Appetite suppression, 92g protein, and a stalled squat

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.

Solid meals are a myth with two kids—my snack drawer string cheese is dong heavy lifting lately.

Not a protein answer, but have you checked your sleep and step count lately? I restarted walks when my nest emptied, and adding 8–10k steps quietly tanked my recovery for squats. Dropping to 6k on squat days and getting an extra hour of sleep got me unstuck more than any macro tweak. Also, 255x5 at 178 is still solid—your relative strength may actually be up. What does your sleep look like the two nights before squat day?

Solid meals are impossible here too—snack drawer cheese sticks and jerky are my lifeline.

not really a protein target thing maybe: what’s your weekly loss rate? 201→178 in 17w is ~1.35 lb/wk, and for me anything over ~1% bw/wk tanked squats even when protein was okay. id track sleep + weekly avg weight before forcing more protein. are you doing any maintenance/refeed weeks or just straight cutting? nght shift wrecked my recovery more than macros—are you lifting before or after shift?

That appetite wall is rough. Do you notice squat energy dips mre on lower-carb days?

New here too—solid meals feel imposible already, cheese sticks are my tiny victory.

Not the protein police, but are you tracking total calories, not just protein? I did the same on a long cut: stuck around 90–100g protein, lifts tanked, and I kept trying to force more shakes. What actually helped was adding ~150–250 easy kcal on training days (olive oil in rice, full-fat yogurt, whatever goes down) and letting weekly loss drift toward ~0.5–0.7 lb. Squat stopped sliding within two weeks. At 201→178 in 17 weeks, you’ve been losing pretty fast; maybe it’s not a true squat stall, just under-fueled. Are you losing anything most weeks, or genuinely flat for 3+ weeks?

The protein struggle is real; Greek yogurt and shakes kept me sane.

One thing that helped me when my appetite tanked: I stopped chasing the old numbers and started tracking a “floor” set—like 225 for 3 clean reps—twice a week. Kept that floor for 8 weeks while I maintained. When appetite came back, I built from there. Are you tracking a floor, or just the top set?

travel weeks have me living on jerky and hotel eggs; squats definitely notice 😅

Empty nester too—quiet kitchen made it easier to notice I was under-eating, not just under-protein. What helped my lifting was moving most of my protein earlier: 30g at breakfast (Greek yogurt + egg whites) and 25g right after walks. By dinner I only needed a small portion. For the squat specifically: what are your rest times now? On my cut I had to go from 2–3 min to 4–5 min between top sets; 255x5 felt way less grindy even at a lower bodyweight. Are you also keeping the same weekly squat volume?

ngl my squat tanked too til i ate a bagel before lifting, protein was never the issue lol

I track weekly averages too, and protein was the last lever I checked. What helped when appetite was low was treating it like hydration: a scoop of unflavored whey in coffee or broth, plus Greek yogurt at breakfast before the window closed. That got me from roughly 90g to 125g without forcing meals. For the squat, I would ask whether the stall is bar speed or actual missed reps. If it is just slower RPE, I would review weekly carbs around training days before pushing protein higher. Are you comparing squat e1RM week to week, or only top-set weight? That distinction changed how I adjusted my own cut.

Night shift here too. Before forcing 130–150g, log two things for two weeks: hours slept before the session, and whether you lifted after a shift or after real sleep. My squat stalled on the same protein when I was training off 5 hours of daytime sleep. Fixing sleep gave me back more than adding food did. Also, if most of that 92g is shakes, try 3–4 small 20g hits spread across the shift instead of one big drink. Way easier when nothing sounds good. What's your actual sleep total on squat days?

Solid meals feeling impossible is so real

Are you logging your protein raw or cooked? I was stuck around 95g until I realized my chicken entries were cooked weight but the app defaulted to raw—my actual intake was ~15g/day lower than I thought. Switching to a cheap digital scale and logging raw got me to 135g without bigger meals: 200g raw chicken, 1 cup egg whites, 1 scoop isolate, 1 cup Greek yogurt. Also, 23 lb in 17 weeks is ~1.35 lb/week—pretty fast. How’s your weekly avrage loss looking the last 3 weeks?

the lift drop with 92g is the signal I’d chase first. When my appetite got weird on a cut, I stopped caring about daily protein and tracked a 7-day average + total carbs. My squat stalled harder when carbs tanked than when protein dipped. Sharp question: what are your total calories/carbs doing, not just protein? For me, a cold shker (milk, powder, frozen banana) between clients got me from ~90g to ~130g without chewing. Also, one week at maintenance-ish—same meals, bigger portions—wasn’t a cure but got my bench back and made food less repulsive. If you’re determined to keep cutting, at least watch weekly lifts; if squat keeps sliding, that’s your data.

not a protein expert, but I live out of a carry-on. What helped my stalled-ish lifts wasn’t fighting for 130g at dinner—it was setting 3 travel “anchor points”: hotel breakfast (Greek yogurt + 2 hard-boiled eggs), airport (protein shake sipped over an hour, not chugged), and a thick yogurt cup before shower. That got me from ~90g to ~125g without a single real meal. Are you spreading your 92g out or backloading it? If it’s mostly one meal, splitting it might be the easiest lever. Also, are your squat sessions first thing after travel days? That always tanks my top set more than macros.

My spreadsheet says my squat tracked carb timing harder than protein, fwiw.

Not the protein hill I’d die on either. What’s your average weekly loss over the last 4 weeks? I stalled hard at a similar point and realized I was dropping ~1.5 lb/wk while trying to keep 4 compound days. Once I let the scale move slower (0.3–0.5 lb/wk) and tracked bar speed + waist instead of daily weight, my squat stopped sliding. Appetite was still crap, so I leaned on liquid calories when solid food felt impossible and stopped forcing dry chicken. Are you actually still losing weekly right now, or is it more of a flatline? That changes the answer.

the cheese stick drawer is carrying my whole cut too—solid dinner is a fantasy some nights.

