Protein Calculator

It depends on your weight, activity level, and goal. The calculator picks one factor based on your goal first: 1.8 g per kg of body weight for muscle gain, 2.0 g/kg for a fat-loss phase, and 1.4 g/kg for endurance training. If your goal is to maintain weight, it uses your activity level instead: 0.8 g/kg for sedentary, 1.2 g/kg for active, and 1.6 g/kg for athletes. A 170 lb (77 kg) person aiming to build muscle would target about 139 g per day.

The 0.8 g per kg figure is the Recommended Dietary Allowance set by the Institute of Medicine to cover the needs of 97.5% of healthy sedentary adults. It is a floor to avoid protein deficiency, not a target for performance or healthy aging. Most research on muscle retention and satiety points to higher intakes than the RDA for active people.

No. The muscle-building benefit of extra protein can flatten once you already meet your needs, which is why the calculator caps its highest target at 2.0 g/kg for the fat-loss goal. There is no universal benefit to pushing intake far beyond that target, and higher intake may not suit kidney disease or other conditions. Ask a clinician or registered dietitian before making a large change if you have a medical condition.

The calculator divides your daily target evenly across 3 meals and 4 meals so you can see a per-meal target both ways. Research supports spreading intake roughly evenly rather than front- or back-loading, aiming for about 25-40 g per sitting to drive muscle protein synthesis throughout the day.

Animal protein is more digestible and has a more complete essential amino acid profile gram-for-gram. If you rely mainly on plant sources, adding 10-20% to your daily target and combining complementary proteins (legumes with grains, or complete sources like soy and quinoa) helps you meet the same functional target the calculator gives you.