How much protein should a beginner eat in a day?

The short answer

For most beginners, 1.2 to 1.6 g of protein per kilogram of body weight a day is a sensible range, and about 1.6 g/kg is the useful target once you start strength training. For a 70 kg adult that is roughly 85 to 110 g a day. In pounds, it is about 0.54 to 0.73 g per pound of body weight.

The official minimum, the Recommended Dietary Allowance, is 0.8 g/kg — 56 g at 70 kg. It was set to prevent deficiency in almost everyone, not to support training, and the 2025–2030 US Dietary Guidelines now suggest 1.2 to 1.6 g/kg for adults. At the other end, the gym rule of "1 g per pound" is 2.2 g/kg: the top of the range the research supports, not where a beginner needs to start.

Work out your number

Enter your weight, pick the goal closest to yours, and the calculator gives a daily target, a range and a figure for each meal. It uses the same rates as the rest of this article and rounds to the nearest 5 g, because a target more precise than that is false precision.

If you have a lot of weight to lose, enter a realistic goal weight rather than your current one. Protein needs follow muscle, not body fat, and multiplying a high body weight by 1.6 gives a figure that is higher than useful and hard to eat.

Daily protein by body weight

If you would rather read it off a table, here are the same rates at common body weights, rounded to the nearest 5 g.

Body weight	Minimum (0.8 g/kg)	General health (1.2–1.6 g/kg)	Building muscle (1.6 g/kg)
50 kg (110 lb)	40 g	60–80 g	80 g
60 kg (132 lb)	50 g	70–95 g	95 g
70 kg (154 lb)	55 g	85–110 g	110 g
80 kg (176 lb)	65 g	95–130 g	130 g
90 kg (198 lb)	70 g	110–145 g	145 g
100 kg (220 lb)	80 g	120–160 g	160 g

Where the numbers come from

0.8 g/kg: the minimum

The Recommended Dietary Allowance of 0.8 g/kg comes from the US National Academies’ 2005 reference intakes. It is the amount that meets the needs of nearly all healthy adults — enough to prevent deficiency. It says nothing about what supports muscle growth, and it was never meant to.

1.2 to 1.6 g/kg: the new US guidelines

The 2025–2030 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, released in January 2026, set a goal of 1.2 to 1.6 g/kg a day for adults — 50 to 100 per cent above the RDA. Not everyone agrees with the change. Nutrition researchers at Harvard point out that many Americans already eat more than enough protein, and that the guidelines do not say which sources to favour: a steak and a bowl of lentils carry very different amounts of saturated fat and fibre along with their protein. Both points are worth keeping in mind. The range is reasonable; where the protein comes from still matters.

About 1.6 g/kg: what muscle-building research found

The most useful single study for anyone starting strength training is a 2018 meta-analysis by Morton and colleagues: 49 randomised trials and 1,863 people doing resistance training for at least six weeks. Adding protein increased gains in strength and muscle, and above a total intake of about 1.6 g/kg a day, muscle gains stopped increasing on average. The uncertainty around that figure ran up to about 2.2 g/kg, which is why the calculator’s range for building muscle goes that high.

The International Society of Sports Nutrition reached a similar conclusion in its 2017 position stand: 1.4 to 2.0 g/kg a day is sufficient for most people who exercise and want to build or keep muscle.

Do beginners need as much as experienced lifters?

Not quite — and it is one of the more reassuring findings for anyone starting out. In the Morton analysis, extra protein made a bigger difference in people who were already resistance-trained than in beginners. When you first start lifting, the training itself drives most of your early progress.

That does not make protein irrelevant: it is the raw material your body builds with, and too little will hold you back. It means a beginner who lands between 1.2 and 1.6 g/kg most days, and trains consistently, is doing what matters. Missing the target by 20 g on a Tuesday will not undo a week of training.

If you are trying to lose fat

Protein earns its keep when you eat less. A 2015 review in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that higher-protein diets during weight loss led to more fat lost and more lean mass kept, along with a modest boost in fullness. Its authors suggested 1.2 to 1.6 g/kg a day, with about 25 to 30 g at each meal.

If you are lifting while eating less, more can help. In one small trial, young men on a steep calorie deficit with six days a week of hard training gained 1.2 kg of lean mass on 2.4 g/kg a day, against almost none on 1.2 g/kg, and lost more fat. That was an extreme programme over four weeks, not a beginner’s plan, but it is why the calculator’s range for fat loss runs up to 2.2 g/kg.

The goal-weight rule matters most here. Base the figure on the weight you are working towards, not the one you are starting from.

