Protein per meal
Body weight, goal, training days, meals a day. Out comes a daily range, a daily target and what each meal has to carry. If a meal lands under 30 g, it says so.
37 g per meal clears the 30 g gate
1.83 g/kg for 4 training days. Range for cutting: 1.6 to 2 g/kg, so 128 to 160 g a day.
- Meal 137 g
- Meal 237 g
- Meal 337 g
- Meal 437 g
Keep the plate interesting for 12 weeks
Hitting the gate means the same protein, most days. The recipes are built for exactly that: one base, seven ways.
See the high-protein recipesHow this is calculated
Daily target = body weight × g/kg. The g/kg sits inside the range for your goal and moves up with training days (0 days = bottom of the range, 7 days = top), capped at 2.0 g/kg. Per meal = daily target ÷ meals. The 30 g gate is a comparison, not a prescription.
- Morton RW et al. A systematic review, meta-analysis and meta-regression of the effect of protein supplementation on resistance training-induced gains. Br J Sports Med 2018;52:376-384. - 1.6 g/kg/day plateau
- Obesity Pillars, June 2025 clinical review on protein intake during weight reduction (PMC12264624). - 1.2 to 1.6 g/kg, 80 to 120 g/day absolute, avoid above 2 g/kg
- USDA FoodData Central, SR Legacy - food equivalents in the day split
Straight answers
Why 30 g per meal?+
Around 30 g of protein in one sitting is the amount most often used in the research on muscle protein synthesis in adults. The calculator treats it as a gate: if your daily total split across your meals lands under it, it suggests fewer, larger servings or adding protein to each sitting.
Is this per kilogram of body weight or of lean mass?+
Body weight. Obesity Pillars uses adjusted body weight for people with a high body-fat percentage; this tool uses plain body weight, which for most people in the 15 to 30% range gives a similar figure. If you know your lean mass, the cutting timeline tool shows it.
Where do the g/kg ranges come from?+
Morton et al. 2018 (British Journal of Sports Medicine) found gains plateau around 1.6 g/kg/day, with an upper confidence bound near 2.2 g/kg. The Obesity Pillars 2025 clinical review recommends 1.2 to 1.6 g/kg during weight reduction, 1.2 to 1.7 g/kg with strength training, an absolute 80 to 120 g/day, and says to avoid going above 2 g/kg.
Does the calculator know what I eat?+
No. It gives protein grams, not foods. The plate builder turns grams into portions using the USDA composition table.