HealthEcon_DC 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 + 1.4g/kg protein. The protein intake discussion needs to include body comp data, not just scale weight.

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

How people are hitting a protein target on a genuinely suppressed appetite, because volume is the binding constraint rather than willingness?

BiostatsBrad said:

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

Coming at BiostatsBrad’s question from a different direction. Whatever the answer turns out to be, the method for getting there is the same: state the assumption, do the arithmetic in public, and invite the correction. That is slower than asserting, and it is the only version that survives being wrong.

Happy to go further on any of that.

Closing the loop on my own question.

Reporting back — setting the target on reference weight rather than current weight turned an impossible number into a boring one.

Dr.NateNeph said:

Whatever the answer turns out to be, the method for getting there is the same: state the assumption, do the arithmetic in public, and invite the…

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.