How many grams of protein per day do you actually need? The baseline is the Recommended Dietary Allowance: 0.8 grams per kilogram of bodyweight, set by the Institute of Medicine’s Food and Nutrition Board and published in the National Academies’ Dietary Reference Intakes.
That number covers the minimum needed to avoid a deficiency. It is not the range most adults who train regularly actually use, and the gap between the two surprises a lot of people doing the math for the first time.
The RDA Baseline: 0.8 Grams Per Kilogram
The Food and Nutrition Board sets the adult RDA at 0.8 grams of protein per kilogram of bodyweight per day. For a 70-kilogram reference male that works out to 56 grams a day. For a 57-kilogram reference female it lands near 46 grams.
This figure is an average requirement built to cover nearly all healthy adults, not a target for anyone trying to build muscle or recover from hard training. It assumes a sedentary body with no extra demand from exercise.
The RDA is calculated from body weight rather than a flat number for everyone, which is why a 110-pound adult and a 220-pound adult land on two very different gram totals even though both are technically meeting the same standard.
Video: Ohio State Wexner Medical Center
Why Active Adults Need More Than the RDA
The International Society of Sports Nutrition’s 2017 position stand puts the range for exercising adults at 1.4 to 2.0 grams per kilogram of bodyweight per day. That range sits well above the RDA baseline on purpose.
The position stand frames 1.4 to 2.0 grams per kilogram as a minimum for people building or maintaining muscle through resistance training, not an upper ceiling. Higher amounts inside that range are common during periods of calorie restriction.
Neither figure is a fixed rule for every body. Age, training volume, and total calorie intake all shift where an individual actually lands inside the range.
People new to strength training often start closer to the bottom of the range, around 1.4 grams per kilogram, then move toward the top as training volume and intensity increase over months.
Protein Targets By Bodyweight
The table below applies both figures directly to bodyweight, so you can find a starting number without doing the multiplication yourself.
| Bodyweight | Sedentary RDA (0.8 g/kg) | Active Range (1.4-2.0 g/kg) |
|---|---|---|
| 110 lb / 50 kg | 40 g | 70-100 g |
| 132 lb / 60 kg | 48 g | 84-120 g |
| 154 lb / 70 kg | 56 g | 98-140 g |
| 176 lb / 80 kg | 64 g | 112-160 g |
| 198 lb / 90 kg | 72 g | 126-180 g |
| 220 lb / 100 kg | 80 g | 140-200 g |
Calculated from the RDA baseline (0.8 g/kg, National Academies Food and Nutrition Board) and the active-adult range (1.4 to 2.0 g/kg, International Society of Sports Nutrition, 2017).
Where the Extra Grams Actually Come From
Closing the gap between the RDA and the active range usually means adding food, not just tracking a number. A rotation of high protein snacks between meals is one of the easiest ways to add 15 to 20 grams without a full extra meal.
Powder is the other common route. Knowing how protein powder is made helps explain why isolate, concentrate, and blends carry different protein grams per scoop.
For people specifically chasing the top of the active range, the case for whey protein isolate usually comes down to hitting a higher daily gram target without adding much fat or carbohydrate.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many grams of protein do I need if I weigh 150 pounds?
At 150 pounds, about 68 kilograms, the RDA baseline is close to 54 grams a day. The active range from the International Society of Sports Nutrition runs from about 95 to 136 grams.
Can you eat too much protein in a day?
The RDA framework sets a minimum, not a hard ceiling for healthy adults. Anyone with kidney disease or another condition affecting protein metabolism should get a target from a doctor rather than a general range.
Is 0.8 grams per kilogram enough for building muscle?
The 0.8 gram RDA is a minimum meant to prevent deficiency, not a muscle-building target. The International Society of Sports Nutrition puts the range for building or maintaining muscle at 1.4 to 2.0 grams per kilogram, well above the RDA.