How I Tracked Protein to Gain 10kg

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Before I started paying attention to protein, I was training consistently and wondering why my weight wasn’t moving. I was showing up, putting in the work, and not getting the results I expected. The missing piece turned out to be simpler than I thought and more annoying to accept, because it had nothing to do with the training itself.

Why I Only Tracked One Number

I could have tracked everything. Carbs, fats, calories, sleep, water intake. A lot of fitness advice tells you to monitor all of it from day one. But I knew myself well enough to know that if I started logging five different numbers every single day, I would burn out in two weeks and drop the whole thing. I would rather do one thing well than five things badly.

I chose protein because that is what builds muscle. The rest of my diet was reasonably healthy, so the main missing piece was just hitting one number per day. Simple systems are the ones that last. And the system I used was straightforward enough that it is almost embarrassing to write down: take your target body weight in kilograms and multiply by two. That is your daily protein target in grams.

I was around 72kg when I started, but I set the target based on 80kg, which meant 160 grams of protein per day. The reasoning was that you are trying to build the body you do not have yet, so feeding your current weight makes no sense. I also kept the number realistic rather than overshooting dramatically. Going too aggressive too fast causes digestive problems, which would have been counterproductive. Pick a first milestone and build around it.

The First Two Months: Quark and Oats

My first personal trainer session happened after about two months at the gym, once I already knew how everything worked and just needed structure around the nutrition side. We sat down and mapped out what I should be eating and how much. Having that clarity early made a real difference. I wasn’t guessing, I had a number to hit every day.

At home we cook fairly vegetarian, even though I’m not one myself, so I had to be more deliberate about protein sources. My first approach was low-fat quark with oats, a banana, and honey to make it bearable. Nutritionally it worked. The oats gave me slow-burning carbs, the honey made it taste like actual food, and the quark delivered a solid protein hit per serving. I stuck with it for about two months, and I did notice changes during that time.

But eventually the taste and texture just stopped working for me. It wasn’t something I could push through anymore, it had crossed a line from “not my favourite” to something I actively dreaded. I should have caught that signal earlier. When you start dreading a core part of your routine, you are a few weeks away from dropping it entirely.

Why Skyr Changed Everything

I switched to skyr and haven’t looked back. That was over a year ago now. The protein profile is similar to quark but the texture is smoother and more neutral, which meant I could actually eat it every day without it becoming a problem. I started with flavoured varieties to make the transition easier, then switched to plain after a few months because it had less sugar and more protein per serving. To keep it interesting I add a handful of crunchy granola for texture. Quick, filling, and after a year it still doesn’t feel like a chore.

I also had a protein shake after every training session without exception. The routine was simple: scoop the powder into the shaker at home, fill it with water at the gym, drink it immediately after finishing. It became automatic fast enough that skipping it now would feel like leaving something undone.

For anyone starting out, the powder matters less than the habit. I have been using Optimum Nutrition Serious Mass (link) for a while now and it fits well into that post-workout window without overcomplicating anything

Beyond those two anchors I kept the rest practical. Turkey filets for cooked meals: lean, easy to prepare, easy to track. Chicken when I needed something quick. Eggs for a fast top-up between meals. Steak occasionally in the later months, which gives you a serious amount of protein in one sitting. The rule I gave myself was that every meal should contain at least 15 to 20 grams. That way I wasn’t relying on one big meal to hit the daily number. I spread it out and it felt manageable.

When the Scale Stopped Moving

It took me about a year to go from 72 to 80kg. After that the gains slowed dramatically, almost to a stop. At first I assumed it was a training issue. I had been working up to twelve repetitions and decided to shift toward heavier weights and sets of eight, always training to the point where the muscles genuinely couldn’t do another rep. Around the same time I added creatine monohydrate to my routine. I use MyProtein Creatine Monohydrate (link) nothing exotic, just the basics that actually have research behind them. I wrote more about the supplement side of things separately, but creatine was the one addition that felt immediately worth keeping. That was the right change and I should have made it sooner. But even with that adjustment, the weight wasn’t moving.

Looking back, I know what the real problem was. I stayed at 160 grams of protein per day even as my weight increased. My body had no real reason to keep growing. I was eating for an 80kg person while trying to become something heavier. The formula works, but it only works if you keep updating it. I hadn’t done that. I was sitting at the same number and wondering why nothing was changing, which is not a great place to be.

What the InBody Scan Actually Showed

A few months ago I did something I probably should have done earlier: I got a proper body composition scan. I had two done through InBody 770, one in September 2024 and one in November 2024 and putting the numbers side by side was genuinely interesting.

In September my weight was 76.3kg, skeletal muscle mass was 40.3kg, and body fat was 5.9kg at 7.8 percent. The fitness score came out at 80 out of 100. Two months later in November: weight 79.1kg, skeletal muscle mass 42.3kg, body fat down to 5.4kg at 6.9 percent. Fitness score 86 out of 100.

In two months I added two kilograms of muscle and dropped half a kilogram of fat at the same time. That is not a coincidence. It reflects what happens when the training and the nutrition are both pointing in the right direction. Seeing the actual numbers rather than just the scale made the system feel real in a way it hadn’t before. The scale tells you total weight. The scan tells you what that weight is made of.

What I Would Do Differently

I would switch to skyr immediately instead of spending two months getting to the point where quark made me not want to eat. The lesson sounds obvious in retrospect: find the protein sources you can eat consistently without dreading them. A food you’ll eat every day for a year is worth far more than a nutritionally perfect option you’ll abandon by week ten.

I would also have updated my protein target the moment I hit 80kg, rather than sitting on 160 grams and wondering why the scale stopped moving. My long-term goal is around 90kg, which by the same formula means roughly 180 grams per day. That adjustment needs to happen proactively, not reactively.

And I would have gotten an InBody scan much earlier. Watching the total scale number had started to feel like tracking the wrong thing. Knowing your muscle mass and body fat separately gives you an entirely different view of what is actually happening.

Everything else I would keep the same. One number to track. Protein in every meal. The shake as a non-negotiable after training. None of it was complicated. That was the point.

The content on this blog is based on my personal experience and does not constitute medical, nutritional, or fitness advice. Always consult a qualified doctor or professional before making changes to your training, nutrition, or lifestyle.