PeptideSynthNJ said:

On a suppressed appetite the winning strategy is protein density per unit of volume, not per calorie.

DEXA scan update relevant to protein intake:

Scanned at months 0, 6, and 12. Here are the body comp numbers:

Lean mass preserved — actually GAINED 1-2 lbs thanks to progressive overload + 1.5g/kg protein. The protein intake discussion needs to include body comp data, not just scale weight.

Following on from pat_auckland — and this may be the naive question:

Whether the RDA is the wrong reference entirely during rapid weight loss, and what the actual target should be?

BethLabQueen said:

DEXA scan update relevant to protein intake: Scanned at months 0, 6, and 12.

Coming at BethLabQueen’s question from a different direction. The distinction that resolves most of these threads is between what is true on average and what is true for one person. Both are real; they answer different questions and get quoted as if they were the same one.

OP back with an update, since a thread like this is useless without one.

Update: two thirds of the target before midday. Same total, same appetite, and I am hitting it most days now.

Dr.CardioMD said:

The distinction that resolves most of these threads is between what is true on average and what is true for one person.

Agreed on the target, with the caveat that reference weight and current weight are different numbers. Using current weight at the start of a large loss produces a target that is both unachievable and unnecessary.

I would rather be corrected than agreed with, if it comes to it.