The exact target, the food math, and the one rule that makes 160–180g of daily protein actually hittable when appetite is unreliable.
This isn't a diet number. It's a floor. On a suppressed appetite, calories don't disappear evenly across a day — the things that take deliberate effort to eat (protein, mostly) are the first to slide. This target exists so that doesn't happen by accident.
Before using this number: if you have reduced kidney function, are on dialysis, take diuretics, or have any condition affecting protein metabolism, a high-protein target can be actively harmful rather than just unnecessary — get your own number from a doctor or registered dietitian first, not from this page.
You don't need to weigh everything. You need a rough sense of what closes the gap fastest, especially on a low-appetite day.
| Food | Protein |
|---|---|
| Ready-to-drink protein shake | ~30g |
| 6oz chicken breast | ~45g |
| Cup of Greek yogurt | ~20g |
| 3 eggs | ~18g |
| Can of tuna | ~25g |
| Cottage cheese, 1 cup | ~25g |
Order of operations on the plate changes. Protein goes first — before the rice, before the vegetables, before anything else — every meal, no exceptions. If satiety hits early, you want the bites that already happened to have been the ones that counted.
Not medical advice. This is one athlete's personal protocol, shared for reference. Protein needs vary by body size, kidney health, and training load — check your own target with a doctor or registered dietitian before adopting one.