How much protein to build muscle? Grams per day, per meal

To build muscle, eat about 1.6 to 2.2 grams of protein per kilogram of bodyweight per day (0.7 to 1 g per pound). For a 75 kg (165 lb) person that’s roughly 120 to 165 g a day. Spread it over three to five meals of 25 to 50 g each, and you’ve covered what the research says matters. Total daily intake is the big lever; timing and supplements are details.

How much protein per day to build muscle

The most-cited number comes from a 2018 meta-analysis by Morton and colleagues, pooling 49 trials with nearly 1,900 people who lifted weights. Adding protein improved gains in muscle and strength, but the benefit levelled off around 1.62 g per kg per day. Beyond that, extra protein didn’t add measurable muscle on average.

The authors were clear that this was an average with uncertainty around it, so they suggested going up to 2.2 g/kg to be sure you’re covered. The International Society of Sports Nutrition position stand (Jäger et al., 2017) lands in the same place, recommending 1.4 to 2.0 g/kg for most people who train.

Here’s what that looks like in practice:

When to aim higher

• During a cut. In a calorie deficit your body is more likely to break down muscle. Aiming for 2.0–2.4 g/kg helps preserve it; see how to cut without losing muscle.
• If you’re older. After 50 or so, muscles respond less to a given dose of protein, so the higher end of the range and bigger meals make sense.
• If you’re vegan. Plant proteins are a little less digestible and lower in leucine on average; adding 10–20 % to your target compensates. More in our vegan muscle building guide.

When the lower end is enough

If you’re new to lifting, eating at maintenance or above, and struggle to eat a lot of protein, 1.6 g/kg will get you nearly all the benefit. Hitting it consistently beats hitting 2.2 g/kg twice a week.

How much protein per meal?

The old rule says your body can only “use” 20–30 g of protein at once. That came from studies giving fast-digesting whey on its own and measuring muscle protein synthesis for a few hours. Real meals are slower and the response lasts longer.

In 2023, Trommelen and colleagues gave people either 25 g or 100 g of protein after a workout and measured for 12 hours. The 100 g dose produced a larger and longer-lasting anabolic response. Nothing was “wasted”; it was simply used over a longer period.

That doesn’t mean one giant protein meal is optimal. Schoenfeld and Aragon (2018) suggested a practical target of about 0.4 g/kg per meal across at least four meals, up to 0.55 g/kg per meal if your daily target is higher. For a 75 kg person, that’s 30–40 g per meal, four times a day.

Does protein timing matter?

Less than people think. Eating protein within a few hours before or after training is a good habit, but the “30-minute anabolic window” is mostly a myth once your daily intake is adequate. If you had a protein-rich lunch at 12:00 and train at 15:00, you’re already covered; dinner at 19:00 is soon enough. We cover this in detail in what to eat before and after a workout.

One timing habit with some support: a protein-rich snack before bed, such as Greek yoghurt or cottage cheese, which digest slowly overnight. It’s a convenient way to add 20–40 g to your day.

Best protein sources

Any source counts toward your total. What differs is how much protein you get per calorie, and the amino acid profile.

Animal proteins and soy are “complete” and rich in leucine, the amino acid that best switches on muscle building. Grains and legumes complement each other when mixed across the day. For a longer list with protein per 100 g and per euro, see our guide to high-protein foods.

A sample day at 140 g of protein

For a 75 kg lifter aiming for about 1.9 g/kg:

Swap any item for its equivalent. The structure (protein at every meal) is what makes it easy.

Protein myths to ignore

• “Too much protein damages your kidneys.” In healthy people, high-protein diets haven’t been shown to harm kidney function. If you have existing kidney disease, it’s a different story: talk to your doctor.
• “Protein makes you bulky.” Protein doesn’t build muscle on its own. Training does; protein supplies the material.
• “You need a shake right after training.” Only if you like it. A meal within a few hours does the same job.
• “Plant protein doesn’t build muscle.” It does, when total intake is high enough. Soy and protein blends perform well in studies.
• “More is always better.” Past 2.2 g/kg, extra protein mostly displaces carbs that would fuel your training.

Protein is only half the equation

Protein supports muscle growth; it doesn’t cause it. Without a training stimulus that challenges your muscles and gets harder over time, extra chicken breast just becomes energy. The fundamentals are in our pillar guide on how to build muscle: enough hard sets per muscle, progressive overload, sleep, and enough total calories.

That’s where tracking your training matters as much as tracking food. If your lifts are going up week after week while you hit your protein target, everything is working. Brick shows your last session’s weight and reps on every set, flags PRs and charts estimated strength trends, so you can see the training side of the equation clearly.

How to hit your protein target without counting every gram

You don’t need to weigh everything forever. Track for one or two weeks to learn what your usual meals contain, then use rules of thumb:

1. Build each meal around a protein food, then add carbs and vegetables.
2. Keep easy options at home: Greek yoghurt, eggs, canned fish, frozen chicken, tofu, milk.
3. Upgrade snacks. Swap a pastry for cottage cheese with fruit, or crisps for roasted edamame.
4. Use a shake as a backup, not the plan.
5. Check in monthly. If your weight and lifts are moving in the right direction, your intake is fine.