How much protein do you need a day? A simple guide for any diet

Most active adults do well on 1.4 to 2.0 g of protein per kilogram of body weight per day, and about 1.6 g/kg is enough to support muscle gain for most people. Sedentary adults need at least 0.8 g/kg. Split the total over three or four meals of roughly 25 to 40 g, and pick foods that fit how you already eat.

TL;DR

Who	Grams per kg per day	For a 70 kg person
Sedentary adult (minimum)	0.8	56 g
Active, training a few times a week	1.4–1.6	98–112 g
Building muscle	1.6–2.2	112–154 g
Losing fat while training	1.8–2.2	126–154 g

Work out your own number in ten seconds with the protein calculator.

Where do these numbers come from?

The 0.8 g/kg figure is the long-standing reference intake for adults: the amount that meets the needs of nearly all healthy people who do not train much, set out in the WHO, FAO and UNU report on protein requirements. It is a floor, not a target for people who train.

For active people, the International Society of Sports Nutrition's position stand recommends 1.4 to 2.0 g/kg a day for most exercising adults. A 2018 systematic review and meta-analysis in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, pooling 49 trials with 1,863 participants doing resistance training, found that extra protein increased gains in strength and lean mass, and that the benefit levelled off at around 1.6 g/kg a day, with some people benefiting up to about 2.2 g/kg.

When you are eating less to lose fat, the higher end of the range helps you keep muscle, which is why fat-loss targets sit around 1.8 to 2.2 g/kg.

How much protein should I eat per meal?

Your daily total matters most. Spreading it across meals is simply the easiest way to reach it. Divide your target by the number of meals you eat:

• 120 g a day over 3 meals is about 40 g a meal.
• 120 g a day over 4 meals is about 30 g a meal.

If you train in the evening, make sure the meal after training is one of your protein anchors. Nothing magical happens in a 30-minute window, but a protein-rich meal within a few hours of training is a sensible habit.

Which foods give the most protein for vegetarians?

Vegetarian diets can hit high targets; they just need a protein anchor at every meal. Typical amounts, rounded:

Food	Serving	Protein (about)
Soy chunks	50 g dry	26 g
Paneer	100 g	18 g
Greek yogurt or hung curd	200 g	18 g
Cottage cheese	150 g	17 g
Rajma or black beans	1 cup cooked	15 g
Chickpeas or chana	1 cup cooked	14 g
Moong dal chilla	2 medium	14 g
Dal (lentils)	1 bowl cooked	13 g
Milk	300 ml	10 g

A day that reaches about 110 g could look like this: moong chilla with curd for breakfast (about 25 g), dal, rajma and rice with a side of paneer at lunch (about 40 g), and a soy chunk curry with roti for dinner (about 35 g), plus a glass of milk.

What about vegan, eggetarian and non-vegetarian diets?

Vegan: tofu (150 g firm, about 20 g), tempeh (100 g, about 19 g), soy chunks, edamame, seitan (100 g, about 25 g, if you eat gluten), lentils, beans and peanut butter. Combine a soy food or seitan with a legume at your two main meals.

Vegetarian with eggs (eggetarian): everything in the vegetarian table plus eggs. Two large eggs give about 12 g, so eggs with curd or a paneer bhurji make an easy 30 g breakfast.

Pescatarian and non-vegetarian: a fish fillet (120 g cooked, about 26 g), tinned tuna (about 25 g a tin) or chicken breast (120 g cooked, about 37 g) reaches a meal's target on its own.

If you leave out a food for allergy, religious or personal reasons, the protein calculator and the revns week plan only suggest anchors that fit; set your diet once in meal tracking.

Should I use my current weight or my goal weight?

If you carry a lot of extra body fat, multiplying your current weight by 2 g/kg gives a number that is higher than you need and hard to eat. Use your goal weight, or a weight that would put you in the healthy BMI range for your height, instead. For most lean and moderately active people, current weight is fine.

Is a high-protein diet safe?

