Protein Calculator: free daily protein calculator.
Enter your weight and your goal. Get grams of protein per day and per meal, and how to space them.
Protein a day
Every day
84 to 140g
1.2 to 2.0 g per kg. The position stand says to follow your training, not a fixed number for strength or endurance athletes.
ACSM 2016ISSN 2017Each meal
About 28g
4 meals or snacks, every 3 to 4 hours. The research range is 20 to 40 g a dose.
ISSN 2017Areta 2013After a session over 60 minutes, 20 to 40 g of protein with your carbs helps recovery. ISSN 2017ACSM 2016
In the study behind the spacing, four doses of 20 g over 12 hours drove more muscle protein building than two of 40 g or eight of 10 g. Areta 2013
Hand it to your AI
Your AI can check these numbers against your training and adjust them. The prompt has your results filled in.
See the prompt
I weigh 70 kg and my goal is: maintain. A protein calculator based on the ACSM 2016 and ISSN 2017 position stands gave me 1.2 to 2.0 g per kg a day: 84 to 140 g, as about 4 doses of 28 g every 3 to 4 hours. Look at my training this week and set my protein for each day, with meals and snacks I like that get me there, and what to eat after my key sessions.
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How it works
How the Protein Calculator works.
Athletes need more protein than people who don't train. The ACSM position stand gives 1.2 to 2.0 g per kilogram of body weight a day, and says your needs follow your training, not a label. There is no separate number for strength or endurance athletes, so building muscle uses the same range.
Losing weight changes it. In an energy deficit the research says 2.0 g per kilogram or more helps you keep muscle. The paper gives no upper limit. The 2.4 g top shown here is the bound Memory.fit's engine works within, and the page says so rather than pass it off as the paper's.
How you spread it matters too. The ISSN position stand says 20 to 40 g a dose, every 3 to 4 hours. In one study, four doses of 20 g over 12 hours drove more muscle protein building than two doses of 40 g or eight of 10 g. After a whole body strength session, 40 g gave a bigger response than 20 g.
The formula
- protein a day = 1.2 to 2.0 g × body weight (kg); in a deficit 2.0 to 2.4 g × body weight (kg)
- each meal = the middle of the daily range ÷ 4 meals (5 when 4 would pass 40 g), every 3 to 4 hours
The science
Where the numbers come from.
These are the same rules Memory.fit's engine uses when your AI asks it for a number, read from one registry of cited sources.
Thomas DT, Erdman KA, Burke LM. American College of Sports Medicine Joint Position Statement. Nutrition and Athletic Performance (2016). Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise 48(3):543-568.
Position stand · 2016 · doi:10.1249/MSS.0000000000000852
Jäger R, Kerksick CM, Campbell BI, et al. International Society of Sports Nutrition Position Stand: Protein and Exercise (2017). Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition 14:20.
Position stand · 2017 · doi:10.1186/s12970-017-0177-8
Areta JL, Burke LM, Ross ML, et al. Timing and distribution of protein ingestion during prolonged recovery from resistance exercise alters myofibrillar protein synthesis (2013). Journal of Physiology 591(9):2319-2331.
Randomized trial · 2013 · doi:10.1113/jphysiol.2012.244897
Macnaughton LS, Wardle SL, Witard OC, et al. The response of muscle protein synthesis following whole-body resistance exercise is greater following 40 g than 20 g of ingested whey protein (2016). Physiological Reports 4(15):e12893.
Randomized trial · 2016 · doi:10.14814/phy2.12893
Kerksick CM, Arent S, Schoenfeld BJ, et al. International Society of Sports Nutrition Position Stand: Nutrient Timing (2017). Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition 14:33.
Position stand · 2017 · doi:10.1186/s12970-017-0189-4
Example
A worked example.
A 70 kg triathlete in a normal training block.
- 11.2 to 2.0 g per kg × 70 kg = 84 to 140 g of protein a day.
- 2The middle, 112 g, over four meals or snacks every 3 to 4 hours: about 28 g each, inside the 20 to 40 g range.
- 3Losing weight before the season? 2.0 to 2.4 g per kg is 140 to 168 g a day, or four meals of about 39 g.
Questions
Protein Calculator: questions.
The ACSM position stand gives 1.2 to 2.0 g per kilogram of body weight a day. For a 70 kg athlete that is 84 to 140 g. Your needs follow your training, so your AI can move you within the range.
In an energy deficit the research says 2.0 g per kilogram a day or more, spread across the day, to help keep muscle. The paper gives no upper limit; this calculator shows 2.0 to 2.4 g, the range Memory.fit's engine works within.
The research looks at muscle building, and its range is 20 to 40 g a dose. Above 40 g hasn't been shown to build more, though the ISSN position stand allows bigger doses for the largest athletes and during weight loss.
Not a different daily range. The ACSM position stand says not to sort athletes into strength and endurance buckets, so it is 1.2 to 2.0 g per kg either way. After a whole body strength session, about 40 g gave a bigger response than 20 g.
After a session over an hour, 20 to 40 g of protein with your carbs supports recovery. Total protein over the day matters more than an exact window, so keep the rest of the day spread every 3 to 4 hours.
Not medical advice. These numbers come from published research on groups of athletes. Your own needs can differ; talk to a doctor or a sports dietitian about any health condition.