Protein Calculator

Protein is the nutrient your body uses to build and repair muscle, skin, enzymes, and hormones. How much you need depends mostly on your body weight and how active you are. This protein intake calculator turns those into a daily target in grams — enter your weight in kilograms or pounds and it converts automatically.

How much protein per day?

Guidelines are expressed as grams of protein per kilogram of body weight:

Goal / activity	Protein (g/kg)
Sedentary (RDA baseline)	0.8–1.0
General fitness / active	1.2–1.6
Endurance training	1.2–1.4
Building muscle / strength	1.6–2.2
Losing fat (preserve muscle)	1.6–2.4

The 0.8 g/kg figure is the Recommended Dietary Allowance — the minimum to avoid deficiency in a sedentary adult. Most people who exercise, and anyone trying to change their body composition, do better toward the higher ranges, which are supported by the International Society of Sports Nutrition. So how to calculate your protein intake comes down to one step: pick the g/kg for your goal and multiply by your body weight. If you think in pounds, 1.6–2.2 g/kg works out to roughly 0.7–1.0 g per pound — or just enter pounds and let the calculator handle it.

Protein for weight loss

If you’re losing weight, protein matters more, not less. A higher intake — around 1.6–2.4 g/kg — preserves muscle while you’re in a calorie deficit and keeps you fuller between meals, so more of what you lose is fat rather than muscle. That’s the row most dieters should read first: cutting calories is the job of the deficit, but holding onto protein is what keeps the result lean.

Worked example

For a 70 kg (154 lb) person aiming to build muscle (1.6–2.2 g/kg):

• Low end: 70 × 1.6 = 112 g/day
• High end: 70 × 2.2 = 154 g/day
• Midpoint target: about 133 g/day, or roughly 33 g across four meals

Getting it consistently

Hitting your protein target reliably matters more than the exact number. Anchor each meal around a protein source (eggs, dairy, meat, fish, legumes, tofu, or a protein supplement), aim for a similar amount at each, and you’ll land near your daily total without having to track every gram. To slot this figure into a full day of eating, the macro calculator sets it beside your carbs and fat; and if you carry a lot of excess fat, basing the number on lean body mass can be more accurate than total weight.