Protein intake — Quick answer
Daily protein is your weight in kilograms times a factor for your goal.
protein (g/day) = weight_kg × factor (0.8 – 2.0)
Worked example: 70 kg, active (1.4) → 98 g/day.
Factor by goal (g per kg)
| Goal | g/kg |
|---|
| Sedentary (RDA) | 0.8 |
| Active / fitness | 1.4 |
| Muscle gain | 1.8 |
| Athlete | 2.0 |
General guidance for healthy adults — not medical advice.
Standards & method
✓ Independently verified 12 July 2026- Governing standard
- IOM Dietary Reference Intakes · ACSM/ISSN position stands
- Clauses applied
- IOM RDA 0.8 g/kg/day (the minimum to avoid deficiency, not the optimum). ACSM/ISSN: 1.2–2.0 g/kg for active individuals; up to 2.2 g/kg during a deficit to preserve lean mass.
- Core formula
protein (g/day) = weight(kg) × factor- Why this matters
- The 0.8 g/kg RDA is the amount that prevents deficiency in 97.5% of people — it is a floor, not a target. Athletes and those in a calorie deficit need substantially more. This is general information, not medical advice — discuss any health decision with a qualified clinician.
- Independently verified
- 12 July 2026 — Re-derived from the governing standard and checked numerically against worked reference cases from the standard itself — not merely tested for “returns a number”.
Results are for guidance. Verify against the current edition of the governing standard and have a qualified professional review before use in practice.
Your daily protein target scales with body weight and goal: grams/day = weight_kg × factor. The factor runs from the RDA's 0.8 g/kg for sedentary adults up to about 2.0 g/kg for athletes, with 1.4 for general fitness and 1.8 for building muscle. Pounds are converted to kilograms first.
Reviewed: June 20, 2026 · Author: Naveen P N, Founder — AI Calculator · Verified against: common g/kg guidelines, recomputed in code. General guidance, not medical advice.
The formula
Pick the factor for your goal — 0.8 sedentary, 1.4 active, 1.6 fat loss, 1.8 muscle gain, 2.0 athlete — and multiply by your weight in kilograms. If you weigh in pounds, the tool converts first. The result is a daily target; spreading it over three or four meals is a common way to support muscle.
Worked examples
A 70 kg generally active person:
A 60 kg person building muscle:
An 80 kg sedentary adult (RDA):
So the active 70 kg person targets about 98 g, the muscle-builder 108 g, and the sedentary adult 64 g — roughly 25 g per meal across four meals.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much protein per day?⌄
Weight × goal factor. 70 kg active (1.4) ≈ 98 g. RDA minimum is 0.8 g/kg.
How is it calculated?⌄
kg × factor (0.8 sedentary … 2.0 athlete). Pounds × 0.453592 first. 60 × 1.8 = 108 g.
Body weight or lean mass?⌄
These use total weight. With lots of excess fat, lean or goal weight can be more accurate.
Is more always better?⌄
No — beyond ~1.6–2.2 g/kg there's little extra muscle benefit. Kidney patients: follow medical advice.
How to spread it out?⌄
3–4 roughly equal meals is common, but the daily total matters most.