// Nutrition Calculators

Protein Calculator

Enter your weight and goal to get a daily protein range rather than a single number.

Your details

Your result

Daily protein
105–150g
Per kg bodyweight
1.4–2g/kg
Midpoint
128g
Across 4 meals
26–38g
  • This is a range because protein requirement is a range. Any point inside it is a reasonable target; the midpoint is a fine place to start.

Estimates are for general guidance only and are not medical advice. For a personalised plan, book a free guided tour at RPM Gym.

What your result means

You get a range, because the requirement is a range. Published recommendations for adults who train cluster between 1.4 and 2.0 g per kg of bodyweight, rising to roughly 1.6-2.2 g/kg when you're building muscle or eating in a deficit. A calculator that returns 147.3 g is inventing a precision the research doesn't have.

Anywhere inside your range works. The midpoint is a sensible default and the top end is where to sit if you're dieting hard or training a lot. The difference between 1.8 and 2.0 g/kg decides nothing about how your training goes.

The reason the range rises in a deficit is worth knowing: protein is what protects lean mass when energy is short. Eating more of it doesn't accelerate fat loss, but eating too little of it changes what you lose.

How it is calculated

Bodyweight-based protein ranges, with a separate fat-free-mass range for lean dieting athletes

General training 1.4-2.0 g per kg bodyweight Muscle gain 1.6-2.2 g per kg bodyweight Energy restriction 1.6-2.2 g per kg bodyweight Lean, resistance-trained, in a sustained deficit: 2.3-3.1 g per kg FAT-FREE MASS

What it assumes

  • Ranges apply to healthy adults who train. They are not clinical targets and don't apply to kidney disease, pregnancy or paediatric contexts.
  • The fat-free-mass range describes a narrow group: lean, resistance-trained people in a sustained deficit. It's shown only when you supply a body fat percentage, and only for a fat-loss goal.
  • Protein is expressed per kilogram of bodyweight because that's how the source recommendations are written, not because bodyweight is the ideal reference for everyone.
  • Distribution across the day is a smaller effect than the daily total, and no timing assumption is built in.

Units and rounding

  • Weight in kilograms; body fat as an optional percentage.
  • Protein in whole grams per day, shown as a range with its midpoint.
  • Leave body fat at zero if you don't know it. The bodyweight range doesn't need it.

Worked example

A 78 kg lifter in a gaining phase.

  1. Muscle-gain range = 1.6 to 2.2 g/kg
  2. Low = 78 × 1.6 = 125 g
  3. High = 78 × 2.2 = 172 g
  4. Across four meals = roughly 31 to 43 g each

125-172 g a day, with 148 g as a midpoint. The practical read is that four meals of 35-40 g covers it comfortably, and that chasing the exact top of the range adds cost and effort for no measurable return.

Limitations

  • More protein isn't better past these ranges. Intakes above roughly 2.2 g/kg have repeatedly failed to add benefit in trained populations, and the calories have to come from somewhere.
  • Bodyweight is a rough reference. At high body fat percentages it overstates the requirement, which is why the fat-free-mass figures exist for the group where the difference matters.
  • The 2.3-3.1 g/kg fat-free-mass range comes from lean, resistance-trained athletes in a sustained deficit. Applying it to a general fat-loss goal hands a specialist requirement to someone it was never measured on.
  • Protein doesn't compensate for a calorie target that's too aggressive or a training programme that isn't progressing. It protects lean mass; it doesn't build it on its own.
  • Existing kidney disease changes protein recommendations. That's a decision for a doctor, not a calculator.

What to do next

  • Pick a number inside your range and build meals around it rather than tracking to it. Most people find 30-45 g per meal across three or four meals lands them there without arithmetic.
  • Hit the range on training days and rest days alike. The recovery process runs for a day or two after a session, not for an hour.
  • If you're lean and dieting, enter your body fat percentage above to see the fat-free-mass range as well, and read the note about who it applies to.
  • Once protein is settled, the macro calculator splits the rest of your calories between carbohydrate and fat. Protein first is the right order.

Sources

Related calculators
MacroLean Body MassBody FatBulking CalorieCalorie DeficitFiber Intake
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// Frequently Asked

Questions, answered.

How much protein do I need per day?

For adults who train, roughly 1.4-2.0 g per kg of bodyweight, moving to 1.6-2.2 g/kg when building muscle or dieting. For an 80 kg person that's about 130-175 g a day in a training context.

Is more protein better?

Up to a point, and that point is lower than supplement marketing suggests. Above about 2.2 g/kg the added benefit in trained people is hard to detect, and those calories usually do more good as carbohydrate fuelling the training.

Do I need more protein when cutting?

Yes, and it's one of the clearer findings in the area. Protein needs rise when energy is restricted because it's the main lever protecting lean mass. Sit at the upper end of your range while the deficit runs.

What is the 2.3-3.1 g per kg figure I've seen?

It's per kilogram of fat-free mass, not bodyweight, and it describes lean resistance-trained athletes in a sustained deficit — physique competitors, essentially. Applied to bodyweight, or to someone who isn't lean and dieting, it produces a number far above anything the evidence supports for them.

Does protein timing matter?

Much less than the daily total. Spreading intake across three or four meals is slightly better than one large serving, mostly because it's easier to eat that much that way. The post-workout window is far wider than it was once described as.

Can I get enough protein without supplements?

Almost always. Chicken, fish, eggs, dairy, lentils and beans get most people there. Powder is a convenience for closing a gap on a busy day, not a requirement, and it's priced as though it were the reverse.

Protein is the easiest thing to get right and the easiest to quietly miss.

If your intake and your training aren't matching up, a free guided tour at RPM Gym in Al Manhal is a good place to work out which one is short.

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