Protein Intake Calculator
How much protein you need a day and per meal, from the IOM, ICMR-NIN, ISSN and PROT-AGE.
What each guideline gives you
| Situation and source | Rule | For you |
|---|
What that looks like in food
| Food | Protein per portion | For one meal |
|---|
Values from USDA FoodData Central (FDC ID shown). Cooked weights are for the food as cooked; mixing several foods in a meal adds up.
For general information only, not medical advice. Consult a qualified health professional for advice about your situation.
About the Protein Intake Calculator
How much protein you need depends mostly on how much you weigh and what you are doing: the RDA of 0.8 g per kg of body weight a day is set to meet the needs of nearly all healthy adults, while guidelines for people who train regularly, adults over 65 and pregnant or breastfeeding women give more.
This calculator turns the main published guidelines — the US/Canadian IOM dietary reference intakes, ICMR-NIN for India, the ISSN position stand for exercise and PROT-AGE for older people — into grams a day and grams a meal for you, shows what every guideline would give, and translates the target into everyday foods using USDA FoodData Central values. If you have kidney disease, it does not give a number: your kidney team has to set it.
How to use it
- Enter your body weight (kg or lb) and age. Use your current weight unless a dietitian has given you a reference weight.
- Pick your activity, and pregnancy or breastfeeding if that applies. Tick the boxes for a long-term or acute illness or for chronic kidney disease.
- Choose how many meals and protein snacks you eat a day.
- Read your daily range, the per-meal amount and the table of what each guideline gives. Below it, see how much of common foods supplies one meal’s share — filter for vegetarian, vegetarian with eggs, or vegan.
Examples
At least 56 g a day (IOM RDA 0.8 g/kg) · 58 g on the ICMR-NIN 0.83 g/kg · 14 g a meal over 4 meals
98–140 g a day (ISSN 1.4–2.0 g/kg) · 25–35 g a meal over 4 meals
72–86 g a day (PROT-AGE 1.0–1.2 g/kg); at least 86 g if active
At least 72 g a day: ICMR-NIN 0.83 g/kg + 22 g = 71.8 g (the IOM 1.1 g/kg gives 66 g)
The guidelines used
- Adults (IOM, 2005): RDA 0.8 g/kg/day. It is set to meet the needs of nearly all healthy adults — a minimum to stay well supplied, not a target for building muscle.
- Indian adults (ICMR-NIN, 2020): RDA 0.83 g/kg/day (average requirement 0.66 g/kg), based on high-quality protein; 1 g/kg/day if your diet is mostly cereals with lower-quality protein. ICMR-NIN suggests a cereal : pulse : milk ratio of about 3 : 1 : 2.5 to improve protein quality.
- People who exercise (ISSN, 2017): 1.4–2.0 g/kg/day is sufficient for most exercising people to build and maintain muscle; 2.3–3.1 g/kg/day may be needed to keep lean mass when resistance-trained people are in a calorie deficit.
- Over 65 (PROT-AGE, 2013): at least 1.0–1.2 g/kg/day; 1.2 g/kg or more for those who exercise or are otherwise active; 1.2–1.5 g/kg/day for most older adults with an acute or chronic disease.
- Pregnancy: the IOM RDA is 1.1 g/kg/day (as summarised by Elango & Ball, 2016); ICMR-NIN adds 9.5 g/day in the second and 22 g/day in the third trimester to the adult RDA. The calculator uses whichever is higher.
- Breastfeeding (ICMR-NIN): +16.9 g/day for a baby of 0–6 months and +13.2 g/day at 6–12 months. The US food-label reference for pregnant and breastfeeding women is 71 g a day (21 CFR 101.9).
Per meal
The ISSN suggests about 0.25 g of high-quality protein per kg of body weight per meal, or 20–40 g, ideally spread evenly every 3–4 hours. For 70 kg that is about 18 g a meal. The calculator divides your daily range by the number of meals you choose and reminds you when, as an exerciser, each meal falls under 20 g.
Kidney disease and other medical conditions
With chronic kidney disease the right protein intake depends on the stage and treatment — the KDOQI 2020 nutrition guideline covers people not on dialysis, on dialysis and with a kidney transplant — and can be lower or higher than the amounts here. PROT-AGE makes an explicit exception for older people with severe kidney disease (eGFR below 30) who are not on dialysis: they may need to limit protein. So if you tick chronic kidney disease, no target is shown: follow the amount set by your kidney doctor or renal dietitian. The same goes for liver disease, inherited metabolic disorders and anyone on a prescribed diet.
