How much protein do you need to build muscle?

What the research says

A large 2018 meta-analysis pooled 49 studies of people lifting weights. Gains in muscle stopped improving at about 1.6 g per kg a day, with the upper end of the estimate at about 2.2 g. That's why most coaches land somewhere in that range, and why "1 g per pound" (about 2.2 g per kg) is a safe rule of thumb rather than a minimum.

The International Society of Sports Nutrition puts the range for people who train at 1.4 to 2.0 g per kg a day.

When you're cutting

Protein matters more in a deficit, because it helps you keep the muscle you've built. In lean lifters dieting down, the research points to about 2.3 to 3.1 g per kg of lean body mass, toward the top end the leaner you are and the harder the diet.

How to spread it

There's no strict limit on what you can use from one meal. A practical target is about 0.4 g per kg per meal, over at least four meals: for an 80 kg lifter, roughly 30 to 35 g each time. One small study found muscle building over 24 hours was about 25% higher when protein was spread evenly instead of loaded into dinner.

Getting there with food you want

Hitting 160 g a day is easier when each meal brings 40 g or more. A smash burger has 40 g, air-fryer fried chicken 48 g, and a chicken parm sub 56 g. See all meals with 50 g or more.

Work out your own number with the calorie and protein calculator. It uses the same rules as the Macromaxxing app.