How much protein to build muscle: daily grams per kg

Setting your daily protein target

The widely used range for people training for muscle gain is 1.6 to 2.2g of protein per kilogram of bodyweight per day (Morton et al., 2018; Jager et al., 2017). The 1.6 figure is where extra protein stopped adding further average benefit in the pooled data, and 2.2 is the cautious upper edge of the uncertainty around that estimate rather than a better dose. The lower end is a reasonable place to start if you are newer to training or eating in a surplus. The higher end is a sensible margin if you are training hard consistently or eating closer to maintenance. Protein only does its job alongside enough energy, so if you are trying to gain, work out a starting calorie figure with the bulking calorie calculator first.

Spreading protein across the day

Hitting your daily total is the first priority, and how you distribute it is a smaller refinement on top of that. Once the total is covered, spreading protein across the day rather than into one large evening serving is the sensible way to do it. Aiming for 3 to 4 meals each containing 25 to 40g of protein is a practical way to hit your daily total while keeping meals reasonably sized.

Why that meal size? The amino acid leucine acts as a signal that switches on muscle building (Phillips, 2016), and about 3g of leucine in one meal appears to be the amount that triggers it (Churchward-Venne et al., 2014). A meal of 20 to 25g of good-quality protein, or about 0.4g per kg of bodyweight, gives 8 to 10g of essential amino acids and at least 3g of leucine. Eating that every 3 to 4 hours works better than one or two very large meals (Jeukendrup and Gleeson, 2019). Whey led a direct comparison with casein and soy after training (Tang et al., 2009), but a mixed protein blend worked as well when its leucine was matched (Reidy et al., 2013).

Seeing it laid out helps: an example day of meals built around these targets shows how the protein lands across breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Everyday foods that make hitting your target easy

You do not need specialist products to hit a solid protein target. A mix of animal and plant sources across the week covers your needs and keeps meals varied and affordable.

Do you need protein shakes?

Protein shakes are a convenient way to close a gap in your day, particularly if you struggle to fit in enough meals or find certain foods inconvenient. They are not required, though, and whole food sources work just as well when the total daily amount is similar.

• Useful after training if a proper meal is a few hours away
• Useful when travelling or short on time
• Not necessary if your meals already reach your target

What happens if you eat more than 2.2g/kg

Eating well above 2.2g per kilogram will not harm most healthy people, but it typically does not speed up muscle building either, once the top of the range is already covered. Extra protein is generally used for energy or stored rather than building additional muscle beyond what your training stimulates.

Your daily target in grams

This guide explains where the target comes from and how to hit it from food. For a daily figure from your own bodyweight and a rough amount per meal, open the protein calculator on its standalone page. For chart-based examples, read protein per day by bodyweight.

Real meals make the target easy rather than a maths problem. A jar of protein overnight oats takes the breakfast slot, and a batch of high protein tuna pasta salad sorts two lunches before the week starts.

Busier mornings are covered too: high protein banana oat pancakes cook in minutes, and a Greek yoghurt breakfast bowl needs no cooking at all.

Any time of day, scrambled eggs on toast or cottage cheese on toast puts a meaningful dent in the daily total.