Protein: the foundation most of us under-dose
This Fall we’re coming out of our strength season, but need to maintain it — and strength needs building blocks. The big one is protein.
Here’s what the research says for healthy older adults: about 1.0–1.2 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight per day. For a 150-pound person, that’s roughly 70–85 grams a day. (The old 0.8 number is a floor, not a target.) And this number is higher – up to 1 gram per pound of body weight if you are strength training and trying to gain muscle.
Two things that surprise most people:
- Spread it out. 25–35 (women/men) grams per meal works better than loading it all at dinner. We’re less active in the evening. Do this for breakfast, lunch, a snack and dinner.
- Breakfast is the meal most of us under-dose. A little intention there goes a long way. Take your time, read the paper (on your tablet?) and eat slowly – but eat IT ALL!
Whole foods first — eggs, fish, chicken, Greek yogurt, beef…. save powders for a pinch.
(If you have kidney disease, check with your doctor about protein targets first.)
Now the hard part: staying with it
Starting is easy. Staying is the real challenge — and the research backs that up.
- Weeks two and three are the danger window. One study of 31.5+ million January activities found the sharpest drop-off lands right around day 7–21. Can you feel it? When was the last time you said “I’m going to do this”….and not too long after the novelty fades…..aaaaaaaand, you’re out.
- Most people fade, not fall off a cliff. In a two-year study of New Year’s resolvers, 77% were still going after one week — but only 19% at two years.
- Exercise programs lose half their people fast: about 50% of new exercisers drop out within the first 3–6 months.
- The real habit timeline is 66 days, not 21. That’s the median for a new behavior to become automatic. That’s TWO MONTHS! The “21 days to a habit” rule came from a 1960s plastic surgeon’s observation — never habit research…so just know….it’s harder than you think, but if you know this, maybe when you’re ready to quit, you’ll remember this.
- Good news: one bad day doesn’t reset the clock. Miss a day, pick it back up tomorrow.
So don’t aim for perfect. Aim to still be here at day 66.
Try this for a week: add one solid protein serving to your breakfast, every day this week — and keep it going past week three.
Sources: protein 1.0–1.2 g/kg/day for healthy older adults; Strava (31.5M+ January activities); Norcross & Vangarelli, 1989; Dishman, 1991; Lally et al., 2009; Hall et al., NIH, Cell Metabolism 2019.