Protein Intake Calculator
Protein needs scale with body weight and with what you are asking your body to do. This gives a daily target and, more usefully, a per-meal one.
How the math works
Daily protein = body weight in pounds x grams per pound, where the multiplier runs from 0.36 for the sedentary RDA up to about 1.2 for an athlete in a deficit. Per meal is that divided by the number of meals. Protein provides 4 calories per gram.
Common questions
- How much protein do I need a day?
- The RDA of 0.36 g per pound is the floor for avoiding deficiency, not a target for anyone training. If you lift, 0.7 to 1.0 g per pound is the range the research supports, and more than that shows no extra benefit.
- Does it matter when I eat it?
- Spreading it across three or four meals beats one large serving, since muscle protein synthesis responds to each meal separately. The old anabolic window of 30 minutes after training turned out to be much wider than anyone thought.
- Is high protein bad for the kidneys?
- Not in healthy people. That belief comes from advice given to patients who already had kidney disease. If you have any kidney condition, this is a question for your doctor rather than a calculator.