MCotterMD posts recomposition protein guide
- Physician creator MCotterMD posted a protein guide for body recomposition and healthy aging, arguing meal-by-meal protein targets matter as much as daily totals. - The core target was roughly 0.35–0.45 g/kg per meal with resistance training — basically the same range many aging-muscle reviews center on. - It landed because it turned scattered sarcopenia research into a simple rule people can actually use.
Protein advice usually gets flattened into one daily number. Hit 120 grams, hit 160 grams, move on. But muscle doesn’t really work like that — especially as people get older, diet harder, or try to hold onto lean mass while losing fat. That’s why MCotterMD’s recomposition guide spread: it took a messy research area and turned it into one practical idea — aim for enough protein at each meal, not just by bedtime. (researchgate.net) ### What’s the actual idea? The guide’s headline number — about 0.35–0.45 g of protein per kilogram of body w(researchgate.net) used as the practical center point. (academic.oup.com) ### Why focus on meals instead of the day? Because protein’s effect on muscle is saturable. One giant dinner doesn’t fully make up for a skimpy breakfast and lunch. Older adults also deal with “anabolic resistance” — the muscle-building response to food gets blunted with age, so the dose needed to maximally stimulate muscle prote(academic.oup.com) You’re trying to clear a threshold several times a day instead of hoping one late protein bomb fixes everything. (researchgate.net) ### Where does lifting fit in? Right in the middle of it. Protein is the raw material, but resistance trainin(researchgate.net) protein, training adaptations get capped. (espen.org) ### Why does sarcopenia keep coming up? Because this isn’t just a physique topic. Sarcopenia is age-related loss of muscle mass and function, and it’s common enough to matter at population scale. Depending on the definition and setting, prevalence estimates vary a lot, but reviews regularly put it around 10% to 27% globally in older adults, with higher rates in frailer or institutionalized groups. (link.springer.com) ### Is the mortality angle real? Yes — but with a nuance. Sarcopenia is consistently linked to worse outcomes, including falls, fractures, disability, hospitalization, and higher mortality risk. Some cohort studies show roughly 1.5× risk in milder definitions and around 3× or more in severe sarcopenia. That doesn’t mean low-protein breakfast c(link.springer.com)ing muscle is one of the more actionable things adults can work on. (nature.com) ### Is 0.4 g/kg per meal a magic number? Not really. It’s a useful heuristic. Real needs shift with age, training status, calorie deficit, body size, food quality, and kidney health. The evidence is also stronger for “enough protein plus exercise” than for obsessing over perfect distribution in every healthy person. Even one study in successful agers found meal(nature.com)le. So the number is best treated as a floor-like target, not a law of nature. (ncbi.nlm.nih.gov) ### Why did this post travel so far? Because it solved a communication problem. Nutrition research is full of caveats, and social media is full of bro-science. This thread sat in the middle — evidence-based enough to feel grounded, simple enough to use tomorrow. “Hit roughly 30–40 g per meal and lift consistently” is the kind of advice that survives contact with real life. (academic.oup.com) ### Bottom line? The post mattered less because it invented something new and more because it packaged a durable idea well. For recomposition and for aging muscle, the practical takeaway is simple: don’t just chase a daily protein total — spread meaningful doses across meals and pair them with resistance training. (researchgate. ([academic.oup.com)_to_Maintain_Muscle_Mass_in_Aging_A_Case_for_Per-meal_Protein_Recommendations/links/67dd576de2c0ea36cd873a91/Dietary-Protein-to-Maintain-Muscle-Mass-in-Aging-A-Case-for-Per-meal-Protein-Recommendations.pdf))
