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How much protein in grams do I need at 74 kg on 1,000 kcal a day?

Asked 4 Jan 2026Modified 3 months agoViewed 6.7k times
2

What I have: 74 kg · 1,000 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.

What is the general form of this calculation?

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SL
askedsecond_lot9.4k144 Jan 2026

5 Answers

Accepted answer first, then by votes
23

Accepted answer

118 to 163 g a day. The range the resistance-training literature supports is 1.6 to 2.2 g per kilogram, which at 74 kg is 118–163 g. At 4 kcal per gram that is 474–651 kcal, or 47–65 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 short version: total daily protein first, per-meal distribution second, timing a distant third.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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RP
answered · acceptedrhian_prydderch23k279 Apr 2026
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9

Start with which body weight the target is calculated from, because using total weight in someone with substantial adiposity inflates the number without benefit.

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

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

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

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

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answeredamara_nwachukwu20k2729 Mar 2026
7

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.

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.

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.

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

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answeredfiadh_cronin58k581 May 2026
Any published number for how long the counter-regulatory response persists? – Dr_Malik_Osei 4 months ago
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Answering this needs to know whether appetite is suppressed, because in this class the practical problem is achieving intake rather than choosing a target.

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.

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

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CF
answeredclaudia_ferrante22k2720 Apr 2026
Small correction: lean mass on a scan is not muscle, which this says and people miss. – Dr_Bram_Verhoeven 8 months ago
Is the twenty-five per cent figure from surgical cohorts or from dietary ones? – claudia_ferrante 6 months ago
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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.

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.

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.

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RP
answeredrhian_prydderch23k2724 Jan 2026

Your answer

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