Protein Calculator

Enter your weight, pick your activity level and your goal, and the calculator works out your daily protein in grams. It shows a target, a range to aim inside, and how much protein belongs at each meal.

1. Enter your body weight and pick kilograms or pounds.
2. Pick your activity level, from sedentary to very active.
3. Pick your goal. Maintain keeps the base rate, build muscle raises it by 15 percent, and lose fat raises it by 10 percent.
4. Pick how many meals you eat a day, from 3 to 5.
5. Press Calculate, or press Enter. The daily target appears first and large, with the range, the per meal amount and the RDA minimum below.

The protein formula is daily protein = weight in kg x rate in g per kg. The rate depends on how active you are. A sedentary adult starts at 1.2 g per kg, a lightly active adult at 1.4, a moderately active adult at 1.6, and a very active adult at 1.8. Your goal then adjusts the rate. Building muscle multiplies it by 1.15, losing fat multiplies it by 1.10, and maintaining leaves it alone. The rate never goes above 2.2 g per kg.

The range runs from the rate to the rate plus 0.4 g per kg, so a rate of 1.84 gives a range of 1.84 to 2.2 g per kg. The target is the middle of that range rounded to the nearest 5 g, because a round number is easier to aim at than 151.5 g. The RDA of 0.8 g per kg is the minimum for a healthy adult, not a target for active people. Our protein intake calculator gives a simpler daily need from weight and activity alone.

A 75 kg adult trains 3 to 5 days a week and wants to build muscle. Here is exactly what the calculator does.

1. Base rate: moderately active gives 1.6 g per kg.
2. Goal adjustment: building muscle multiplies by 1.15, so 1.6 x 1.15 = 1.84 g per kg.
3. Low end: 75 kg x 1.84 = 138 g.
4. High end: 75 kg x 2.2 = 165 g, because 1.84 plus 0.4 is 2.24 and the rate caps at 2.2.
5. Target: the middle of 138 and 165 is 151.5 g, rounded to the nearest 5 g = 150 g a day.
6. Per meal: 150 g over 4 meals = 38 g per meal.

As a second check, the same person in pounds weighs 165 lb, which is 74.84 kg. At the same rate the range is 120 to 150 g with a target of 135 g a day and about 34 g per meal. The RDA minimum for 75 kg is 75 x 0.8 = 60 g a day, which sits well below the 150 g target. The same steps work for any weight, so try your own numbers in the tool above.

The RDA of 0.8 g per kg is the floor. It is the amount that prevents deficiency in nearly all healthy adults, about 56 g for a 70 kg adult. It is not the amount that supports training, muscle gain or fat loss, so active people need more.

General health sits at 1.2 to 1.6 g per kg, which is the range in the 2025 to 2030 Dietary Guidelines for Americans. A 75 kg adult at that range needs 90 to 120 g a day. People who lift weights do better at 1.6 to 2.2 g per kg, because a meta-analysis of protein and resistance training found that gains in lean mass stopped improving past about 1.62 g per kg a day. People who lift while eating in a calorie deficit sit at the top of that range, around 1.8 to 2.2 g per kg, to hold on to muscle while they lose fat.

The range matters more than any single number. Your exact need shifts with your training, your body composition and your total calories, so a range of 138 to 165 g is more honest than a single figure. Pick the target in the middle, eat near it most days, and adjust if your weight or your training changes.

Muscle protein synthesis responds to each meal up to roughly 0.4 g per kg, about 25 to 40 g for most adults, and then levels off for a few hours. Spreading the daily total across 3 to 5 meals uses it a little better than eating most of it at one meal. For a 150 g target over 4 meals, that is about 38 g per meal.

Build each meal around one protein rich food. A palm sized portion of chicken breast gives about 30 g, two eggs give about 12 g, a cup of Greek yogurt gives about 17 g, and a cup of lentils gives about 18 g. Our macro calculator splits your whole day into protein, carbs and fat, and our calorie calculator works out the calories that target sits inside.

Timing matters less than the total. A meal with 20 g still counts toward the day, and a meal with 50 g is not wasted, it just adds less extra benefit than the first 30 to 40 g. If you train, put one of the bigger meals within a couple of hours after training, and keep the rest of the day even.

The most common mistake is treating the RDA of 0.8 g per kg as a target. It is a minimum for a sedentary adult, and an active person who eats only 60 g a day at 75 kg will struggle to build or keep muscle. Use 1.2 g per kg as the floor for an active adult instead.

A second mistake is entering pounds as kilograms. A 165 lb adult is 74.84 kg, not 165 kg, and the calculator would give more than double the right answer. Check the unit selector before you press Calculate, and use the pounds option if your scale reads in pounds.

A third mistake is chasing a single exact number. Protein needs vary day to day, food labels round their figures, and your weight moves a little each week. Aim inside the range, hit the target most days, and do not worry about a day that lands 10 g high or low. If you have kidney disease or another medical reason to limit protein, talk to your doctor before raising your intake.