How much protein do you need per day by weight and goal (table and calculator)

How much protein for your weight and goal: the table

Each column applies a factor with its source. Sedentary: 0.83 g/kg, the EFSA population reference intake for adults, which covers 97.5% of healthy people. Active or strength training: 1.6 g/kg, the point beyond which the Morton (2018) meta-analysis saw no further gain in lean mass; in brackets, the ISSN range of 1.4-2.0 g/kg. Deficit with strength training: 2.3 g/kg, the bottom of the ISSN range of 2.3-3.1 g/kg (the Longland trial used 2.4). Over 65: 1.0-1.2 g/kg, from the PROT-AGE group. The last column gives the amount per meal for people who train: 4 meals of 0.4-0.55 g/kg, the distribution proposed by Schoenfeld and Aragon (2018).

How to work out your ideal protein in three steps

If you would rather not do the maths, the protein calculator does it for you from your weight, activity and goal; and if you want to know how much muscle you carry right now, try the muscle mass calculator. If you prefer to do it by hand, there are three steps:

• Step 1, pick the factor: 0.83 if you do not train; 1.6 if you do strength training or play sport regularly (you can go up to 2.2 to play it safe: it is the top of the Morton interval); 2.3-3.1 if you lift and are in a deficit; 1.0-1.2 if you are over 65 (1.2 or more if you also exercise)
• Step 2, multiply by your weight: a 62 kg woman who lifts three days a week needs 62 × 1.6 = 99 g a day; an 85 kg man who does not train, 85 × 0.83 = 71 g
• Step 3, divide by your meals: those 99 g over 4 meals are about 25 g per meal, almost exactly 0.4 g/kg (62 × 0.4 = 25 g)
• Pregnancy and breastfeeding: EFSA does not change the factor, it adds grams to the reference: +1 g a day in the first trimester, +9 g in the second and +28 g in the third; +19 g a day during the first six months of breastfeeding and +13 g after that
• If you have kidney disease or have been prescribed a specific diet, this calculation does not apply: your doctor sets the amount

Why protein matters (and why the minimum figure is not enough if you train)

Protein is the macronutrient that costs the most energy to digest: according to the review by Westerterp (2004), 20 to 30% of its calories are spent processing it, compared with 5-10% for carbohydrate and 0-3% for fat, and that effect is linked to greater satiety. For muscle, the Morton et al. meta-analysis (BJSM 2018; 49 trials, 1,863 participants) found that adding protein to strength training added on average 0.3 kg of fat-free mass and 2.49 kg to the 1RM: 27% and 9% more, respectively, than the training achieved on its own. The study itself supplies the nuance: training is the main stimulus and protein complements it. And in those trials participants were already eating about 1.4 g/kg on average, 75% above the RDA of 0.8 g/kg, yet extra protein still helped. That is why the minimum figure is not the target if you train.

How much protein per meal: 0.4 g/kg and no fixed 30 or 40 g ceiling

For years people repeated that the body can only "use" 20-25 g or 30-40 g of protein per meal and burns the rest. The data do not support that. Schoenfeld and Aragon (2018) reviewed the studies and concluded that eating more than 20 g increases amino acid oxidation, but not all of the extra protein is lost: part of it goes into building tissue. Their practical proposal is 0.4 g/kg per meal across at least four meals (1.6 g/kg a day), with a maximum of 0.55 g/kg per meal if you are aiming for 2.2 g/kg. In 2023, Trommelen et al. (Cell Reports Medicine) compared 25 g and 100 g of protein after strength training: with 100 g the anabolic response was larger and lasted more than 12 hours, and amino acid oxidation barely changed.

