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# How much protein do men actually need?
- URL: https://verinourishmen.com/nutrition/protein/
- Published: 2026-07-25T00:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-04T17:27:10.000Z
- Description: The official minimum, the amount that supports muscle, and what changes after 50. Real numbers for your body weight, plus how to spread protein across the day.
- Author: VeriNourish
- Tags: Nutrition

Two numbers get mixed up in every protein argument. One is the amount that stops you becoming deficient. The other is the amount that supports muscle when you train. They are far apart, and most advice quietly swaps one for the other.

The minimum is 0.8 g of protein per kg of body weight a day, which works out at roughly 70 g for a 90 kg man ([Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health](https://nutritionsource.hsph.harvard.edu/what-should-you-eat/protein/)). If you lift, run, are trying to lose fat without losing muscle, or are over 50, you want more than that. Here is how much more, and where the returns stop.

## The numbers that match your goal

| Your situation                                                                     | Daily protein                   | For an 85 kg man |
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------- | ---------------- |
| General health, little training                                                    | 0.8 g/kg (the official minimum) | About 70 g       |
| Active, keeping the muscle you have                                                | 1.2–1.6 g/kg                    | 100–135 g        |
| Training to build muscle                                                           | 1.6–2.0 g/kg                    | 135–170 g        |
| [Losing weight](https://verinourishmen.com/symptoms/belly-fat/), protecting muscle | Upper end of 1.6–2.0 g/kg       | 135–170 g        |
| Over 65, not especially active                                                     | At least 1.0–1.2 g/kg           | 85–100 g         |
| Over 65 and training                                                               | At least 1.2 g/kg, often more   | 100 g and up     |

The International Society of Sports Nutrition puts 1.4 to 2.0 g/kg as sufficient for most exercising people who want to build or hold muscle ([JISSN, 2017](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5477153/)). Above that, the evidence for extra benefit thins out fast.

## Where the returns become uncertain

The most useful single finding on this comes from a meta-analysis of 49 studies and 1,863 people doing resistance training. Extra protein improved strength and lean mass, but the dose-response curve flattened at about 1.62 g per kg of body weight a day. The confidence interval around that figure was wide, running to roughly 2.2 g/kg, so treat it as the point where the returns become hard to detect rather than an exact ceiling ([Br J Sports Med, 2018](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28698222/)).

For an 85 kg man, 1.6 g/kg is about 136 g and 2.0 g/kg is 170 g. The study does not prove that every gram above 136 is wasted; it says the average added benefit became difficult to detect around that point, with substantial uncertainty. Treat 1.6–2.0 g/kg as a practical range and remember that pushing protein higher can displace carbohydrate that supports [the training](https://verinourishmen.com/muscle/building-muscle/).

![A man preparing food at a kitchen island, with salmon, eggs, chickpeas, beans and yogurt laid out on the counter.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/37/4a/374a45b6-379a-42eb-9ea7-4e68b02d4206/content/images/2026/07/protein-foods-1.webp) 

Portions that land near 20 to 30 g: a salmon fillet, three eggs, a large tub of Greek yogurt, lentils with cheese.

## How to spread it across the day

Total intake matters most, but distribution is the free win that most men miss. A typical pattern is toast or nothing at breakfast, a light lunch, then 60 g of protein at dinner. The total might look fine on paper while three quarters of the day supplies too little to do much.

The position stand suggests roughly 0.25 g per kg per meal, or 20 to 40 g, spaced every three to four hours ([JISSN, 2017](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5477153/)).

In practice that means four points in the day rather than one. Portions that land near 20 to 30 g of protein include a chicken breast, a salmon fillet, a tin of tuna, a large tub of Greek yogurt, three eggs, or a bowl of lentils with a piece of cheese. Anchor breakfast and lunch with one of those and the daily total takes care of itself.

Timing around training is a smaller lever than the internet suggests. The position stand is direct about it: total protein and calorie intake matter more than whether you drink a shake inside some window after the session.

## After 65, guidance usually recommends more

Older muscle responds less to the same amount of protein, which is why the advice for older men moves in the opposite direction to appetite. The PROT-AGE group recommends at least 1.0 to 1.2 g/kg a day for people over 65, at least 1.2 g/kg for those who exercise, and 1.2 to 1.5 g/kg for those managing illness ([JAMDA, 2013](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23867520/)). Men with severe kidney disease who are not on dialysis are the exception and need individual advice.

Protein alone will not hold muscle in place. It works when there is a training stimulus for it to support, which is the argument made in our guide to [muscle loss with age](https://verinourishmen.com/muscle/muscle-loss-with-age/).

