Protein Intake Calculator

This tool turns your body weight and how active you are into a concrete daily protein target, measured in grams. Rather than guessing, it multiplies your weight in kilograms by a well-cited grams-per-kilogram (g/kg) factor that scales with your activity level — from the government RDA baseline of 0.8 g/kg for a sedentary adult up to 2.0 g/kg for strength and power athletes. Enter your weight in kilograms or pounds, choose the band that best fits your training, and optionally add your total daily calories to see where protein falls as a share of your energy intake.

Protein is the macronutrient your body uses to repair and build muscle, make enzymes and hormones, and support immune function. Because requirements scale with body size, the per-kilogram approach — the same one used by the National Academies, the International Society of Sports Nutrition (ISSN), and the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics — travels well across body types far better than a single one-size-fits-all number.

The core formula is deliberately simple:

daily protein (g) = body weight (kg) × factor (g/kg)

If you enter pounds, the tool first converts to kilograms using the exact factor 1 lb = 0.45359237 kg — no lossy rounding, so switching units and back returns your exact figure. The g/kg factor is chosen from your activity band:

• Sedentary — 0.8 g/kg: the RDA floor for healthy adults at rest.
• Lightly active — 1.0 g/kg: everyday activity above the minimum.
• Moderately active — 1.3 g/kg: recreational exercisers and endurance training.
• Very active — 1.6 g/kg: the centre of the ISSN 1.4-2.0 g/kg muscle-building range.
• Athlete — 2.0 g/kg: the top of the ISSN and ACSM-AND-DC athlete ranges.

The optional AMDR cross-check reports protein as a percentage of your total calories: multiply grams by 4 kcal/g, divide by total calories, and multiply by 100. Health authorities suggest this share sit between 10% and 35%. It never changes your gram target — it is a sanity check on how your intake fits your overall diet.

Every figure below comes from the same engine that powers the calculator above, so the numbers match exactly. A 70 kg adult at the sedentary (RDA) baseline, eating 2,000 kcal:

The result — 56 g/day, about 11% of calories — sits comfortably inside the 10-35% AMDR band. If the same person trained hard and chose the “very active” band instead, the target would rise to 70 × 1.6 = 112 g/day.

Here is how the daily target changes across all five bands for a 75 kg person. Use it to see the range your own weight spans as your training changes:

Once you have a daily figure, you can plan meals by dividing it across your day. Pairing this with the calorie calculator and the TDEE calculator gives you a complete picture: total energy, protein share, and how the two interact during a bulk or a cut. If you are tracking a fat-loss phase, the BMR calculator helps you set the calorie floor that keeps your AMDR share sensible.

Once you know your daily gram target, the next question is usually practical: what do I actually eat to hit it? The table below rounds USDA data for common foods to a typical serving size, so you can build a rough meal plan around your number.

Values are approximate — exact protein content varies by cut, brand and cooking method. A 70 kg lightly active adult targeting 70 g/day (1.0 g/kg) could reach that with, for example, one serving of Greek yogurt at breakfast, a chicken breast at lunch, and lentils or tofu at dinner — spread across the day rather than in a single meal.

This calculator gives general guidance for healthy adults — it is not a medical prescription. Keep these boundaries in mind:

• It assumes normal kidney and liver function and uses your actual body weight. People with chronic kidney disease, liver disease, or on a protein-restricted diet need an individualized — and often lower — target from a clinician.
• It is not validated for infants, children, adolescents (higher per-kg needs), or pregnancy and lactation (elevated needs, around 1.1 g/kg/day in pregnancy).
• Older adults may benefit from more than the 0.8 g/kg RDA (commonly 1.0-1.2 g/kg is cited) to counter age-related muscle loss, so the plain RDA can understate their needs.
• The single factor per band is a representative point inside a published range, not the only valid value — your ideal figure depends on goals and overall diet.
• In a large calorie deficit or surplus the same g/kg target can affect lean mass differently, and a very low-calorie diet can push the AMDR share above 35% even though the gram target itself is unchanged.