• In grams: for 60 kg, 24-33 g per meal; for 80 kg, 32-44 g; for 100 kg, 40-55 g
• If one day you eat two big meals instead of four, nothing serious happens: according to Trommelen, a large dose keeps being used for hours. Spreading it out is still the easiest way to reach the total, which is what counts most
• Timing matters less than marketing suggests: the meta-analysis by Schoenfeld, Aragon and Krieger (2013) found that, once adjusted for total daily protein, eating it right around training changed neither strength nor hypertrophy. The ISSN adds that the anabolic effect of exercise lasts at least 24 hours
• Before bed: in the study by Res et al. (2012), 16 young men who took 40 g of casein before sleeping, after an evening workout, had ~22% higher overnight muscle protein synthesis (borderline significance) and a better protein balance. It is an option if you train in the evening, not an obligation

How much protein each food has (per serving)

The searches that reach us most are about specific foods: plain yogurt, cooked ham, hake. This table gives the protein and kcal for a typical serving using USDA FoodData Central data (with its id) and, for hake, cooked ham and Spanish-style Greek yogurt, BEDCA, the Spanish food composition database run by AESAN. For more options, see protein-rich foods.

• Raw or cooked: meat and fish lose water when cooked, so their protein per 100 g goes up. Always weigh the same way and use the matching figure
• Legumes count: a plate of lentils has almost half the protein of a serving of chicken, plus fibre. Legumes run a little short of methionine and cereals of lysine; eating both over the day makes up for it. More in vegan protein sources and how to combine them
• Firm tofu and regular tofu are not the same: firm tofu has more than twice the protein per 100 g (17.3 g versus 8.1 g)

Is too much protein bad for your kidneys?

It is the most common worry and it deserves data, not a generic "it has been proven". In adults without kidney disease, the Devries et al. meta-analysis (J Nutr 2018) pooled 28 trials with 1,358 participants comparing high-protein diets (≥1.5 g/kg, ≥20% of energy or ≥100 g a day) with normal or lower-protein diets. After the high-protein diet the glomerular filtration rate was slightly higher, but the change from baseline did not differ between groups, and the authors conclude that a high intake does not harm kidney function in healthy adults. EFSA, for its part, has not set a tolerable upper intake for protein and considers intakes of up to twice its reference safe, which some active adults in Europe already eat.

• What these data do not say: the included trials lasted from just over 4 days upwards, and none of them answers what happens after decades of very high intakes
• If you have diagnosed kidney disease, the picture changes: the PROT-AGE group notes that older people with a filtration rate below 30 ml/min/1.73 m² who are not on dialysis may need to limit protein. In that case the figure comes from your doctor, not from a table
• If you do not know how your kidneys are doing and you plan to raise your protein a lot, mention it at your next check-up

Common protein mistakes

• Using 0.8 g/kg as the target when you train: it is the intake that covers the needs of almost all healthy adults (EFSA sets 0.83), not the one that maximises muscle. In the trials pooled by Morton, extra protein still helped from a starting point of 1.4 g/kg
• Not counting "secondary" protein: 200 g of cooked chickpeas provide 17.7 g and a glass of milk 8 g. It all adds up to the daily total
• Trusting the product name: a "Greek" yogurt can have anywhere from 3.6 to 10 g of protein per 100 g depending on whether it is strained or made with cream. Check the label
• Cutting protein when dieting: a deficit is exactly when it protects you most. In the Longland trial, on 2.4 g/kg participants gained 1.2 kg of lean mass while losing fat; on 1.2 g/kg lean mass barely changed (0.1 kg)
• Believing you need supplements: ordinary food gets you there, as the sample day shows. Powder is a convenience, useful on days when you cannot reach the target with meals

A day with 110 g of protein and no supplements

Example for a 70 kg person who does strength training (target of about 112 g, 1.6 g/kg), using the values from the food table. The bread, rice or vegetables in each meal add a little more that we do not count. With Renzy you take a photo of your plate and get an estimate of calories and macros, protein included, that you can correct; and with the barcode scanner you add the packaged yogurt or ham. For more ideas, see the high-protein recipes.

• Breakfast: 2 eggs (12.6 g), a 250 ml glass of whole milk (8.1 g) and 50 g of cooked ham (8.4 g) = 29.1 g
• Lunch: 120 g of roast chicken breast (37.2 g) with vegetables and rice = 37.2 g without counting the sides
• Afternoon snack: 125 g of strained non-fat Greek yogurt = 12.7 g
• Dinner: 150 g of hake (18-25 g depending on the BEDCA sample) and 100 g of cooked chickpeas (8.9 g) = 26.8-33.9 g
• Total: 106-113 g of protein, around 1.5-1.6 g/kg for 70 kg