Contrarian angle: 201→178 over 17 weeks is ~1.35 lb/wk, which is aggressive enough to explain a 7% squat drop. I’d track waist + 7-day avg weight + e1RM, not just protein. In my sheet, when e1RM fell >5% while waist kept dropping, the fix was recovery/calories, not hitting a protein number. At 178, 92g is ~0.52g/lb; 130g might help, but first: what’s your 4-week weight rate and waist delta? If waist is still moving, I’d test trimming a set or two per lift before force-feeding. If waist stalled, then push protein/cals. That’s the fork I’d log.

Honestly, in the trials, total daily protein is the main lever; per-meal leucine is secondary. At 92g you’re ~0.52 g/lb, and for a 178-lb lifter cutting with 4x/week compounds, I’d treat that as the floor, not the target. The squat drop from 275→255 is ~7%, which tracks with 1.35 lb/wk loss more than protein alone. What’s your weekly loss rate and squat RPE now vs week 1? I’d also track waist—if it’s still dropping but lifts flatline, that changes the decision.

Relative strength check, not absolute: 275/201 = 1.37x BW; 255/178 = 1.43x BW. Bench 205/201 = 1.02x; 195/178 = 1.10x. So your squat and bench are actually slightly better per pound of bodyweight—this looks more like cut math than a true stall. What’s your weekly loss rate? If you’re still dropping >1 lb/wk, that plus 92g protein is probably flattening top-end recovery. I track e1RM/BW in a sheet and it stopped me from panicking when my absolute numbers slid.

I feel this—my appetite vanished last cut and cheese sticks became a food group.

Quick math check: 275/201 = 1.37x BW, 255/178 = 1.43x BW. Your squat didn’t stall relative to your body—it got stronger per pound. Bench: 205/201 = 1.02x vs 195/178 = 1.10x. Same story. I’d let that quiet the noise. I stopped chasing 130–150 during my last cut and held ~100g; my compounds held as long as weekly volume didn’t creep. Are you comparing top sets at the same RPE, or just absolute load? If RPE is climbing, that’s a recovery signal before protein is.

For what it's worth, 92g at 178 lb is ~0.52 g/lb. I’d separate the protein question from the lift question: what’s your weekly loss rate? 23 lb over 17 weeks is ~1.35 lb/wk, aggressive enough to tank squat/bench independent of protein. For low-volume intake, I use 2 scoops whey + 200g 0% Greek yogurt + egg whites, ~80g, sipped over an hour. If loss is >1%/wk, I’d adjust cut rate before chasing 150g.

The snack dawer is the only reason I hit protein too.

Not a protein answer exactly, but what's your weekly loss rate? When I was losing ~1.5 lb/wk my squat tanked even at 140g protein; backing off to ~0.75 lb/wk brought it back. Also, 92g average—are you counting weekly or just logged days? I started treating protein like hydration: 15g here, 20g there, sipping a shake over an hour instead of facing a meal. Cottage cheese blended into soup was a weird but easy 20g. If appetite is the wall, maybe frequency matters more than the big number. Are you doing any back-off sets

That stalled squat while appetite vanishes is such a gut punch—I’m living on jerky and yogurt too.

For what it's worth, solid meals feeling impossible is the worst—I survived on yogurt and shakes, but my lifts missed real food.

Girl same—my purse is just cheese sticks and jerky now 😂

Bagel before lifting is so real, my squat woke up too lol

Daily weigher here too. One thing I’d check before fighting protein: rest times. During my last cut I unconsciously cut squat rests from 3 min to ~90 sec because I felt time-pressed and appetite was low, and my top set tanked exactly like that. Started timing full 3 min again and my squat came back ~10 lb in two weeks without changing food. Also video one top set—my stance was creeping narrower as I got fatigued. What’s your rest between heavy squat sets, and has it changed since the cut started?

What’s your weekly rate of loss? 201→178 over 17 weeks is ~1.35 lb/wk, which is pretty aggressive. When I was losing >1% bw/wk, my squat tanked even when I forced 140g protein. I kept training 4x and just added ~200 cal on lifting days; bar speed came back within two weeks. If you’re still dropping fast, protein may not be the main culprit—rate and recovery might be. Worth checking before white-knuckling 130–150g.

Honestly, been tere — my squat stopped sliding once I ate actual carbs before lifting, protein wasn't the villain lol

I track two weekly averages together: weight trend and squat top-set. When appetite was this low, chasing 130–150g daily made me inconsistent; a 7-day floor I could actually hit—around 100–105g, with a couple of 120g days—was more repeatable, and my lifts stopped sliding. If your weekly loss is still ~1.3–1.4 lb and strength is falling, that pattern is worth examining. Wat does your last three-week average loss look like?

First week here and alredy feel seen by the string cheese replies lol

Are you tracking bar speed/RPE? At 17 weeks and 23 lb down, my squat fell similarly until I auto-regulated—if warmups felt heavy, I capped at 3x5 instead of 5x5. Also, with kids, I prep a snack-drawer “savory” box: olives, cheese cubes, turkey roll-ups, so I eat without thinking. Not protein math, just removing decisions. What’s your weekly set count for squat? If it’s high and sleep’s trash, that’s a bigger flag than 92 vs 140.

Appetite suppression stole my lunch too—a bagel before squats was the only thing that made me feel normal lol

Tbh solid meals feeling impossible is so real—sipping a shake got me closer without the gagging.

Tbh the squat dip would make me so nervous too—do you feel it’s fatigue or just less food in the tank?