ALL KNOWLEDGE
KITCHEN14 Jul 2026 · 7 min · Marta Ferreira

The protein floor nobody argues about

Nutrition is a field of live arguments. Protein intake for someone training regularly is one of the few places where the disagreement is about the ceiling, not the floor.

Roughly 1.6 grams per kilogram of bodyweight. Above that, returns flatten. Below it, they fall away.

Why the floor holds under a deficit

When energy is scarce the body will take amino acids from wherever it can, and muscle is available. Eating enough protein does not stop that entirely, but it changes the ratio of what you lose.

A kitchen counter mid-preparation
Distribution matters less than total, but it is not irrelevant.
Aim for the total first. Distribution is a refinement, not a requirement.
Plant sources work; they simply need more volume to hit the same total.
Timing around training matters far less than the internet suggests.
WHAT THIS IS NOTThis is a pattern written for a general reader. It is not a reading of your results and it is not a diagnosis. If something here matches what you are seeing in your own data, that is a question for a doctor, not a conclusion.