I didn’t set out to create a “rule.”

Rules are for hall monitors and people who say that everyone gets a trophy.

I was just watching too many smart lifters quietly bleed out progress.

Good training.
Decent food.
Enough discipline to scare the patrons of the hallowed purple halls of PF.

…And yet their recovery felt like sand in the gears.

Strength crawled.

Hunger was like a feral cat at night if it was smoking with Snoop Dog.

Everyone had that same haunted look, like they were doing everything right and still losing a fistfight with their own metabolism.

That’s when it hit me:

These people weren’t undertrained.
They weren’t lazy.
​They were chronically under-dosing protein.

The Protein Trigger Pull

Somewhere along the way, protein advice got watered down like a cheap gas station beer.

“20–30 grams is fine.”
“Just spread it out.”
“Don’t overthink it.”

Cool story Bro…

…Except muscle protein synthesis (MPS) doesn’t care about vibes or Instagram consensus.

It runs on thresholds.

You need to clear two physiological bouncers every time you eat:

1. Leucine — roughly 2–3 grams to flip the anabolic switch
2. Enough EAAs to actually build something once the lights come on

Miss either one and you don’t get much new protein assembled in dem’ biceps.
Forever almost anabolic.

Why 40 Grams Became the Hammer

What kept showing up—over and over—was this:

Once meals hit around 40 grams of protein, the chaos settled (1-5).

Recovery stopped acting like a feral raccoon.
Hunger stopped screaming at midnight.
Training felt… easier. Not soft—efficient.

..and the research backed this up time and time again

And here’s the part that mattered:

It worked even when the protein source wasn’t pristine.

Chicken.
Beef.
Eggs.
Greek yogurt.
Mixed meals.
Partially plant-based Frankenfoods.

Forty grams reliably:

• Clears the leucine threshold
• Covers EAA needs
• Removes the need to ask, “Is this protein good enough?”

It’s nutritional overkill by design.

Like Liquid Death marketing, but for amino acids:
​Murder the problem so it can’t crawl back.

Why It’s 4 Meals and Not a Personality Disorder

I’ve lived at the extremes.

Two massive meals?
Works until stress, travel, or digestion throws a Molotov cocktail.

Six meals?
Congrats, you’ve built a plan that collapses the moment your life sneezes.

Four meals is where physiology and human behavior stop trying to stab each other.

Enough MPS pulses.
Enough total protein.
High compliance even when life gets loud.

If push comes to shove, 3 x 40 is still light years ahead of fasting every day and then inhaling half the kitchen at night like you were hot boxing with Cypress Hill.

Remember:

Physiology is complex.​
​Actions must be brutally simple.

If the action requires spreadsheets, timers, or monk-level discipline, it will fail under pressure.

4×40 survives:

• bad sleep
• stress weeks
• travel
• imperfect food
• low motivation

Run the Experiment

Before you light up my inbox with “well actually…”

Do this:

For the next few days:

Eat four meals.
Hit ~40 grams of protein each time.
Change nothing else.

No macro math.
No diet ideology.
No guru cosplay.

Just pull the trigger four times a day.

Most people feel it shockingly fast—because for the first time, they’re actually hitting the dose.

Flex Diet Cert Opens Feb 9–16

If you want the full system—how protein plugs into carbs, calories, training stress, recovery, and real human behavior, you will love the Flex Diet Cert as we go ballZ deep.

Enrollment opens Feb 9
Closes Feb 16

After that?
Doors shut.

This is nutrition that still works when life tries to drown you in chaos…
…and you crack open another cold can and keep moving.

More details coming along over the next few weeks.

Much love, metabolic violence, and protein that actually pulls the trigger,
Dr. Mike

PS- The IG GooRoos will say “protein is overrated” before they’ve ever hit 4×40 consistently. Trust on this, it is a game changer for strength, muscle and body comp in the simplest framework possible.

References

1. Moore, D. R., Robinson, M. J., Fry, J. L., Tang, J. E., Glover, E. I., Wilkinson, S. B., Prior, T., Tarnopolsky, M. A., & Phillips, S. M. (2009). Ingested protein dose response of muscle and albumin protein synthesis after resistance exercise in young men. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 89(1), 161–168.
2. Witard, O. C., Jackman, S. R., Breen, L., Smith, K., Selby, A., & Tipton, K. D. (2014). Myofibrillar muscle protein synthesis rates subsequent to a meal in response to increasing doses of whey protein at rest and after resistance exercise. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 99(1), 86–95.
3. Macnaughton, L. S., Wardle, S. L., Witard, O. C., McGlory, C., Hamilton, D. L., Jeromson, S., Lawrence, C. E., Wallis, G. A., & Morton, J. P. (2016). The response of muscle protein synthesis following whole-body resistance exercise is greater following 40 g compared with 20 g of ingested whey protein. Physiological Reports, 4(15), e12893.
4. Yang, Y., Breen, L., Burd, N. A., Hector, A. J., Churchward-Venne, T. A., Josse, A. R., Tarnopolsky, M. A., & Phillips, S. M. (2012). Resistance exercise enhances myofibrillar protein synthesis with graded intakes of whey protein in older men. British Journal of Nutrition, 108(10), 1780–1788.
5. Morton, R. W., Murphy, K. T., McKellar, S. R., Schoenfeld, B. J., Henselmans, M., Helms, E., Aragon, A. A., Devries, M. C., Banfield, L., Krieger, J. W., & Phillips, S. M. (2018). A systematic review, meta-analysis and meta-regression of the effect of protein supplementation on resistance training–induced gains in muscle mass and strength in healthy adults. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 52(6), 376–384.

​

_____________________

Mike T Nelson CISSN, CSCS, MSME, PhD
Associate Professor, Carrick Institute
Owner, Extreme Human Performance, LLC
Editorial Board Member, STRONG Fitness Mag

Mike T Nelson is a PhD and not a physician or registered dietitian. The contents of this email should not be taken as medical advice. It is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any health problem - nor is it intended to replace the advice of a physician. Always consult your physician or qualified health professional on any matters regarding your health.

..