How Much Protein Per Day? The Evidence-Based Ranges
How much protein should you eat per day? The answer is the most argued-over number in nutrition — and the most consequential, because protein decides whether a diet loses fat or muscle, whether training builds muscle or just tiredness, and whether an older adult keeps their strength or loses it. The official minimum and the optimal amount are very different numbers, and most people need more than the minimum.
This guide gives the evidence-based ranges by goal and activity level, explains where each number comes from, works through the maths for different body weights, and covers the per-meal targets that make the daily total actually work. It is the foundation that the rest of sports nutrition rests on.
Use the calculator
Start with your own numbers: try our protein calculator, daily protein needs calculator to work out your figures before applying anything on this page. The worked examples below use round numbers so you can follow the maths; the calculators use your real weight, height, age and goal.
Related reading: The Best Protein Sources — Ranked by Quality and Value, Protein Timing for Muscle Gain — Does the Anabolic Window Exist?, What Are Macros? Protein, Carbs and Fat Explained Simply. You can also browse the full guides section for the rest of the series.
The key points
The minimum is 0.8 g/kg — and it is a minimum, not a target. The recommended dietary allowance of 0.8 g/kg a day is the amount that prevents deficiency in sedentary adults, not the amount that optimises health, muscle or weight loss. At 70 kg that is 56 g a day — enough to avoid a deficiency, and far below what the research supports for anyone who trains, diets or is over 40. Treat 0.8 g/kg as the floor, not the goal.
Active people need 1.2–1.6 g/kg. Endurance athletes — runners, cyclists, swimmers — need about 1.2–1.6 g/kg a day to repair the muscle damage of training and support recovery. At 75 kg that is 90–120 g a day. Below that range, recovery suffers and the risk of muscle loss rises; above it, the extra protein adds little for an endurance athlete, because the limiting factor is carbohydrate, not protein.
Lifters and dieters need 1.6–2.2 g/kg. Resistance training and calorie deficits both raise protein needs: lifters need 1.6–2.2 g/kg to maximise muscle growth, and dieters need the same range to protect muscle while losing fat. At 80 kg that is 128–176 g a day. The evidence for the top of the range is strongest in a deficit, where the body is more likely to break down muscle — and the cost of too little protein in a deficit is muscle loss that is hard to regain.
Older adults need more per meal, not just per day. After 40, muscle becomes less responsive to protein (anabolic resistance), so each meal needs 30–40 g to trigger muscle building — a dose that a 20 g meal does not reach, however many such meals there are. An older adult eating 1.6 g/kg spread as four meals of 30–40 g does better than the same total spread as seven snacks of 20 g. The per-meal dose matters more with age.
More than 2.2 g/kg adds little for most people. Above about 2.2 g/kg, the extra protein is used for energy rather than for muscle building, and the benefit flattens — the research finds no additional muscle gain from 2.5 or 3 g/kg in healthy adults. The exceptions are very lean dieters, who may benefit from up to 2.2–2.6 g/kg to protect muscle, and people in a large deficit. More protein is not harmful for healthy kidneys, but it is not useful either — and the calories could have been carbohydrate that fuels training.
Kidney disease changes the answer. High protein intakes are not appropriate for people with kidney disease, and anyone with reduced kidney function should follow a clinician's protein target, which is usually lower than the ranges in this guide. Healthy kidneys handle high protein well — the evidence for harm in healthy adults is weak — but the distinction matters, and it is the reason this guide states the exception every time it gives a range.
At a glance
| Who you are | Protein per day | 70 kg person | 80 kg person | 90 kg person |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sedentary adult (minimum) | 0.8 g/kg | 56 g | 64 g | 72 g |
| Endurance athlete | 1.2–1.6 g/kg | 84–112 g | 96–128 g | 108–144 g |
| Recreational lifter | 1.6–2.0 g/kg | 112–140 g | 128–160 g | 144–180 g |
| Lifter in a deficit | 1.6–2.2 g/kg | 112–154 g | 128–176 g | 144–198 g |
| Older adult (40+) | 1.6–2.0 g/kg | 112–140 g | 128–160 g | 144–180 g |
| Very lean dieter | 2.2–2.6 g/kg | 154–182 g | 176–208 g | 198–234 g |
The ranges are from the sports-nutrition literature (including the ISSN position stand and the Morton et al. 2018 meta-analysis). Use body weight in kilograms, not pounds — and for people with high body fat, use a target based on lean mass or a healthy-weight estimate rather than total weight.
The formula behind it
The calculation is simple multiplication: daily protein = body weight (kg) × rate (g/kg). An 80 kg lifter at 1.8 g/kg needs 80 × 1.8 = 144 g a day. Spread across four meals, that is 36 g per meal — a palm-and-a-half of chicken, fish or tofu, or a cup of Greek yoghurt with nuts, at each meal. Protein provides 4 kcal per gram, so 144 g is 576 kcal of the day's total — and the rest of the calories are carbohydrate and fat.
