I'm 17 weeks into a cut with appetite suppression that's gotten strong. Weight: 201 → 178 lb. Lifts: squat 275x5 → 255x5, bench 205x5 → 195x5. I'm averaging 92g protein/day because solid meals feel impossible. Labs: albumin 4.1, creatinine 1.0, eGFR 89 (all in range). I train 4x/week, mostly compounds.
My question: should I fight to hit 130–150g protein with shakes, or reduce training volume until appetite returns? I want to preserve lean mass, but force-feeding feels awful.
92g is too low at 178 lb if the squat matters. Two shakes on top, keep the volume — don't cut training to hit a protein number.
201 to 178 in 17 weeks i sabout 1.35 lb/week. That's aggressive for preserving strength.
I ran into this exact wall last year.
Appetite suppression killed breakfast, so I shifted to a whey shake with creatine in coffee, then 4 oz chicken at lunch, 6 oz Greek yogurt after training, and a casein sludge before bed. Got protein from 85 to 155g without bigger meals.
Squat came back 20 lb in 6 weeks. The trick for me was liquid calories, not less training.
If volume is down, you're just speeding up the strength loss, IMO.
Liquid protein shakes seem to be a reflux trigger for a lot of people, but Greek yogurt tends to sit fine. Does anyone here count Greek yogurt as a complete protein, or do you treat it as incomplete since it's low in some aminos?
Greek yogurt is complete enough for me. Egg whites in oats taste like nothing if you add cocoa.
Honestly, the lab values being in range doesn't mean lean mass is protected. I'd track waist and strength, not just scale. At 178 and 92g, I'd expect some muscle loss, especially 4x/week compounds.
The weekly rate math matters too—1.35 lb/week is fast for someone trying to keep a 255 squat. I'd keep training but drop accessories, set a protein floor around 120g, and reassess in 3 weeks. Liquid protein worked for you, but reflux is real for others.
Greek yogurt and egg whites got me from 95g to 135g without force-feeding. Not medical advice, just my n=1.
17 weeks and 23 lb down is about 1.35 lb/week, so the scale math is fine; the squat going 275→255 and bench 205→195 is only ~7% and ~5%, which is pretty normal in a deficit, especially if sleep or carbs also dropped. I’d push back on the either/or: I wouldn’t force 130–150g through shakes if they make you gag, and I also wouldn’t cut training volume yet.
When my lifts stalled on a similar cut (5'10", 206→176 over 20 weeks, protein around 100g), the fix was adding 25g protein from cottage cheese or yogurt at breakfast and moving 40g carbs to pre-workout, then dropping one back-off set from squat/deadlift only. My 5x5 came back from 245 to 265 in about a month while weight kept creeping down.
What’s your daily step count and sleep average? That’s where I’d look before changing your protein target or volume.
My squat fell off a cliff when my sleep went from 7.5 to 5.5 hours, not when protein sat at 90g — I logged both for 6 weeks and the only sessions that felt strong were after 7.5h+ sleep and a real carb meal 3 hours out. I’d push back on cutting volume first; try 2 weeks of drinking your protein (I did 25g in coffee, 25g in yogurt) and adding 30–40g carbs pre-lift, then see if 255x5 feels less grindy.
What flipped it for me: I actually added a 20-minute walk on rest days and my squat went from 205x5 back to 225x5 in 4 weeks while total gym volume stayed flat, because I was sleeping better and not cramming all my food at 9pm. Are you tracking sleep and pre-workout fuel, or just protein and tonnage?
My squat stalled at 245 for three weeks when I was chasing 150g of potein and miserable. What actually fixed it was dropping to 3 lifting days and adding a 20-minute walk after dinner, not more shakes.
Weirdly, my waist dropped another inch and a half over six weeks even though the scale barely moved, and my top sets felt less like death. I was eating around 95g protein too, mostly from greek yogurt and deli turkey because chewy meat was a no-go.
If your sleep is already tanked, adding volume is just digging a deeper hole. What does your weekly set count per muscle group look like right now?
Not a form check, but what’s your rest between squat sets right now? When my appetite was crushed, I didn’t notice I’d cut rest from 3 min to 90 sec just to get out of the gym. Squat dropped 20 lb, bench 10, exactly like yours.
