't for you if you're eating well already and hitting your protein target from food. Curate says as much itself: shakes aren't essential, and whole-food protein should do most of the work. If your appetite is fine, spend the money on meals you'll actually eat.
It isn't for you if you have a milk allergy or a gluten allergy. It contains milk and oats, a cereal containing gluten, and it's made in a facility that handles egg, soy and cereals containing gluten[13]. It isn't for children. If you're pregnant or breastfeeding, taking medication or living with a medical condition, speak to a doctor first[13].
And if a clinician has told you something specific about your diet, that outranks an article on the internet, this one included.
What's actually in the pouch
A 1 kg pouch gives you 28 servings. A serving is 35 g, one heaped scoop, mixed into 250 ml of skimmed milk, and it comes to 205 kcal carrying 19 g of protein, 2.3 g of fibre, 2.2 g of fat of which 0.6 g is saturates, 25.9 g of carbohydrate and 0.437 g of salt[11]. It's high in protein and a source of fibre. The protein is, in Curate's own words, "complete dairy protein with all nine essential amino acids"[11].
Then the 25 vitamins and minerals, each with a printed nutrient reference value per serving. Vitamin B12 at 80.0%, calcium at 76.5%, thiamin at 68.6%, phosphorus at 60.7%, chloride at 58.1%, iodine at 51.7%. Iron at 33.2%, zinc at 32.1%, magnesium at 31.8%, vitamin D at 34.7%[11]. Those overlap closely with what the very-low-energy diet review found missing most often[6] and what people on treatment were most often below requirements for[7].
| Nutrient | Per serving |
|---|---|
| Energy | 205 kcal |
| Protein | 19 g |
| Fat | 2.2 g (of which saturates 0.6 g) |
| Carbohydrate | 25.9 g |
| Fibre | 2.3 g |
| Salt | 0.437 g |
What can be said about any of it belongs to the nutrients rather than the shake, and the authorised wordings are these. Protein contributes to a growth in muscle mass. Protein contributes to the maintenance of muscle mass. Protein contributes to the maintenance of normal bones. Magnesium contributes to normal muscle function. Magnesium, vitamin C, vitamin B12 and iron each contribute to the reduction of tiredness and fatigue. Iron contributes to normal formation of red blood cells and haemoglobin. Zinc contributes to the maintenance of normal hair. Vitamin D contributes to the normal function of the immune system.[14]
The named ingredients start with oats and milk protein, with chicory root inulin as the added fibre. It's made in the UK, suitable for vegetarians, sold as a one-off purchase with no auto-renewal, and needs no prescription. Once it's mixed, keep it chilled and drink it within 3 hours. On taste, Curate's claim is "chocolate and strawberry flavours that mix well with no chalky finish"[11]. We haven't tasted it and there are no independent reviews to check that against, so it stays the company's description. The nutrition table is printed, and that part you can check.
Questions people ask
Is a shake better than food?
No. Whole-food protein should do most of the work, and Curate says so itself. A shake is a top-up for the days you can't finish a plate.
Is 19 g of protein enough?
Not on its own, and it isn't meant to be. A commonly cited meal target during weight loss is roughly 20 to 40 g[2], so 19 g is one contribution out of several across your day, and it lands without needing an appetite.
What does it taste like?
Curate's own claim is that the flavours "mix well with no chalky finish"[11]. There are no independent reviews to weigh that against, so treat it as the maker's word.
Do I need it if my appetite is fine?
Probably not. If you're eating well and hitting your protein target from food, you'd be buying calories with no job to do.
What's in it besides protein?
2.3 g of fibre from chicory root inulin and 25 vitamins and minerals per serving[11], plus carbohydrate, a small amount of fat and 0.437 g of salt. It contains milk and oats.
Sources
- British Nutrition Foundation: protein
- Curate's Health Hub, published 12 June 2026, updated 25 July 2026
- Curate's Health Hub: preserving muscle during weight loss
- doi.org/10.1111/dom.16275, body-composition substudy, n=160
- doi.org/10.1016/j.metabol.2024.156113, network meta-analysis, 22 RCTs, n=2,258
- doi.org/10.3390/nu16172993, review of nine very-low-energy diets
- doi.org/10.1111/cob.70070, narrative review, six studies
- British Dietetic Association: fibre
- British Association of Dermatologists: telogen effluvium patient leaflet
- Curate's Health Hub: hair shedding and rapid weight loss
- curatehealth.co.uk: Nourish Daily Shake, Chocolate (product page)
- Internal UK-market mapping, 19 entities, captured 2026-09-22 (not a public URL)
- curatehealth.co.uk: Curated Nutrition help centre
- GOV.UK: Great Britain Nutrition and Health Claims Register
Nourish Daily Shake, Chocolate
19 g of protein in one scoop
2.3 g of fibre and 25 vitamins and minerals per serving, printed on Curate's own product page[11].
See the Nourish formula →