Most people looking to build muscle need between 1.4 and 2.0 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight per day, or roughly 0.6 to 0.9 grams per pound. For a 180-pound person, that works out to about 110 to 160 grams daily. A large meta-analysis in the British Journal of Sports Medicine pinpointed the sweet spot more precisely: gains in muscle mass plateau at around 1.6 g/kg per day, and eating more than that doesn’t produce additional growth.
The Numbers by Body Weight
The simplest way to find your target is to multiply your body weight in pounds by 0.7 to 0.9. That gives you a daily gram target that falls within the range supported by the strongest evidence. Here’s what that looks like at common body weights:
- 140 lbs (64 kg): 100–125 g per day
- 160 lbs (73 kg): 115–145 g per day
- 180 lbs (82 kg): 130–160 g per day
- 200 lbs (91 kg): 145–180 g per day
- 220 lbs (100 kg): 160–200 g per day
The International Society of Sports Nutrition recommends 1.4 to 2.0 g/kg/day for exercising individuals, while the American College of Sports Medicine suggests 1.2 to 1.7 g/kg/day. Both ranges converge around the same practical zone. If you’re at or above 1.6 g/kg per day and training consistently, you’re likely covering your bases. The meta-analysis that identified 1.6 g/kg as the plateau point included 723 participants across 42 study groups, with intakes ranging from 0.9 to 2.4 g/kg/day, so the finding is well-supported.
Why Going Higher Doesn’t Help Much
Eating 2.0 or even 2.5 g/kg per day won’t hurt you, but it probably won’t build more muscle either. The research is clear that protein supplementation beyond 1.6 g/kg/day provides no further benefit for muscle mass or strength gains during resistance training. Your body can only use so much protein for muscle repair at a given time, and the excess gets burned for energy or stored.
There is one exception worth noting. Some evidence suggests that very high protein intakes above 3.0 g/kg/day may help resistance-trained individuals lose fat, even if it doesn’t add more muscle. That’s a niche strategy for experienced lifters, not a general recommendation.
How to Spread It Across the Day
Your body builds muscle in short bursts after each protein-rich meal. Once you eat enough protein, muscle-building activity ramps up within about 60 to 90 minutes and returns to baseline by roughly 3 hours. That means one giant protein meal at dinner is less effective than spreading your intake across the day.
The practical target is 20 to 40 grams of high-quality protein per meal, spaced every 3 to 4 hours. For most people, that means three to four protein-rich meals daily. Each meal should contain enough of the amino acid leucine (around 2 to 3 grams) to flip the switch on muscle building. You don’t need to track leucine specifically. If you’re eating 30 or more grams of protein from sources like eggs, chicken, fish, Greek yogurt, or a quality protein powder, you’re hitting that leucine threshold naturally.
A pre-sleep protein serving of 30 to 40 grams, particularly from slower-digesting sources like casein (found in cottage cheese and milk), has been shown to increase overnight muscle protein synthesis and metabolic rate.
Protein Needs During a Cut
When you’re eating in a calorie deficit to lose fat, your protein needs actually go up, not down. Your body is more likely to break down muscle for energy when calories are scarce, and higher protein intake helps protect against that. During a fat-loss phase, aiming for the upper end of the range, closer to 1.6 to 2.0 g/kg/day, gives you the best chance of preserving the muscle you’ve built while dropping body fat.
During a calorie surplus (a bulk), the lower end of the range, around 1.4 to 1.6 g/kg/day, is typically sufficient because the extra calories themselves provide an anabolic signal that supports muscle retention.
Adjustments for Age
Muscle becomes more resistant to the growth signal from protein as you age. Younger adults can trigger muscle building with as little as 20 grams of protein per meal, but adults over 60 generally need 25 to 30 grams per meal, containing at least 2.5 to 2.8 grams of leucine, to get the same response. The PROT-AGE Study Group recommends older adults aim for this higher per-meal threshold at three main meals daily.
For overall daily intake, older adults focused on preserving or building muscle should target at least 1.2 g/kg/day, and those who are actively resistance training may benefit from going higher. Because the per-meal threshold is higher, meal spacing and protein quality become even more important with age.
Plant-Based Protein Works Too
Studies comparing plant-based protein powders to whey protein have found they’re equally effective at promoting muscle growth, as long as the total protein and essential amino acid content are similar. The key is hitting your per-meal protein target regardless of the source. A good protein serving, whether from food or powder, should deliver at least 20 to 30 grams of protein with 1 to 3 grams of leucine.
Whole-food plant proteins like lentils, tofu, and tempeh tend to be lower in leucine gram-for-gram compared to animal proteins, so you may need slightly larger portions or strategic combinations to reach the same threshold. This doesn’t mean you need to eat dramatically more protein overall. It just means paying a bit more attention to variety and portion size at each meal.
Is High Protein Safe for Your Kidneys?
For healthy people, high-protein diets are not known to cause kidney problems. This is one of the most persistent concerns around higher protein intake, and the evidence doesn’t support it for individuals with normal kidney function. If you have existing kidney disease, diabetes, or another chronic condition, protein processing can place additional strain on compromised kidneys, and your intake should be guided by your care team. But for the average person lifting weights and eating 1.6 to 2.0 g/kg of protein daily, kidney health is not a realistic concern.