Protein Calculator

Requirements depend heavily on your goal and activity level. Sedentary adults need roughly 0.8g per kg of bodyweight (the RDA minimum to prevent deficiency). Anyone doing regular resistance training benefits from considerably more: 1.6–2.2g per kg for muscle gain, and 1.2–1.6g per kg (often pushed toward the higher end, even 2.0–2.4g/kg, during aggressive dieting) to preserve muscle while losing fat. For a 75kg person training regularly, that's roughly 120–165g of protein daily depending on goal — well above the RDA, which was designed to prevent deficiency in sedentary populations, not to optimise body composition or athletic performance.

For people with healthy kidney function, no credible evidence shows that high protein intake (even up to 2.2–3g per kg bodyweight, well above what most people consume) causes kidney damage. Multiple long-term studies of resistance-trained individuals consuming high-protein diets have found no adverse effects on kidney markers. The kidney-damage concern originated from research on people who already have pre-existing kidney disease, for whom reduced protein intake is indeed part of standard clinical management. If you have diagnosed kidney disease, follow your doctor's specific protein guidance; otherwise, higher protein intake within the ranges recommended here is not a kidney risk for healthy individuals.

There is a practical ceiling beyond which additional protein provides no extra muscle-building benefit. Research consistently shows that muscle protein synthesis benefits plateau somewhere around 1.6–2.2g per kg of bodyweight per day for most people — eating significantly more than this doesn't accelerate muscle growth further, since the amino acids simply get oxidised for energy or stored differently rather than being incorporated into additional muscle tissue. That said, moderately exceeding this range isn't harmful for healthy individuals — it's simply not providing additional muscle-building return on the extra calories.

Total daily protein intake matters far more than precise timing for the vast majority of people. That said, spreading protein across 3–5 meals (roughly 25–40g per meal, depending on bodyweight) tends to be more effective at maximising muscle protein synthesis throughout the day than consuming it all in one or two large meals, since each meal triggers a synthesis response that plateaus after a few hours. The old "anabolic window" idea — that protein must be consumed within 30–60 minutes of training or gains are lost — has been substantially walked back by more recent research; what matters most is hitting your total daily target consistently, with reasonably even distribution across meals.

Yes, meaningfully more than maintenance-level intake. During a calorie deficit, your body is more prone to breaking down muscle tissue for energy alongside fat. Higher protein intake (1.2–1.6g/kg, and often higher — up to 2.4g/kg in advanced or lean individuals) helps signal your body to preserve muscle mass while still losing fat, and protein is also the most satiating macronutrient, helping control hunger during a deficit. This is why nearly every evidence-based fat-loss protocol recommends a higher relative protein intake than a simple maintenance diet would require.

Animal sources are typically most protein-dense per calorie: chicken breast (~31g per 100g), turkey (~29g), lean beef (~26g), fish like tuna and cod (~25–28g), eggs (~13g per 100g, or ~6g per large egg), and Greek yogurt (~10g per 100g, with some brands higher). Plant sources include lentils (~9g per 100g cooked), tofu (~8–17g depending on firmness), tempeh (~19g), edamame (~11g), and quinoa (~4.4g). Whey and casein protein powders (~20–25g per scoop) are convenient, calorie-efficient ways to hit protein targets, particularly useful for people who struggle to eat enough whole-food protein sources in a day.

Yes, with some additional planning. Plant protein sources (legumes, tofu, tempeh, seitan, quinoa, protein-fortified plant milks, and plant-based protein powders) can meet the same daily gram targets as omnivorous diets, though it typically requires eating a larger volume of food since most plant sources are less protein-dense per calorie than animal sources. It's also worth combining varied plant proteins across the day (rather than relying on just one source) to ensure adequate intake of all essential amino acids, since some individual plant proteins are lower in specific amino acids (e.g., lysine in grains, methionine in legumes) — though eating a varied diet across the day easily resolves this without needing to combine proteins in the same meal.

Complete proteins contain all nine essential amino acids (the ones your body cannot synthesise and must get from food) in sufficient amounts. Animal proteins (meat, fish, eggs, dairy) are all complete, as is soy. Most individual plant proteins are "incomplete," meaning they are relatively low in one or more essential amino acids — for example, grains tend to be low in lysine, while legumes tend to be low in methionine. Eating a variety of plant protein sources across the day (not necessarily in the same meal, contrary to older advice) provides all essential amino acids in adequate amounts for the vast majority of people, including vegans.

