Protein-forward eating
Roughly 1g of protein per pound of target bodyweight, spread across meals
Meals anchored deliberately around protein, for muscle retention and satiety. The figure most often cited is 1 gram per pound of goal bodyweight, or about 1.6-2.2g per kilogram. Older adults are usually told to aim higher, not lower, because of anabolic resistance. In practice it means most people add a protein source to breakfast and stop treating it as an afterthought.
People on record
Sorted by strength of stance
Does it: documented as part of their own routine. Recommends: explicitly advises other people to do it. Discusses: covered it substantively without clear personal adoption; this can include criticism or disagreement.
- Bryan JohnsonDoes it
Founder · Blueprint longevity protocol
130g of protein a day from plant sources and supplemental protein, specified rather than estimated.
Source: Blueprint protocol site - Chris BumsteadDoes it
Bodybuilder · Six-time Classic Physique Mr. Olympia
Dieting has become simpler for him over the years: he says he no longer tracks everything or stresses over exact calories, just hits a protein goal and lets carbs and fats move around by the day. It took a long time to get there, he adds, and it works because it is easy to follow.
Source: The Standard newsletter: Get Lean Without Dieting“For me, it’s gotten way simpler over the years. I don’t track everything anymore. I don’t stress over exact calories. I just hit a protein goal and let carbs and fats move around depending on the day.”
The Standard newsletter: Get Lean Without Dieting (opens in a new tab) · 15 Jan 2026 - Chris WilliamsonDoes it
Host · Modern Wisdom
Builds meals around a high protein target for training, and talks about how much higher it is than most people assume.
Source: Modern Wisdom podcast - Cristiano RonaldoDoes it
Footballer · Portugal captain and five-time Ballon d'Or winner
Describes his diet as high in protein with wholegrain carbs, fruit and vegetables and no sugary foods, and says a good workout has to be combined with a good diet. Fish is the protein he likes most; Goal lists swordfish, sea bass and sea bream among his favorites.
Source: Goal: What are Cristiano Ronaldo's diet, workout and fitness secrets?“I watch my diet, eat healthily and avoid things that are bad for me like alcohol, sugary sodas and processed foods. I focus on eating simple whole foods, like fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains and lean protein. I really like fresh fish and try to get a lot of my protein from it.”
FourFourTwo: Cristiano Ronaldo's training tips (opens in a new tab) · 30 Dec 2015 - Dwayne JohnsonDoes it
Actor and former WWE champion · The Rock
Six meals a day. All built the same way. Eggs, bison, oatmeal and fruit at breakfast, then chicken breast with rice and greens, then fish or chicken with sweet potato at dinner. Men's Health puts the protein share at 40 to 45 percent of his macros, with a nutritionist and chef team doing the math so he never feels hungry while dieting for a role.
Source: Men's Health: Dwayne Johnson December 2022 cover interview - Greg DoucetteDoes it
Coach and IFBB pro · Harder Than Last Time
Prepping for several bodybuilding shows, he said he was eating a low-calorie, high-protein diet, which had also dropped him back into the 82.5 kg class for powerlifting. He was chasing both sports at the same time.
Source: Critical Bench: Interview With Powerlifter Greg Doucette - Hugh JackmanDoes it
Actor · Wolverine and The Greatest Showman
Bulking for Deadpool & Wolverine meant a chef-prepared day of black bass, Patagonia salmon, two chicken burgers and two grass-fed sirloins, upward of 8,000 calories, after building from 4,500 while still doing The Music Man. He told Chris Wallace he did it the old-school way and apologized to the chickens of the world.
Source: Variety: Hugh Jackman Is 'Bulking' Up for Wolverine by Eating Over 8,000 Calories a Day - Jeff NippardDoes it
Natural bodybuilder · Science-based lifting
In a recomposition phase he set protein at about 1.5 grams per pound of lean mass, which at 165 pounds and roughly 10 percent body fat came to around 225 grams a day; he says that is what he was eating at the time. Fat sits at a minimum of 20 percent of calories and carbs fill the rest.
Source: jeffnippard.com blog: How To Build Muscle And Lose Fat At The Same Time: Step By Step Explained (Body Recomposition) - Jocko WillinkDoes it
Retired Navy SEAL officer · Jocko Podcast
Meat, eggs and vegetables in a simple, repetitive high-protein diet, with minimal decisions involved.
Source: The Tim Ferriss Show #107 transcript - Layne NortonDoes it
Nutrition scientist and powerlifter · Biolayne
Eats four protein-containing meals a day, spaced from breakfast to a pre-bed meal, and points to roughly 1.6 to 2g per kg of bodyweight as where nearly all of the benefit sits. Older adults, he adds, need more per meal to get the same response.
