Protein calculator
Enter your weight to see the grams of protein in the recommended daily allowance of 0.8 grams for each kilogram, and in the 1.4 to 2.0 grams that a sports nutrition society calls enough for most people who train. Add your calories to see 10 to 35 percent of them in grams.
This answer is for the example values in the boxes above. 150 lb, 2,000 calories a day. Change the boxes to see your own answer.
These are figures from the sources, not advice for you. The society that gives the training range says that the allowance is not an appropriate amount for a training athlete.
The same society says that people in kidney failure benefit from a diet with limited protein, so they should follow the advice of their own doctor.
How it works
The calculator turns your weight into kilograms and multiplies it by a number of grams for each kilogram. It does so for the allowance of 0.8 grams and for the range of 1.4 to 2.0 grams that the 2017 position stand of the International Society of Sports Nutrition finds sufficient for most exercising people.
If you add your calories, it also gives the grams of protein that make 10 percent and 35 percent of them, at 4 calories for each gram.
A worked example
A person who weighs 150 pounds weighs 68.04 kilograms. The allowance of 0.8 grams for each kilogram is 54 grams a day, and the range for training is 95 to 136 grams. On 2,000 calories a day, 10 to 35 percent is 50 to 175 grams.
Where the figures come from
The allowance of 0.8 grams for each kilogram is the recommended daily allowance that the position stand quotes, and the stand says that it is not an appropriate amount for a training athlete. The range of 1.4 to 2.0 grams is its finding for building and keeping muscle in most people who exercise. It says that the range lies within the Acceptable Macronutrient Distribution Range that the Institute of Medicine published for protein. The share of 10 to 35 percent of the calories is from MedlinePlus.
What it leaves out
The figures are those of the sources and are not advice for you. They do not take into account your health, your age or what you eat. The position stand says that people in kidney failure benefit from limited protein, so a person with kidney disease should follow the advice of their own doctor. Anyone should talk to a doctor or a dietitian before changing how they eat.
Sources
- Jäger et al., International Society of Sports Nutrition Position Stand: protein and exercise (Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, 2017), read on 2026-11-02.
- MedlinePlus, Protein in diet, of the National Library of Medicine, read on 2026-11-02.
- NIST Special Publication 811, Appendix B.8: factors for units listed alphabetically, read on 2026-11-01.
Questions
How much protein do I need a day?
The recommended daily allowance is 0.8 grams for each kilogram of body weight, which is 54 grams for a person of 150 pounds. The International Society of Sports Nutrition says that this is not an appropriate amount for a training athlete. It finds 1.4 to 2.0 grams for each kilogram sufficient for most exercising people, which is 95 to 136 grams at 150 pounds.
How much protein is 10 to 35 percent of my calories?
A gram of protein supplies 4 calories, so 2,000 calories at 10 percent is 50 grams and at 35 percent is 175 grams. MedlinePlus gives 10 to 35 percent of the calories as the daily recommended intake for healthy adults.
How much protein do I need to build muscle?
The position stand finds 1.4 to 2.0 grams for each kilogram sufficient for building and keeping muscle in most people who train. It adds that 2.3 to 3.1 grams may be needed to keep lean mass in resistance-trained people while they eat fewer calories.
Is a high protein diet bad for the kidneys?
The position stand says that people in kidney failure benefit from a diet with limited protein, and that carrying this over to healthy people who train and are not clinically compromised is not appropriate. Anyone with kidney disease should follow the advice of their own doctor.
Do I enter my weight in pounds or kilograms?
Either. The figures are grams for each kilogram of body weight, so the calculator turns pounds into kilograms with the exact factor of 0.45359237.
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