## The kidney question

The claim that high protein wrecks your kidneys has been tested. A meta-analysis of 28 randomized trials in 1,358 adults without kidney disease found that higher protein intakes did not change kidney function compared with lower or normal intakes ([J Nutr, 2018](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30383278/)).

Two limits on that. It applies to healthy kidneys, and if you have kidney disease, protein intake is a medical decision rather than a fitness one. And those trials ran for weeks and months, so they answer the question about a high-protein diet, not about decades at the top of the range.

The more realistic downsides of a very high protein diet are dull ones. It crowds out fiber and carbohydrate, it costs money, and it is hard to sustain, which matters more than any theoretical risk.

![A man buying fish, eggs, cheese and olives at a covered market stall.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/37/4a/374a45b6-379a-42eb-9ea7-4e68b02d4206/content/images/2026/07/food-first-1.webp) 

Powder is a convenience. What food buys you is everything that comes attached to the protein.

## Food first, powder second

Protein powder is a convenience, not a requirement. It is useful when you cannot get a meal in, appetite is low, or you are short by 20 or 30 g at the end of the day. When total amount and protein quality are comparable, a powder is not inherently better for muscle outcomes; its advantages are convenience, predictable dosing and sometimes appetite tolerance. [Creatine](https://verinourishmen.com/supplements/creatine/) answers a different question and has its own evidence base.

What food quality buys you is everything that comes attached. Harvard's nutrition team makes the point that the source matters as much as the amount, favoring fish, poultry, beans, nuts and legumes over red and processed meat.

![Shopping bags of vegetables, bread and eggs standing in a hallway by an open door, with trainers on the floor.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/37/4a/374a45b6-379a-42eb-9ea7-4e68b02d4206/content/images/2026/07/healthy-routine-1.webp) 

Fix breakfast and lunch first. For most men that is the whole gap.

## What to do this week

1. **Work out your range.** Use 0.8 g/kg as the general adult reference intake, 1.0–1.2 g/kg if you are over 65, and roughly 1.4–2.0 g/kg if you train regularly. Our [protein calculator](https://verinourishmen.com/tools/protein-calculator/) does that arithmetic from your weight and training load.
2. **Count one ordinary day.** Most men find the total is acceptable and the timing is not.
3. **Fix breakfast and lunch first.** Getting 25 to 30 g into each of those is usually the whole gap.
4. **Do not turn one estimate into a ceiling.** Around 1.6 g/kg is a sensible anchor; needs and study uncertainty extend above it, while more is not automatically better.
5. **Train.** Protein supports muscle. Resistance training is what asks for it.

## Frequently asked questions

### How much protein does a man need per day?

The reference intake for generally healthy adults is 0.8 g per kg of body weight, about 72 g a day for a 90 kg man. If you exercise or want to hold onto muscle, 1.4 to 2.0 g/kg is a practical range. A resistance-training meta-analysis estimated a breakpoint near 1.6 g/kg, but its upper confidence limit reached about 2.2 g/kg, so 1.6 is not a hard ceiling.

### Is 200 g of protein a day too much?

It depends on body weight and goal. For a 90 kg man, 200 g is about 2.2 g/kg: the upper end of the uncertainty range around a widely cited resistance-training meta-analysis and above the 1.4–2.0 g/kg range considered sufficient for most exercising adults. It is not automatically harmful in someone with healthy kidneys, but it may add little and is not a universal target.

### Does high protein damage your kidneys?

Not in people with healthy kidneys. A meta-analysis of 28 trials in adults without kidney disease found no effect of higher protein intakes on the change in kidney function. Existing kidney disease is a different situation and needs medical advice.

### Do older men need more protein or less?

More. Older muscle responds less to the same amount of protein, so the PROT-AGE group recommends at least 1.0 to 1.2 g per kg daily for people over 65, and at least 1.2 g per kg for those who are active.

## References

1. [Protein: The Nutrition Source](https://nutritionsource.hsph.harvard.edu/what-should-you-eat/protein/) · Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
2. [A systematic review, meta-analysis and meta-regression of the effect of protein supplementation on resistance training-induced gains in muscle mass and strength in healthy adults](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28698222/) · British Journal of Sports Medicine, 2018
3. [International Society of Sports Nutrition Position Stand: protein and exercise](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5477153/) · Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, 2017
4. [Evidence-based recommendations for optimal dietary protein intake in older people: a position paper from the PROT-AGE Study Group](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23867520/) · Journal of the American Medical Directors Association, 2013
5. [Changes in Kidney Function Do Not Differ between Healthy Adults Consuming Higher- Compared with Lower- or Normal-Protein Diets](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30383278/) · The Journal of Nutrition, 2018