How Much Protein Do You Actually Need?

Published on: November 3, 2026 Nutrition & fat loss

If you train and want to lose fat or keep the muscle you have, a sensible target is roughly 1.6 to 2.2 grams of protein per kilogram of bodyweight per day. For most busy adults that means a decent portion of protein at every meal, not a cupboard full of supplements. The exact number matters less than hitting a good amount consistently.

The short version

Aim for roughly 1.6–2.2 g of protein per kg of bodyweight a day if you strength train and want to keep or build muscle.
If you have a lot of weight to lose, base it on your goal weight rather than your current weight.
Split it across three or four meals; around a palm or two of protein per meal works for most people.
Real food first. A protein shake is a convenience, not a requirement.
Protein helps you feel full, which makes a calorie deficit much easier to live with.
Use the free calorie and protein calculator to get your own starting number.

Why protein matters so much for fat loss

When you eat in a calorie deficit, your body looks for energy wherever it can find it, and that can include muscle. Eating enough protein, combined with regular strength training, sends a clear signal: keep the muscle, use the fat. That is the difference between ending a fat loss phase looking stronger and more toned, or just smaller and tired.

Protein also does two practical jobs that matter on a Tuesday afternoon. It keeps you full for longer than most carbohydrates or fats, and your body uses a bit more energy digesting it. Neither of those is magic, but together they make sticking to your calories feel less like a fight.

A lot of the people I coach are surprised to find they were eating plenty of food but not much protein. Toast for breakfast, a sandwich at lunch, pasta for tea. None of that is bad food. It just leaves protein to chance.

Working out your own number

Here is the simplest way to do it. Take your bodyweight in kilograms and multiply it by somewhere between 1.6 and 2.2.

At 60 kg, that is roughly 96–132 g a day.
At 80 kg, roughly 128–176 g a day.
At 100 kg, roughly 160–220 g a day.

If you are carrying a lot of extra weight, those numbers can look huge. In that case, use your goal weight, or a weight somewhere sensible in between, instead. A 110 kg person aiming for 85 kg does not need 240 g of protein a day; starting nearer 140–150 g is realistic and still very effective.

Start at the lower end if you currently eat very little protein. Jumping from 50 g to 170 g overnight is a recipe for giving up by Thursday. Build up over a couple of weeks.

Not sure where to start? Use the free calorie and protein calculator to get a personal target in under a minute. Nothing is stored.

What that looks like on a plate

Numbers are useful, but nobody wants to eat a spreadsheet. A simpler guide is to get a solid portion of protein at each meal, roughly 25–40 g, and add a protein-rich snack if you need to make up the gap.

Rough examples of where protein comes from:

A palm-sized cooked chicken breast: around 30 g.
Two eggs: around 12–13 g.
A 150 g pot of high-protein Greek-style yoghurt: around 15 g.
A tin of tuna, drained: around 25 g.
A portion of cooked lentils or beans: less than meat, but still worth having, especially with other sources.

A day for someone aiming at about 130 g might look like this:

Breakfast: Greek yoghurt with berries and a handful of oats, plus two boiled eggs on the side.
Lunch: a big wrap or salad with chicken or tuna.
Snack: a glass of milk or a protein yoghurt.
Tea: salmon, mince, tofu or a lean steak with potatoes and veg.

If breakfast is your weak spot, I have put together 10 quick high-protein breakfasts that take less time than queuing for a coffee.

Vegetarian and plant-based protein

You can absolutely hit your target without meat. It just takes a little more planning, because plant sources often come with more carbohydrate attached. Useful options include eggs and dairy if you eat them, tofu, tempeh, edamame, lentils, chickpeas, beans, Quorn and soya-based yoghurts. Mixing sources across the day works well.

How I coach this at The Edge

I do not hand people a protein number and wish them luck. When someone starts with me, whether that is 1:1 coaching or the 12 Week Programme, we look at what they already eat in a normal week and find the easiest places to add protein. Often it is one change at a time: sort breakfast first, then lunch, then snacks.

Clients log food in the app, and the tracking does not require weighing lettuce. We care about protein and overall calories, and we stop there. Each week at check-in, we look at whether protein is landing most days. If it is not, we fix the one meal that keeps letting it down rather than overhauling everything. Small, sequenced changes stick. Big overhauls usually do not.

Common mistakes

Treating protein as a supplement problem rather than a food problem.
Saving all your protein for the evening meal and having very little before then.
Setting a target so high it feels impossible, then abandoning it.
Assuming "high-protein" snack bars are low in calories. Read the label.
Forgetting that a sandwich with a thin slice of ham is mostly bread.
Increasing protein but never strength training, which leaves half the benefit on the table.

FAQ

Is too much protein bad for your kidneys?

For healthy adults, intakes in the range I have described are widely considered safe. If you have kidney disease or any other medical condition, or you are on medication, speak to your GP before making big changes to your diet. That applies to protein and to any change in how you eat, and it is always worth checking rather than guessing.

Do I need protein shakes?

No. Shakes are simply a convenient way to get protein when real food is awkward, such as after an early session or on a busy workday. If you like them and they help you hit your number, great. If you would rather eat, that works just as well. They are a tool, not a requirement, and not a sign you are taking training seriously.

Should I eat protein straight after training?

Your total for the day matters far more than the exact timing. Having a protein-rich meal within a few hours either side of a session is a sensible habit, but there is no need to panic if you cannot eat within thirty minutes. Focus on hitting your daily target most days and spreading it across meals.

I am a woman. Do I need less protein?

The per-kilogram range is the same for men and women who train. Because women are often lighter, the total in grams may be lower, but the principle does not change. Many women I work with, especially over 40, are under-eating protein, and bringing it up makes a noticeable difference to energy, recovery and appetite.

Next step

If you want help turning a protein target into meals that suit your week, book a free consultation at Energize in Harrogate. It is thirty minutes, no obligation, and we will look at what you actually eat. In the meantime, get your starting numbers from the calculator, and read how protein fits into eating in a calorie deficit without feeling starving.