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How to set your protein target, and when 1 g per pound is too much

By Mealbird ·

Multiply your weight in pounds by a rate for your goal: 1 g per lb (2.2 g per kg) to lose fat, 0.8 g to hold steady and 0.9 g to build muscle. Two rules then keep the number sensible. To lose fat with a BMI over 25, use the weight at BMI 25 for your height instead of your own. And keep protein at or under 35% of your calories, though never below a floor. That is the formula the Mealbird app uses, and 1 g per pound is too much exactly when one of those rules bites: a heavier body on a cut, or a day with few calories.

Step 1: the weight protein counts from

To lose fat, the formula counts protein from whichever is lower: your weight, or the weight at BMI 25 for your height (25 × your height in metres, squared). BMI 25 is the top of the World Health Organization’s healthy range, and dietitians call that weight a reference body weight. To hold steady or build muscle, it counts from your own weight.

The reason is arithmetic. A cut has the fewest calories, and grams per pound of a heavier body can take a large share of them: for the 220 lb woman in the second example below, 1 g per pound would be 48% of her calories, a share only the leanest foods can reach. Here is the BMI 25 weight the formula uses at a run of heights:

HeightWeight at BMI 25In kg
5′0″128 lb58.1 kg
5′2″137 lb62.0 kg
5′4″146 lb66.1 kg
5′6″155 lb70.3 kg
5′8″164 lb74.6 kg
5′10″174 lb79.0 kg
6′0″184 lb83.6 kg
6′2″195 lb88.3 kg
6′4″205 lb93.2 kg

Step 2: grams per pound for your goal

GoalPer lbPer kg
Lose fat1 g2.2 g
Hold steady0.8 g1.8 g
Build muscle0.9 g2 g

Multiply the rate by the weight from step 1 and round to the nearest 5 g. The per-kg rates are the per-lb ones converted and rounded to one decimal; the app works in pounds, so a kg answer can land a gram or two away from multiplying the kg rate yourself.

Step 3: at most 35% of calories, never under a floor

Protein has 4 kcal a gram, so the formula caps it at 35% of your calories, rounded down to 5 g so it never passes 35%. That keeps the day buildable from ordinary food: past about a third of the calories, only the leanest foods reach the number. 35% is also the top of the 10 to 35% share of calories the US National Academies give for protein.

The cap never goes below a floor. Losing fat, the floor is 0.8 g per lb (1.8 g per kg) of the weight protein counts from, the hold-steady rate. Holding steady or building muscle, it is 1.2 g per kg of your weight, the bottom of the 1.2 to 2.0 g per kg range sports-nutrition bodies give for active adults. Which foods give the most protein for the fewest calories is in high-protein foods ranked by protein per 100 calories.

When 1 g per pound is too much: three worked examples

Three people losing fat, run through the same functions as the calculator. Type any of them in and you get the same two numbers, line for line.

Lean and active: 1 g per pound standsMale, 28, 5′11″, 175 lb, very active (5–6 hard sessions a week), losing fat: 175 g protein and 2,450 kcal a day. He is at BMI 24.4, under 25, so protein counts from his own weight, and 175 g is 29% of his calories, inside the 35% cap. One gram per pound stands.
  1. Base burn (Mifflin–St Jeor)1786 kcal10 × 79.38 kg (175 lb) + 6.25 × 180.34 cm (5′11″) − 5 × 28 years, + 5 for men. What your body burns at rest.
  2. × 1.725 very active3081 kcalWhat you burn in a day: base burn × 1.725 for 5–6 hard sessions a week.
  3. − 20% for the cut2450 kcal3,081 kcal × 0.8, to the nearest 50 kcal.
  4. Protein: 1g × 175 lb175gYou weigh no more than BMI 25 for your height (179 lb), so protein counts from your own weight. 1 × 175 lb = 175, to the nearest 5 g. Within 35% of your calories (up to 210 g), so this is your target.
Heavier: count from the BMI 25 weightFemale, 35, 5′4″, 220 lb, lightly active (1–2 workouts a week), losing fat: 145 g protein and 1,850 kcal a day. One gram per pound of her weight would be 220 g, 48% of her calories. At BMI 37.8, protein counts from 146 lb instead, the BMI 25 weight for 5′4″, which gives 145 g, well inside the cap.
  1. Base burn (Mifflin–St Jeor)1678 kcal10 × 99.792 kg (220 lb) + 6.25 × 162.56 cm (5′4″) − 5 × 35 years, − 161 for women. What your body burns at rest.
  2. × 1.375 lightly active2307 kcalWhat you burn in a day: base burn × 1.375 for 1–2 workouts a week.
  3. − 20% for the cut1850 kcal2,307 kcal × 0.8, to the nearest 50 kcal.
  4. Weight at BMI 25 for your height146 lb25 × 1.626 m × 1.626 m = 66.1 kg (146 lb), the top of the WHO healthy BMI range. You weigh more, so losing fat counts protein from this weight instead.
  5. Protein: 1g × 146 lb145g1 × 146 lb = 146, to the nearest 5 g. Within 35% of your calories (up to 160 g), so this is your target.
Smaller and lightly active: the 35% capFemale, 34, 5′5″, 145 lb, lightly active (1–2 workouts a week), losing fat: 130 g protein and 1,500 kcal a day. She is at BMI 24.1, so protein counts from her own weight: 145 g. That is 39% of 1,500 kcal, and 35% is 131.3 g, rounded down to 130 g.
  1. Base burn (Mifflin–St Jeor)1359 kcal10 × 65.772 kg (145 lb) + 6.25 × 165.1 cm (5′5″) − 5 × 34 years, − 161 for women. What your body burns at rest.
  2. × 1.375 lightly active1868 kcalWhat you burn in a day: base burn × 1.375 for 1–2 workouts a week.
  3. − 20% for the cut1500 kcal1,868 kcal × 0.8, to the nearest 50 kcal.
  4. Protein: 1g × 145 lb145gYou weigh no more than BMI 25 for your height (150 lb), so protein counts from your own weight. 1 × 145 lb = 145, to the nearest 5 g.
  5. Up to 35% of calories130g35% of 1,500 kcal, at 4 kcal a gram, is 131.3 g, rounded down to 5 g. Lower than 145 g, so this is your target.

To see a day at a target like these on the plate, read what a 150 g protein day actually looks like.

A general nutrition estimate, not medical advice.