How Much Protein Do You Need Per Day?
Bodyweight-based protein targets for weight loss, muscle gain and maintenance — plus how to split them across a normal day of eating.
The official minimum — 0.8 grams of protein per kilogram of bodyweight — is the amount that prevents deficiency, not the amount that helps you train, recover, or hold muscle while losing fat. Almost everyone reading this needs more than the minimum.
Below are the targets research consistently supports, how to convert them into food, and the mistakes that make people miss by 40 grams a day without noticing.
Your number, by goal
Maintenance: 1.6 g per kg of bodyweight. Fat loss: 2.0–2.2 g/kg — protein is what keeps a deficit from eating your muscle. Muscle gain: 1.8 g/kg is plenty; more does not build faster. Sedentary and older adults: 1.2–1.6 g/kg to defend against age-related muscle loss.
A 70 kg adult therefore lands between 112 g (maintenance) and 154 g (dieting). If you are carrying significant excess weight, calculate against your target weight instead of your current one.
Spread it, do not stack it
Muscle protein synthesis responds to a meal dose, not a daily total. Roughly 0.4 g/kg per meal — about 25–40 g for most adults — maximises the response. Three or four doses across the day beats one 100 g protein dinner.
Practically: an anchor at breakfast (eggs, Greek yogurt, tofu scramble), an anchor at lunch, an anchor at dinner, and a snack to close the gap.
What 30 g of protein actually looks like
100 g cooked chicken breast (31 g). 150 g Greek yogurt plus a spoon of seeds (18 g). Three large eggs (19 g). 200 g firm tofu (32 g). 150 g cooked lentils (13 g). 1 scoop whey (24 g). 100 g paneer (18 g). 150 g cottage cheese (17 g).
Notice how far apart those are. The gap between a plate that looks high-protein and one that is high-protein is usually one ingredient.
Check a real plate instead of guessing
Build tonight's dinner in the Procaaf scratchpad, set your protein target, and watch the goal bar fill as you add grams. Two or three plates in, you will stop needing the calculator — the ratios stick.
Frequently asked questions
- Can too much protein damage your kidneys?
- In people with healthy kidneys, high-protein intakes up to around 3 g/kg have not been shown to cause damage in controlled studies. Existing kidney disease is a different situation and needs medical guidance.
- Do I need protein immediately after training?
- The 'anabolic window' is far wider than once believed. Getting your total for the day, spread across meals, matters much more than eating within 30 minutes of a workout.
- Is plant protein worse than animal protein?
- Per gram it is usually slightly less digestible and lower in leucine, so plant-based eaters do well aiming roughly 10–20% higher on total protein and pairing grains with legumes.
- Beginner Gym Nutrition: What to Eat in Your First Three MonthsSkip the supplement aisle. Protein target, calorie level, meal timing and the three habits that decide your first three months.
- A Vegan Macro Guide That Hits the Protein TargetProtein density, B12, iron and omega-3s on a plant-based diet — with a sample 130 g protein day built from ordinary groceries.
