🍗Protein calculator
How much protein you actually need per day, in grams, with the easiest food to hit it.
0–0 g · 0 g ≈ chicken breast
How much protein you actually need
The number that matters is grams per kilogram of bodyweight, not a flat daily figure - a 55 kg and a 95 kg lifter do not need the same amount. For anyone training with weights, the evidence converges on a floor rather than a target:
maintaining : 1.6 g per kg bodyweight
in a deficit: 1.8 - 2.2 g per kg1.6 g/kg is where the measured benefit to muscle gain stops increasing in the pooled data. Eating more is not harmful, it simply stops buying you anything - which is why FitApp flags you when you fall below that line and not when you go above it.
Why a diet needs more, not less
This is the part most people get backwards. When calories are low the body is more willing to break down muscle for fuel, so protein has to rise to defend it - toward 2.2 g/kg the leaner and the hungrier you get. Cutting protein to "save calories" costs you the exact tissue the diet was supposed to reveal.
Making it practical
- Spread it across three or four meals. A single enormous serving is not wasted, but even spacing is easier to hit and slightly better used.
- Anchor each meal on a protein source first and build the rest around it. Hitting the number is a planning problem, not a willpower one.
- Weigh food raw where you can. Cooked weights vary with how much water left the pan.
Common questions
Is high protein bad for the kidneys?
Not in people with healthy kidneys - that concern comes from patients who already have kidney disease. If you have a diagnosed condition, this is a question for your doctor and not a calculator.
Do I need protein powder?
No. It is food that happens to be convenient. If you reach your number with chicken, eggs, dairy and legumes, a shake adds nothing except one less thing to cook.
Can I get enough on a plant-based diet?
Yes, with more planning. Lentils, soy, seitan and legume pastas carry it; aim slightly higher because plant sources are digested a little less efficiently.
Does it matter if I miss the number some days?
Not much. The weekly average is what your body responds to. Missing one day is nothing; missing most of them is why the training is not working.
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." British Journal of Sports Medicine, 2018. Higher intakes in a deficit follow Helms ER, et al., International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism, 2014.
Estimates for general fitness guidance, not medical advice.