Protein for muscle growth: how much per day?
The range recommended by research, how to spread it across the day, and how to track it without a kitchen scale.
Protein provides the building blocks your muscles need to repair and grow after training. But between gym advice, tubs of whey and figures floating around online, it is hard to know how much you really need.
The reference range
In 2017, the International Society of Sports Nutrition (ISSN) published a position stand on the topic. To build and maintain muscle mass, an intake of 1.4 to 2.0 g of protein per kilogram of body weight per day is enough for most people who train.
In practice, for a 75 kg person, that means between 105 and 150 g of protein per day. During a calorie deficit, higher intakes of 2.3 to 3.1 g per kilogram may help trained lifters preserve their lean mass.
Spread it out instead of eating it all at once
The same position stand recommends spreading your intake across the day: about 0.25 g per kilogram per serving, or 20 to 40 g, every 3 to 4 hours. The exact timing, before or after your workout, matters less than you might think: the effect of training on muscle building lasts at least 24 hours.
Food or supplements?
You can absolutely meet your needs with food alone: meat, fish, eggs, dairy, legumes. Supplements are simply a convenient way to fill the gap when your plate falls short.
Tracking protein with Loaden
- Loaden sets your daily target at 1.8 g of protein per kilogram, right in the middle of the ISSN range.
- You describe your meal in a few words, and the AI analysis estimates its calories and macronutrients, with no kitchen scale.
- The "Sources for targets" button on the nutrition screen cites the references behind every figure.
These guidelines apply to healthy adults. If you have kidney disease, are pregnant, take medication or have a medical condition, ask a doctor or a registered dietitian before changing your diet.
Sources
Track your protein without weighing your meals
Describe what you eat, Loaden estimates your macros and tracks your daily target.