Adding 60 sec rest and 30–40g carbs pre-lift got my top set back without changing weekly volume. Also, are you doing the same number of hard sets as week 1? If yes, you may be trying to recover from a bigger hole than you think.
I’d track bar speed/RPE for two weeks before changing anything drastic.
One thing I’d check before forcing the higher number: your squat actually got stronger relative to bodyweight. 275x5
Before fighting the protein number, what’s your 7-day average weight doing the last 3 weeks? 201→178 over 17 weeks is ~1.35 lb/wk, which is pretty brisk for your size.
For me, once my weekly trend stayed above ~0.8% BW, squats and bench dropped even when I was force-feeding protein. I’d look at squat e1RM and waist/trend together: if waist is still dropping and e1RM is flat-ish, that’s cut noise; if both strength and weight drop hard, you’re just under-recovered.
Protein is worth solving, but I’d solve it with 2-3 easy 25g shakes/skyr/yogurt slots before tanking meals you can’t finish. What’s your weekly loss rate?
I got stuck around 95g proein too, and what actually moved my squat wasn’t more protein—it was eating 40–60g carbs 1–2 hours before lifting. I couldn’t face a meal, so I’d sip a sports drink or eat a banana plus a couple rice cakes.
Squat went from grinding 245x5 to a clean 265x5 in about two weeks while my weight kept creeping down. Protein matters, but if you’re training 4x/week on compounds and appetite is dead, session fuel might be the bottleneck. What are you currently eating before squats?
Hey! Have you looked at your weekly loss rate? 201 to 178 in 17 weeks is right around 1.3–1.4 lb/week, which is pretty brisk for your size.
When I dropped that fast, my squat tanked even when I white-knuckled protein. What helped was a 5–7 day maintenance-ish break and dropping one accessory, not forcing more food.
I also started tracking sleep and waist, because my best squat weeks were the ones I got 7+ hours. Are you doing any deload/refeed weeks, or has it been 17 straight weeks in a deficit? That’d be my first check before fighting the protein number.
Our little pharmacy can’t keep cottage cheese in stock, and I wish insurance covered groceries instead of just pharmacy stuff, ha.
One thing I’d try before forcing 130–150: track weekly protein instead of daily and front-load it. I couldn’t face solid meals either, so Greek yogurt + unflavored protein in coffee before my walk got me to ~120 without a big sit-down meal. Also, look at your 4-week loss rate.
When mine crept past ~1 lb/week, my squat slid even with protein steady; holding weight for 10–14 days told me more than adding grams. What’s your average weekly loss over the last month?
I’d be curious how many carbs you’re getting before squat sessions. When my appetite was low on a similar cut, my squat felt heavy because I was training on very little glycogen, not just lower protein.
Adding 30–40 g of easy carbs about an hour before lifting—banana, white rice, or a sports drink—helped my top sets feel more stable without forcing more solid food. Might be worth a two-week test while still watching weekly averages.
How many squat sets are you doing per week, and are you still adding weight or mostly repeating 255x5?
I work nights too. My squat dropped the same way until I looked at timing, not protein. Squatting after a 12-hour shift cost me 10–15 lb on my top set. Same food, same effort.
Moved squats to after my main sleep block, even if that’s 5pm, and it came back. Are you lifting before or after your shift? And how many hours are you actually sleeping between shifts? On nights, recovery folds before protein does.
Not a protein answer, but I’d check squat-specific volume before forcing 130–150. At 178, a 20-lb squat drop over 17 weeks often means the hard sets are grinding and back-offs get sandbagged. How many weekly squat sets are actually RPE 7+?
I’d keep one heavy top set, cut back-off volume ~20% while appetite is low, and add a paused-squat day if recovery allows. Also, are you getting any carbs 60–90 min pre-lift? When I was barely eating, 30–40g carbs before squats did more for my top set than another shake.
Before grinding for more protein, I’d look at squat-specific fatigue. My squat dropped ~20 lb on a cut while bench held mostly steady; I was keeping the same back-off volume and my bracing/setup had changed after losing 20+ lb.
Filming a top set and comparing bar path/setup to old footage helped more than any macro tweak. Also: how many hard squat sets per week are you doing now vs. when you hit 275x5?
If that number hasn’t dropped, that’s probably the first lever to pull.
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