How Much Protein Do You Really Need?
Daily protein targets for everyone from desk workers to lifters, why protein matters, and how to hit your number with everyday foods.
Protein gets a lot of attention, and for good reason: it builds and repairs muscle, keeps you full, and supports nearly every process in the body. But how much you actually need depends on your weight and how active you are. This guide gives you a target — and a plan to hit it.
Use this converter to convert to the unit accepted by the calculator.
- Exercise: 15-30 minutes of elevated heart rate activity.
- Intense exercise: 45-120 minutes of elevated heart rate activity.
- Very intense exercise: 2+ hours of elevated heart rate activity.
Example
This is a sample result, not your calculation. Enter your own values to replace it.
Enter your age, gender, height, weight and activity level, then calculate.
Recommended daily protein
The recommended dietary allowance for an adult, at 0.8 grams per kilogram of body weight. It is a floor, not a target: the table below shows how much further the recommendation runs once activity and goals are accounted for.
Protein by basis
| Based on | Rate | Protein |
|---|---|---|
| Recommended dietary allowance | 0.8 g/kg | — |
| Recommended range | 0.8 - 1.8 g/kg | — |
| Highly active | 1.8 - 2 g/kg | — |
| Share of your daily Calories | 10 - 35% of Calories | — |
The last row is a share of the — Calories a day your entries work out to, at protein's 4 Calories per gram — which is why this calculator asks for your height and activity, and not only your weight.
Check your entries
Enter your age, height, weight and activity level to estimate your protein needs.
Your number depends on your goal
Protein needs scale with body weight, expressed in grams per kilogram:
- 0.8 g/kg — the baseline for sedentary adults (the official minimum to avoid deficiency).
- 1.2–1.4 g/kg — active people and endurance athletes.
- 1.6–1.8 g/kg — those strength training or trying to build muscle.
- Up to 2.2 g/kg — preserving muscle while dieting in a calorie deficit.
An 80 kg person aiming to build muscle would target roughly 80 × 1.8 = 144 g per day.
Why protein matters more when you’re losing weight
When you cut calories, your body can burn muscle along with fat. Eating plenty of protein — and doing some resistance training — tells it to hold on to muscle instead. That keeps your metabolism higher and your results better. It’s also the most filling macronutrient, which makes a diet easier to stick to.
Hitting your target with food
Protein is easier to get than people think:
- Chicken breast (~31 g per 100 g), fish, and lean beef.
- Eggs (~6 g each), Greek yogurt, cottage cheese and milk.
- Lentils, beans, tofu, tempeh and edamame for plant-based sources.
Spreading protein across your meals — rather than loading it all at dinner — helps your body use it effectively.
Fit it into your calories
Protein is part of a bigger picture. Once you know your protein target, check your overall energy needs with the calorie calculator so your protein goal fits inside a sensible daily total. Get your number from the protein calculator.
This is general guidance, not medical advice. People with kidney conditions should speak with a doctor before increasing protein.