For the specific purpose of hitting a daily protein gram target, yes — whey, casein, and most plant-based protein powders are absorbed and utilised effectively by the body, and research shows no meaningful difference in muscle-building outcomes between whole-food protein and supplemental protein powder when total daily intake and training are matched. Protein powder is simply a convenient, low-calorie, low-cost way to close a gap between what you eat from whole foods and your target — it isn't inherently superior or inferior, just a practical tool, particularly useful for people with high protein targets, limited appetite, or busy schedules.

More frequent or intense training increases the rate of muscle protein breakdown and remodelling, so more active individuals generally benefit from a modest upward adjustment to their protein target beyond the base goal-specific range, to fully support recovery and adaptation. This calculator adds a small activity-based bonus (per kg of bodyweight) on top of your goal-based range to reflect this — someone training hard 6–7 days a week has meaningfully higher protein turnover than someone who is sedentary, even at the same bodyweight and goal.

Yes — this is one of the more consistent findings in nutrition science for ageing populations. Research suggests older adults (typically 65+) experience "anabolic resistance," meaning their muscles respond less efficiently to a given amount of protein compared to younger adults, requiring higher per-meal and total daily protein intake to achieve the same muscle-protein-synthesis response. Many geriatric nutrition guidelines now recommend 1.0–1.2g per kg bodyweight as a baseline for healthy older adults (above the general 0.8g/kg RDA), rising to 1.2–1.5g/kg for those who are frail or recovering from illness, specifically to help counteract age-related muscle loss (sarcopenia).

Protein itself is the least likely macronutrient to be stored as body fat. It has a notably higher thermic effect of food (the energy cost of digesting and processing it) than carbohydrate or fat — roughly 20–30% of protein calories are used up in digestion and processing, compared to 5–10% for carbs and 0–3% for fat. Protein is also highly satiating, which tends to reduce overall calorie intake rather than increase it. Weight or fat gain ultimately comes down to total calorie balance — eating high protein within an appropriate total calorie target will not cause fat gain, and in fact often makes maintaining a calorie deficit easier due to improved fullness.

Most research suggests 3–5 meals, each containing roughly 25–40g of protein (adjusted for bodyweight — larger individuals benefit from slightly higher per-meal doses), maximises muscle protein synthesis across the day compared to consuming the same total in just 1–2 large meals. This isn't a rigid rule — total daily intake is the primary driver of outcomes — but if you're structuring your day around specific meals anyway, spreading protein relatively evenly is a sensible default that aligns with the practical evidence on meal-by-meal synthesis response.

Whey protein is rapidly digested and absorbed, causing a fast spike in blood amino acid levels — useful around workouts when quick delivery is beneficial. Casein digests much more slowly, providing a steady trickle of amino acids over several hours, which is why it's commonly recommended before bed to support overnight muscle protein synthesis. Both are complete, high-quality proteins derived from milk; the practical difference is digestion speed and timing use-case rather than one being definitively "better" — many people use whey around training and casein or a slower-digesting whole-food protein source before sleep.

The popular "1g per pound" rule (equivalent to about 2.2g per kg) sits at or slightly above the upper end of the evidence-based range for muscle building (1.6–2.2g/kg) and is a reasonable, slightly generous target for lean, muscular individuals actively training for hypertrophy. For people carrying significantly more body fat, using total bodyweight for this calculation can produce an unnecessarily high target, since fat tissue doesn't require the same protein support as muscle tissue does — in these cases, targeting the gram range based on a goal weight or lean body mass estimate is often more appropriate than blanket "1g per pound of total bodyweight."

Use it as one leg of your overall nutrition plan alongside total calories and the other macronutrients. Start with your calorie target from our TDEE Calculator, set your protein using this calculator, then use the Macro Calculator to fill in your remaining carbohydrate and fat allocation. Track your intake for a couple of weeks using a food diary or app to see how consistently you're hitting your protein number — most people underestimate their intake until they actually track it, and closing that gap is often the single highest-leverage nutrition change for both fat loss and muscle-building goals.