How Much Protein Do You Need Per Day? (By Goal and Weight)

By Jorge Sanchez · April 20, 2026 · 6 min read

Bottom line: For muscle gain, target 0.7–1.0 g of protein per pound of bodyweight. A 180 lb person building muscle needs 126–180 g of protein per day.

Protein is the most important macronutrient for body composition. Whether you're trying to lose fat, build muscle, or simply maintain, hitting your protein target is the single highest-leverage nutrition habit you can develop.

Protein Recommendations by Goal

Goal	Grams per lb of bodyweight	Grams per kg of bodyweight
Sedentary (minimum health)	0.36 g/lb	0.8 g/kg
General fitness / maintenance	0.54–0.68 g/lb	1.2–1.5 g/kg
Fat loss (preserve muscle)	0.68–0.9 g/lb	1.5–2.0 g/kg
Muscle building	0.7–1.0 g/lb	1.6–2.2 g/kg
Athletes (high training volume)	0.9–1.2 g/lb	2.0–2.6 g/kg

Source: International Society of Sports Nutrition position stand on protein and exercise.

Calculate Your Target: Examples

Fat Loss (160 lb person)

160 × 0.8 = 128 g protein/day (conservative)
160 × 0.9 = 144 g protein/day (aggressive)

Muscle Building (200 lb person)

200 × 0.7 = 140 g protein/day (minimum)
200 × 1.0 = 200 g protein/day (upper end)

Use Lean Body Mass (LBM) if Obese

If you have a high body fat percentage, use your lean body mass instead of total weight to avoid grossly over-calculating protein:

LBM = Total Weight × (1 − Body Fat %)
Example: 250 lbs at 35% body fat → LBM = 250 × 0.65 = 162.5 lbs
Target: 162.5 × 0.8 = 130 g/day

Best High-Protein Foods

Food	Serving	Protein
Chicken breast	4 oz	35g
Greek yogurt (0%)	1 cup	24g
Cottage cheese	1 cup	28g
Eggs	3 large	18g
Tuna (canned)	5 oz can	30g
Ground beef (93% lean)	4 oz	28g
Whey protein powder	1 scoop	25g
Lentils	1 cup cooked	18g

Does Eating More Protein Build More Muscle?

Up to a point — yes. Research consistently shows muscle protein synthesis plateaus around 1.0–1.2 g/lb for most people. Going above that is not harmful, but it doesn't provide additional muscle-building benefit (the extra protein is burned for energy or stored as fat).

The real limiter above adequate protein intake is training stimulus and sleep — not more protein.

Macro Calculator

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Jorge Sanchez · Live Event Production Specialist · CalQpro