Protein in food
The food table uses per-100 g values from USDA FoodData Central (public domain), shown with their FDC ID: for example 12.6 g in a raw whole egg (about 6.3 g in a 50 g large egg), 31 g in roasted chicken breast, 15.9 g in paneer, 9 g in boiled lentils and 8.6 g in a cooked dal. Real foods vary by recipe and brand, and a meal of several foods adds up — the table shows each food alone. ICMR-NIN’s RDA assumes good-quality protein; for diets that are mostly cereals it gives 1 g/kg instead. For any food’s full nutrient profile, use the nutrition facts lookup.
Sources
- Institute of Medicine. Dietary Reference Intakes for Energy, Carbohydrate, Fiber, Fat, Fatty Acids, Cholesterol, Protein, and Amino Acids
- Elango R, Ball RO. Protein and amino acid requirements during pregnancy. Adv Nutr 7:839S-44S
- ICMR-NIN. Nutrient Requirements for Indians 2020 — brief note, Table 2a
- Jäger R et al. ISSN position stand: protein and exercise. J Int Soc Sports Nutr 14:20; and Campbell B et al., the 2007 ISSN position stand, J Int Soc Sports Nutr 4:8
- Bauer J et al. Evidence-based recommendations for optimal dietary protein intake in older people (PROT-AGE). J Am Med Dir Assoc 14:542-59
- Ikizler TA et al. KDOQI clinical practice guideline for nutrition in CKD: 2020 update. Am J Kidney Dis 76(3 Suppl 1):S1-S107
- 21 CFR 101.9(c)(8)(iv) — reference daily intake of protein for pregnant and lactating women
- U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central — SR Legacy (2018), Foundation Foods (2026) and FNDDS 2021–2023
Limitations
- For adults aged 18 and over; children and teenagers need age-specific amounts.
- Pregnancy and breastfeeding options are offered up to age 60, and they replace the sports ranges.
- g/kg targets use the weight you enter; the guidelines do not say how to adjust them for very high body fat, so ask a dietitian if that applies to you.
- Food values are averages from USDA FoodData Central and vary with recipe, variety and brand.
Privacy
Everything happens in your browser. What you enter or open here is not uploaded or stored by MySmartCoPilot.
Frequently asked questions
How much protein do I need a day?
At least 0.8 g per kg of body weight if you are a healthy adult who is not very active (about 56 g for 70 kg); 0.83 g/kg on the Indian ICMR-NIN guideline. For regular exercisers the ISSN suggests 1.4–2.0 g/kg, and PROT-AGE at least 1.0–1.2 g/kg for people over 65.
How much protein do I need to build muscle?
The ISSN position stand says 1.4–2.0 g per kg a day is sufficient for most exercising people, spread over meals of about 0.25 g/kg (20–40 g) every 3–4 hours. Resistance training itself is what drives muscle growth; protein supports it.
Is a high-protein diet bad for the kidneys?
The ISSN’s 2007 position stand concluded that 1.4–2.0 g/kg a day, as part of a balanced diet, is not detrimental to kidney function or bone metabolism in healthy, active people. People who already have chronic kidney disease are different: their protein must be set by their kidney team, so the calculator gives no number when you tick that box.
How much protein should I eat when pregnant?
The IOM RDA in pregnancy is 1.1 g per kg a day. ICMR-NIN adds 9.5 g a day in the second trimester and 22 g a day in the third to the adult RDA of 0.83 g/kg. The calculator shows both and uses the higher. Your doctor or midwife may advise differently.
Can vegetarians get enough protein?
Yes, with planning. Dal, chickpeas, rajma, soybeans, tofu, paneer, curd and milk all contribute; choose Vegetarian or Vegan in the food table to see amounts. ICMR-NIN suggests 1 g/kg if your diet is mostly cereals, and combining cereals with pulses and milk to improve protein quality.
Should I use my current weight or my goal weight?
The guidelines are written per kg of body weight, so the calculator uses the weight you enter. If you have a lot of body fat, a dietitian may give you a lower reference weight to use instead — enter that.