Protein first

What you need to do

Know your number: 0.7 to 1.0 grams of protein for every pound of your ideal body weight, every day. Split it across three or four meals, 25 to 45 grams each. At each meal, put the protein on the plate first and eat it first.

• Not sure of your number? Find it in ten seconds.
• Breakfast is where almost everyone falls short. Fix breakfast and the day usually fixes itself.
• Food first. A shake is a convenience for the days life gets in the way, not a rule.
• If you are on a GLP-1 medicine, losing weight, or rebuilding after surgery, aim for the top of your range. If you are not lifting yet, start at the bottom and work up.

Challenges that build this

What the research says

The standard recommendation of 0.8 grams per kilogram was set to prevent deficiency in the general population, not to keep muscle on a body past forty [4]. When adults who lift were pooled across 49 trials, extra protein added muscle and strength, and the benefit levelled off near 1.6 grams per kilogram [1]. Position papers for older adults land in the same place: 1.0 to 1.2 as a floor, more with illness or training [3] [5]. Measured directly in women over 65, the requirement came out near 1.3 grams per kilogram [6].

Converted to pounds, that range is 0.7 to 1.0 grams per pound of ideal body weight [52]. We use ideal body weight, not current weight, because protein feeds lean tissue, not fat; it is the same basis bariatric guidelines use [54].

Older muscle needs a bigger dose at each meal to switch on, about 0.4 grams per kilogram, which is why we set a floor of 25 grams per meal [7]. Spreading protein evenly raised 24-hour muscle building about 25% compared with piling it into dinner [8], and 40 grams after a workout built more than 20 [9]. Breakfast is where the shortfall lives [11].

Protein is also the most filling of the three nutrients. When people ate freely on a 30% protein diet, they cut 441 calories a day without trying [42] [43].

Sources on this page

4. Phillips 2016, Appl Physiol Nutr Metab. The 0.8 g/kg RDA is a floor to prevent deficiency. For health and muscle, 1.2 to 1.6 g/kg is the better target.
1. Morton 2018, Br J Sports Med. 49 trials, 1,863 adults who lift. Extra protein added muscle and strength, and the gain levelled off at about 1.6 g per kg of body weight a day (the confidence interval ran to 2.2). The benefit was smaller with age.
3. Bauer 2013, PROT-AGE, JAMDA. For adults 65 and over: 1.0 to 1.2 g/kg a day when healthy, 1.2 to 1.5 with illness, 25 to 30 g of protein at each meal, and exercise alongside it.
5. Jäger 2017, ISSN position stand, JISSN. For people who exercise: 1.4 to 2.0 g/kg a day, 0.4 g/kg per meal, spread over three to four meals.
6. Rafii 2015, J Nutr. In women over 65 measured directly, the requirement came out near 1.3 g/kg, well above the 0.8 RDA.
52. Ideal body weight equations, 2023 review. The four bedside formulas for ideal body weight. Hamwi (100 lb at 5 ft plus 5 lb an inch for women, 106 plus 6 for men) is the one that needs no calculator, and the one this site uses.
54. Mechanick 2019, bariatric guideline, Obesity. Bariatric guidelines set protein per kilogram of ideal body weight (up to 1.5 g/kg IBW, individualised to 2.1). The precedent for using ideal rather than actual weight in people carrying extra fat.
7. Moore 2015, J Gerontol A. Older adults need about 0.40 g/kg of protein at a meal to fully switch on muscle building, versus 0.24 in the young. That is the reason for a 25 to 40 g floor per meal.
8. Mamerow 2014, J Nutr. Spreading 90 g of protein evenly across three meals raised 24-hour muscle protein synthesis about 25% compared with loading it into dinner.
9. Macnaughton 2016, Physiol Rep. After a full-body lifting session, 40 g of protein built more muscle than 20 g. The idea that the body cannot use more than 30 g at a sitting is a myth.
11. Berner 2013, J Acad Nutr Diet. Older Americans eat small protein breakfasts and pile more than half the day's protein into one meal. Breakfast is where the shortfall lives.
42. Weigle 2005, Am J Clin Nutr. Raising protein from 15% to 30% of calories, with people eating as much as they liked, cut intake by 441 calories a day and lost 4.9 kg in 12 weeks.
43. Halton and Hu 2004, J Am Coll Nutr. Protein is the most filling of the three macronutrients and costs the most energy to digest, though the calorie effect is small; fullness is the bigger lever.
41. KDIGO 2024 CKD guideline. With chronic kidney disease, protein is set at about 0.8 g/kg and intakes above 1.3 g/kg are avoided. Anyone with kidney disease gets a number from their own doctor, not from a calculator.
39. Devries 2018, J Nutr. 28 trials, 1,358 healthy adults. Higher protein did not harm kidney function. People with existing kidney disease are a different question.
40. Shams-White 2017, Am J Clin Nutr. Higher protein does not hurt bone. It showed a modest benefit at the spine. The old 'protein leaches calcium' story is not supported.