Research
Energy balance
During caloric restriction, higher protein intake (2.3–3.1 g/kg of fat-free mass) helps preserve lean body mass and reduces fat mass.
If you are cutting calories to lose fat, increase your protein to 2.3–3.1 grams per kilogram of your fat-free mass (or total body weight if you don't know your FFM) to protect your muscle.
GoodSupportsHIGH confidence
Published results based on meta-analyses support the efficacy of higher protein intake in reducing body weight and fat mass while maintaining lean mass in an energy-deficient setting.
Why this rating
Based on meta-analyses.
Source
Protein in the athlete’s diet: rationale for intake levels at different training intensities to maintain lean body mass (a brief review)
I S Zilova et al. · Problems of Nutrition · 2023
DOI 10.33029/0042-8833-2023-92-4-114-124
narrative_reviewCited 1×
Read the paper DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10
More from this paper
- Athletes should consume 1.4–2.0 g of protein per kg of body weight per day to optimize lean body mass and strength during resistance training.Good
- Protein intakes exceeding 2.0 g/kg/day do not provide additional lean body mass gains in the absence of concurrent resistance training.Good
- High-protein diets (>2.0 g/kg/day) are safe for healthy, highly qualified athletes, showing no adverse changes in blood biochemistry or bone mineral density.Good
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