# Protein Intake Calculator: Grams per Day (g/kg) > Calculate daily protein grams from weight, body fat, goal, activity, and experience. See per-meal targets and where your number sits in the research range. - Canonical page: https://www.recompai.com/tools/protein - Language: en - Other languages: [es](https://www.recompai.com/es/tools/protein), [pt](https://www.recompai.com/pt/tools/protein), [de](https://www.recompai.com/de/tools/protein), [it](https://www.recompai.com/it/tools/protein), [fr](https://www.recompai.com/fr/tools/protein) Protein · lean-mass insurance Calculate grams per day and per meal, and see where your number sits in the research range. ## Why protein matters for body recomposition Your body has no dedicated protein store the way it stores fat and glycogen, so protein has to come from food. It is broken down into amino acids that build and repair muscle, organs and immune tissue. In a calorie deficit, eating enough of it helps limit lean-mass loss. The calculator above takes weight, body fat, training experience and goal and picks a starting dose from the research. With body fat entered, recomposition and cut targets scale to lean body mass instead of total weight, and maintenance and muscle-gain targets never exceed the recomposition target. The result shows your daily target, what it costs to digest, how it splits across meals, where it sits on the Morton 2018 muscle-gain curve, and what it looks like in plain food. ## The protein dose across recomposition phases The calculator uses one setting per goal. Body-weight (BW) and lean-mass (LBM) settings are not directly comparable: at 20 percent body fat, 2.2 g/kg LBM equals about 1.76 g/kg BW. Maintenance and muscle-gain settings are capped at the recomposition setting, so at higher body fat they follow lean mass. Maintain 1.6 g/kg BW Inside the ISSN 2017 range of 1.4 to 2.0 g/kg BW for most people who exercise. Build muscle 1.8 g/kg BW Above the 1.62 g/kg BW break point in Morton 2018, inside its 95% CI. Recomposition 2.2 g/kg LBM The calculator’s own starting estimate for recomposition. No study tests this exact rule. Cut 2.4 g/kg LBM Near the low end of Helms 2014: 2.3 to 3.1 g/kg LBM for lean, trained people in contest prep. Sources: Jäger et al., ISSN position stand 2017; Morton et al., Br J Sports Med 2018 (meta-analysis); Helms et al., J Int Soc Sports Nutr 2014. ## Four dosing rules, one calculator The calculator uses one rule per goal. Each example shows how the rule compares with its closest source. Recomposition (per kg LBM) 2.2 × kg LBM 65 kg LBM → 143 g. The calculator's own starting estimate; no study tests this exact rule. Cut (per kg LBM) 2.4 × kg LBM 65 kg LBM → 156 g. Near the low end of the 2.3 to 3.1 g/kg lean-mass range Helms 2014 gives for contest prep. Build (per kg BW) 1.8 × kg BW, max 2.2 × kg LBM 80 kg BW at 15% body fat → 144 g. Above the 1.62 g/kg break point in Morton 2018 and inside its 95% CI (up to 2.2). Maintain (per kg BW) 1.6 × kg BW, max 2.2 × kg LBM 80 kg BW at 20% body fat → 128 g. Inside the 1.4 to 2.0 g/kg range the ISSN position stand (Jäger 2017) calls sufficient for most people who exercise. LBM = lean body mass = weight × (1 − body-fat % / 100). Studies usually report fat-free mass (FFM), which is close to LBM. Without a body-fat input, the calculator assumes lean mass is 80 percent of body weight. Maintain and build targets never exceed the recomposition setting of 2.2 g per kg of lean mass, so at higher body fat they follow lean mass too. It then adjusts the target by +15 percent for advanced lifters and −5 percent for beginners; that adjustment is the calculator's own estimate. ## The protein you think you're eating and aren't Without logging, it is easy to overestimate how much protein a meal holds. The gap matters most in a calorie deficit. The standard intuition is that any meal with chicken or eggs is a protein meal. The math says otherwise: a plate with 80 g of cooked chicken breast, two large eggs and a side salad has roughly 38 g of protein, not 60. Across three meals, a miss like that adds up. Garthe et al. 2011 randomised 24 elite athletes, all strength training four times a week, to lose 0.7 or 1.4 percent of body weight per week. Lean mass rose 2.1 percent in the slower group and did not change in the faster group. The trial varied the pace of weight loss, not protein. The fix is structural: pick a fixed protein dose for each main meal and check one week of meals against the daily total. How high that total should be depends on the goal. In the Morton 2018 meta-analysis, where people were not in a calorie deficit, extra protein stopped adding to training gains in fat-free mass at about 1.6 g per kg of body weight. For lean, trained people dieting for a contest, Helms 2014 recommends 2.3 to 3.1 g per kg of lean mass. ## Protein and recomposition, explained Six questions people search once protein stops being a number and starts being a tracked input. ### How