Protein calculator: daily grams for your goal

If you do not train, you need 0.8 g of protein per kilogram of body weight a day, the adult RDA. At 70 kg (154 lb) that is 56 g. If you exercise regularly, the 2016 joint position of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, Dietitians of Canada and ACSM puts you at 1.2 to 2.0 g/kg. At 70 kg that is 84 to 140 g. The calculator above shows the factor it used in the line under your result, and the method box below works the math with your numbers and names the source.

Enter your weight in pounds or kilograms and pick the situation that fits you. If you pick the lean, aggressive cut, press "Use my body fat" and enter your body fat percent so the range applies to fat-free mass. Add your daily calories to see protein as a share of your energy intake.

Quick answer: how much protein do you need a day?

Adults who do not train need 0.8 g of protein per kg of body weight a day, the RDA: 56 g at 70 kg. Regular exercise raises it to 1.2 to 2.0 g/kg, or 84 to 140 g at 70 kg. That range is the 2016 joint position of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, Dietitians of Canada and ACSM.

Key takeaways

• The adult RDA is 0.8 g per kg of body weight a day: 56 g at 70 kg and 64 g at 80 kg.
• Regular exercise raises the range to 1.2 to 2.0 g/kg (2016 joint position of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, Dietitians of Canada and ACSM).
• On a lean, aggressive cut, enter your body fat percent so the range applies to fat-free mass.
• The 2005 National Academies report sets no upper limit for protein and puts it at 10 to 35 percent of calories.

Protein calculator worked example: 80 kg, three situations

Take an 80 kg (176 lb) adult under 65. The calculator opens at 176 lb, which is 79.83 kg.

Not training: the tool multiplies 80 kg by 0.8 and 1.0 g/kg and shows 64 to 80 g a day. The RDA line is 0.8 x 80 = 64 g.

Regular exercise, two to five sessions a week: 80 kg by 1.2 and 2.0 g/kg gives 96 to 160 g a day. At 0.25 to 0.3 g/kg a meal, that is 20 to 24 g at each meal. Spread over four meals, the 128 g midpoint is 32 g at each one.

Building muscle with resistance training: 80 kg by 1.6 and 2.2 g/kg gives 128 to 176 g a day.

At the 176 lb default the method box works with 79.83 kg: 79.83 x 0.8 = 63.9 g and 79.83 x 1.0 = 79.8 g. Rounded to whole grams, the figure still reads 64 to 80 g and the RDA line 64 g.

Is 0.8 g/kg the minimum or the target?

The 0.8 g/kg figure is the RDA that the National Academies set in 2005 for adults 19 and over. It sits above the estimated average requirement of 0.66 g/kg. For the reference man it works out to 56 g a day and for the reference woman to 46 g. So 0.8 g/kg is the target for a healthy adult who does not train. It is also the floor that the sports position stands start above. The joint 2016 position begins at 1.2 g/kg and the ISSN 2017 stand at 1.4 g/kg for people who exercise. If you train several times a week, the RDA is below what those sources recommend. If you do not train, it is your number.

How much protein should I eat to lose weight?

If you train while cutting calories, the tool gives you 1.6 to 2.4 g/kg. The joint 2016 position sets 1.2 to 2.0 g/kg for exercisers and adds that higher intakes may be indicated for short periods when reducing energy intake. A 63 kg woman who trains and wants to lose fat gets 100.8 to 151.2 g, shown as 101 to 151 g a day. If you are already lean, resistance trained and cutting hard, the ISSN 2017 stand applies. It says 2.3 to 3.1 g per kg of fat-free mass may be needed to keep lean mass during a calorie deficit. The tool applies that range to fat-free mass when you enter body fat. For the calorie side of a cut, use the TDEE calculator to set the deficit first.

How much protein do I need to build muscle?

The tool gives 1.6 to 2.2 g/kg for resistance training, so an 80 kg lifter sees 128 to 176 g a day. The range comes from Morton and colleagues, 2018 (read 8 October 2026), a meta-analysis of 49 randomized trials with 1,863 adults. Protein supplementation added 0.30 kg of fat-free mass (95% CI 0.09 to 0.52) on top of what resistance training alone produced. Gains stopped rising past 1.62 g/kg a day, with a 95% CI of 1.03 to 2.20. The authors wrote that about 2.2 g/kg may be prudent for people trying to maximize muscle gain. That is why 2.2 is the top of the row and 1.6 the bottom.

Do I really need 1 gram of protein per pound?

No source in the tool requires it. One gram per pound equals 2.2 g/kg, because 1 lb is 0.45359237 kg. That is the top of the confidence interval in Morton 2018 and the "prudent" ceiling the authors named for muscle gain. The breakpoint itself was 1.62 g/kg, which is about 0.73 g per pound. So 1 g per pound is the upper edge of the muscle-gain row, and eating it is a way to make sure you are above the breakpoint. Eating less, down to 1.6 g/kg, is within the same evidence.

Should I use lean body mass or total body weight?

Enter your current body weight. Every row in the tool except one is written per kilogram of body weight, including the RDA, the joint 2016 range, Morton 2018 and PROT-AGE. The exception is the lean cut row, which the tool applies to fat-free mass. If you enter body fat, the tool computes fat-free mass as weight times one minus the body fat fraction. A 90 kg person at 25 percent body fat has 67.5 kg of fat-free mass. The cut range becomes 2.3 x 67.5 = 155.25 g up to 3.1 x 67.5 = 209.25 g, shown as 155 to 209 g.

