How much protein
do you need per day?

The official RDA — 0.8 grams per kilogram of bodyweight per day — is the amount that prevents deficiency in sedentary adults. It's a floor, not a goal. For people who train, research consistently points to a higher band: about 1.6 to 2.2 g/kg per day (roughly 0.7 to 1 gram per pound).

Where you sit inside that band depends on your goal:

• Cutting: the top of the range, ~2.0–2.2 g/kg — protein's muscle-sparing effect matters most in a deficit.
• Maintaining: the middle, ~1.6–1.8 g/kg, is comfortable and well supported.
• Bulking: the lower end, ~1.6 g/kg, is enough — surplus calories do the rest.

The g/kg math assumes a reasonably lean body. If you carry a lot of body fat, anchoring protein to your total weight overshoots; using your goal weight or an estimate of lean mass gives a saner target.

Age pushes the other way. Muscle becomes harder to keep and build from middle age onward, and older adults get measurably better results at the higher end of the range. If you're past fifty, treat 1.8 g/kg as your middle, not your ceiling.

Total daily protein matters most, but distribution isn't nothing. Three to five feedings of roughly 25 to 40 grams each puts you in the well-studied sweet spot for muscle protein synthesis — and it's simply easier to eat 140 grams across four meals than to face a 120-gram dinner.

Breakfast is where most people lose the day. A coffee-and-toast morning starts you 30 grams behind; eggs, Greek yogurt, or leftover chicken solves it before it starts.

Knowing your number is the easy half. Some anchors for the other half: a chicken breast runs about 45 g of protein, a can of tuna 25 g, three eggs 18 g, a 500 g tub of Greek yogurt 50 g, a scoop of whey 24 g, a block of firm tofu about 35 g, a cup of cooked lentils 18 g.

The habit that makes targets stick is seeing protein per meal, not just per day. MacroTrackr keeps a protein line on every logged meal and a live daily bar, so a light morning is visible at lunch — while there's still time to fix it — not at midnight when there isn't.

'High protein wrecks your kidneys' — in people with healthy kidneys, research has repeatedly failed to find harm at the intakes discussed here; the caution applies to those with existing kidney disease, who should follow their doctor's guidance.

'More is always better' — above roughly 2.2 g/kg, extra protein stops buying you additional muscle. It isn't dangerous; it's just expensive, and those calories usually serve you better as carbs around training.