- Enter your weight. Protein recommendations are based on body weight. If you carry significant excess fat, use your lean body mass or target weight instead of total weight to avoid overestimating needs.
- Select your activity level and goal. Requirements range from 0.8 g/kg (sedentary maintenance) to 2.2 g/kg (aggressive muscle building or cutting). The more muscle stress you put on your body, the more protein you need for repair and growth.
- Read the daily gram target. Distribute protein across 3-5 meals throughout the day. Most research supports 20-40g per meal as the practical range for maximizing muscle protein synthesis per feeding.
Example: a 180-lb (82 kg) active person aiming to build muscle needs 82 × 1.8 = 148g of protein daily. That is about 4 meals of 37g each, or 3 meals with a protein shake.