How much protein do you need to lose weight?

By Replete · Updated October 21, 2026

While you eat less, aim for 1.2 to 1.6 g of protein per kg of body weight a day (0.54 to 0.73 g per pound), the range in the 2025 to 2030 Dietary Guidelines. At 70 kg (154 lb) that's 84 to 112 g a day, or about 28 to 37 g at each of three meals.

How much protein do you need a day?

The Dietary Guidelines for Americans set 1.2 to 1.6 g per kg in 2026, well above the National Academy of Medicine's minimum of 0.8 g per kg. Within that, go by how much you move: 1.2 with little or no exercise, up to 1.6 at 3 to 5 days a week (the table below goes to 1.8 for 6 or 7). People who exercise regularly can go higher: the International Society of Sports Nutrition puts most at 1.4 to 2.0 g per kg (0.64 to 0.91 g per lb).

The table uses the same steps as the Replete app: 1.2 g per kg with little or no exercise, 1.4 with exercise 1 to 3 days a week, 1.6 with 3 to 5 days, and 1.8 with 6 or 7. Grams of protein a day:

If your BMI is over 30, use the weight you'd be at a BMI of 30 for your height, not your current weight. A 2025 review of protein needs in obesity suggests, from indirect evidence (no trial has tested it directly), at least 1.2 g per kg during weight loss, with body weight counted only up to a BMI of 30. At 160 cm (5 ft 3 in) that's about 77 kg (169 lb); at 170 cm (5 ft 7 in), about 87 kg (191 lb); at 178 cm (5 ft 10 in), about 95 kg (209 lb).

The guidelines drew their range mostly from trials on weight management, the situation this page is about. Some nutrition scientists argue that's too narrow a base for one number for every adult.

Why does protein matter more when you eat less?

Because eating less takes some muscle along with the fat, and protein helps you keep more of it. In an analysis of 24 trials with 1,063 adults on reduced-calorie diets for about 12 weeks, those on higher-protein diets kept about 0.4 kg (1 lb) more lean mass and lost about 0.9 kg (2 lb) more fat than those on standard-protein diets. Protein doesn't make you lose weight by itself, though: eating less does. In the same analysis, the higher-protein diets lost only about 0.8 kg (1.7 lb) more in total.

Exercise helps too. A review of muscle during weight loss found that enough protein (not too much) helps keep muscle mass, that exercise does as well, and that only strength exercise also makes you stronger.

Protein can help with hunger. A 2016 meta-analysis found that higher-protein meals made people feel fuller over the next 2 to 4 hours, though its authors note this was measured under tightly controlled conditions.

That's why the target is set per kg of body weight, not as a share of your calories: when you cut calories, keep the grams of protein where they are and take the cut from fat and carbs.

How much protein per meal?

About a third of your daily total at each of three meals: at 70 kg, about 28 to 37 g. For people who train, the ISSN suggests 20 to 40 g a serving, every 3 to 4 hours.

Spreading it out may help your muscles use it. In one small study, 8 adults ate about 30 g of protein at each meal for a week, and for another week the same protein weighted toward dinner (about 11, 16 and 63 g). Spread evenly, their muscles built about 25% more protein over the day. It was small and short, so your day's total still comes first.

A big serving isn't wasted either. Past about 20 g in one meal the body burns more of the extra for energy, but a 2018 review found some of it still goes to building tissue.

Breakfast is usually the easy win. If it's toast or cereal, it brings little protein and dinner has to carry the day. Eggs, Greek yogurt, cottage cheese or tofu fix that.

Which foods give the most protein for the calories?

Tuna, chicken breast, nonfat Greek yogurt and tofu give the most protein per calorie. When calories are tight, protein per 100 kcal matters as much as protein per serving. Eggs, lentils and beans give less per calorie, and beans and lentils bring fiber with it. Figures from USDA FoodData Central:

Cheese, nuts and peanut butter carry protein too, but most of their calories come from fat: about 6 g of protein per 100 kcal for cheddar, and about 4 for almonds or peanut butter. Fine to eat, just not the way to reach a protein target on fewer calories.

Without meat, tofu, tempeh, edamame, lentils, beans, Greek yogurt and eggs do the job, and a 2019 review found legumes, nuts and seeds are enough to meet protein needs on vegetarian and vegan diets.

You don't need shakes. Whole foods can cover an active person's protein, says the ISSN.

Does anyone need more or less?

• If you lift or train hard. In 49 trials with 1,863 people doing strength training, extra protein added muscle up to about 1.6 g per kg a day, with no clear gain past that. The popular "1 g per pound" is 2.2 g per kg: the top of that study's range, which its authors suggest for people trying to build as much muscle as they can. The ISSN adds that experienced lifters eating less may need 2.3 to 3.1 g per kg of lean (fat-free) mass to keep the most muscle.
• If you're over 65. The PROT-AGE group recommends at least 1.0 to 1.2 g per kg for healthy older adults, and 1.2 or more if you're active. The 1.2 to 1.6 range already covers it. For midlife and menopause, see how much protein women over 40 need.
• If you have kidney disease. Ask your doctor or a registered dietitian before you eat more protein: people with severe kidney disease may need to limit it. In adults with healthy kidneys, a 2018 analysis of trials found higher-protein diets didn't harm kidney function.

General information, not medical advice. If you have a health condition, are pregnant or take medication, check with your doctor or a registered dietitian before you change how you eat.