For healthy adults, intakes in these ranges are widely used in sport. Two cautions:

• Kidney disease: people with chronic kidney disease are often advised to limit protein. Follow your clinician's advice.
• Balance: protein should not crowd out fibre-rich foods. Legumes are useful because they bring both.

How do I hit my number this week?

1. Work out your daily target with the protein calculator.
2. Choose two or three anchors you like from the tables above.
3. Put one anchor in every meal for a week.
4. Log meals in two taps with a rough protein number, and look at your 7-day average rather than single days.

If you track in revns, your protein metric fills from your meals automatically and the weekly planner suggests two anchors a day that fit your diet.

Does protein timing matter?

Less than the daily total. Studies that compare spreading protein evenly with eating most of it at dinner suggest an even spread is a little better for muscle, but the effect is small next to simply reaching your target. Three practical rules cover it:

• Have protein at breakfast. It is the meal most people under-eat. Eggs, curd with chilla, Greek yogurt with oats or a tofu scramble fixes it.
• Do not go many hours without it on training days. A protein-rich meal within a few hours either side of training is enough.
• A bedtime snack is optional. Milk, curd or cottage cheese before bed can help people who struggle to reach their total, but it is not required.

How do I hit a high target on a budget?

Cheap protein exists in every diet:

Diet	Low-cost anchors
Vegetarian	Dal, chana, rajma, soy chunks, milk, curd
Vegan	Soy chunks, lentils, chickpeas, peanuts, tofu bought in bulk
Eggetarian	Eggs, plus everything vegetarian
Non-vegetarian	Eggs, chicken thighs, tinned fish

Soy chunks deserve a mention: about 26 g of protein in a 50 g dry serving makes them one of the cheapest anchors in Indian kitchens. Cook them in a curry, a pulao or a dry stir-fry.

What about older adults?

Muscle becomes harder to build and easier to lose with age, a process called sarcopenia. Many experts suggest older adults aim for the upper part of the active range and spread protein evenly across meals, combined with strength training at least twice a week. If appetite is low, smaller, more frequent protein-rich meals are easier than large portions. Anyone with kidney disease should agree a target with their clinician first.

Common mistakes

1. Counting the whole food weight as protein. 100 g of chicken is not 100 g of protein; it is about 30 g. Use the serving tables above.
2. Relying on one source. Variety covers other nutrients too, especially for vegan diets.
3. Ignoring fibre. High-protein diets built only on meat, eggs and dairy can be low in fibre. Legumes fix both at once.
4. Changing the target every week. Keep one number for a month, check your weight and strength trend, then adjust.

How do I count protein without weighing everything?

Precision is not required. A rough method that works for most people:

• Palm-sized portion of paneer, tofu, chicken or fish: about 20 to 30 g of protein.
• A cup of cooked dal, chana or beans: about 13 to 15 g.
• Two eggs: about 12 g.
• A bowl of curd or Greek yogurt (200 g): about 7 to 18 g, depending on the type; strained, Greek-style yogurt is much higher.

Count only your anchors and ignore the small amounts in grains and vegetables; that keeps you on the conservative side. Log a rough number with each meal for two weeks, then check your average against your target.

Does cooking change the protein?

Cooking does not destroy meaningful amounts of protein, but it changes weight. Dry lentils and soy chunks gain water and weight when cooked, so their protein per 100 g drops on the label even though the total in your bowl is the same. Use the cooked servings in the tables above when you estimate from your plate.

Related

• Protein calculator
• TDEE calculator
• Strength training for beginners
• Meal tracking without counting calories

This is general training and nutrition guidance, not medical advice. If you have kidney disease, diabetes, an eating disorder or another medical condition, follow your clinician's advice on protein and diet.

Sources

• Morton RW et al. A systematic review, meta-analysis and meta-regression of the effect of protein supplementation on resistance training-induced gains in muscle mass and strength. Br J Sports Med 2018
• Jäger R et al. International Society of Sports Nutrition Position Stand: protein and exercise. J Int Soc Sports Nutr 2017
• WHO, FAO, UNU. Protein and amino acid requirements in human nutrition. WHO Technical Report Series 935, 2007