Most people trying to lose weight should aim for 1.2 to 1.6 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight per day. For a 180-pound (82 kg) person, that works out to roughly 98 to 131 grams daily. This is significantly more than the general RDA of 46 grams for women and 56 grams for men, which represents the minimum to prevent deficiency, not the amount that supports fat loss.
The range matters because protein does several things simultaneously during a calorie deficit: it preserves your muscle, burns more calories during digestion, and keeps you full longer. Here’s how to find the right number for your body and make it work.
How to Calculate Your Target
The simplest method is to multiply your body weight in kilograms by 1.2 to 1.6. If you only know your weight in pounds, divide by 2.2 first. A 150-pound person (68 kg) would aim for 82 to 109 grams per day. A 200-pound person (91 kg) would target 109 to 146 grams.
If your BMI is above 30, use an adjusted body weight rather than your actual weight. Research on protein requirements in obesity suggests using a weight corresponding to a BMI of 30 as the basis for your calculation, with a minimum of 1.2 g/kg of that adjusted weight. This prevents the number from inflating unrealistically. For example, if you weigh 260 pounds but your weight at a BMI of 30 would be roughly 210 pounds (95 kg), you’d calculate based on 95 kg, giving you a target of 114 to 152 grams per day.
Where you land within the 1.2 to 1.6 range depends on a few factors. If you’re strength training regularly, leaning toward 1.6 g/kg or even up to 2.2 g/kg helps preserve and build muscle. If you’re older than 65, or eating in a steep calorie deficit, higher protein intake becomes more important. If you’re relatively sedentary and in a mild deficit, 1.2 g/kg is a reasonable starting point.
Why Protein Burns More Calories Than Other Foods
Your body uses energy to digest and process everything you eat, but protein is by far the most expensive macronutrient to metabolize. Digesting protein burns 20 to 30% of its calories just through processing. Carbohydrates cost 5 to 10%, and fat costs 0 to 3%. So if you eat 130 grams of protein (520 calories), your body spends 104 to 156 of those calories just breaking it down.
This doesn’t mean protein is a magic calorie eraser, but it does mean that swapping some carbohydrate or fat calories for protein creates a small metabolic advantage that compounds over weeks and months of dieting. It’s one reason higher-protein diets consistently outperform lower-protein diets for fat loss in controlled studies, even when total calories are matched.
How Protein Controls Hunger
Protein is the most satiating macronutrient, and the reason goes beyond just feeling physically full. High-protein meals trigger a stronger release of gut hormones that signal fullness to your brain. In a crossover study comparing breakfasts with equal calories but different macronutrient compositions, the high-protein meal produced the highest levels of two key fullness hormones (GLP-1 and PYY) for up to four hours after eating. GLP-1 levels peaked higher at two hours and stayed elevated, while PYY levels were significantly higher at the four-hour mark compared to both high-fat and high-carbohydrate breakfasts.
In practical terms, this means a breakfast of eggs and Greek yogurt will carry you further into the day than toast with jam or a pastry, even if the calorie counts are similar. When you’re eating fewer calories overall, this appetite control is the difference between a diet you can sustain and one that leaves you raiding the pantry by mid-afternoon.
Protecting Muscle During a Calorie Deficit
When you eat fewer calories than you burn, your body doesn’t exclusively tap fat stores for energy. It also breaks down muscle tissue, especially if protein intake is low or you’re not doing any resistance exercise. Losing muscle slows your metabolism, changes your body composition for the worse, and makes it harder to keep weight off long-term.
Higher protein intake directly counteracts this. Research on body composition during energy deficits shows that combining higher protein (around 2.4 g/kg in one notable trial) with intense resistance exercise can actually increase lean mass while losing fat. You don’t necessarily need to hit that extreme, but the principle is clear: more protein plus strength training equals better body composition outcomes during weight loss. At a minimum, aim for 1.6 g/kg if you’re actively lifting weights while dieting.
How to Spread Protein Across the Day
Your body can use protein more efficiently when it’s distributed across multiple meals rather than loaded into one or two. The current best evidence suggests targeting about 0.4 grams per kilogram of body weight per meal, spread over at least four eating occasions. For a 170-pound (77 kg) person, that’s roughly 31 grams per meal across four meals.
If you’re aiming for the higher end of the daily range (2.2 g/kg), that works out to about 0.55 g/kg per meal across four meals. For practical reference, 30 grams of protein looks like a chicken breast the size of a deck of cards, a cup of Greek yogurt with a scoop of protein powder, or four eggs. The point isn’t to obsess over exact grams at each sitting but to avoid the common pattern of eating almost no protein at breakfast, a modest amount at lunch, and then trying to cram everything into dinner.
Adjustments for Adults Over 65
Older adults have a harder time building and maintaining muscle from the same amount of protein that works for younger people. The European Society for Clinical Nutrition and Metabolism recommends healthy older adults eat at least 1.0 to 1.2 g/kg per day as a baseline, with 1.2 to 1.5 g/kg for those with acute or chronic illness. During weight loss specifically, the risk of losing muscle mass is amplified, and the combination of reduced calories with already-declining muscle (a condition called sarcopenic obesity) makes adequate protein even more critical.
The recommended approach for older adults trying to lose weight combines moderate calorie restriction with increased protein intake and both resistance and endurance exercise. Restricting calories without these safeguards is likely to accelerate muscle loss, which worsens mobility, metabolic health, and long-term independence. If you’re over 65 and cutting calories, prioritizing protein at every meal and doing some form of strength training are non-negotiable pieces of the plan.
Safety and Who Should Be Cautious
For people with healthy kidneys, protein intakes up to 2.0 g/kg per day have not been shown to cause kidney damage. The concern about high protein harming kidneys is one of the most persistent nutrition myths, but it applies specifically to people who already have compromised kidney function.
If you have chronic kidney disease or are at high risk for it (due to diabetes, high blood pressure, or a family history), high protein intake, particularly from animal sources, can accelerate kidney decline. People with a single kidney, whether from birth or surgery, should generally stay below 1.2 g/kg per day. If you fall into either group, work with a healthcare provider to find the right protein target that balances weight loss goals with kidney protection.
For everyone else, the practical challenge of high-protein diets isn’t safety but sustainability. Protein-rich foods tend to be more expensive and require more preparation than carbohydrate-heavy convenience foods. Building meals around lean meats, fish, eggs, dairy, legumes, and protein supplements in whatever combination fits your preferences and budget is the most reliable way to consistently hit your target.