Protein per meal calculator

The daily targets come from a 2018 meta-analysis of 49 studies, which found that added protein kept helping build muscle up to about 1.6 g/kg/day, with some benefit for hard-training people up to about 2.2 g/kg/day.

The per-meal target comes from a 2018 review recommending about 0.4 g/kg of protein per meal, spread across at least 4 meals, as a practical way to reach 1.6 g/kg/day. Eating about 0.55 g/kg per meal would reach the higher 2.2 g/kg/day target instead.

Older advice claimed the body could only use about 20 to 25 grams of protein per meal for muscle-building, and anything more was wasted. That figure came from studies using a fast-digesting isolated protein eaten alone, not a full meal.

A 2023 study using a more sensitive tracer method found that a 100-gram serving of protein kept building muscle for over 12 hours, longer and to a greater degree than a 25-gram serving. Bigger meals aren't wasted, they just get used more gradually.

Short-term lab studies generally favor spreading protein evenly across the day over lopsided patterns like a big dinner and a small breakfast. But longer studies tracking real muscle and strength gains over weeks are mixed, some show a benefit to even spacing, others show none once total daily protein is matched.

The practical takeaway: hitting your daily total matters most. Spreading it across 3 to 5 meals is a reasonable, well-supported way to get there, not a strict requirement.

This calculator doesn't account for meal timing around training, since the old idea of a narrow post-workout window to eat protein in isn't well supported. A protein-containing meal within a few hours before or after training is enough.

It also doesn't set your total calories or your weight-gain or weight-loss pace. Use the calorie deficit calculator or calorie surplus calculator on this site for that, and use this page to plan how you'll actually hit the protein number those tools point to.