Fuel & Recover · L8
Protein Without Obsession
One number, spread across the day, from ordinary food. That's the whole job — no shakes every two hours, no kidney scare, no anabolic-window panic.
Lesson 2 showed training only flips the growth switch — you need protein as the raw material to actually build. Protein is also the lever that lets you lose fat while keeping muscle, which is your exact situation. Get one number right and most of "nutrition" is handled.
1Why protein is the one macro to nail
Training raises both muscle protein synthesis and breakdown; growth is the net. Eating enough protein is what tips that balance positive and keeps it there through the 24–48 h your muscles stay primed after a session.1 In a calorie deficit it does double duty: it's the single biggest thing protecting your hard-won muscle while the fat comes off. Carbs and fats matter for energy and health, but protein is the one with a hard target.
2Your number: about 180–200 g a day
The evidence converges on roughly 1.6 g of protein per kg of bodyweight per day to maximise muscle, with up to ~2.2 g/kg sensible when dieting.12 One refinement for you: scale it to a goal bodyweight (~86 kg), not your current 105 kg — fat tissue doesn't need feeding with protein. That lands you near 180–200 g/day. Set the dials:
A "✓" plate means that meal clears ~30 g — enough quality protein to fully trigger muscle building (the leucine threshold).
3Spread it: ~0.4 g/kg across 4 meals
To use protein well, aim for about 0.4 g/kg per meal — roughly 30–45 g, four times a day.3 Each of those meals needs ~2.5–3 g of the amino acid leucine to fully switch on synthesis, which you get from ~20–40 g of quality protein. But don't over-engineer it: newer work shows hitting your daily total matters far more than perfect spacing.5 Four solid protein meals is a sensible default, not a rule to stress over.
4Where it comes from — and hitting 40 g
Animal proteins (meat, fish, eggs, dairy, whey) are "complete" and leucine-dense. Plant proteins tend to be lower in leucine, so you need roughly 20–30% more, or to blend sources (e.g. rice + pea) to match the effect.2 A protein powder isn't magic — it's just convenient food to help you reach the number.
| Food | Portion | Protein |
|---|---|---|
| Chicken breast | 150 g fillet | ~46 g |
| Lean beef / canned tuna | 100 g | ~26 g |
| Whey powder | 1 scoop (~30 g) | ~24 g |
| Greek yogurt (nonfat) | 170 g pot | ~17 g |
| Lentils (cooked) | 1 cup | ~18 g |
| Eggs | 1 large | ~6 g |
| Milk | 1 cup | ~8 g |
| Tofu (firm) | 100 g | ~9 g |
"Hit 40 g" in one meal: 130 g chicken · or 1 scoop whey + 1 cup milk + an egg · or 170 g Greek yogurt + a scoop of whey.
5Two myths to put down
Not in healthy people. A meta-analysis of 28 trials found higher-protein diets do not impair kidney function in healthy adults.4 The caveat applies only to pre-existing kidney disease — if that's you, check with a doctor. Otherwise, 180–200 g is fine.
The post-workout "anabolic window" is hours wide, not minutes.3 Total daily protein and reasonable spacing win; a shake within the hour is convenient, not magic. A pre-bed protein (e.g. Greek yogurt or casein) is a small genuine bonus, mostly by helping you hit the total.
6Check yourself
What you can now say
- Protein is the raw material that turns training into muscle, and it protects muscle in a deficit.
- Target ~1.6–2.2 g/kg of goal weight → roughly 180–200 g/day.
- Spread over ~4 meals of 30–45 g, but the daily total matters most.
- Animal protein is leucine-dense; plant needs ~20–30% more or blending.
- It doesn't harm healthy kidneys, and the "anabolic window" is hours wide.
§References
- Morton et al. (2018). Protein dose-response meta-analysis, BJSM. PMC5867436.
- Jäger et al. (2017). ISSN Position Stand: Protein and Exercise, JISSN. PMC5477153.
- Schoenfeld & Aragon (2018). How much protein per meal, JISSN. PMC5828430.
- Devries et al. (2018). Higher protein does not impair kidney function in healthy adults, J Nutr. PMC6236074.
- Stronger By Science — Protein Science (distribution vs total). strongerbyscience.com.
Lesson L8 of the dad-mod course · all lessons · glossary