Proteins are necessary for millions of functions in the human body, and the potential benefits of high-protein diets are multifactorial.
Optimizing your protein intake can help with appetite management, glycemic control, recovery from exercise, and muscle growth.
But how much protein should you eat to make sure you’re getting the benefits?
How much protein should you eat?
For general health, most people should eat at least 0.8g of protein per kg of body mass.
The recommended protein intake (RDA) for general health and well-being is 0.8g of protein per kilogram of body mass (about 0.36g per pound) for most populations.
Folks who are more active, aiming to build muscle, or looking to maintain muscle during fat loss should eat at least 1.2 – 2.2 g of protein per kg of body mass.
Higher levels of protein intake are helpful for building muscle, or maintaining muscle mass when you’re in an energy deficit. Furthermore, people who exercise more generally require higher protein intakes than people with more sedentary lifestyles. These folks might want to aim for 1.2-2.2g/kg of protein per day. If you’re less active and/or maintaining or gaining weight, you might want to be closer to the bottom of that range; if you’re more active and/or losing weight, you might want to be closer to the top of that range.
In order to account for all of the important factors that influence optimal protein intake, MacroFactor makes individualized protein recommendations based on your body composition, goal, energy intake, and exercise habits.
Learn more about protein, including signs of deficiency/insufficiency and recommendations for good sources of protein, in this knowledge base article.