much protein per day is enough? For most people who train, 1.6 to 2.2 g per kg of body weight a day is a well-supported range. In the Morton 2018 meta-analysis (49 trials, none in a calorie deficit), extra protein stopped adding to training gains in fat-free mass at about 1.62 g/kg, with a 95% confidence interval up to 2.2 g/kg. Needs are likely higher in a deficit: for lean, trained people dieting for a contest, Helms 2014 recommends 2.3 to 3.1 g per kg of lean mass. ### Should I dose per kg of body weight or per kg of lean mass? Per kg of lean mass is the cleaner anchor for lean and trained people. Per kg of body weight is simpler and works in the average body-fat range. The two converge as you lose fat: at 15 percent body fat, 1.8 g/kg of body weight equals about 2.1 g/kg of lean mass. This calculator uses body weight for maintain and build, and lean mass for recomposition and cut. ### Is more than 2.2 g/kg useless? Not useless, but probably not for muscle. In Morton 2018, the top of the confidence interval for the plateau was 2.2 g/kg, and the authors suggest about 2.2 g/kg for people who want the most muscle from training. Protein above that still costs energy to digest (20 to 30 percent of its calories, Westerterp 2004). In a deficit, Helms 2014 recommends 2.3 to 3.1 g per kg of lean mass for lean, trained people. ### Does timing matter, or only the daily total? The daily total matters most. Helms 2014 found that nutrient timing and meal frequency appear to have little effect on fat loss or lean-mass retention. For muscle gain outside a deficit, Schoenfeld & Aragon 2018 suggest about 0.4 g per kg of body weight per meal across at least four meals, which adds up to 1.6 g/kg a day. ### Is high protein safe for kidneys? In healthy adults, the evidence says yes. Devries et al. (J Nutr 2018, meta-analysis of 28 trials with 1,358 participants) found that kidney function, measured as the change in glomerular filtration rate, did not differ between higher- and lower-protein diets. The warning that circulates online applies to people with kidney disease, who should follow their doctor's advice. ### What counts as a complete protein source? Any source with all nine essential amino acids in adequate proportions. Animal products and soy are complete on their own. Plant sources combine into completeness across a normal day, which is why the original complementing-proteins advice was retracted by Frances Moore Lappe herself. Hit the daily total and quality usually takes care of itself. ## References - [Morton RW, Murphy KT, 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. Br J Sports Med, 2018.](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28698222/) - [Helms ER, Aragon AA, Fitschen PJ. Evidence-based recommendations for natural bodybuilding contest preparation: nutrition and supplementation. J Int Soc Sports Nutr, 2014.](https://jissn.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1550-2783-11-20) - [Jäger R, Kerksick CM, et al. International Society of Sports Nutrition Position Stand: protein and exercise. J Int Soc Sports Nutr, 2017.](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28642676/) - [Schoenfeld BJ, Aragon AA. How much protein can the body use in a single meal for muscle-building? Implications for daily protein distribution. J Int Soc Sports Nutr, 2018.](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29497353/) - [Garthe I, Raastad T, et al. Effect of two different weight-loss rates on body composition and strength and power-related performance in elite athletes. Int J Sport Nutr Exerc Metab, 2011.](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21558571/) - [Westerterp KR. Diet induced thermogenesis. Nutr Metab (Lond), 2004.](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15507147/) - [Devries MC, Sithamparapillai A, 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. J Nutr, 2018.](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30383278/) ## Related calculators Protein anchors the plate. These calculators turn the daily target into a full calorie budget, a macro split, and a body-composition target you can verify. [Macro Calculator Slot protein in. Fat and carbs balance against TDEE automatically.](https://www.recompai.com/tools/macros) [Lean Body Mass The lean mass the dose is protecting. Track it monthly.](https://www.recompai.com/tools/lbm) [TDEE Calculator Total maintenance to spend the protein dose against.](https://www.recompai.com/tools/tdee) [Body Fat Calculator Recompute body fat to refresh the LBM the dose is scaled to.](https://www.recompai.com/tools/bodyfat) [Protein for body recomposition How much protein a day for recomposition, cutting and bulking, with a worked example.](https://www.recompai.com/resources/protein-recomposition) [Body recomposition calculator Estimate maintenance, a calorie and protein target, and a 12-week fat and lean-mass projection. 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