A daily range from your weight and goal
Enter your body weight (kg or lb), a goal (sedentary, recreationally active, muscle gain or fat loss) and how many meals you eat a day, and this protein intake calculator gives a daily protein range, a midpoint target and the amount per meal. It also lists the protein in 100 g of common foods. Use it to plan meals, to get a feel for how much protein to eat when you start training, or to limit muscle loss while dieting.
Each goal has a protein range per kilogram of body weight, which is multiplied by your weight for the daily range: sedentary or maintain 0.8-1.0 g, recreationally active 1.2-1.6 g, strength or muscle gain 1.6-2.2 g, and fat loss while preserving muscle 2.0-2.4 g. Needs vary with body composition, training volume, age and total calories, so the result is a range rather than one number; its centre is shown as the midpoint target, and the midpoint divided by meals per day as the per-meal amount. If you enter pounds, they are converted at 1 lb = 0.453592 kg. For example, the starting setting of 70 kg, muscle gain and three meals gives 112-154 g a day, a midpoint of 133 g and about 44 g per meal. Spread over four meals that becomes about 33 g each, and switching the goal to fat loss gives 140-168 g a day. Results update as soon as you change an input.
It depends on the goal: 56-70 g if sedentary, 84-112 g if lightly active, 112-154 g for muscle gain and 140-168 g during fat loss.
When you cut calories, the body more readily uses muscle for energy, and ample protein is thought to help reduce that. That is why this calculator uses its highest range for fat loss.
The total is calculated the same way. A single plant food may have a less balanced amino acid profile, so combining beans, grains and nuts and aiming for the upper end of the range is sensible.
Requirements shift with body composition, training volume, age and total calories. Research almost always reports a band rather than a single figure. Starting at the lower end and adjusting to how you respond is the practical approach.
Splitting intake across several meals is generally considered more efficient than one very large serving. That said, the daily total matters more, so hit the total first and refine the distribution after.
Not if food already covers it. Powder is a convenient way to close a gap, not something with a special effect of its own. Counting what your normal meals already provide is the useful first step.
It can be. These ranges are for healthy adults; with kidney or liver disease, in older age, during pregnancy or while growing, decide the amount with a doctor or dietitian.
Reference ranges for healthy adults, not professional dietary advice. With kidney or liver disease, during pregnancy or breastfeeding, or for growing teenagers, follow a doctor's or dietitian's individual guidance.