How much protein do I need?

What your result means and what to do next

• Under your range. You're short, like many people. The missing grams are usually at breakfast and lunch, so check those two in the meal line calculator and add one lean food to each meal that misses, like a Greek yogurt, two eggs or a can of tuna.
• Inside your range. Your day is enough. Make sure each meal reaches your meal line, and lift at least twice a week so the protein has something to build.
• Above your range. In the trials, healthy kidneys showed no harm. The extra mostly costs calories and money, so trim it if you're not lean and lifting hard.
• Don't know what you eat now? Count three normal days, or tap your usual meals into the quiz and get your day against your range in two minutes.

Get it from food first if you want to and can. How to get enough protein without powder has two full days that land in the range.

How it works

The typical range is 1.2 to 1.6 g of protein per kg of body weight a day, from the 2025 to 2030 US Dietary Guidelines, out in January 2026. At 180 lb that's 100 to 130 g. At 140 lb it's 75 to 100 g, and at 200 lb it's 110 to 145 g.

It counts from your weight today. If you have more than a fifth of your weight to lose, it counts from your goal plus a fifth of today's weight, so a big loss doesn't push the number past what your muscle needs. 250 lb aiming for 180 counts as 230 lb, and gives 125 to 165 g.

Lean people who lift hard while dieting need more. A 2014 review of six studies put them at 2.3 to 3.1 g per kg of lean mass, the part of you that isn't fat. Add your bodyfat above to see it.

Why 0.8 g per kg isn't the target

The 0.8 g per kg you still see on many sites is the RDA, the amount set to cover basic needs in nearly all healthy adults. Think of it as the minimum payment on a card: it keeps you out of trouble, and it was never the plan. The guideline's Scientific Foundation report puts the average American adult at about 1 g per kg a day, under the new range.

One number across the guides

These are the same ranges as the protein calculators on bodyfat.guide and tdee.guide, so you get the same grams wherever you check. This site adds the meal line and the food. If you have kidney disease, your doctor sets the number.