VanRx_Mike said:

The RDA is the wrong reference and it is worth understanding why.

That reframing is the part I needed.

From the other side of the consultation, briefly.

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 + 1.6g/kg protein. The protein intake discussion needs to include body comp data, not just scale weight.

lisa_labSD said:

The honest range is roughly 20 to 40% of total loss as lean mass without deliberate resistance training, and roughly 10 to 20% with it plus adequate…

I read this differently from lisa_labSD, on substance rather than tone. I think this board over-worries about lean mass. Some lean loss is obligatory — you need less muscle to move a smaller body, and preserving mass you no longer need is not a health outcome. The question is whether strength and function held, and mine did.

The figures, for anyone assembling their own picture. For anyone reading later: the numbers in this thread are worth checking against a primary source before you act on them, including mine. Half the figures circulating in this community trace back to a secondary summary that dropped a qualifier.

Worth separating that from lean-mass preservation, which this thread keeps folding into the same question. They behave differently and the advice does not transfer.

Moderator note: a couple of off-topic posts removed. Thread quality here is what the rules are for. Keep it up.