Protein Intake Calculator

Protein advice usually comes as a percentage of calories, which tells you nothing useful when you are standing in front of the fridge. This calculator gives you a number in grams. Enter your body weight, pick a goal, and it returns a daily target plus a working range. Add your meals per day and it splits the target so you know what each plate needs to carry.

How the number is built

The calculator scales protein to your body weight, then adjusts for what you are training for. Muscle gain and cutting use the highest factor, around 2.0 g per kg, because protein protects lean mass in a deficit and feeds it in a surplus. Endurance sits lower, near 1.4 g per kg, where the job is repair rather than growth. Maintenance lands in the middle at 1.6 g per kg.

A worked example: an 80 kg lifter chasing muscle lands at 160 g per day. The same athlete training for a marathon would target around 112 g. Same body, different demand.

The range matters as much as the number

Each goal shows a band, not a single figure, because your need shifts day to day. A heavy session or a hard long run pushes you toward the top of the range. A rest day sits at the bottom. Treat the headline number as your average and let the range absorb the swing.

Hitting the target is easier when you spread protein across the day rather than loading it at dinner. The per-meal split does that math for you. Aim for a solid dose at each meal so muscle protein synthesis stays topped up instead of spiking once and dropping.

Fit it into the rest of your day

Protein is one slice of the picture. Once you have your grams, set carbs and fat around it with the macro calculator, and check your total energy need with the TDEE calculator so the protein lands inside a calorie budget that matches your goal.

For timing, food sources, and how to keep protein high while cutting, read the full protein for athletes guide.