Protein intake calculator
How much protein a day, in grams, based on your bodyweight, your training, and whether you are cutting or gaining. Enter a body fat percentage and it works from lean mass instead, which is the better basis if you carry a lot of fat.
Need the other two macros as well? The macro calculator builds carbohydrate and fat around the protein figure.
- Sensible range
- 144-176 g
- Per meal, across four
- 40 g
- Calculated from
- 80 kg
An estimate from a published formula, not a measurement. Use it as a consistent yardstick for tracking change.
If you split it differently
Roughly 0.4 g per kilogram of bodyweight per meal is where the muscle-protein-synthesis response tends to plateau. Below three meals, some of a large daily total is likely doing less than it could.
| Meals per day | Protein per meal |
|---|---|
| 2 | 80 g |
| 3 | 53 g |
| 4 | 40 g |
| 5 | 32 g |
| 6 | 27 g |
Where the targets come from
The evidence for muscle gain converges on roughly 1.6 g per kilogram of bodyweight a day, with little additional benefit past about 2.2 g for most people. That upper figure is where the meta-analyses stop finding differences, not a hard ceiling.
A deficit shifts it up. When calories are low, protein has to cover more of the job of protecting lean tissue, and intakes towards 2.3 to 3.1 g per kilogram of lean mass have held up better in lean, hard-training people who are dieting.
Bodyweight or lean mass
Fat tissue has almost no protein requirement, so basing the figure on total bodyweight overshoots for someone carrying a lot of it. At 40% body fat, a target of 2 g per kilogram of total weight is a very large number that buys nothing extra.
Enter a body fat percentage and this switches to lean mass with an appropriately higher coefficient. Leave it blank and it uses total bodyweight, which is the safer default when the body fat figure would be a guess.
Distribution across the day
Total daily protein is the main lever. Distribution is a smaller one, but it is not nothing: spreading intake across three to five feedings of at least 0.4 g per kilogram each has a small edge over one enormous meal and two token ones.
The practical version: make sure breakfast has some. That is where most people who miss their target miss it.
Whether the source matters
Animal proteins are complete and highly digestible, so they hit the target efficiently. Plant sources vary in their amino acid profile, particularly leucine, and a mixed plant diet generally needs a somewhat higher total to produce the same response. It is an adjustment, not an obstacle.
Questions people ask
Is high protein bad for your kidneys?
In people with healthy kidneys, higher intakes have not been shown to cause damage in the studies that looked. Existing kidney disease is a different situation and a medical one. If you have any kidney condition, ask your doctor rather than a calculator.
Do I need protein straight after training?
The window is far wider than the old advice suggested. Having protein within a few hours either side of a session is plenty. Total daily intake outranks timing by a large margin.
Should I count protein from bread and rice?
Yes, count everything. Incidental protein from grains, vegetables and dairy adds up to a meaningful amount and ignoring it makes people overshoot their target with supplements they did not need.
Is a shake as good as food?
For hitting a number, yes: whey is fast and complete. Whole food brings other nutrients and tends to be more filling, which matters in a deficit. Use shakes to fill gaps rather than as the foundation.
Related tools
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