How much protein do men actually need?
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.
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). 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, 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). Above that, the evidence for extra benefit thins out fast.
Where the returns stop
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. Beyond that point, more protein added nothing measurable (Br J Sports Med, 2018).
For an 85 kg man that ceiling is around 138 g a day. Plenty of men eat well past it in the belief that muscle scales with intake. It does not. Past the plateau, extra protein is just expensive food, and it displaces carbohydrate that would have fuelled the training that actually drives the gains.
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).
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 50, the target goes up
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). 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.
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).
That applies to healthy kidneys. If you have kidney disease, protein intake is a medical decision, not a fitness one.
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.
Food first, powder second
Protein powder is a convenience, not a requirement. It is useful when you cannot get a real meal in, when appetite is low, or when you are short by 20 or 30 g at the end of the day. It has no advantage over the same protein from food.
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.
What to do this week
- Work out your target. Multiply your body weight in kg by 1.2 if you are mostly sedentary and want to keep what you have, or by 1.6 if you train.
- Count one ordinary day honestly. Most men find the total is acceptable and the timing is not.
- Fix breakfast and lunch first. Getting 25 to 30 g into each of those is usually the whole gap.
- Stop at the plateau. Beyond roughly 1.6 g/kg there is nothing left to gain, whatever the label on the tub says.
- Train. Protein supports muscle. Resistance training is what asks for it.
Frequently asked questions
How much protein does a man need per day?
The official minimum is 0.8 g per kg of body weight, about 70 g a day for a 90 kg man. If you train or want to hold onto muscle, the useful range runs from roughly 1.4 to 2.0 g per kg. Gains from protein supplementation plateau at about 1.6 g per kg in men doing resistance training.
Is 200 g of protein a day too much?
For most men it is more than the evidence supports. Muscle gains from added protein level off near 1.6 g per kg of body weight, so a 90 kg man is unlikely to get more from 200 g than from 145 g. It is not dangerous for healthy kidneys, just unnecessary and expensive.
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
- Protein: The Nutrition Source · Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
- 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 · British Journal of Sports Medicine, 2018
- International Society of Sports Nutrition Position Stand: protein and exercise · Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, 2017
- Evidence-based recommendations for optimal dietary protein intake in older people: a position paper from the PROT-AGE Study Group · Journal of the American Medical Directors Association, 2013
- Changes in Kidney Function Do Not Differ between Healthy Adults Consuming Higher- Compared with Lower- or Normal-Protein Diets · The Journal of Nutrition, 2018