How Much Protein Should You Eat?
Support muscle maintenance and healthy aging by eating the right amount for you.
Getting the right amount of high-quality protein each day can radically improve energy, muscle mass and strength, metabolism, and overall health.
This post walks you through what protein does, different types of protein, and how to get enough of the ones that matter every day—plus two different styles of daily meal plan to help you hit your goals.
What Is Protein—and Why Does Quality Matter?
Protein is made of amino acids—some of which are essential, meaning your body can’t make them on its own. You need to get them from food.
While both animal and plant foods contain protein, only animal proteins are complete, meaning they contain all 9 essential amino acids in the right ratios for human health. Most plant proteins are incomplete and must be carefully combined to meet those needs.
Animal proteins are also far more bioavailable—your body absorbs and uses them more efficiently than plant-based sources.
The most bioavailable sources of protein include:
Beef, lamb, pork
Poultry
Fish and shellfish
Eggs
Dairy
How Much Protein Do You Need?
The current RDA (Recommended Daily Allowance) is 0.8 grams per kilogram of body weight (or 0.36 grams of protein per pound of body weight) for basic survival. RDAs are set by the Food and Nutrition Board of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine in the USA. They’re meant to provide a guideline for minimum daily needs for being alive—certainly not for thriving. The RDA for protein is too low for maintaining muscle mass or recovering from daily activity.
If you’re trying to:
Build or preserve lean muscle
Lose fat without slowing your metabolism
Maintain strength as you age
…you’ll want to eat much more than the bare minimum.
Here’s a simple rule: eat 1 gram of protein per pound of desired body weight.
So if you want to weigh 130 lbs, aim for about 130g of protein each day.
This number is based on recommendations from the International Society of Sports Nutrition, which suggests 1.6–2.2g of protein per kilogram of body weight for active people or those focused on body composition. Whatever your goals are, this target is much more representative of the amount of protein that healthy people eat to support activity or just to maintain muscle mass.
Same Protein, Different Meals
Hitting your protein goals doesn’t mean you need to stuff yourself on steak or chicken breast! There are a variety of ways to get plenty of protein from whole, real foods, while eating in a way that suits your goals and appetite.
Whether you’re on a higher-calorie, high-satiety plan or looking for a leaner, more efficient way to hit your macros, you can still hit your protein target with real food.
Here are two very different approaches to reach 130g of protein per day (based on an example goal weight of 130 lbs):
🥩 High-Calorie, High-Satiety Meal Plan
(2,000–2,300 kcal • 130g protein)
Ideal for muscle growth, active lifestyles, or bigger appetites.
Breakfast
• 3 eggs + 2 oz ground pork
• 25g protein, ~300 kcal
Lunch
• 6 oz ribeye steak
• 42g protein, ~600 kcal
Snack
• ½ cup cottage cheese
• 13g protein, ~100 kcal
Dinner
• 6 oz roasted chicken thigh with skin
• 40g protein, ~500 kcal
Fat used in cooking (butter, tallow, etc.)
• Adds ~400–700 kcal
🐟 Lean, High-Efficiency Meal Plan
(1,200–1,400 kcal • 130g protein)
Ideal for fat loss or maintaining muscle on a lower appetite.
Breakfast
• ½ cup plain Greek yogurt + 2 boiled eggs
• 30g protein, ~250 kcal
Lunch
• 6 oz grilled chicken breast
• 40g protein, ~280 kcal
Snack
• 1 cup cottage cheese (full fat)
• 25g protein, ~200 kcal
Dinner
• 5 oz white fish (cod or haddock) + 1 egg
• 35g protein, ~200 kcal
How to Choose
Find your TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure) with a calculator like this one I made for you. That gives you an idea of the total calories you would eat to maintain your body composition or meet a new goal.
If you need to pack on the calories or fill up, add satiating fat with fatty cuts of red meat or extra butter. Want to lean out or have a small appetite? Choose more efficient proteins like lean meats or Greek yogurt.
Protein Supplements
If you find you can’t eat enough to reliably maintain your protein target, consider a boost through supplements like whey protein isolate or concentrate, or collagen or gelatin. While the latter two are not complete proteins that can contribute to building muscle, collagen and gelatin still have helpful amino acids that can improve your skin, nails, and hair.
The best protein supplements I’ve found are from Puori. Like all their products, Puori’s Pasture Raised Dark Chocolate and Bourbon Vanilla Organic Whey Protein powders are batch-tested as part of the Clean Label Project. That means you can scan a QR code on every bag to see the test results for your bag of protein powder. Tests check for both contaminants and purity, ensuring your protein is safe and effective. We also use Puori’s Pure Collagen Peptides—hydrolyzed collagen from grass-fed cows, Made in the USA.
To Track or Not to Track?
If you’re new to eating more protein–or just want to make sure you’re fueling your body well–it can be helpful to track your protein intake at first, or simply make a rough plan for your daily meals. Don’t worry about perfection. Just set yourself up to build a good habit of eating closer to the amount of protein you actually need.
You don’t have to track forever! Once you find a rhythm–say, rotating through the same 2–4 breakfast options and a handful of lunches and dinners–it becomes much easier to eat habitually within a structure that works. You’ll be able to tell if you’re under-eating or need to tweak your portions if your body composition changes.
If tracking feels stressful, skip the calorie apps. Use a notepad to jot down your protein-rich meals for the week, or a simple printable protein planner—here, I made you one!
A little structure upfront goes a long way toward building confidence and consistency.
Need help translating your protein goal into actual food? I made you a Carnivore Protein Calculator for easy conversions from protein goal grams to meat portions.
Want more meal plans and tools like this? Subscribe and get new posts, checklists, and printable guides sent straight to your inbox!
If you choose to make a purchase through some of the links on this page, I may receive a small thank-you commission as an Amazon affiliate—at no cost to you! Thank you for your support!