If you carry extra weight, the tool still multiplies your current body weight, because its sources write their ranges per kilogram of body weight. It uses fat-free mass only on the lean cut row, and it does not use a goal weight, because none of its sources define their ranges that way.

How much protein per meal, and how much can you absorb in one sitting?

Aim for 0.25 to 0.3 g/kg at each meal, which is 20 to 24 g for an 80 kg person. The joint 2016 position gives 0.25 to 0.3 g/kg, or 15 to 25 g, in the 0 to 2 hours after exercise. It also suggests 0.3 g/kg after hard sessions and every 3 to 5 hours across the day. The ISSN 2017 stand gives about 0.25 g/kg per meal, or 20 to 40 g, every 3 to 4 hours. It adds 30 to 40 g of casein before sleep as an option. The joint position notes that doses over 40 g have not been shown to add more. That is the sourced answer to how much you can use in one sitting: a larger meal still counts, and the extra beyond 40 g adds little. The tool shows a daily total, so divide it by the number of meals you eat. To add up the protein in a takeout bowl, use the Chipotle nutrition calculator.

Do older adults need more protein?

Yes. The PROT-AGE Study Group (Bauer et al., 2013) recommends 1.0 to 1.2 g/kg a day for healthy people over 65, which is above the 0.8 g/kg RDA. Older adults who exercise should eat 1.2 g/kg or more, and those with an acute or chronic illness 1.2 to 1.5 g/kg. The tool has two rows for this: 1.0 to 1.2 g/kg if you are 65 or older and not training, and 1.2 to 1.5 g/kg if you train. A 70 kg person at 70 who does not train sees 70 to 84 g a day. PROT-AGE also notes that people with severe kidney disease (eGFR under 30) who are not on dialysis may need less, so ask your clinician in that case.

Does sex change the number? Women, pregnancy and children

The RDA is one value for both sexes: 0.80 g/kg for males and females 19 and over. The Health Canada DRI table (read 8 October 2026), which reproduces the 2005 National Academies values, lists it that way. The 46 g and 56 g reference figures differ only because the reference woman and man weigh different amounts. A woman who trains uses the same 1.2 to 2.0 g/kg row as a man.

Pregnancy and lactation have their own RDAs in the same table: 1.1 g/kg in the second half of pregnancy and 1.3 g/kg while breastfeeding. The tool is for non-pregnant adults, so use those figures with your clinician instead of the calculator. Children have RDAs in grams a day. The table gives 13 g at ages 1 to 3, 19 g at 4 to 8 and 34 g at 9 to 13. At 14 to 18 it gives 52 g for boys and 46 g for girls.

Can you eat too much protein, and is it bad for your kidneys?

The 2005 National Academies report set no tolerable upper intake level for protein, so there is no sourced daily maximum for a healthy adult. What it does set is an acceptable macronutrient distribution range of 10 to 35 percent of calories. Protein has 4 kcal per gram, so 160 g is 640 kcal. At 2,000 kcal a day that is 32 percent, inside the range. At 1,500 kcal a day it is 42.7 percent, and the tool flags it. The flag tells you that your protein share sits above the range the report calls acceptable, which happens on low-calorie cuts. The report attaches no harm threshold to it.

On kidneys, the sources in the tool draw one line. PROT-AGE says people with severe kidney disease (eGFR under 30) not on dialysis may need less protein. The ISSN stand adds a caution for people with kidney conditions. If you have kidney disease, ask your clinician before raising intake. To get a calorie figure for the check, use the TDEE calculator.

Eating out? Our guide to a high protein Chipotle order ranks every Chipotle item by protein per calorie.

Frequently asked questions

Is 100 g of protein a day enough to build muscle?

It covers the 1.6 g/kg bottom of the muscle-gain row for anyone up to about 62 kg (137 lb), since 100 divided by 1.6 is 62.5. Above that weight, 100 g falls below the bottom of the muscle-gain row and the tool shows a higher range.

Is 200 g of protein a day too much?

For a 90 kg (198 lb) lifter, 200 g is 2.2 g/kg, the top of the muscle-gain row. For an 80 kg person it is 2.5 g/kg, above every row except the lean cut. As calories, 200 g is 800 kcal: 32 percent of a 2,500 kcal day and 40 percent of a 2,000 kcal day. The tool flags the second against the 35 percent AMDR. No upper intake level exists in the 2005 report.

How much protein after a workout?

The joint 2016 position gives 0.25 to 0.3 g/kg, or 15 to 25 g, within 2 hours of exercise. The ISSN stand gives about 0.25 g/kg, or 20 to 40 g. For an 80 kg person the joint range is 20 to 24 g and the ISSN figure is 20 g.

Why does the tool round my result?

It rounds the daily range and the RDA line to the nearest gram, because the source ranges are themselves broad. The method box shows the unrounded figures to one decimal, and the worked example table above shows them in full.

How much protein do I need a day?

0.8 g per kg of body weight if you do not train, which is 56 g at 70 kg and 64 g at 80 kg. Regular exercise raises it to 1.2 to 2.0 g per kg.

Conclusion

Start from your weight and your situation, and the calculator gives a daily range with its source. This is general information, not medical advice; ask a doctor or registered dietitian if you are pregnant or have a medical condition.

From our cookbooks: once you know your daily grams, our chicken cookbook gives you ways to cook a lean protein without repeating the same dish all week. See Chicken Recipes Cookbook.