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Protein Calculator
How much protein a day your body weight and your goal point to — and why the figure goes up, not down, when you are losing weight.
Aim for about
101g/day
1.2 g per kg of body weight
Maintaining · 1.2 g/kg
The lower end of the active-adult range. It is well above the RDA, which is a deficiency floor rather than a target, and enough to hold the muscle you already have.
These are figures for healthy adults. Kidney disease, liver disease and pregnancy all change protein requirements, and a clinician should set the number instead of a calculator.
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Nothing you entered above follows this link.
Not medical advice. This tool is for general information and does not diagnose any condition or replace a clinician. Everything you enter stays in your browser — Koves does not store it, receive it, or carry it into a visit.
What the range is
There are two different numbers in circulation and they answer two different questions. The RDA of 0.8 g per kg is the intake that prevents deficiency in a sedentary adult. The 1.2 to 2.0 g per kg range in the sports-nutrition position stands is the intake associated with holding or building lean mass.
This calculator uses the second range, because almost nobody arrives at a protein calculator asking how to avoid a deficiency.
- 0.8 g/kg
- RDAAvoids deficiency in sedentary adults. A floor, not a target.
- 1.2 g/kg
- MaintainingActive adult, weight stable
- 1.6 g/kg
- Losing weightProtects lean mass in a deficit
- 2.0 g/kg
- Building muscleTop of the supported range
For scale: a large egg is about 6 g, 100 g of cooked chicken breast about 31 g, a cup of Greek yoghurt about 20 g, a cup of cooked lentils about 18 g.
Why it goes up when you are losing weight
Weight lost is never purely fat. In an energy deficit the body draws on lean tissue too, and how much depends heavily on two things: how much protein you eat and whether you are loading your muscles.
That is why the target here rises rather than falls in a deficit. The evidence is consistent across trials: higher protein plus resistance training preserves more lean mass at the same rate of weight loss.
This matters particularly on a GLP-1, where appetite falls sharply and total intake can drop faster than anyone plans. Protein and resistance training are the standard advice alongside treatment for exactly this reason.
- Spread it across the day rather than loading one meal — 25 to 40 g a sitting is the usual practical advice.
- Whole foods first; a shake is a convenience, not a category of nutrition.
- Resistance training two or three times a week does more for lean mass than any further increase in protein.
What the number does not mean
More is not linearly better. Above roughly 2.0 g per kg the measured benefit flattens out — the position stands describe intakes above that as unnecessary rather than dangerous for healthy adults, and the limiting factor becomes training.
- It is calculated from total body weight, not lean mass, so at a high body fat percentage it over-shoots; some clinicians use goal weight instead.
- High protein intake does not damage healthy kidneys — but in existing kidney disease protein is restricted, and that figure comes from a clinician, not a calculator.
- It says nothing about the rest of the diet. A protein target hit inside a poor diet is still a poor diet.
- Protein quality and leucine content differ between sources, which matters most at the lower end of intake.
How it is calculated
One multiplication: grams a day = body weight in kilograms × the factor for your goal — 1.2 maintaining, 1.6 losing, 2.0 building.
An 84 kg adult losing weight: 84 × 1.6 = about 134 g a day. Imperial entries are converted to kilograms before the multiplication, not after.
How this is worked out
- Jäger R, Kerksick CM, Campbell BI, et al. International Society of Sports Nutrition Position Stand: protein and exercise. J Int Soc Sports Nutr. 2017;14:20 — 1.4–2.0 g/kg/day for active individuals.
- Thomas DT, Erdman KA, Burke LM. American College of Sports Medicine joint position statement: Nutrition and Athletic Performance. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2016;48(3):543–568 — 1.2–2.0 g/kg/day.
- Institute of Medicine. Dietary Reference Intakes for Energy, Carbohydrate, Fiber, Fat, Fatty Acids, Cholesterol, Protein, and Amino Acids (2005) — RDA 0.8 g/kg/day for adults.
What Koves offers
Common questions
How much protein do I need to build muscle?
The position stands support up to about 2.0 g per kg of body weight a day for people training to add muscle. Above that the evidence for further benefit is weak; the training stimulus becomes the limiting factor rather than the protein.
Is 1.6 g/kg too much protein?
Not for a healthy adult. It sits inside the 1.2–2.0 g/kg range both the ISSN and the ACSM joint position statement describe for active people, and it is the figure most commonly associated with preserving lean mass during weight loss.
Does high protein hurt your kidneys?
In people with healthy kidneys, higher protein intakes within these ranges have not been shown to cause damage. In existing kidney disease protein is deliberately restricted — if you have any kidney condition, the number should come from your clinician.
Should I use my current weight or my goal weight?
This tool uses the weight you enter. At a high body fat percentage, calculating from total weight over-shoots what the lean tissue actually needs, so some clinicians work from goal weight or lean mass instead — either is defensible, and the difference matters less than consistently hitting whichever you choose.
Do you keep what I enter?
No. The calculation runs in your browser and the values are never sent to Koves or anyone else. They are not stored, and they do not follow you if you open the weight loss page from here.
References
- Jäger R, Kerksick CM, Campbell BI, et al. International Society of Sports Nutrition Position Stand: protein and exercise. J Int Soc Sports Nutr. 2017;14:20.
- Thomas DT, Erdman KA, Burke LM. American College of Sports Medicine joint position statement: Nutrition and Athletic Performance. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2016;48(3):543–568.
- Institute of Medicine. Dietary Reference Intakes for Energy, Carbohydrate, Fiber, Fat, Fatty Acids, Cholesterol, Protein, and Amino Acids. Washington, DC: National Academies Press; 2005.
- Cava E, Yeat NC, Mittendorfer B. Preserving healthy muscle during weight loss. Adv Nutr. 2017;8(3):511–519.
Losing weight is easy to do badly. Protein is most of the difference.
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