How much protein should I eat per meal?

Most research points to 20–40 g of protein per meal as the practical range for stimulating muscle protein synthesis in healthy adults. Lighter individuals aiming to maintain muscle may land closer to 20 g; heavier athletes in a calorie deficit may need 40–50 g per sitting. The calculator uses your body weight and goal to give you a personalised window rather than a one-size-fits-all number.

Does it matter how many meals I spread protein across?

Yes. Studies by Areta et al. (2013) and Moore et al. (2012) show that distributing protein evenly across 4–5 meals maximises 24-hour muscle protein synthesis compared to front-loading or back-loading. The calculator flags when fewer meals push each sitting below the ~30 g MPS threshold and suggests adding a meal or protein shake.

What is the formula behind the calculation?

Daily protein (g) = body weight (kg) times a goal-specific factor (e.g. 1.6–2.2 g/kg for muscle gain). Factors come from the ISSN Position Stand on protein and exercise (Stokes et al. 2018; Kerksick et al. 2017) and the IOC Consensus on Sports Nutrition (Thomas et al. 2016). Per-meal protein = daily total divided by number of meals. Protein contributes 4 kcal per gram (Atwater general factor).

Should plant-based eaters use a higher protein target?

Yes. Plant proteins (except soy and pea) have lower digestibility scores (PDCAAS / DIAAS) and different amino-acid profiles than animal proteins — lysine and methionine are often limiting. The calculator applies a 1.7–2.4 g/kg range for plant-based goals, roughly 10–25% higher than the equivalent omnivore target, consistent with Rogerson (2017) and Van Vliet et al. (2015).

Why do older adults need more protein per kg?

After age 60, anabolic resistance means the same protein stimulus produces a smaller MPS response. Leucine signalling through mTORC1 becomes less sensitive. A daily intake of 1.0–1.5 g/kg (versus the 0.8 g/kg RDA) is recommended by Deutz et al. (2017) and the PROT-AGE study group to preserve muscle mass, prevent sarcopenia and support physical function.

Is more protein always better?

Diminishing returns set in above about 2.2 g/kg for most trained individuals. High protein intakes are generally safe for healthy adults (Antonio et al. 2016), but going significantly above the high-end range rarely produces extra muscle gain and simply adds cost and calories. For fat-loss phases, going as high as 3.1 g/kg (Helms et al. 2014) can protect lean mass, which is why the cut goal has a wider upper bound.

Protein Per Meal Calculator

Getting the right amount of protein at every meal is one of the highest-leverage nutrition decisions you can make — whether you are building muscle, losing body fat, competing in endurance sport, eating entirely plant-based or simply trying to maintain function as you age. Yet most protein advice defaults to a single daily number and ignores how that total is distributed across meals. This calculator fixes both problems: it gives you a daily protein target personalised to your body weight and goal, then divides it by the number of meals you actually eat so every sitting has a concrete gram target.

How it works

The calculation has two steps.

Step 1 — Daily protein target. You choose a goal (muscle gain, fat loss, endurance, plant-based, general health, or older adult). Each goal maps to a peer-reviewed factor in grams of protein per kilogram of body weight:

Goal	Range (g / kg)	Source
General health / maintenance	0.8–1.2	RDA + WHO
Muscle gain (resistance training)	1.6–2.2	ISSN 2017, 2023
Endurance / team sport	1.4–1.7	IOC 2016
Fat loss (calorie deficit)	2.3–3.1	Helms et al. 2014
Older adult (60 +)	1.0–1.5	Deutz et al. 2017
Plant-based diet	1.7–2.4	Rogerson 2017

Daily protein (g) = body weight (kg) × factor (low end to high end).

Step 2 — Per-meal split. Per-meal protein = daily total ÷ number of meals. This assumes an even distribution, which the research supports as optimal for 24-hour muscle protein synthesis (Areta et al. 2013).

The calculator also shows a muscle protein synthesis (MPS) warning when a meal falls below approximately 30 g of protein — the threshold at which leucine-driven mTORC1 signalling is thought to be maximally stimulated (Norton & Layman 2006). At that point it suggests adding a meal or a protein shake.

Worked example

A 75 kg male athlete doing moderate resistance training (goal: muscle gain) eating 4 meals per day:

Factor range: 1.6–2.2 g/kg
Daily protein: 75 × 1.6 = 120 g (low) to 75 × 2.2 = 165 g (high)
Per meal: 120 ÷ 4 = 30 g (low) to 165 ÷ 4 = 41 g (high)
Protein kcal: 120 × 4 = 480 kcal/day to 165 × 4 = 660 kcal/day

A practical meal hitting the 41 g upper target could be: 130 g cooked chicken breast (~40 g protein) with a glass of milk or a side of Greek yoghurt to top up.

If the same athlete cut meals to 3, each sitting would need ~55 g protein at the high end — still achievable but harder to fit into whole-food meals, which is why 4–5 meals is the sweet spot for most natural athletes.

Formula note

Daily protein (g) = body weight in kg × goal-specific factor. Per-meal protein (g) = daily protein ÷ meals per day. Protein energy (kcal) = protein grams × 4 (Atwater general factor system).

The goal factors are derived from: ISSN Position Stand on Protein and Exercise (Stokes et al. 2018; Kerksick et al. 2017), IOC Consensus Statement on Sports Nutrition (Thomas et al. 2016), Helms et al. systematic review on protein during energy restriction (2014), Deutz et al. PROT-AGE recommendations for older adults (2017), and Rogerson review on vegan athletes (2017). The MPS threshold of ~30 g is based on Norton & Layman (2006) and the leucine trigger hypothesis.