Aim for 30-40g of Protein a Meal, Four Times a Day

Most people front-load protein at dinner and barely touch it at breakfast. A more practical pattern: roughly 0.4g of protein per kilogram of bodyweight per meal, four times a day. For a 75kg (165lb) person, that's about 30g per sitting, four times over, rather than 15g at breakfast and 60g at dinner.

This isn't because of a hard per-meal "ceiling" above which protein goes to waste. Newer tracer research shows the body keeps using protein well past 25g in a sitting, and total daily intake matters more than how it's split. The real payoff of spreading it out is practical: it's a manageable way to consistently hit a high daily target (around 1.6-2.2g/kg/day), and it keeps you fuller across the day, especially around training.

Sources and references

• Trommelen et al. (2023), Cell Reports Medicine: a 100g protein dose produced a greater, longer anabolic response than 25g, with no upper limit or "wasted" excess. DOI: 10.1016/j.xcrm.2023.101324
• Kim et al. (2014), AJP-Endocrinology and Metabolism: in mixed meals, total protein quantity drove net protein balance, even vs. uneven distribution made no difference. DOI: 10.1152/ajpendo.00382.2014