How much protein can my body absorb in one meal?
The answer depends on your history. Your body adapts to your intake. This is well studied and documented. The World Health Organization has projects studying protein intake from more than a century of clinical trials. Their mission is to find solutions to stamp out third-world famine and understanding protein turnover is important for health and many other reasons.

Your body takes several days to adapt to an intake. The idea there is a limit per meal is not true. If you are used to consuming 20 grams and suddenly consume 200, then there is a chance that you are over-consuming. However, if you steadily consume 200 at a sitting, your body can adjust and adapt and begin to use it.

I'm not suggesting you eat that much - that is just an example.

Protein intakes are over-stated and overrated in an attempt to sell protein drinks, powders, supplements, etc. They are used by people who bodybuild. Most people assume they train like a bodybuilder because they pick up a weight, and it's simply not true. Unless you are competing on stage or training with a trainer who can teach you true intensity and routines, you probably don't justify the same intake as a natural bodybuilding athlete would require.

If you consume large amounts of protein, your body becomes less efficient at processing it and uses much of it for energy (look up damination and oxidation). If you consume small amounts of protein, your body becomes extremely efficient at using that protein and burns less for energy, so it's a tradeoff.

Studies show that either keeping calories the same and increasing the percentage of calories from protein, or increasing calories overall even if the increase comes from carbs, both can contribute to gaining muscle mass and improving protein turnover.

You Piss A Lot. And That's Okay
Dr. Lowery is doing some work right now on kidney function and he's noticed something interesting in his research.

It seems that "protein-seekers" — which is apparently geek-speak for people who eat a lot of protein — have a much higher urine output than non-protein seekers, dudes who don't eat much protein.

"Average urine output is supposed to be about 1.2 liters daily, maybe 1.5 liters," says Lowery, who's the kinda guy who knows stuff like that, like, right off the top of his head. (It's eerie.)

"Well, the guys in this study who are averaging 250 grams a day of protein are bringing me 3 and 4 liters a day, sometimes hitting 3 liters in only twelve hours!"

Devil's advocate mode again for me: "Well, are they getting a lot of this protein from shakes and therefore just consuming more water?"

"I'm able to look at the urine-specific gravity and see how dilute it is. So I can adjust for this to some extent. Either way: high-protein eaters have a much higher urine output. They're filling up all the containers we provide them! And it's not just the fluid volume that's doing it."

Now, is this a bad thing? Well, for decades there's been something out there called the Brenner Hypothesis. Basically, it states that all this extra filtration, this urine production, is "hard on the kidneys." It causes extra work.

"That's speculation!" says Lowery. "Asking a tissue to do extra work does not equal 'damage.' It does not 'ruin' it. Think about your biceps. When you ask it to do extra work does it ruin it? No, it adapts, it gets better! It's silly to think that your kidneys would get seriously damaged if you ask them to create extra urine. Although not definitive, I see no damage in my studies. And mind you, we're talking about a mean intake of 250 grams per day for over 10 years." (3)

Now, I don't know about TMuscle readers, but I'm glad to hear this. Pharmaceutical ads on TV tell us every day that peeing a lot is a sure sign that we need their latest wonder drug because frequent urination is a bad sign. Well, it can be (prostate issues, etc.), but it seems it can also be a sign of simply eating a high-protein, gym-monkey diet.

Add caffeine and, well, there ya go. Literally.