Daily protein calculator

What 30 g of protein looks like

Three foods from our database that reach about 30 g of protein, picked because they need the fewest calories to get there within their food group:

• Canned tuna in water120 g (4 oz)about 136 kcal, 2 typical servings
• Fish ceviche285 g (10 oz)about 179 kcal, 1.9 typical servings
• Cottage cheese290 g (10 oz)about 234 kcal, 2.9 typical servings

Weights are for the food as described on its page (raw, cooked, or drained). You can compare more options in the filling foods finder, filtered to high-protein foods.

How it is calculated

The calculator multiplies a range of grams of protein per kilogram of body weight by your weight, and splits it across 3 or 4 meals. If you enter pounds, we convert them to kilograms first (1 lb = 0.4536 kg); the ranges below also show the equivalent per pound. The range depends on your goal and your age:

• Losing weight while keeping muscle: 1.2 to 1.6 g/kg (0.54 to 0.73 g/lb) per day. The 2025 joint advisory from four US societies on nutrition with GLP-1 therapy notes that the adult reference is 0.8 g/kg and that higher targets, such as 1.2 to 1.6 g/kg, have been proposed during active weight loss. A 2024 review on nutrition with antiobesity medications cites up to 1.5 g/kg. These are proposals, not a settled consensus.
• Maintaining weight, 65 or older: 1.0 to 1.2 g/kg (0.45 to 0.54 g/lb) per day, according to the PROT-AGE Study Group (2013) and the European Society for Clinical Nutrition and Metabolism, ESPEN (2014).
• Maintaining weight, adults under 65: 0.8 to 1.0 g/kg (0.36 to 0.45 g/lb) per day. The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) sets the reference intake at 0.83 g/kg; the upper limit is our own margin. The US RDA for adults is 0.8 g/kg.

Which weight we use. None of these guidelines says which weight to use for people with obesity, and the 2025 advisory warns that total body weight can overestimate needs. Our choice: if you enter your height and your BMI is 30 or higher, we use the weight that corresponds to a BMI of 30 at your height. It is a simple, transparent rule, not a clinical standard. We do not use the “adjusted body weight” formula because we could not find a primary source for the factor it usually cites.

Activity. It does not change the range: it only places the starting point at the low end (low activity), in the middle (moderate), or at the high end (high).

Per meal. We divide the total by 3 and by 4 meals. The PROT-AGE group suggests about 25 to 30 g per meal for older adults; we use it as a reference.

Sex. These guidelines give the same amount per kilogram to women and men, so it does not change the result; we use it to remind you that pregnancy and breastfeeding are outside the calculation.

Limits. It is meant for healthy adults. It does not apply to pregnancy, breastfeeding, kidney disease, recent bariatric surgery, or competitive athletes.

To learn why protein matters on these medications and how to fit it into small meals, read Protein and muscle on GLP-1 medications and What to eat on GLP-1 medications.