How much protein per meal?
About 0.4 g/kg per meal across four meals, which is roughly 30–50 g for most people.
The idea that anything over about 30 g is wasted is outdated: in one study, 100 g of protein after training produced a larger muscle-building response that lasted more than 12 hours, compared with 25 g. Spreading protein over several meals is a small optimisation on top of hitting your daily total.
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- Schoenfeld, B.J. & Aragon, A.A. (2018). How much protein can the body use in a single meal for muscle-building? Implications for daily protein distribution. J Int Soc Sports Nutr 15. Suggests ~0.4 g/kg/meal over at least four meals.
- Areta, J.L. et al. (2013). Timing and distribution of protein ingestion during prolonged recovery from resistance exercise alters myofibrillar protein synthesis. J Physiol 591(9). 4 × 20 g beat 2 × 40 g and 8 × 10 g over 12 hours.
- Trommelen, J. et al. (2023). The anabolic response to protein ingestion during recovery from exercise has no upper limit in magnitude and duration in vivo in humans. Cell Rep Med 4(12). 100 g after exercise gave a larger response lasting more than 12 hours, compared with 25 g.