Most adults need about 0.36 grams of protein per pound of body weight per day. That means a 165-pound person needs roughly 60 grams, while the official RDA sits at 46 grams for women and 56 grams for men. But these numbers represent the bare minimum to prevent deficiency, not the amount that’s optimal for your goals, age, or activity level. Depending on those factors, your ideal intake could be two or even three times higher.
The Baseline: What the RDA Actually Means
The Recommended Dietary Allowance for protein is 0.8 grams per kilogram of body weight per day (0.36 grams per pound). For most adults, that works out to somewhere between 46 and 56 grams daily. Federal dietary guidelines also set an acceptable range of 10 to 35 percent of your total calories from protein, which gives you significant room to adjust based on your needs.
The RDA was designed to meet the needs of 97.5 percent of healthy adults, but “meet the needs” here means preventing muscle wasting and nitrogen imbalance. It doesn’t mean optimizing muscle retention, recovery, satiety, or body composition. Think of it as the floor, not the ceiling. Most nutrition researchers now consider the RDA too low for many people, particularly those who exercise regularly or are over 65.
How Exercise Changes Your Needs
If you lift weights, run, cycle, or play sports regularly, the RDA won’t cut it. Your body breaks down and rebuilds more muscle tissue when you’re active, and that process requires extra protein as raw material.
For strength training and muscle building, the most well-supported recommendation is about 1.6 to 1.7 grams per kilogram of body weight per day. A meta-analysis of resistance training studies found this range optimal for gaining lean mass. For a 170-pound person, that’s roughly 123 to 131 grams daily.
Endurance athletes, such as distance runners and cyclists, need slightly less but still well above the RDA: 1.2 to 1.6 grams per kilogram per day, with the higher end appropriate for those training at high volume or intensity. Team sport athletes (soccer, basketball, rugby) fall in a similar range of 1.4 to 1.6 grams per kilogram, with an emphasis on eating protein soon after training or competition to support recovery and tissue repair.
Why Older Adults Need More
After about age 50, your body becomes less efficient at using dietary protein to build and maintain muscle. This gradual loss of muscle mass, called sarcopenia, accelerates with each decade and increases the risk of falls, fractures, and loss of independence. The RDA of 0.8 g/kg was set for all adults, but growing evidence suggests older adults benefit from intakes closer to 1.0 to 1.2 g/kg per day.
Protein alone helps, but the strongest results come from combining higher protein intake with resistance exercise. Research consistently shows that older adults who do both gain the most muscle mass and strength. Simply eating more protein without exercising provides some benefit, but the combination is far more effective.
Protein Needs During Pregnancy and Breastfeeding
Protein requirements increase during pregnancy, but the timing matters. In the first trimester, the additional need is negligible. By the second trimester, you need roughly 5 to 9 extra grams per day, and in the third trimester that jumps to about 17 to 31 extra grams daily, depending on which set of guidelines you follow. The wide range reflects different methodologies, but the pattern is consistent: needs ramp up significantly in late pregnancy as the baby grows fastest.
During breastfeeding, the extra requirement is about 19 to 23 grams per day in the first few months, tapering to around 12 to 13 grams after six months. In practical terms, most women who are eating enough total calories and including protein at each meal will cover these needs without much effort.
How to Spread Protein Across the Day
Your body can only use so much protein at one time for muscle building. Research shows that muscle protein synthesis maxes out at about 30 to 45 grams of protein per meal. Eating a 90-gram steak for dinner while having toast for breakfast isn’t as effective as distributing that same total more evenly. A study examining meal patterns found that people who ate at least two meals per day containing 30 to 45 grams of protein had greater leg muscle mass and strength than those who loaded their protein into a single meal.
For most people, this means aiming for three to four meals that each contain 25 to 40 grams of protein. A practical way to think about it: a palm-sized portion of meat, fish, or poultry contains roughly 25 to 30 grams. A cup of Greek yogurt has about 15 to 20 grams. Two eggs provide around 12 grams. Building each meal around one of these anchors makes hitting your daily target much easier than trying to compensate at dinner.
Can You Eat Too Much Protein?
The concern you’ll hear most often is kidney damage. While high-protein diets can worsen existing kidney disease, there is little evidence that they harm healthy kidneys. If your kidney function is normal, eating 1.5 or even 2.0 g/kg per day is generally considered safe.
That said, there is an upper limit. Intakes above roughly 0.9 grams per pound of body weight (about 150 grams per day for a 165-pound person) may carry risks with long-term consumption. Very high protein intake over extended periods has been linked to potential issues with bone density and kidney stress, though these risks apply mainly to people who chronically consume extreme amounts well beyond athletic recommendations.
The sweet spot for most active adults is between 1.2 and 2.0 g/kg per day, depending on goals. If you’re sedentary and not trying to build muscle, staying closer to 0.8 to 1.0 g/kg is reasonable. If you’re training hard or over 65, aiming for the higher end pays real dividends in muscle retention and recovery.
Quick Reference by Body Weight
- 130 lbs (59 kg): RDA is 47 g; active range is 71 to 100 g; strength training range is 94 to 100 g
- 150 lbs (68 kg): RDA is 54 g; active range is 82 to 109 g; strength training range is 109 to 116 g
- 170 lbs (77 kg): RDA is 62 g; active range is 92 to 123 g; strength training range is 123 to 131 g
- 200 lbs (91 kg): RDA is 73 g; active range is 109 to 146 g; strength training range is 146 to 155 g
These ranges assume healthy kidney function and no medical conditions that require protein restriction. If you’re overweight, using your goal body weight or lean mass rather than your current weight gives a more accurate target.