What I have: 68 kg · 1,000 kcal.
This should be a straightforward calculation and I keep getting two different answers.
The numbers are arbitrary; the method is what I am after.
Can someone walk through the arithmetic step by step?
109 to 150 g a day. The range the resistance-training literature supports is 1.6 to 2.2 g per kilogram, which at 68 kg is 109–150 g. At 4 kcal per gram that is 435–598 kcal, or 44–60 per cent of a 1,000 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.
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.
On the detail: hydration requirements rise modestly with protein intake because urea excretion increases, which is a real effect and a small one.
Systematic reviews of high-protein intake in people with normal renal function have not found evidence of harm to kidney function.
Healthy kidneys tolerate this fine. Diseased ones are a clinical question.
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Browse resultsThe honest answer is that most people in a deficit fall well short, and closing that gap matters more than any refinement above it.
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.
Worth being precise here: 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.
Plan protein first in the day; with suppressed appetite it will not happen otherwise.
The short version: total daily protein first, per-meal distribution second, timing a distant third.
High protein intakes do not damage healthy kidneys in the published evidence; existing kidney disease is a genuine exception and is a clinical question.
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.
Per-meal saturation is real. One enormous serving does not do the job of three.
In practice, this is one of the better-evidenced areas in nutrition and the disagreements are about the top of the range, not the bottom.
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.
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.
Plant-based patterns need a higher total and more attention per serving.
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.
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.
Research-use compounds are not approved for human use, and no supplement substitutes for total intake.
1.6 to 2.2 g/kg of reference weight, split three or four ways. That is the answer.
edited 6 Aug 2026 by sian_llewellyn — clarified the distinction between purity and content
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