JessicaH_TX said:

Distribution matters less than total but it is not nothing.

DEXA scan update relevant to protein intake:

Scanned at months 0, 6, and 12. Here are the body comp numbers:

Lean mass preserved — actually GAINED 1-2 lbs thanks to progressive overload + 1.5g/kg protein. The protein intake discussion needs to include body comp data, not just scale weight.

Following on from DebRD_ATL — and this may be the naive question:

Whether the RDA is the wrong reference entirely during rapid weight loss, and what the actual target should be?

DoseLogDan said:

DEXA scan update relevant to protein intake: Scanned at months 0, 6, and 12.

There is a second half to this that has not been said yet. The honest answer is that the effect is real, the magnitude is contested, and the individual variation is larger than either. Those three things can all be true at once, and most arguments here are two people holding different parts of that.

I would rather be corrected than agreed with, if it comes to it.

OP back with an update, since a thread like this is useless without one.

Update: two thirds of the target before midday. Same total, same appetite, and I am hitting it most days now.

jim_asheville said:

The honest answer is that the effect is real, the magnitude is contested, and the individual variation is larger than either.

True, and anyone with reduced kidney function needs that target set by a clinician rather than a forum. High protein is safe in normal kidneys and is not automatically safe in impaired ones.