180g Protein Killed My Appetite on Rest Days

Rest days are the same for me. 200g protein and I'm stuffed by 3pm unless I drop fat.

Are you eating the same ofod volume or just same protein? Fiber and water swing my hunger way more than training volume.

I tracked this for 12 weeks at 170 lb: 190g protein daily. Lifting days I averaged hunger 6/10 and ate 2,900 kcal. Rest days hunger dropped to 3/10 and I struggled past 2,100 kcal. Same protein, lower carb intake. What fixed it for me was moving more protein to breakfast and keeping lunch lighter. Not saying that's universal, but your 3/10 on rest days matches mine almost exactly. Are you doing zero cardio on rest days? I also noticed my appetite came back on days I walked 10k+ steps, even if lifting was off.

Breakfast protein is the big lever for me too.

What's your weekly volume? I find suppression hits when I cut sets by half, not when protein goes up.

The breakfast crowd thing is real — 50g of protein at 7am and the appetite signal basically goes quiet until 1pm. Common surprise though: rest-day cardio can flip that on its head.

165 lb here too, and my log showed the opposite of what I expected — rest-day protein looked like it fell off a cliff until I weighed everything for a week and found I was under-logging by 20-30g, mostly the handfuls of nuts and cheese while I was cooking. Those "barely 140g" days were actually north of 165, so my appetite wasn't the variable, my logging was. What actually lined up with 3/10 days was sleep: under 6.5 hours and I don't want food at any protein number, 7.5+ and I'm normal again. Before you chase the carb thing, weigh for a week and check your sleep — cheap experiment, and it changed what I thought I knew.

Rest days are when I drop to like 2,400 steps instead of 9-11k, and I'd bet that's doing more than the protein grams. Same 150-155g every day for me, but rest-day hunger was stuck at 3-4 and I couldn't finish dinner either — what actualy changed was food volume, not protein: no post-gym cooking meant I was eating maybe half the vegetables and no soup, just dense stuff. Added a 40-minute walk after lunch plus a huge bowl of broth, cabbage and shredded chicken and rest-day hunger came back to 6-7 in about ten days with the protein untouched, waist still down 1.5 inches over 3 months. The 3/10 days weren't a win for me either, I'd just pick at the pantry at 9pm and feel gross. What's your step count and total food volume on rest days versus lifting days?

My rest-day hunger log was almost identical to yours until I realized I was drinking like 40 oz of water on rest days vs 90+ on lifting days, and my sodium tanked with it. On lifting days I’m sweating and salting everything, appetite comes roaring back by noon; on rest days I’d have coffee, plain water, a late breakfast, then feel weirdly full/nauseated at 6pm and stall at 130-140g protein. Started doing one 16-20 oz water with a bouillon cube or a pickle around 10am plus actually eating breakfast at 8 instead of 11, and rest-day hunger went from 3/10 to 5-6/10, protein back to 165-175g without forcing it. Scale also dropped 1.5 lb overnight after that first salty drink day, which was obviously water, so I stopped reading anything into rest-day weight dips.

Not just you. My rest-day hunger is way more routine-dependent than training-dependent. If I sleep in and skip my usual 7am breakfast, I don’t get a real hunger cue until mid-afternoon, and then 140g feels like a chore. Keeping a boring anchor breakfast (Greek yogurt + berries + a scoop) and

Tbh Not just you, but I’d separate protein from total intake. When I dropped training volume, my rest-day calories fell ~400 kcal because I wasn’t adding pre/post workout carbs. Hunger log looked like protein was the culprit, but it was really the lower carb/fat load. Do you have rest vs lift day calories and macros side by side? Specifically, same protein but fewer carbs/fats? If so, try matching energy density/volume (soup, veg, fruit) rather than forcing more protein. Also, what’s your protein timing—3 meals vs 5 snacks? That changed my 1–10 hunger way more than the daily gram total.

Curious what your rest-day food volume looks like, not just grams. I hit 170g easily on lifting days because I’m eating giant bowls of roasted veg + rice; on rest days I was eating the same protein in fewer, denser meals and it felt like a chore by meal 3. Adding a huge low-cal salad or soup and splitting protein into 3 smaller hits instead of 2 bricks got me from 3/10 to 6/10 hunger without changing total protein. Are you eating fewer total bites on rest days?

