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How your daily protein splits across meals, and whether each meal reaches a common per-meal guide.
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Short answer: Divide your daily protein by your meals; about 0.4 g per kg of bodyweight per meal, over at least four meals, is a common guide, though your daily total matters most.
The upright line marks the 32 g per-meal guide (0.4 g per kg of bodyweight). Each meal reaches it at this split.
About 0.4 g of protein per kg of bodyweight per meal, across at least four meals, is a common guide (Schoenfeld & Aragon, 2018), with up to 0.55 g/kg per meal for higher daily targets. Your total for the day matters more than the exact split. Your body figures stay on this device so the Hub's other calculators can fill them in for you, and are never sent anywhere.
A common guide is about 0.4 g of protein per kg of bodyweight per meal, over at least four meals, with 0.55 g/kg as the upper end of the same range (Schoenfeld and Aragon, 2018). At 80 kg that is about 32 to 44 g a meal. Reaching your daily total matters more than hitting an exact split; if you need a daily figure, start with the muscle gain protein calculator.
The amino acid leucine acts as a signal that switches on muscle building after a meal (Phillips, 2016). About 3 g of leucine in one meal appears to be the amount that triggers it (Churchward-Venne et al., 2014). A meal of 20 to 25 g of good-quality protein, or about 0.4 g/kg, gives 8 to 10 g of essential amino acids and at least 3 g of leucine, eaten every 3 to 4 hours (Jeukendrup and Gleeson, 2019).
Your gut absorbs almost all the protein you eat, even in a large meal; it just takes longer. The 0.4 g/kg figure is a practical guide for spreading protein out, not a limit on absorption.
No. Protein above the per-meal guide is still digested and used by the body. Fewer, larger protein meals can still support muscle growth when your daily total is enough; spreading it out is simply a sensible default.
Roughly: 25 g whey protein isolate, 37 g soy protein isolate, 300 g Greek yoghurt, 170 g chicken breast or lean beef, 105 g cheese, 4 large eggs, 900 ml skimmed milk, 525 g kidney beans or 600 g tofu (Jeukendrup and Gleeson, 2019, Table 8.5).
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Divide the daily protein you enter by your chosen number of meals. The calculator also compares each equal portion with the existing 0.4 g/kg per-meal guide discussed by Schoenfeld and Aragon (2018). It also shows the 0.55 g/kg upper end of the same paper's range. If you choose 50 or over, a note explains that older adults needed about 0.40 g/kg in one meal against 0.24 g/kg in younger adults (Moore et al., 2015, Journals of Gerontology Series A, doi: 10.1093/gerona/glu103), so 0.4 g/kg is treated as a minimum. That comparison is a practical guide, not a biological pass/fail test or a limit on absorption.
At 80 kg, 160 g of daily protein split over 4 meals gives 40 g per meal. The bodyweight-based comparison is 32 g per meal. Each equal portion exceeds that guide; the calculation does not establish an ideal meal schedule.
Your daily total matters more than an exact split. Meals do not have to contain identical amounts, and the calculator does not assess protein quality, the rest of your diet or an individual response to a meal.
No. It is a practical distribution guide, not a maximum amount your body can absorb from a meal.
No. Equal portions make the arithmetic easy. Your real meals can differ while still adding up to your daily total.
No. You enter the daily total. Use the Muscle gain protein calculator if you need a starting daily range.
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20 everyday foods ranked by protein per 100 calories, from UK government food data, with daily and per-meal targets.
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Educational information for adults aged 18 and over. It does not diagnose, treat or manage any medical condition. If you have a health condition, or symptoms that worry you, speak to your doctor or a health professional.