Hitting 170 grams of protein a day is realistic, but it takes planning. That target fits comfortably within the range sports nutrition researchers recommend for active adults building or maintaining muscle: 1.4 to 2.0 grams per kilogram of body weight daily. For context, 170 grams lands right in that sweet spot for someone weighing around 85 to 120 kg (roughly 185 to 265 lbs). If you weigh significantly less, you may not need that much, but it won’t hurt you either.
Why 170 Grams Is a Reasonable Target
The baseline recommendation for sedentary adults is just 0.8 to 0.9 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight, enough to prevent deficiency but not enough to optimize muscle growth. For people who lift weights or do regular intense exercise, the International Society of Sports Nutrition recommends 1.4 to 2.0 g/kg/day. Meta-analyses show that intakes of at least 1.6 g/kg/day produce measurable improvements in lean body mass and lower-body strength when combined with resistance training.
If you’re in a calorie deficit trying to lose fat while preserving muscle, the evidence supports going even higher, up to 2.3 to 3.1 g/kg/day. So whether you’re bulking, cutting, or maintaining, 170 grams is a well-supported number for most active people in the 75 to 120 kg range.
Spread It Across Four or More Meals
Your body builds muscle most efficiently when protein is distributed across the day rather than crammed into one or two large meals. Research published in the Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition recommends aiming for about 0.4 g/kg per meal across at least four meals. For someone targeting 170 grams, that works out to roughly 40 to 45 grams per meal over four eating occasions.
A practical framework looks like this:
- Breakfast: 40g
- Lunch: 45g
- Afternoon snack: 35g
- Dinner: 50g
You don’t need to hit these numbers precisely. The point is to avoid the common pattern of eating 10 grams at breakfast, 20 at lunch, and trying to make up the rest at dinner. Spacing protein out gives your muscles a more consistent signal to repair and grow throughout the day.
High-Protein Foods That Make It Easy
Some foods pack protein far more efficiently than others. The ones below deliver 25 grams or more per typical serving, making them the backbone of a 170-gram day.
- Chicken breast (6 oz cooked): ~50g protein
- Lean beef or bison (6 oz cooked): ~46g protein
- Salmon or tuna (6 oz cooked): ~40g protein
- Ground turkey, 93% lean (6 oz cooked): ~44g protein
- Cottage cheese (1 cup): ~25g protein
- Greek yogurt (1 cup): ~18–22g protein
- Eggs (4 large): ~24g protein
- Whey protein powder (1 scoop): ~25g protein
Building two meals around lean meat or fish gets you to 80 to 100 grams without much effort. The remaining 70 to 90 grams come from eggs, dairy, protein shakes, or plant sources spread across your other meals and snacks.
A Sample Day at 170 Grams
Here’s what a full day could look like without relying on unusual or expensive foods:
Breakfast: Four eggs scrambled with a cup of cottage cheese. That’s roughly 49 grams of protein. Add toast or fruit for energy.
Lunch: Six ounces of grilled chicken breast over rice with vegetables. About 50 grams of protein.
Afternoon snack: A protein shake made with one scoop of whey and a cup of milk, plus a handful of almonds. Around 35 grams.
Dinner: Six ounces of salmon with potatoes and a side salad. About 40 grams of protein.
Total: approximately 174 grams. You can swap any of these meals based on your preferences. The key principle is anchoring each meal around a protein-dense food and letting carbs and fats fill in around it.
When Protein Powder Helps
Whole foods should form the foundation of your intake, but protein powder is a legitimate tool for closing the gap. It’s especially useful for breakfast (when many people default to low-protein options) and for the afternoon snack slot.
Whey protein digests quickly and stimulates muscle repair within one to four hours after consumption. Casein digests more slowly, making it a better option before bed or when you want sustained release. Soy protein falls somewhere in between. Blends that combine fast and slow-digesting proteins can extend the window of active muscle repair, which may matter if you’re going long stretches between meals.
One or two scoops a day (25 to 50 grams) is a reasonable supplement. If you find yourself relying on three or more scoops daily, look for opportunities to swap in whole food sources instead.
Plant-Based Strategies for 170 Grams
Getting to 170 grams on a fully plant-based diet is harder but doable. The challenge is twofold: most plant proteins are less digestible than animal proteins, and they tend to come packaged with more carbs and calories per gram of protein.
Protein quality scores highlight real differences. Pork, eggs, and casein score above 100 on the digestibility scale (DIAAS), while pea protein scores around 70, rice around 47, and corn just 36. Soy is the standout plant protein with a score of 91, putting it close to animal sources. This means you may need to eat slightly more total plant protein to get the same muscle-building benefit.
The highest-protein plant foods per 100 grams (dried weight) include broad beans at 27 grams, pine nuts at 32 grams, dried peas at 22 grams, almonds at 22 grams, and pistachios at 21 grams. Tofu, tempeh, seitan, and edamame are also strong options. Combining legumes with grains ensures you get all essential amino acids across the day.
A plant-based approach to 170 grams typically requires larger meal volumes, so pairing dense protein sources like seitan or soy-based products with a plant protein powder (pea-rice blends work well together) keeps portions manageable.
Managing Fullness at High Protein Intakes
Protein is the most satiating macronutrient, which is great if you’re cutting calories but can work against you if you’re struggling to eat enough. At 170 grams, some people feel uncomfortably full, especially early on.
Eggs, beef, cottage cheese, Greek yogurt, and legumes all rank among the most filling foods studied. If fullness is a problem, lean toward faster-digesting protein sources like whey shakes or white fish, which tend to be less filling per gram than slow-digesting options like casein or red meat. Liquid calories (shakes, smoothies) also bypass some of the fullness signals that solid food triggers. Spreading intake across four or five smaller meals rather than three large ones helps as well.
If you’re cutting weight, that same fullness becomes an advantage. Prioritize whole eggs, cottage cheese, and lean meat to keep hunger at bay while staying in a deficit.
Is 170 Grams Safe Long-Term?
The concern you’ll hear most often is kidney damage. In healthy adults without pre-existing kidney disease, clinical trials have not shown that high-protein diets cause kidney injury. One well-designed trial found that a high-protein diet actually increased kidney filtration rate, though researchers noted that whether this leads to long-term kidney stress remains uncertain. The current consensus: if your kidneys are healthy, protein intakes in the 1.4 to 2.2 g/kg range are well-tolerated.
Staying well-hydrated matters more at higher protein intakes because your body produces more urea as a byproduct of protein metabolism, and your kidneys need water to clear it. If you have a history of kidney stones or kidney disease, talk to your doctor before sustaining intakes above the baseline 0.8 g/kg recommendation.