Protein calculator
How much protein you need in a day, based on your body weight and how hard you train. This is the number to start with, before splitting it across meals.
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How it works
Where these numbers come from
A 2018 meta-analysis pooling 49 studies and nearly 1,900 people found that added protein kept helping build muscle up to about 1.6 g of protein per kg of body weight per day. Beyond that point, more protein didn't reliably add more benefit for most people.
For people training hard, especially while also cutting calories, some research supports going higher, up to around 2.2 g/kg/day, as a reasonable ceiling with a bit of extra margin.
Standard = 1.6 × body weight in kg
Higher end = 2.2 × body weight in kg
Should you go even higher than 2.2 g/kg?
For most healthy adults, the evidence doesn't show much extra muscle-building benefit above roughly 2.2 g/kg/day. Eating more than that generally isn't harmful if your kidneys are healthy, it's just unlikely to add much on top of what you'd already get.
If you'd like to set your own number outside the two presets, whether lower or higher, the Custom option lets you enter any target directly.
Worked example
An 80 kg (about 176 lb) person.
Standard: 80 × 1.6 = 128 g/day
Higher end: 80 × 2.2 = 176 g/day
What to do with this number
This daily total is the starting point for two other tools on this site: the protein per meal calculator splits it across however many times a day you eat, and the daily macro calculator uses it, alongside your calorie target, to fill in your carbs and fat.
These are general starting points based on healthy adults in research studies, not personalized medical advice. Protein needs can be higher for older adults, and people with kidney disease should check with a doctor before increasing protein intake.