Calculating your daily protein is straightforward once you know the Protein Intake formula and what each input means. This guide explains the method in plain language, walks through a manual calculation, and gives worked examples you can follow — then you can do it instantly with the Protein Intake Calculator.
What is Protein Intake?
The Protein Intake calculation tells you your daily protein from a few simple inputs. The figure you are solving for here is the daily protein.
The Protein Intake formula
The core formula is:
Daily protein = Body weight × Protein per kgHere is what each input means:
- Body weight — a value measured in kg. Example: 70 kg.
- Protein per kg — one of: Sedentary (0.8 g/kg), Active / general fitness (1.2 g/kg), Building muscle (1.6 g/kg), Athlete / cutting (2.0 g/kg). Example: Building muscle (1.6 g/kg).
How to calculate it step by step
- Write down the body weight (for example, 70 kg).
- Choose the protein per kg (for example, Building muscle (1.6 g/kg)).
- Apply the formula above to get your daily protein.
- Double-check the result with the Protein Intake Calculator.
Worked examples
Example 1
| Input / Output | Value |
|---|---|
| Body weight | 70 kg |
| Protein per kg | Building muscle (1.6 g/kg) |
| Daily protein | 112 |
| Per meal (3 meals) | 37 |
With body weight of 70 kg and protein per kg of Building muscle (1.6 g/kg), the daily protein works out to 112.
Example 2
With body weight of 140 kg and protein per kg of Building muscle (1.6 g/kg), the daily protein works out to 224.
| Result | Value |
|---|---|
| Daily protein | 224 |
| Per meal (3 meals) | 75 |
Example 3
With body weight of 35 kg and protein per kg of Building muscle (1.6 g/kg), the daily protein works out to 56.
| Result | Value |
|---|---|
| Daily protein | 56 |
| Per meal (3 meals) | 19 |
Tips for an accurate result
- Keep your units consistent — mixing, say, months with years or grams with kilograms is the most common source of error.
- Round only at the very end. Rounding inputs early can shift the final answer noticeably.
- Re-run the numbers whenever an input changes, rather than estimating from an old result.
- These figures are general estimates, not medical advice — check with a qualified professional before acting on them.
Prefer not to do the maths by hand? — the Protein Intake Calculator does it instantly, for free, with the formula and a worked example built in.
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