Protein Target Sheet
The published ranges, your own numbers, and a log — because the gap between knowing the target and hitting it is usually breakfast.
BFCBrilliance · bfcbrilliance.com/tools/protein-intake-calculator
Your numbers
- Date
- Weight (lb)
- Weight (kg)
- g/kg chosen
- Why that row
- DAILY TARGET (g)
- Meals per day
- PER MEAL (g)
- The RDA for comparison
The published figures
- 0.8 g/kg
- RDA — a FLOOR to prevent deficiency
- 1.2-2.0 g/kg
- physically active — 2016 joint position stand
- 1.2-1.6 g/kg
- moderate resistance / endurance
- 1.6-2.2 g/kg
- maximising muscle protein synthesis
- Position stand by
- Acad. Nutrition & Dietetics · DoC · ACSM
- lb to kg
- divide by 2.20462
- Protein energy
- 4 kcal per gram
- ⚠ An active target is
- roughly DOUBLE the RDA
- ⚠ These are per
- TOTAL body weight, as published
Log a few days — you will find out where the gap is
| Date | Breakfast | Lunch | Dinner | Other | TOTAL vs target |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Making the number happen
- Target chosen from what you DO, not from what you intend to do
- Divided by meals — a daily total is not actionable
- Breakfast checked first; it is where the gap usually is
- A few days actually logged before changing anything
- Protein spread across the day rather than in one meal
- Kidney function and any conditions discussed with a doctor
- What the protein DISPLACES considered, not just the protein
The RDA is a floor, not a target
0.8 g/kg is the amount that meets the needs of nearly all healthy people — set to prevent deficiency. The 1.2-2.0 range for active people answers a different question entirely. Reading one as the other is the commonest confusion on this topic, and it is roughly a factor of two.
The per-meal number is the one that changes anything
A daily total is easy to agree with and impossible to act on at any given moment. Divide it by the meals you actually eat and it becomes something you can check on a plate — usually revealing that the shortfall is at breakfast, which is the hardest meal to fix retrospectively.
This is arithmetic on a published range
Not advice. It cannot see your body composition, your kidney function, your medication or your goals, and for anyone carrying substantial excess weight the common practice of scaling to lean or target weight gives a considerably lower number. Those are dietitian questions.