Tbh Not just you, but my rest-day hunger tracks steps, not lifting. If I drop from 11k to 4k steps, I can hit 180g and still feel gross-full by 6pm. Same food on a high-step rest day? Ravenous. The other variable for me is caffeine: lifting days I have coffee later and actually get hungrier; rest days I sip it all morning and it stacks with the protein. Are your rest days also lower steps/caffeine? If so, maybe it’s not the protein alone.

I run a cafe, so rest days are weird: I’m around food constantly but it’s mostly nibbles—spoon of ganache, crust ends, three flat whites. By dinner I’m at a 3/10 and 160g protein feels like a part-time job. What helped was separating hunger from appetite: I have a savory protein plate even when I don’t feel like it, because waiting for hunger means I never get there. Do you notice it’s worse on higher-coffee rest days? Caffeine kills my interest in chicken, but somehow not in pastry.

Honestly, Three-year vet here. What changed my rest-day protein slog was tracking steps, not grams. When my rest days were truly couch days (<4k), 160g felt impossible and hunger stayed 3/10. Adding a 30–40 min walk plus errands bumped me to ~8k and I could finish 170g without forcing it. Also, are you counting protein from veggies/oats? Those add up more than people think and can change the 140g math. Not saying it's the whole answer, but the NEAT angle rarely gets mentioned in these threads.

airports are my tell. On lifting days I’m doing concourse cardio—easily 12k steps—and a protein-heavy hotel breakfast disappears by 10 a.m. On rest days I’m parked in a lounge chair, same breakfast, still full at 2 p.m. My hunger log tracks way closer to step count than training volume. Rest days under ~6k steps are almost always a 3/10. What’s your step count looking like on rest vs lifting days? Might explain why the protein feels heavier when you

One thing I noticed in maintenance: my rest-day appetite tracks steps/NEAT way more than protein. On low-step days I can hit 150g and feel stuffed by 6pm; on 8–10k days I’m actually hungry. Front-loading protein also makes rest days worse for me—I save more for dinner and

I tracked protein per sitting instead of daily total. Same 180g, different distribution: 60g before 10am on a rest day and hunger flatlines at 2/10 until dinner. Split into 3–4 smaller feedings, noon hunger comes back. Rest-day steps matter too; when I drop under 5k, protein sits like concrete. Bumping to 8k usually gets me back to 5/10. Try logging protein timing + step count for a week, not just grams.

same—rest days I’m staring at my last chicken bites like it’s a chore.

Cafe owner here—rest days are my trap because I’m not on my feet slinging espresso, but I’m still staring at lemon bars. The odd part for me wasn’t total protein; it was texture. When most of it came from cold shakes or iced coffee, I’d feel stuffed till 4 and barely pick at dinner. Same-ish grams from eggs, leftover chicken, or Greek yogurt? I actually got normal hunger cues. Are your rest-day 140g mostly liquid, or chewy/solid? That made a bigger difference for me than

Travel rest days are my weirdest appetite days. Hotel room + laptop = I’ll sip coffee and sparkling water all morning and suddenly 140g feels impossible. Lifting days I’m running terminals and forget fluids, so I’m ravenous. I added two columns to my hunger log: caffeine servings and ounces of water before noon. Rest days I’m usually 3 coffees/60 oz by noon; gym days maybe 1 coffee/20 oz. Not saying it’s the whole story, but it explained a chunk. Are you drinking way more on rest days, or is it truly the protein? Also: is your rest day a travel day or a hotel-desk day? Those are totally different for me.

Rest days are my weirdest too, but for me it’s more source/texture than total volume. On lifting days chicken breast is fine; on rest days cold chicken or eggs feel like cardboard, so I switch to Greek yogurt, cottage cheese, or a shake and actually finish it. Do you log by protein source? I added a tiny note in my tracker—hunger before, fullness after, could I finish yes/no—and it showed my rest-day wall is mostly less movement and boredom, not real fullness. Moving my biggest protein hit to breakfast helped a little too.

Hi, wek one here too—rest days I’m barely hungry either, so you’re not alone!

Same—protein keeps me full till dinner on rest days, especially if I’m parked on the couch.

Honestly, rest days my hunger just naps through breakfast 😂

Hi, I’m only week one so take this with a giant grain of salt. I’ve been logging hunger too, and my rest-day appetite seems to track sleep way more than protein. Short sleep (5–6 hrs) = I’m at like a 3 and can’t finish dinner; 8 hrs = normal hunger. Have you looked at sleep or caffeine timing on rest vs lifting days? That’s my other sneaky variable—if I skip my usual pre-workout coffee I’m strangely less hungry. Sorry if obvious!

