Daily Protein Question

concordancia

How important is it to get your daily protein vs averaging out your protein?

My husband is a naturally slender person with a healthy BMI and plenty of strength, but also some skeleto muscular issues that result in chronic pain. He is also a creature of habit, with exactly the same breakfast and lunch, and often the same dinner throughout the week. He is so stressed from work and the chronic pain that even if I leave him a meal, he will fall back to his standard dinner rather than warm something new up in the microwave. The protein from this standard menu is meh. Not low, exactly, but treading on the lower end of average. He makes up for calories on some evenings and eats quite a bit more on the weekends, especially more protein with our shared dinners, which we rarely manage during the week.

With me focusing more on nutrition, he is starting to question this. He is also doing more yoga and other activities which should be building strength. He does the yoga all week, then more intense activities on the weekends. Is it enough to eat protein at a so-so level most days, then make up a deficit on the weekends or should we be working on increasing his daily protein? He used to drink protein shakes, and may be open to revisiting that option if he thought it would help his overall health.

janejellyroll

100% anecdotal from a person with no chronic health conditions: I've been tracking since 2015 and I frequently alternate days when I am below my protein goal and above my protein goal with a goal to just average my goal for the rolling week. I have had no issues that I've noticed with health or fitness.

quiksylver296

In my limited understanding, it the overall total you're getting, unless you are in that "elite athlete" group that needs to major in the minors.

mmapags

For the yoga, it wouldn't matter. Averaging is fine. What kinds of more intense activities is he doing on the weekends. The reason I ask is; when weight training, particularly if trying to build or preserve muscle, muscle protein synthesis is highest for about 36 hours then tails off.

So, it becomes most effective to hit protein targets within that period. If gaining or preserving muscle in deficit is not that critical and weight training is not taking place, it is less critical and averaging is fine.

But your question is, is it OK to answer to be so so and make up for it on the weekends. I'd say it would be better to get a couple if good protein days in during the week. Then make sure protein intake on the week end is matching the goals and activity. Hope this is helpful.