The per-meal maths is the threshold: each meal triggers muscle protein synthesis in proportion to its protein content, up to about 25–40 g (higher for older adults and larger people). A 80 kg lifter eating 144 g as four meals of 36 g triggers synthesis four times; the same 144 g as two meals of 72 g triggers it twice, with the excess in each meal used for energy rather than muscle. The daily total decides how much material is available; the distribution decides how much of it is used for building.
The calorie context comes from Mifflin-St Jeor (Mifflin et al., 1990): a 30-year-old man, 80 kg, 180 cm, moderately active has a BMR of 800 + 1,125 − 150 + 5 = 1,780 kcal and a TDEE of about 2,759 kcal. At 144 g of protein (576 kcal), protein is about 21% of the day's calories — a typical share for a lifter, and one that leaves room for the carbohydrate (3–5 g/kg) that fuels training.
Your plan, step by step
- Find your category in the table — sedentary, endurance, lifter, dieter, or older adult.
- Multiply your body weight in kilograms by the rate for your category.
- Divide the total across 3–4 meals of 25–40 g each, starting with breakfast.
- Build each meal around a protein food — meat, fish, eggs, dairy, beans, tofu — and add carbohydrate and vegetables.
- Track intake for a week to check you are actually hitting the target; most people eat 20–30% less protein than they think.
How to use this guide
Use the table to set a target, then use the week of tracking to find the gap. Most people who think they eat "a lot of protein" are eating 60–80 g a day — enough for a sedentary person, and far below what a lifter or dieter needs. The gap is usually breakfast: a bowl of cereal has 5 g of protein, while eggs and Greek yoghurt have 30 g, and the difference between those two breakfasts is the difference between hitting the target and missing it by a third.
Do not obsess over the exact gram. The ranges are wide for a reason — the difference between 1.6 and 1.8 g/kg is small, and the difference between 1.0 and 1.6 is large. Get into the right range, spread it across meals, and keep it consistent for months. The lifters who benefit most from protein are not the ones who hit the number perfectly for a week; they are the ones who hit it approximately for a year.
What this guide does NOT tell you
The ranges here are population averages from the sports-nutrition literature: individual needs vary with training volume, body composition, age and goals, and the evidence is strongest for the 1.6 g/kg figure, with the benefit of going higher being smaller and less certain. For people with high body fat, the rates should be applied to a lean-mass or healthy-weight estimate rather than total body weight, or the targets become unrealistically high.
This guide is general information, not medical advice. The protein ranges are for healthy adults; kidney disease, liver disease and certain metabolic conditions change the answer, and anyone with a medical condition should follow a clinician's protein target. High protein intakes are safe for healthy kidneys according to the current evidence, but they are not appropriate for everyone, and the exception matters more than the rule for the people it applies to.
Frequently asked questions
How much protein do I need per day to build muscle?
About 1.6–2.2 g/kg of body weight a day — at 80 kg that is 128–176 g daily, spread as 30–40 g per meal across 3–4 meals. The evidence (including the Morton et al. 2018 meta-analysis) finds that muscle gain plateaus at about 1.6 g/kg, with a little extra benefit up to 2.2 g/kg in a deficit. More than that adds little for most lifters — the extra protein is used for energy, not for extra muscle.
Is 100 g of protein a day enough?
It depends on your weight and goal: 100 g is 1.4 g/kg for a 70 kg person (enough for an endurance athlete, a little low for a lifter) and 1.0 g/kg for a 100 kg person (below the range for anyone who trains). The question is not whether 100 g is a good number in itself, but whether it matches your body weight and your goal — use the table in this guide with your own weight, not a round number from the internet.
Can you eat too much protein?
For healthy adults, very high intakes (above 2.2–2.5 g/kg) are not dangerous to the kidneys according to the current evidence, but they are not useful either — the extra protein is used for energy, and the calories could have been carbohydrate that fuels training. The exception is kidney disease, where high protein is harmful and the target should come from a clinician. More protein is not a shortcut to more muscle; the benefit plateaus at about 1.6–2.2 g/kg.
How much protein should I eat per meal?
About 25–40 g per meal, spread across 3–4 meals a day — enough to clear the threshold that triggers muscle protein synthesis. Older adults and larger people need the higher end (30–40 g). Eating 100 g in one meal does not trigger three times as much synthesis as 35 g; the excess is used for energy. Even distribution beats one huge meal, and breakfast is the meal most people neglect.
Do I need protein powder to hit my target?
No — protein powder is convenient food, not a requirement, and the same grams come from meat, fish, eggs, dairy, beans and tofu. It is useful when a meal is impractical, when appetite is low, or when the target is high and the food volume is daunting — but it is not better than food, and it does not build muscle faster. If you reach your target from ordinary food, you do not need a shake at all.
Estimates only, not medical advice. Minimum safe intakes: 1,200 kcal/day women, 1,500 kcal/day men — consult a healthcare professional before a very-low-calorie diet.