What does your rest-day menu actually look like? I noticed my appetite tanks when most of my protein comes from shakes/egg whites vs chewier meat. Same

My weekly average hides the same rest-day dip—soup and yogurt help me finish.

I track weekly protein rather than daily, and my rest-day average is about 20 g lower. What helped was changing the format, not the number: on rest days I do three smaller warm meals (broth-based soup with shredded chicken, eggs, Greek yogurt with berries) instead of two big plates. Same protein, much less chore-like. My hunger log also tracks texture/appetite, and cold, dry, dense meals score lower for me on rest days. Are you using the same meal prep on rest and lifting days? If yes, that might be the variable—not the protein itself.

Same—rest days my chicken breast just stares at me till I give up lol.

Night shift here. Rest days my appetite clocks out. Coffee counts as lunch.

Rest days I just sip coffee and call it protein’s day off 😂

Daily weigher here. The variable that finally explained my rest-day appetite wasn’t training volume—it was sleep. I log sleep and hunger 1–10, and rest days after <6.5h sleep average 3/10 until late afternoon; after 7.5h+ I’m at 6/10 by 10am. Same protein target, similar steps. So now I don’t panic if rest-day protein lands at 140—I watch my 7-day average and weight trend. Are you tracking sleep duration/quality on those low-hunger rest days? That might be the hidden variable.

Not just you. Mine tracks NEAT more than protein. Lifting day = 10k+ steps and I'm ravenous by noon. True rest day under 4k steps and 140g feels like force-feeding. What's your rest-day step count vs lifting days? I stopped chasing 180 daily and look at the 7-day average: 4 lifting days at 180 + 3 rest at 140 still averages ~163g, which at your weight is basically 1g/lb. For recomp I'd rather hit that weekly number than white-knuckle chicken at 9pm. Also sleeping 7.5h vs 6h changes my appetite way more than training volume.

Rest days I stop trying to eat “meals” and just raid the snack drawer: pre-portioned turkey bites, roasted edamame, cottage cheese cups, cheese cubes. I graze while unloading the dshwasher or folding laundry, otherwise I stare at a plate and nope out. Kids stealing half helps, honestly. Are you front-loading or back-loading your 140g? If I don’t get ~60g by 1pm on rest days, I coast to 90g and call it a win. Lifting days I’m ravenous by noon, so I feel you.

Night shift here—rest days I can't even look at chicken. Coffee and eggs only.

Same—rest days I have to force the last bites, lifting days I'm ravenous by lunch.

Do you track steps on rest days? I'm on the road constantly, and my "rest" days in airports often hit 12k steps, which seems to keep hunger normal. But true zero-movement days? I'm at 3/10 too. I've started logging total movement, not just lifting volume, and it lines up. Maybe your rest days aren't as restful as you think?

Same—rest days at the cafe I taste-test muffins and suddenly protein feels like a chore.

same pattern here—lost 40, regained 25, now logging again. For me the culprit was protein source + low steps. On rest days I’d do a big egg/cheese scramble and be done by 2pm. Swapped to shrimp or tuna + a 10-min walk before lunch, and hunger came back to a 5/10. Not saying that fixes you—but have you looked at whether your rest-day protein is mostly slow-digesting stuff? Also, how’s your water/electrolytes on rest days? I under-drink and mistake that for fullness.

Tbh i’m a weekly-average person, so I’d be curious about the whole week rather than the rest-day number. If you lift four days at 180g and have three rest days at 140g, that’s roughly 163g/day average, still near 1g per pound for you. For me, that reframe took the pressure off the low-appetite days. I also notice my hunger is more tied to meal timing and whether I front-load protein early or save it for a bigger dinner. Have you compared your weekly protein and weekly hunger averages side by side? The contrast between 6/10 lifting days and 3/10 rest days might be the real signal, not true under-eating.

Empty-nester here too. What helped me was separating “protein volume” from “appetite triggers.” On rest days I moved my first protein later (11ish), did a 25-min walk before lunch, and used solid proteins like cottage cheese/eggs/leftover chicken instead of shakes. Shakes made me weirdly full for hours; solids plus a walk left me able to hit closer to normal by dinner. Also my hunger tracks daily steps more than lifting—if I park on the couch, 140g feels like a chore. Could your rest-day step count have dropped too?