Protein Intake Chart: Daily Protein by Body Weight and Goal – From 50 to 120 kg

The question I hear most often in conversations about nutrition isn't "which powder?" but "how much, actually?". The answer is a simple multiplication – once you know which guide value to use. That is exactly what the calculator below does: it takes your body weight, your goal and the number of your meals and shows you the daily amount, the amount per meal and what that means on your plate.

Want to compare it with what you actually eat? The protein calculator also shows whether anything is missing from your diet at all.

Important up front: the calculator gives guide values for healthy adults, not a therapeutic recommendation. How the numbers come about is laid out further down – so you can check them instead of simply believing me. If you want the background in more depth, read How much protein do you really need?.

Calculator

Your daily protein requirement

Body weight80 kg

If you carry a lot of excess weight, calculate with your goal weight instead.

Your goal

Stay healthy, little trainingEndurance sport (running, cycling)Strength training, muscle gainFat loss with strength training

I am 65 or older

Protein meals per day

23456

Daily target

144g

1.8 g per kg body weight · Range 128–176 g

0260 g

per meal

≈ 35 g

0,4 g/kg

≈ 30 g

With 4 meals that is about 35 g per meal. Muscle-building guide per meal: about 30 g (0.4 g per kg).

What that looks like in food

Low-fat quark1,200 g

Chicken breast, raw630 g

Egg (medium)21 each

Lentils, cooked1,600 g

Plain tofu1,110 g

Examples with rounded average values – in practice you combine different sources.

With kidney disease, during pregnancy or on a medically prescribed diet, follow your doctor's advice. The calculation runs only in your browser; nothing is stored or sent.

How the calculator works

The formula is deliberately simple: body weight in kg × guide value in g per kg = protein per day. The guide value depends on your goal:

Why does the calculator show 1.8 g for muscle gain rather than 1.6 g? Because 1.62 g is an average. Some people benefit from a little more; the researchers name 2.2 g as a sensible upper limit for anyone who wants to be on the safe side. A target slightly above the average leaves room for days when one meal turns out leaner.

Protein requirement table by body weight

If you don't want to calculate, read your value straight off. The ranges correspond to the guide values in the table above; the amount per meal is rounded to 5 g.

• No training (0.8 g/kg)64 g
• Endurance sport (1.2–1.6 g/kg)96–128 g
• Muscle gain (1.6–2.2 g/kg)128–176 g
• Diet with strength training (1.8–2.4 g/kg)144–192 g

›以表格顯示資料

類別	g protein per day
No training (0.8 g/kg)	64 g
Endurance sport (1.2–1.6 g/kg)	96–128 g
Muscle gain (1.6–2.2 g/kg)	128–176 g
Diet with strength training (1.8–2.4 g/kg)	144–192 g

Protein per meal: why distribution matters

The daily amount matters most. Still, it is worth looking at individual meals. Schoenfeld and Aragon summarised the evidence in 2018 like this: if you want to build muscle, about 0.4 g of protein per kg of body weight per meal over at least four meals gets you to at least 1.6 g per day. If you want to go up to 2.2 g, you end up at about 0.55 g per kg per meal.

The calculator therefore shows two values side by side: what lands on each plate for your number of meals – and the guide value of 0.4 g per kg. If the first is clearly above the second, that is no problem: the body absorbs larger portions completely too, it just takes longer. It is, however, a hint that an extra protein meal can make things easier.

Three steps to your daily amount

1. 01Enter your weightYour current weight – with significant excess weight, your goal weight.
2. 02Choose your goalHealth, endurance, muscle gain or diet with strength training; tick the box from age 65.
3. 03Spread over mealsDivide the daily amount over three to five meals, each with a real protein source.

Special cases where you calculate differently

Significant excess weight. Fat tissue needs practically no protein. Someone who weighs 120 kg and is aiming for 85 kg calculates with 85 kg – otherwise the result is neither necessary nor practical.

From age 65. The DGE estimates the needs of older people at 1.0 g per kg. More makes sense for older people who train, because muscles respond more weakly to the protein stimulus with age. With the box ticked, the calculator therefore uses at least 1.0 g and shows a range up to at least 1.2 g.

Vegan diet. Plant protein is on average somewhat lower in leucine and less digestible. If you eat exclusively plant-based, plan about ten per cent more. Which sources complement each other is covered in Vegan protein powder.

Pregnancy, breastfeeding, illness. Separate reference values apply here. With kidney disease, your doctor determines the amount of protein – not an online calculator.

From the number to the plate

Numbers are one thing, the shopping is another. The food examples in the calculator show how much of one source you would need to cover the entire daily amount – that is deliberately exaggerated and is meant to give a feel for the scale. In everyday life you combine:

• Breakfast: 250 g low-fat quark with oats – about 35 g of protein.
• Lunch: 150 g chicken or tofu with rice and vegetables – 20–35 g.
• Snack: two eggs or a shake – 14–25 g.
• Dinner: a lentil bolognese or fish with potatoes – 25–35 g.

Protein powder isn't mandatory, but a tool for days when a meal falls through. Which powder suits whom is compared in Which protein powder is right for you?. If you also want to keep an eye on your calories, Calculate your calorie needs helps.

Common calculation mistakes

Counting the food weight instead of the protein. 100 g of chicken is not 100 g of protein but about 23 g. A serving of protein powder with 30 g of powder provides about 20–25 g of protein depending on the product.

Forgetting the milk. If you have quark in the morning and a shake made with milk in the evening, count the milk protein too – that quickly adds up to 8–10 g.

Eating a lot only on training days. Muscles also build on rest days. The daily amount applies every day.

Conclusion

Calculating your protein needs takes ten seconds – the real work is getting that amount onto your plate every day. Take the value from the calculator as a guide, spread it over several meals and check after two or three weeks whether you realistically reach it. If you consistently land at the lower limit and still train well, you're doing nothing wrong: 1.6 g per kg is enough for most people.

Sources: DGE: New reference values for protein (press release 2017, German) · DGE: FAQ on protein (2021, German) · Morton et al.: Protein supplementation and resistance training – meta-analysis, British Journal of Sports Medicine (2018) · Schoenfeld & Aragon: How much protein can the body use in a single meal?, JISSN (2018) · Jäger et al.: ISSN Position Stand – Protein and Exercise (2017) · Thomas, Erdman & Burke: Nutrition and Athletic Performance, Joint Position Statement (2016)