There was a time when most of my daily protein came from endless protein bars, purchased by the boxload, and whey protein out of a tub. The main course was a footlong Subway sandwich, double meat with all the veggies--which is actually pretty healthy, except that now I'm gluten-free so can't eat at Subway anymore.
But in reality mountains of protein supplements are not necessary, for me at least. I retain lots of muscle even without all that supplemental protein. It could be genetics, because there are definitely "hard gainers" who can't hold onto muscle well. I'm the opposite, a "hard loser," who can't lost weight easily--but can keep muscle pretty well.
The biggest problem I have faced is the insulin that protein releases, which prevents you from losing any weight. (You can't lose fat while insulin is elevated). Which has brought me to experiments with Intermittent Fasting (IF), going 6-8 hours with no food. Part of the reason is that for me, just about any carbs or protein will cause an insulin rise. So zero food during longer periods is really the only way for me to keep insulin down so I can lose fat.
Often you hear that your muscles will disappear if you don't feed them protein every few hours during these fasting periods, but this article gives insights into how the body prevents that.
In particular, the section by Dr. Eades has insights into the body's "amino acid pool" that is fed by the recycling of "junk proteins" as the body cleans out cells during fasting. So the body can add amino acids to the circulating pool even when you don't eat protein.
While some say to eat a gram of protein per pound of bodyweight, I have found that less, maybe 1.4 grams per pound works fine for me. The rest will just cause larger insulin spikes.
How much protein?
http://www.theiflife.com/how-much-protein-per-day-build-muscle/