Source: FoundMyFitness: Dr. Layne Norton on Building Muscle - Lex FridmanDoes it
AI researcher · Lex Fridman Podcast
Meat-heavy and carnivore-leaning is what makes him feel best, he says, though he calls these favorites rather than rules.
Source: Lex Fridman Podcast: Bill Ackman transcript - Mark WahlbergDoes it
Actor and producer · The 2:30 a.m. daily routine
Same breakfast every day at 7 a.m. once the 4 a.m. workout is done: scrambled eggs with turkey, three hard-boiled eggs, and salmon with lemon and blueberries, prepared with his chef Lawrence Duran. He wrote that he eats the same breakfast every day but feels better every day. Lunch, per the chef, is chicken, salad, sweet potatoes, fruit and nuts.
Source: People (via AOL): Mark Wahlberg Shares How He Powers Up with Protein After His 4 a.m. Workouts - Peter AttiaDoes it
Physician · The Drive · author of Outlive
Targets roughly a gram of protein per pound of bodyweight spread across meals, and argues most people badly undershoot it.
Source: Outlive (official book page)“So the protein basically went to a very conscious and concerted effort to increase protein to one gram per pound of body weight.”
The Tim Ferriss Show #661 transcript (opens in a new tab) · 17 Mar 2023 - Sam SulekDoes it
Bodybuilder and YouTuber · Spring Bulk gym vlogs
Around 250 grams a day is the one number he says he will not fudge. Everything else he treats as calories and macros, but the protein has to come from what he calls a high-quality source, which on this day meant a pound of steak, milk poured over cereal and an intra-workout shake.
Source: Fitness Volt: Bodybuilder Sam Sulek Shares 4,887-Calorie Winter Bulk Full Day Of Eating“But protein is a little different. I do definitely put a lot of emphasis on making sure the 250 grams of protein I do get a day is from a high-quality source.”
Fitness Volt: Bodybuilder Sam Sulek Shares 4,887-Calorie Winter Bulk Full Day Of Eating (opens in a new tab) · 28 Jan 2024 - Zac EfronDoes it
Actor · the Baywatch body and what it cost him
Eating everything again did not suit him either, per the cover story, and a battery of food-sensitivity tests led him to a protein-heavy plan. Over a steakhouse dinner with the writer he said he was bulking for a role he would not name.
Source: Men's Health: Zac Efron Interview on His Career, His Health, and His Next Movie - Andy GalpinRecommends
Exercise physiologist · Perform podcast
One gram of protein per pound of body weight is the figure he keeps returning to, for muscle, recovery and staying full. He accepts in the same sentence that most people find it hard to reach from meals alone.
Source: Perform: Dr. Herman Pontzer: How We Really Burn Calories & Lose Weight - Arnold SchwarzeneggerRecommends
Bodybuilding champion, actor, former governor · Arnold's Pump Club
Protein first at every meal. That is his example of a daily plan for someone whose vision is losing 30 pounds: simple enough to tally on a calendar, not a diet to follow perfectly.
Source: Arnold's Pump Club newsletter: Arnold Schwarzenegger's 4 Rules for Lasting Change - Kelly StarrettRecommends
Doctor of physical therapy · The Ready State
Puts a reasonable intake somewhere between 0.7 and 1 gram per pound of body weight, roughly where he says international track and field has landed. He is deliberately agnostic about the source, plant or animal. The vegetarian athletes he saw were often turning up short, he notes.
Source: The Tim Ferriss Show: Dr. Kelly Starrett, The Magic of Movement and Mobility (#664)“So we found that a reasonable amount of protein was somewhere between 0.7 and 0.8 and 1 gram per pound body weight. That’s a reasonable amount. That’s not crazy, we’re not going to shock load you.”
The Tim Ferriss Show: Dr. Kelly Starrett, The Magic of Movement and Mobility (#664) (opens in a new tab) · 1 Apr 2023 - Rhonda PatrickRecommends
Biomedical scientist · FoundMyFitness
Roughly 1.2 to 1.6 grams of protein per kilogram a day is what she recommends, about 50% above standard guidelines. Women especially, and older adults facing anabolic resistance.
Source: FoundMyFitness: high protein diet topic page - Stacy SimsRecommends
Exercise physiologist · Women Are Not Small Men
Underfueling is the mistake she says she sees most often in active women. Her starting point is 0.7 to 1.0 grams of protein per pound of body weight a day, carbohydrate timed around training, and no fasted work before anything hard.
Source: Dr Stacy Sims: Where Do I Start? A Roadmap for Active Women - Chris HemsworthDiscusses
Actor · Limitless and Centr
Bulking for Thor meant roughly six meals a day, eaten every two to three hours, each around 450 calories with 30 to 40 percent protein, according to Centr's account of the plan he and Zocchi used. Off-season he eats far less.
Source: Centr: Chris Hemsworth's workout routine to build muscle
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