Okay this thread was a few months ago. Reason why I posted it is because at that time, I decided to cut 100-150 calories a day from my diet to start up the weight loss again.

Originally, I thought the increased DOMS recovery was solely from the calorie deficit. I then theorized that it might be two things. Calorie deficit or not enough protein intake. When I cut the calories again, I decided to cut the Chobani or the protein shake that I was taking in the mornings. It was an easy/accurate way to cut a very specific amount of calories. But what I didn't think about was it was also a source of protein that was also being cut. It may not have been a lot but it might have been "enough" to make a difference.

To review the background. I'm only trying for a slight amount of weight loss per week. 0.5lbs at most. I have been in a stall for over a year and decided to cut a bit more. One thing I noticed that even though I had put an approx. 150g of protein goal, I rarely hit that goal. In the last few months after cutting said calories, the DOMS recovery time increased. So for the last few months, I wasn't even hitting 100grams on ave (I weigh around 170lbs).

What I decided to do last week is keep doing the same leg workout as before (squats, powercleans, deads, leg press). Keep the same net calories as the last few months. But make an effort to significantly increase my protein intake. Mainly through whey shakes (gold standard whey x 2 scoops) or though drinks. (premier protein x 2 drinks). This upped my protein by 50-60 grams per day. That got my much closer to about 150g per day for the last week.

I probably shouldn't have done this but I also added 2 multivitamins per day.

Results. Leg day was Tuesday. Wed = sore Thurs = sore. Very normal. Fri = much less sore (almost none). Again probably normal for most. Before, I'd be sore Friday and sat and I really wouldn't be recovered until Sun.

So for ME, I feel the increased protein was a major factor in the reduction of DOMS recovery. Or more accurately, getting ENOUGH protein. There's the other factors like the increased vitamins etc.. that the shakes/drinks and pills added but other than the multi-vitamins I took, there wasn't an easy way to eliminate them from the experiment.

I'm still on the same calorie deficit as before so to me, getting enough protein was a bigger factor than the net calorie intake (in this case). I should also add that during the last few months, I actually lost 1-2 lbs so I think the calorie intake over the test period was probably accurate. At least to the point where I wasn't taking in significantly less or more to skew the results.