The short answer: 1.6–2.2 grams of protein per kilogram of bodyweight per day for most people who train. If you're cutting, push toward the top of that range. If you're sedentary, you can sit comfortably at the low end. Numbers below the range mean slower muscle growth and more muscle loss on a cut; numbers above it produce no extra benefit for the average lifter.
This guide shows where that range comes from, how to pick your specific target, and how to actually hit it.
The research behind 1.6 g/kg
The most-cited figure is 1.6 g/kg of total bodyweight, the upper bound from a 2017 meta-analysis (Morton et al., British Journal of Sports Medicine) covering 49 studies and 1,863 participants. Key findings:
- Muscle growth scaled with protein intake up to ~1.6 g/kg
- Past 1.6 g/kg, no additional muscle growth was detectable
- Training status mattered: advanced lifters needed more protein to see any response
1.6 g/kg is a floor for maximising muscle growth at maintenance calories. The ceiling depends on your situation.
Protein by goal
Muscle gain (bulking)
1.6–2.0 g/kg of bodyweight. Above 2.0 g/kg adds nothing. Below 1.6 g/kg, muscle gain is sub-optimal. A 75 kg lifter aiming to build muscle should eat 120–150 g of protein per day.
Fat loss (cutting)
2.2–2.6 g/kg of bodyweight. Protein requirements rise in a deficit because:
- Protein has the highest thermic effect (20–30% burned digesting) — a "cheaper" calorie
- High protein preserves muscle when calories are low (Longland et al., 2014 — high-protein group lost fat and gained muscle in a 40% deficit)
- Protein is the most satiating macro, blunting hunger
A 75 kg person cutting should eat 165–195 g of protein per day. The leaner you are, the more important this becomes — near-contest-lean lifters push 2.8–3.1 g/kg.
Maintenance
1.4–1.8 g/kg of bodyweight. Enough to recover from training and preserve muscle, without the cut-specific need for extra protein. A 75 kg person at maintenance: 105–135 g/day.
Sedentary (no training)
0.8–1.2 g/kg of bodyweight. The 0.8 g/kg RDA is the floor to avoid deficiency, not the target for optimal health. Even non-lifters benefit from 1.0–1.2 g/kg, especially over age 50 when sarcopenia becomes a risk.
Use bodyweight, not lean mass — unless you're very high body fat
Most guidance uses total bodyweight because it's easy and works for typical body compositions (15–25% body fat for men, 22–32% for women).
If your body fat is above 30% for men or above 38% for women, switch to 2.2 g/kg of lean body mass. Otherwise you over-target protein. Example: a 120 kg person at 40% body fat has 72 kg of lean mass — 2.2 × 72 = 158 g protein, not the 240 g you'd get from total bodyweight.
Our macro calculator uses the lean-mass method by default to handle this correctly.
How to hit your target
Protein targets are hard to hit because most foods are lower-protein than people estimate. Rough reference points:
- Chicken breast (150 g cooked): 45 g
- Sirloin steak (150 g cooked): 40 g
- Greek yogurt (200 g): 20 g
- Cottage cheese (150 g): 17 g
- Whey protein (1 scoop): 25 g
- Eggs (2 large): 13 g
- Tuna (1 can, drained): 25 g
- Lentils (1 cup cooked): 18 g
Strategies that work:
- Anchor each meal with 30–50 g of protein. Three anchor meals plus a snack gets most people to 120–160 g.
- Pre-commit to a post-workout protein source. Whey or a high-protein meal right after training makes the daily total much easier.
- Keep a fridge-ready default. Pre-cooked chicken, Greek yogurt tubs, or cottage cheese eliminate decision fatigue.
Common mistakes
- Eating too little protein at breakfast. A bowl of oats has 5–10 g. Adding Greek yogurt or a protein shake turns it into an anchor meal.
- Overcounting plant protein. Peanut butter is 7 g/serving but mostly fat. Vegan diets need 10–15% more protein to offset lower leucine and the amino acid profile.
- Obsessing over timing. Eating protein within a "30-minute anabolic window" was debunked a decade ago. Hit the daily total with meals spaced 3–5 hours apart.
- Assuming protein is capped at "30 g per meal." The body absorbs larger doses fine — higher single-meal doses simply digest more slowly.
Bottom line
- Training, gaining: 1.6–2.0 g/kg bodyweight
- Training, cutting: 2.2–2.6 g/kg bodyweight
- Training, maintaining: 1.4–1.8 g/kg bodyweight
- Very high body fat: switch to 2.2 g/kg of lean mass
Use the macro calculator to get exact protein, fat, and carb targets in grams based on your TDEE and body composition.
Related
- Macro Calculator — protein + fat + carb targets
- Cutting Macros Calculator — higher-protein targets for fat loss
- Bulking Macros Calculator — bulking macros with surplus