Spreading it across the day
Distribution matters a bit, timing matters less than you were told, and neither needs a spreadsheet.
For about fifteen years, the internet was convinced you had thirty minutes after training to consume protein or the session was wasted. That window turned out to be a couple of hours wide at minimum, and for most people it’s better thought of as the whole day.
What actually matters
Total daily intake does most of the work. Get the number right and you’ve captured the majority of the benefit.
Distribution does a little more. Three or four servings of roughly 25 to 40 grams appears to work slightly better than one enormous serving and two token ones, mostly because each meal triggers its own muscle-building response.
Timing relative to training matters least of the three, and only really if you’ve trained fasted or you’re going a very long stretch afterwards without eating.
A practical shape for the day
Aim for a protein anchor at each of your meals rather than counting anything. In practice:
| Meal | The anchor | Roughly |
|---|---|---|
| Breakfast | Eggs, yoghurt, or milk in the oats | 25 g |
| Lunch | Beans, tinned fish, leftover meat | 30 g |
| Dinner | Decided before the carbohydrate | 35 g |
| Snack | Only if you snack anyway | 15 g |
Four anchors, no numbers written down, and a 70 kilogram person lands inside the range from lesson one.
The one timing habit worth keeping
If you train in the evening and go to bed soon after, having some protein in that last meal is a small, free improvement. Not because of a magic window, but because otherwise you’re going eight or nine hours with nothing.
What to ignore
Whether you eat protein before or after the gym. Whether your shake is mixed with milk or water. Whether you ate within thirty minutes. None of these have survived contact with better studies.
Total intake does most of the work. Distribution does a little more. Timing does the least, and gets written about the most.
What about fasting, or eating in a short window?
It costs you distribution, not total intake. If you eat in an eight-hour window, three solid anchors inside it is the shape to aim for rather than one very large meal.
Progress is saved to your account.
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