How Much Protein Do You Actually Need in a Day?

Protein is the one macro almost everyone agrees on. Trying to lose fat? You want more of it. Building muscle? Same. Just trying to feel full until lunch instead of raiding the biscuit tin at 11am? Protein again.

But “eat more protein” is frustratingly vague. More than what? The advice online swings wildly — from a modest government minimum to influencers telling you to inhale 200g a day. The truth sits somewhere in the middle, and it depends mostly on your body weight and what you’re trying to do.

The baseline vs. the useful amount

The official minimum is lower than you’d think. The UK reference nutrient intake is roughly 0.75g of protein per kilogram of body weight per day, which for a 70kg adult is about 52g. That’s the amount estimated to meet the needs of most healthy people and prevent deficiency.

Here’s the catch: “not deficient” is a low bar. That number was set to cover basic requirements, not to optimise muscle building, recovery from training, or fullness on a diet. For most of those goals, research generally points to somewhat higher intakes.

A more practical range for active people, drawn from sports nutrition and weight-loss research, looks roughly like this:

• Sedentary, general health: around 0.8–1.0g per kg
• Active or trying to lose fat: around 1.2–1.6g per kg
• Building muscle / lifting regularly: around 1.6–2.2g per kg
• Older adults (protecting muscle): many experts suggest aiming toward the higher end, roughly 1.0–1.2g per kg or more

These are general guides, not precise prescriptions — individual needs vary. So our 70kg example person cutting weight might target somewhere around 85–110g a day. Someone the same weight training hard for muscle might aim for roughly 115–150g. A meaningful difference from that 52g minimum.

A simple starting point: take your body weight in kilograms and eat somewhere between 1.2 and 2.0 grams of protein per kg. Round to something you’ll actually remember. For a lot of people that lands near 100–140g a day.

Why more protein helps when you’re losing weight

If fat loss is the goal, protein tends to do two things that make the whole process easier.

First, it’s generally the most filling of the three macros. Higher-protein meals tend to blunt appetite, so many people naturally eat less later without white-knuckling it. Second, when you’re in a calorie deficit your body can break down muscle alongside fat. Eating enough protein — and ideally doing some resistance training — helps signal your body to hold on to more lean tissue and lose relatively more fat instead.

There’s also a small metabolic bonus: your body uses slightly more energy digesting protein than carbs or fat (the “thermic effect of food”). It won’t transform your results, but it doesn’t hurt.

How to actually hit your target

Numbers are easy. Getting the protein onto your plate is where people fall down. A few things that make it painless:

1. Anchor every meal with a protein source. Eggs, Greek yoghurt, chicken, fish, tofu, beans, lentils. If you build the plate around the protein first, the rest tends to sort itself out.
2. Fix breakfast. This is where a lot of people fall short. Toast and jam is only a few grams of protein. Two eggs plus a pot of Greek yoghurt is closer to 25–30g. Sorting breakfast alone often adds a good chunk to your day.
3. Keep easy wins on hand. A tub of cottage cheese, tinned tuna, edamame, milk, or a scoop of whey. Boring, cheap, effective.
4. Spread it across the day. Aiming for roughly 20–40g per meal, rather than a tiny breakfast and a giant dinner, may help your body use protein a little more efficiently — though total daily intake matters most.

Roughly what things contain

(Values are approximate and vary by product and preparation.)

• Chicken breast (150g cooked): ~45g
• Two large eggs: ~12–13g
• Greek yoghurt (150g pot): ~13–15g
• Tin of tuna (drained): ~20–25g
• Lentils (200g cooked): ~15–18g
• Scoop of whey protein: ~20–25g

You don’t need to memorise these. This is exactly where tracking for a week or two can pay off — many people are surprised how low their protein sits until they see it counted. After a fortnight you’ll likely know your usual meals well enough to stop logging if you want.

Can you eat too much?

For healthy people, higher-protein diets are generally considered safe across a wide range of intakes. The common worry about protein “damaging your kidneys” mainly concerns people who already have kidney disease, rather than the general healthy population. That said, more isn’t automatically better — beyond roughly 2.2g per kg there appears to be little extra benefit for muscle, and those calories might be better spent elsewhere. Very high intakes over long periods haven’t been studied as thoroughly, so moderation still makes sense.

A few sensible notes: if you have existing kidney problems, are pregnant, or have any medical condition, check your protein target with a GP or dietitian first. This article is general information, not personalised medical advice.

The bottom line

The 52g figure is a minimum to prevent deficiency, not a target for most people who exercise. If you want to lose fat, build muscle, or simply feel full and protect your muscle as you age, somewhere around 1.2 to 2.0g per kilogram of body weight is a reasonable range to aim for.

Pick a number in that range, build each meal around a protein source, and consider tracking it for a week to see where you really stand. That one habit tends to do more for satiety and body composition than almost anything else you can change.