What is the RDA for protein?

For healthy adults it is 0.8 grams per kilogram of body weight per day. The RDA is set to meet the needs of nearly all healthy people, and a 2017 review in Advances in Nutrition explains that the protein RDA was derived as an estimate of the minimum intake needed to avoid losing body nitrogen.

Where does the 1.2 to 2.0 g/kg range come from?

It is the range in the 2016 joint position statement on nutrition and athletic performance from the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, Dietitians of Canada, and the American College of Sports Medicine. It was written for athletes, so I show it alongside the RDA.

Why does this use my total body weight?

Both reference points are written per kilogram of body weight, so that's what the math uses. If you're working with a doctor or dietitian, they may calculate it a different way, and their number is the one to go by.

How much protein is too much?

No official upper limit has been set. The European Food Safety Authority's 2012 review found the data insufficient to set one. That applies to healthy adults. People with kidney disease are a different case, and their protein intake is something to work out with a doctor or dietitian.

Why split it per meal?

All of these reference points are daily totals. Dividing by your meals is just arithmetic, so you can see what the number looks like on a plate and find recipes that carry that much.

Tools

Protein Calculator

What does 0.8 or 1.6 grams per kilogram actually come to at your weight? Enter your weight and I'll work out the published protein reference points in grams: the RDA for healthy adults, and the 1.2 to 2.0 g/kg range from the 2016 sports nutrition position statement.

Move the slider to any point in that span to see the daily total and what it comes to per meal. These are reference points for healthy adults. If you have kidney disease or another medical condition, your number should come from your doctor or a dietitian.

Your weight

Grams per kilogram: 1.6 (0.73 g per lb)

0.8 RDA 1.2 2.0

Starts at 1.6, the middle of the 1.2 to 2.0 range.

Meals per day

Protein per day at 1.6 g/kg

131g

44g per meal across 3 meals

RDA, 0.8 g/kg healthy adults: 65g
1.2 to 2.0 g/kg 2016 sports nutrition position statement: 98 to 163g

At 180 lb, 1.6 g/kg comes to about 131g of protein a day.

Reference math for healthy adults, not medical or dietary advice.

Want to see where that sits in a full day of calories?

TDEE calculator → Macro calculator →

Protein by body weight

Here's the math already done for common body weights, at the RDA and across the 1.2 to 2.0 g/kg range. Every number is grams of protein per day.

Rounded to the nearest gram, with pounds converted at 2.2046 per kilogram.
Body weight	0.8 g/kg (RDA)	1.2 g/kg	1.6 g/kg	2.0 g/kg
120 lb (54 kg)	44g	65g	87g	109g
140 lb (64 kg)	51g	76g	102g	127g
160 lb (73 kg)	58g	87g	116g	145g
180 lb (82 kg)	65g	98g	131g	163g
200 lb (91 kg)	73g	109g	145g	181g
220 lb (100 kg)	80g	120g	160g	200g
240 lb (109 kg)	87g	131g	174g	218g
260 lb (118 kg)	94g	142g	189g	236g

How the math works

Divide your weight in pounds by 2.2046 to get kilograms, then multiply by the grams per kilogram. At 180 lb that's 81.6 kg, so the 0.8 g/kg RDA comes to 65g a day and 1.6 g/kg comes to 131g. Split across three meals, 131g is about 44g a meal.

If you think in pounds, 0.8 g/kg works out to about 0.36g per pound of body weight, and the 1.2 to 2.0 g/kg range is about 0.54 to 0.91g per pound.

What that looks like in food

A daily number is easier to picture once you know what common foods carry. These are USDA figures for typical servings:

USDA FoodData Central, the same figures as the protein source comparison.
Food	Serving	Protein	Calories
Chicken breast	4 oz cooked	35g	187
Ground beef 90/10	4 oz cooked	29g	231
Salmon	4 oz cooked	25g	234
Canned light tuna (in water)	3 oz, drained	16g	73
Eggs	2 large	13g	143
Greek yogurt (nonfat)	1 cup	23g	134
Cottage cheese (low fat)	1 cup	24g	180
Tofu (firm)	1 cup	23g	202
Lentils (cooked)	1 cup	18g	230
Black beans (cooked)	1 cup	15g	227

For my own meals, my rule of thumb is at least 30g of protein, and most of my main meals land closer to 40 to 50g. The protein recipe finder filters every recipe on the site by protein per serving if you want to see what clears a number.

The protein source comparison has the full list of foods with protein per serving and per calorie, and the high-protein foods guide goes through more of them by category. For where these reference points come from and what a high-protein diet means in practice, see What Is a High-Protein Diet?

Sources

RDA of 0.8 g/kg: Wolfe et al., "Optimizing Protein Intake in Adults," Advances in Nutrition, 2017 (PubMed).
1.2 to 2.0 g/kg: Thomas, Erdman, and Burke, "Position of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, Dietitians of Canada, and the American College of Sports Medicine: Nutrition and Athletic Performance," Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, 2016 (PubMed).
No upper limit set: European Food Safety Authority, "Scientific Opinion on Dietary Reference Values for protein," 2012 (EFSA Journal).
Food figures: USDA FoodData Central.

Questions about this tool

What is the RDA for protein?: For healthy adults it is 0.8 grams per kilogram of body weight per day. The RDA is set to meet the needs of nearly all healthy people, and a 2017 review in Advances in Nutrition explains that the protein RDA was derived as an estimate of the minimum intake needed to avoid losing body nitrogen.
Where does the 1.2 to 2.0 g/kg range come from?: It is the range in the 2016 joint position statement on nutrition and athletic performance from the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, Dietitians of Canada, and the American College of Sports Medicine. It was written for athletes, so I show it alongside the RDA.
Why does this use my total body weight?: Both reference points are written per kilogram of body weight, so that's what the math uses. If you're working with a doctor or dietitian, they may calculate it a different way, and their number is the one to go by.
How much protein is too much?: No official upper limit has been set. The European Food Safety Authority's 2012 review found the data insufficient to set one. That applies to healthy adults. People with kidney disease are a different case, and their protein intake is something to work out with a doctor or dietitian.
Why split it per meal?: All of these reference points are daily totals. Dividing by your meals is just arithmetic, so you can see what the number looks like on a plate and find recipes that carry that much.