Ask five people how much protein you need and you will get five different answers — usually ranging from "a bit more than you're probably eating" to some eye-watering number that would require you to eat chicken breast at every meal for the rest of your life. The reality sits somewhere far more manageable, and it has been fairly well established for a while now.
The evidence-backed range
For people who train with the aim of building or preserving muscle, the research broadly points to a daily protein intake of around 1.6 to 2.2 grams per kilogram of bodyweight. Below that range, you are likely leaving muscle-building potential on the table. Above it, the extra protein does not convert to extra muscle — your body simply uses it for energy instead.
To put that in practical terms: if you weigh 75kg, you are looking at roughly 120–165g of protein a day. At 90kg, that becomes around 145–200g. Neither of those numbers is extreme, and both are achievable through ordinary meals without obsessing over every gram.
The lower end of the range — around 1.6g per kg — is sufficient for most people training in a calorie surplus. The higher end becomes more relevant when you are dieting, training very hard, or are older. More on both of those shortly.
Why more protein does not equal more muscle
It is tempting to think that if some protein is good, twice as much must be better. It is not. Muscle protein synthesis — the process by which your body builds new muscle tissue — has a ceiling. Once you are eating enough to keep that process well-supported, additional protein simply gets oxidised for energy, the same as any other macronutrient.
This matters because chasing very high protein targets (3g+ per kg is not uncommon on bodybuilding forums) is expensive, often makes eating feel like a chore, and crowds out the carbohydrates and fats your body needs for performance and general health. Hitting the 1.6–2.2g range well and consistently beats sporadically hitting an extreme target you cannot sustain.
Spreading protein across the day
Total daily protein matters most, but how you distribute it has a meaningful effect too. Your body can only use so much protein at once to stimulate muscle building — estimates vary, but somewhere in the region of 20–40g per meal seems to be where most of the stimulus comes from, with diminishing returns beyond that.
In practice, the simplest approach is to anchor each main meal around a clear protein source and aim for three to five eating occasions throughout the day. A typical split for someone eating 160g of protein a day might look like:
- Breakfast: 35–40g (eggs, Greek yogurt, cottage cheese)
- Lunch: 40–45g (chicken, tuna, beef, tofu)
- Dinner: 45–50g (fish, mince, salmon)
- Snack or post-training: 20–30g (shake, Greek yogurt, protein bar)
You do not need to time protein to the minute around your workouts. Getting enough total protein across the day consistently is far more important than hitting a precise post-workout window.
Good protein sources
You do not need exotic or expensive foods to hit your target. The table below gives a rough guide to how much protein you can expect from a typical serving of common sources. These are approximate figures — exact values vary by cut, cooking method and brand.
| Food | Typical serving | Approx. protein |
|---|---|---|
| Chicken breast (cooked) | 150g | ~45g |
| Salmon fillet | 150g | ~30g |
| Beef mince (5% fat, cooked) | 150g | ~38g |
| Tinned tuna (in water) | 1 tin (145g drained) | ~34g |
| Eggs | 3 large | ~19g |
| Greek yogurt (full fat) | 200g | ~18g |
| Cottage cheese | 200g | ~24g |
| Tofu (firm) | 150g | ~18g |
| Cooked lentils | 200g | ~18g |
| Edamame (shelled) | 150g | ~22g |
| Whey protein shake | 1 scoop (~30g powder) | ~22–25g |
- Aim for 1.6–2.2g of protein per kg of bodyweight per day.
- Spread it across three to five meals, each built around a clear protein source.
- Lean towards the higher end if you are in a calorie deficit.
- Shakes are a convenient tool, not a necessity.
Protein when dieting — why the number goes up
When you are eating in a calorie deficit to lose fat, your body is under more pressure to use muscle tissue for energy. Eating at the higher end of the protein range — closer to 2.0–2.2g per kg — gives your body a strong signal to hold on to muscle while it draws down fat stores.
Higher protein intakes also tend to make dieting more manageable in a practical sense. Protein is the most satiating macronutrient, meaning it keeps you fuller for longer per calorie than carbohydrate or fat. That alone makes hitting a calorie deficit considerably easier without constantly feeling hungry.
Plant-based protein: getting it right
Eating predominantly or entirely plant-based does not make hitting your protein target impossible — it does make it slightly more work. Most plant proteins are what is called "incomplete," meaning they lack one or more of the essential amino acids your body cannot make itself. The fix is straightforward: eat a varied diet across the day (legumes, grains, tofu, tempeh, edamame, seitan) and the amino acid gaps tend to fill themselves in.
Plant-based eaters may also find it useful to aim slightly towards the higher end of the protein range, since the digestibility of some plant proteins is a little lower than animal sources. A vegan protein powder — usually pea and rice combined — is an easy way to supplement if whole foods alone are falling short.
Do you need protein shakes?
No. Protein shakes are a supplement in the truest sense of the word: they supplement a diet that is already broadly right. Whole food sources are nutritionally richer — they come with vitamins, minerals and other compounds a powder does not provide. If you can hit your daily protein target through meals alone, there is no particular reason to add a shake.
Where shakes are genuinely useful is for convenience. If your mornings are rushed, your lunch is small and you are consistently under your target by evening, a shake in the afternoon can close the gap without adding a whole extra meal. They are a practical tool — just not an essential one.
If you do use them, whey protein (derived from dairy) tends to be well-studied and widely available. For plant-based options, look for a blend of pea and rice protein rather than a single source, as this gives a better amino acid profile.
Putting it all together
Getting your protein right is genuinely one of the highest-impact changes you can make if you are training seriously. But it does not require military-grade tracking or a fridge full of chicken. Most people get there simply by:
- Deliberately building each meal around a protein source rather than adding one as an afterthought.
- Keeping a rough mental tally of where they are across the day.
- Using a shake or a high-protein snack on days when food intake has been lower than usual.
Do that consistently — not perfectly, just most of the time — and your protein intake will look after itself. If you want help dialling in your nutrition alongside a training plan that actually suits your life, that is exactly what online nutrition coaching is built around.