Is my number enough?
Any daily gram figure on your typical range, with the marks from the trials beside it.
Above your typical range
- 65 g 0.8 g per kg, the RDA, the old minimum
- 131 g 1.6 g per kg, where gains leveled off in 49 trials
- 180 g 2.2 g per kg, the top of that study's uncertainty
- Per kg
- 1.8 g
- Per lb
- 0.83 g
- Over 3 meals
- 50 g each clears your line
- Over 4 meals
- 38 g each clears your line
- Calories
- 600 30% of 2,000
That's 20 g over the top of your typical range, about 80 calories a day. For healthy kidneys the short trials showed no harm, so the extra mostly costs calories and money.
Your number as food
150 g is about four 4 oz cooked chicken breasts and a Greek yogurt.
Not sure of your calories? tdee.guide works out yours from your steps, in place of the 2,000 on food labels.
The Gyroscope app personalizes yours. These are typical ranges to show you if you're too low, and many people are.
What your result means and what to do next
- Typical for you. Keep it, and spread it over three or four meals so each one reaches your meal line.
- Under your typical range. Many people are. Add the missing grams at breakfast or lunch, one lean food at a time.
- Above your typical range. Healthy kidneys handled it in the trials, and the extra costs calories. Past 2 g per kg for a long time, the 2025 GLP-1 advisory says to avoid it, and with kidney disease your doctor sets the number.
The daily range calculator turns your range into meals and food.
The same number means different things
100 g a day is typical for anyone from about 140 to 185 lb. Lighter, it's plenty. Heavier, or lean and lifting hard, it's short. 150 g is typical from about 205 to 275 lb, and at 180 lb, 200 g is 2.4 g per kg, past where gains leveled off.
The marks on the bar
- 0.8 g per kg is the RDA, the old minimum that covers basic needs.
- 1.6 g per kg is where gains in lean mass leveled off across 49 trials of people lifting. The breakpoint is uncertain, anywhere from 1.03 to 2.20.
- 2.2 g per kg is the top of that uncertainty, which the authors suggest for people who want every last bit.
Calories, and too much
Protein has 4 calories a gram, so 150 g is 600 calories, 30% of a 2,000 calorie day. The US has set no upper limit for protein. In 28 studies of healthy adults, higher intakes didn't harm kidney function, though most trials were short. If you have kidney disease, your doctor sets the number.
6 sources
- US Department of Agriculture and US Department of Health and Human Services. Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2025 to 2030. January 2026cdn.realfood.gov
- Morton RW, Murphy KT, McKellar SR, 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 in healthy adults. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 2018pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- USDA National Agricultural Library, Food and Nutrition Information Center: calories per gramnal.usda.gov
- National Academies. Dietary Reference Intakes tablesnationalacademies.org
- Mozaffarian D, et al. Nutritional priorities to support GLP-1 therapy for obesity: a joint advisory from the American College of Lifestyle Medicine, the American Society for Nutrition, the Obesity Medicine Association and The Obesity Society. 2025pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Devries MC, Sithamparapillai A, Brimble KS, et al. Changes in kidney function do not differ between healthy adults consuming higher- compared with lower- or normal-protein diets: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of Nutrition, 2018pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
