PeptideStack
5.2kquestions
20kanswers
220users

How much protein in grams do I need at 112 kg on 800 kcal a day?

Asked 9 Jan 2025Modified 16 months agoViewed 18k times
23

What I have: 112 kg · 800 kcal.

I can do the algebra. I am not confident about the conversion factors.

If there is a standard way to lay this out, I would rather learn that than invent one.

Can someone show the working rather than just the answer?

protein-intake
protein-intake

Protein targets in grams per kilogram, per-meal distribution and the leucine threshold, and the evidence for a higher intake specifically during…

60 questions
nutrition
nutrition

Eating on a suppressed appetite: hitting nutritional targets inside a small energy budget, micronutrient risk, meal structure, and what the trial…

100 questions
lean-mass
lean-mass

Lean body mass as measured rather than assumed: what DEXA, BIA and air-displacement plethysmography each actually estimate, the body-composition…

127 questions
shareeditfollowflag
KM
askedkofi_mensah18k279 Jan 2025
6Voting to keep this open — it is more specific than it first looks. – Dr_Colm_Fitzhenry 7 months ago
add a comment

5 Answers

Sorted by votes
73

179 to 246 g a day. The range the resistance-training literature supports is 1.6 to 2.2 g per kilogram, which at 112 kg is 179–246 g. At 4 kcal per gram that is 717–986 kcal, or 90–123 per cent of a 800 intake — which is why protein has to be planned first at this energy level rather than fitted in afterwards. Split it across three or four servings; roughly 0.4 g/kg per meal saturates the synthetic response and the surplus in one large serving does not carry over.

Answer first: aim for 1.6 to 2.2 grams per kilogram of reference body weight per day, distributed across three or four servings, and treat it as the first constraint on the day rather than the last.

Use reference or adjusted body weight rather than total weight where adiposity is substantial: a common approach is ideal body weight plus a quarter of the excess, which avoids targets that no one could eat.

High protein intakes do not damage healthy kidneys in the published evidence; existing kidney disease is a genuine exception and is a clinical question.

Meta-analytic estimates place the plateau of the dose-response for lean-mass retention with resistance training around 1.6 g/kg, with a confidence interval extending to about 2.2.

Targets are population estimates; individual requirements vary and there is no cheap way to measure yours.

1.6 to 2.2 g/kg of reference weight, split three or four ways. That is the answer.

shareimprove this answerflag
DA
answeredDr_Yusuf_Adeyemi54k1478 Feb 2025
Sponsored

Sigma-Aldrich - Certified Reference Materials

Analytical standards and reagents with traceable certificates. Every quantitative result you read inherits the accuracy of the standard behind it.

Shop standards
39

Stated carefully, the relevant physiology is the per-meal saturation of the synthetic response, which is why one large serving does not substitute for three moderate ones.

The leucine threshold for triggering the response is around two and a half to three grams per meal. Thirty grams of most animal protein reaches it; thirty grams of many plant proteins does not, which is why plant-based targets run higher.

A practical construction: 30 to 40 grams at each of three meals plus a 20 to 30 gram snack covers most targets without any protein powder at all.

Systematic reviews of high-protein intake in people with normal renal function have not found evidence of harm to kidney function.

Per-meal saturation is real. One enormous serving does not do the job of three.

shareimprove this answerflag
RP
answeredrhian_prydderch23k272 Mar 2025
3Same experience here, different supplier. – assay_blank 6 months ago
add a comment
32

The short version: total daily protein first, per-meal distribution second, timing a distant third.

Appetite suppression makes protein-rich foods harder to eat because they are satiating. Liquid protein and leaner, less voluminous sources are the usual practical workaround.

Hydration requirements rise modestly with protein intake because urea excretion increases, which is a real effect and a small one.

Stable-isotope feeding studies establish the per-meal saturation of muscle protein synthesis at around 0.4 g/kg in young adults and higher in older ones.

Plan protein first in the day; with suppressed appetite it will not happen otherwise.

shareimprove this answerflag
M4
answeredmz_4113101k35819 Feb 2025
23

Answering this needs to know whether appetite is suppressed, because in this class the practical problem is achieving intake rather than choosing a target.

Older adults need more per meal to overcome anabolic resistance, with 1.2 to 1.5 g/kg daily commonly quoted for maintenance and more in a deficit.

Leucine threshold effects are documented across protein sources and explain the difference in per-serving requirements between animal and plant proteins.

Research-use compounds are not approved for human use, and no supplement substitutes for total intake.

Plant-based patterns need a higher total and more attention per serving.

shareimprove this answerflag
DH
answeredDr_Wren_Halliday19k3724 Mar 2025
2Any published number for how long the counter-regulatory response persists? – h_pergande 9 months ago
add a comment
-2

Plant-based patterns need somewhat higher totals and more attention to leucine content per serving to produce an equivalent response.

Per meal, roughly 0.4 grams per kilogram saturates the synthetic response in most adults, which is about 30 to 40 grams for a typical person. Beyond that the surplus is oxidised or used for other purposes rather than adding to synthesis.

The caveat is that anyone with chronic kidney disease has a genuinely different protein calculation and needs it done by a clinician.

Healthy kidneys tolerate this fine. Diseased ones are a clinical question.

shareimprove this answerflag
SL
answeredsian_llewellyn65k14728 Jan 2025
3Thank you — this is the answer I was looking for. – Dr_Malik_Osei 8 months ago
2Is the twenty-five per cent figure from surgical cohorts or from dietary ones? – h_pergande 7 months ago
add a comment

Your answer

Ask PeptideStack is a static archive. Posting is closed, but the norms are worth stating: answer the question that was asked, show your working, cite the trial or the certificate, and say plainly where the evidence runs out.

Not medical advice. Research-use-only compounds are not approved for human use.