Protein timing
Protein timing is about how you spread your daily protein across meals. Spreading it evenly supports muscle building, but hitting your daily total matters most.
Why spreading it helps
Each protein-rich meal switches on muscle protein synthesis for a few hours. Several good-sized servings through the day give you more of those windows than one or two big ones.
Research spotlight
After a workout, 80 g of protein eaten as four 20 g servings every 3 hours built more muscle protein over 12 hours than the same 80 g eaten as eight small servings or two large ones.
How much per meal
A good target is about 0.4 g of protein per kg of body weight per meal, across at least four meals2. A serving of 20–40 g of good-quality protein also provides the 0.7–3 g of leucine, the amino acid that helps switch muscle building on3.
| Body weight | Per meal (0.4 g/kg) | Four meals a day |
|---|---|---|
| 60 kg | 24 g | 96 g |
| 70 kg | 28 g | 112 g |
| 80 kg | 32 g | 128 g |
| 90 kg | 36 g | 144 g |
| 100 kg | 40 g | 160 g |
| Meal | Example (80 kg lifter, ~32 g each) |
|---|---|
| Breakfast | 3 eggs and 150 g Greek yoghurt |
| Lunch | A chicken breast wrap |
| Dinner | 150 g salmon with rice and veg |
| Before bed | 250 g cottage cheese or a casein shake |
Protein before bed
A slow-digesting protein before sleep keeps amino acids flowing overnight. 40 g of casein before bed increased overnight muscle building4, and over 12 weeks of training, a pre-sleep protein drink led to bigger gains in muscle size and strength5. Cottage cheese, Greek yoghurt, skyr and milk are all mostly casein.
Common myths
MythYour body can only use 30 g of protein at once.
FactA 100 g serving built muscle for longer than a 25 g serving in a carefully controlled study6. Big meals aren't wasted; spreading protein is just a bit more efficient.
MythEating every 2 hours speeds up your metabolism.
FactMeal frequency makes little difference to weight loss or body composition7. Three to five meals is plenty; pick what suits your day.
MythYou need protein the moment you finish training.
FactWithin a couple of hours is fine, especially if you ate before training. See Pre- and post-workout nutrition.
Track this in NutriLog
See protein meal by meal
NutriLog's food log splits your day into breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks, so you can see where your protein is landing.
Free to start. Full macro tracking is part of NutriLog Pro.
References
- Areta JL, Burke LM, Ross ML, et al. Timing and distribution of protein ingestion during prolonged recovery from resistance exercise alters myofibrillar protein synthesis. J Physiol. 2013;591(9):2319-2331. doi:10.1113/jphysiol.2012.244897
- Schoenfeld BJ, Aragon AA. How much protein can the body use in a single meal for muscle-building? Implications for daily protein distribution. J Int Soc Sports Nutr. 2018;15:10. doi:10.1186/s12970-018-0215-1
- Jäger R, Kerksick CM, Campbell BI, et al. International Society of Sports Nutrition position stand: protein and exercise. J Int Soc Sports Nutr. 2017;14:20. doi:10.1186/s12970-017-0177-8
- Res PT, Groen B, Pennings B, et al. Protein ingestion before sleep improves postexercise overnight recovery. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2012;44(8):1560-1569. doi:10.1249/MSS.0b013e31824cc363
- Snijders T, Res PT, Smeets JS, et al. Protein ingestion before sleep increases muscle mass and strength gains during prolonged resistance-type exercise training in healthy young men. J Nutr. 2015;145(6):1178-1184. doi:10.3945/jn.114.208371
- Trommelen J, van Lieshout GAA, Nyakayiru J, et al. 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. 2023;4(12):101324. doi:10.1016/j.xcrm.2023.101324
- Schoenfeld BJ, Aragon AA, Krieger JW. Effects of meal frequency on weight loss and body composition: a meta-analysis. Nutr Rev. 2015;73(2):69-82. doi:10.1093/nutrit/nuu017