How much protein per day, by bodyweight
1.6 g/kg/day for resistance-trained adults, 0.8 g/kg RDA floor, 1.2 g/kg for endurance. Four expert ranges, a bodyweight table, and the sources.
What people ask us next.
- Is 1 gram per pound of bodyweight the same as 1.6 g/kg?
- No, and the difference matters. 1 g/lb works out to ~2.2 g/kg, at the upper end of the Morton 2018 range. It's defensible for aggressive cuts or advanced trainees, but it's above the point of diminishing returns for most lifters. 1.6 g/kg (0.73 g/lb) is the evidence-backed target; 1 g/lb is a round-number heuristic that overshoots without harming.
- How much protein should a 150 lb woman eat?
- 150 lb = 68 kg. Resistance-trained target: 68 x 1.6 = 109 g/day. Cutting or perimenopausal: push to 68 x 2.0 = 136 g/day. Endurance-only or untrained: 68 x 1.2 = 82 g/day. Kerksick et al. 2018 explicitly extends the ISSN range to trained female athletes without adjustment. The absolute number shifts with bodyweight; the per-kg target does not.
- Is 100 g of protein a day enough?
- Depends on bodyweight and goal. For a 60 kg (132 lb) trained lifter, 100 g hits 1.67 g/kg, on target. For an 80 kg (176 lb) lifter, 100 g is 1.25 g/kg, below the Morton 2018 range and likely leaving lean-mass gains on the table. Use the per-kg multiplier, not the round number.
- Does protein need change with age?
- Yes, upward. Phillips 2016 and Moore 2015 document anabolic resistance, older adults (50+) require more leucine per dose to clear the MPS threshold. The ISSN and the PROT-AGE consensus (Bauer et al. 2013) recommend 1.2-1.6 g/kg for healthy older adults and up to 2.0 g/kg during recovery from illness or injury. Move the floor up, not the ceiling.
- Is there an upper limit that causes kidney damage?
- Not for healthy adults. Antonio et al. 2014-2016 ran trained men at 3.4-4.4 g/kg/day for up to one year with no renal, hepatic, or lipid dysfunction. The renal caution applies only to pre-existing chronic kidney disease (Martin et al. 2005). For healthy adults, 2.2 g/kg is the practical ceiling on performance returns, not a safety limit.
- How does the per-meal dose matter?
- Moore 2015 found a per-meal threshold around 0.4 g/kg, roughly 2.5-3 g leucine, to maximally stimulate MPS. For an 80 kg lifter, that's ~32 g protein per meal. Total daily dose drives most of the effect (Schoenfeld & Aragon 2018), but hitting the threshold at 3-4 meals beats front-loading or back-loading a single 80 g bolus.
Every claim, cited.
- [01]Morton RW et al. 2018. Meta-analysis of protein and resistance-training gains. Br J Sports Med 52(6):376-384.
- [02]Jager R et al. 2017. ISSN Position Stand: protein and exercise. J Int Soc Sports Nutr 14:20.
- [03]Phillips SM, Chevalier S, Leidy HJ. 2016. Protein 'requirements' beyond the RDA. Appl Physiol Nutr Metab 41(5):565-572.
- [04]Moore DR et al. 2015. Protein ingestion to stimulate myofibrillar protein synthesis in older versus younger men. J Gerontol A 70(1):57-62.
- [05]Bauer J et al. 2013. Evidence-based recommendations for optimal dietary protein intake in older people: a position paper from the PROT-AGE Study Group. J Am Med Dir Assoc 14(8):542-559.
- [06]Antonio J et al. 2016. A high protein diet has no harmful effects: a one-year crossover study in resistance-trained males. J Nutr Metab 2016:9104792.
The Larderlab Team builds evidence-led frameworks for eating, lifting, and stocking a kitchen. We cite every claim. We publish the spreadsheet when possible. We buy what we review at retail price. When new data lands, we revise with a dated note.
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