How to spread protein across the day

The idea that the body can only use about 30 g of protein at a time is a myth: larger servings are partly burned for energy, but not wasted outright. Muscle building does respond to protein arriving several times a day. A 2018 review by Schoenfeld and Aragon suggested about 0.4 g/kg per meal across at least four meals to reach 1.6 g/kg; at 70 kg, that is about 28 g a meal. The International Society of Sports Nutrition puts it as 20 to 40 g a serving, every three to four hours.

Timing around your workout matters less than it is often made out to. A 2013 meta-analysis found that once total daily protein was accounted for, eating it immediately before or after training made no significant difference to strength or muscle. Total protein was the strongest predictor of results. Eat a meal with protein somewhere either side of a session, and do not rush to a shake.

What 110 g of protein looks like

Here is how much protein is in common foods, from the USDA’s FoodData Central database. Values are for the cooked or ready-to-eat food, and brands vary, so check labels for anything packaged.

Food	Portion	Protein
Chicken breast, roasted	100 g	31 g
Eggs, large	2 eggs	13 g
Greek yogurt, plain, fat-free	170 g pot	16 g
Cottage cheese, 2% fat	113 g (½ cup)	12 g
Milk, 2% fat	244 g (1 cup)	8 g
Lentils, boiled	198 g (1 cup)	18 g
Chickpeas, boiled	164 g (1 cup)	15 g
Peanut butter	32 g (2 tbsp)	7 g
Whey protein powder	1 scoop	20–24 g, by label

A day built from those foods for a 70 kg beginner might be: a pot of Greek yogurt and two eggs at breakfast (29 g); a cup of lentils with a glass of milk at lunch (26 g); 100 g of chicken at dinner (31 g); and cottage cheese with peanut butter on toast as a snack (19 g). That is about 105 g before counting the protein in the bread, oats, rice and vegetables that go with it, which takes it past 110 g. Tofu is a good plant option too, but its protein varies a lot between soft and firm varieties, so go by the label.

Plant-based beginners

You can reach these targets without meat. A 2018 meta-analysis of nine trials found that people who supplemented with soy protein during resistance training gained as much strength and lean mass as those using whey or other animal proteins. Plant foods tend to carry less protein per portion and more fibre, so it takes a little more planning: combine beans, lentils, soy foods, grains and nuts across the day, and lean on the higher-protein options such as tofu, tempeh and soy milk.

Do you need protein powder?

No. The International Society of Sports Nutrition notes that active people can meet their protein needs from whole foods, and describes supplements as a practical convenience. A shake is useful when food leaves a gap — a busy lunch, a vegetarian day that came up short. It does nothing that the same amount of protein from food would not.

If you do buy one, compare products by the cost per 100 g of protein rather than the price of the tub, and read the protein per scoop on the flavour you actually buy. Our whey protein guide covers what the evidence supports, and the Optimum Nutrition vs Myprotein comparison lines two of the biggest brands up side by side.

Is too much protein harmful?

For people with healthy kidneys, the evidence is reassuring. A 2018 meta-analysis of 28 trials, with 1,358 adults, found that higher-protein diets — at least 1.5 g/kg a day, or 100 g or more — did not harm kidney function compared with normal or lower intakes. There is no official upper limit for protein; the US reference intakes suggest getting 10 to 35 per cent of your calories from it, which leaves plenty of room.

Kidney disease is the important exception. The kidney nutrition guideline from the US National Kidney Foundation recommends that many people with moderate to advanced chronic kidney disease who are not on dialysis restrict protein, under medical supervision. If you have kidney disease, do not use this calculator — ask your kidney team for your figure.

The other consideration is the rest of the plate. Protein arrives with whatever else is in the food, and diets built on plant proteins and fish are associated with better long-term health than diets high in red meat.

Who should get a personal figure

• Kidney or liver disease. Protein targets are part of treatment and can differ sharply from these ranges, in either direction.
• Pregnancy and breastfeeding. Needs rise — the US reference intakes set higher allowances for both — so ask your midwife, doctor or a dietitian.
• Under 18. Growing teenagers have their own reference intakes; these adult ranges do not apply.
• Adults over 65. An expert group on protein in older age recommends at least 1.0 to 1.2 g/kg a day, and 1.2 g/kg or more for those who are active; the calculator raises its floor accordingly.
• A history of disordered eating. Chasing a number can do more harm than good; a dietitian can help set one safely.

For everyone else, pick a target in the right range, spread it over your meals, and put your energy into training consistently. If you are just starting, our 8-week beginner plans for men and women cover the training side.