protein calculator
A daily protein range from your bodyweight and your goal. A range on purpose: no formula earns a decimal place.
Building lean while losing fat: 1.8 g/kg, the platform's default target.
For a recomposition goal, aim near 145 g a day, and count any day inside the band a success.
A range on purpose. Protein needs move with training load, age, and how deep a deficit runs, and no formula earns a decimal place. Land inside the band on most days and the job is done.
three goals, three anchors, one band.
The anchors are the commonly cited resistance-training figures: enough protein to hold lean mass at maintenance, more when you are trying to build and lose at once, most when a deficit puts muscle at risk. All three live inside the same 1.6 to 2.2 g/kg band.
| maintain | recomposition | cut | |
|---|---|---|---|
| anchor | 1.6 g/kg | 1.8 g/kg | 2.2 g/kg |
| the job protein does | keeps existing lean mass fed | supplies the building material while fat falls | spares muscle when energy is short |
| the cost of missing it | slow, quiet lean loss | recomposition stalls into plain weight loss | the deficit spends muscle, not fat |
Anchors reflect commonly cited resistance-training and body-composition figures. Individual needs vary with training history, age, and adherence.
protein is the first lever of recomposition.
Of everything a coach can adjust, protein intake and progressive training move the recomposition line the most. That is why the platform builds a client's diet protein-first and tracks the two masses, lean and fat, instead of the bodyweight that hides them.
Turn the range into a full day of targets with the macro calculator, or read how the two masses are tracked on the recomposition page.
the honest answers.
Why a range instead of an exact number?
Because an exact number would be a lie of precision. The evidence supports a band, roughly 1.6 to 2.2 grams per kilogram for people who train, and where you sit inside it moves with your training load, your age, and the size of your deficit. A decimal place implies a certainty the research does not have.
Why does cutting need the most protein?
In an energy deficit the body looks for tissue to spend, and without enough protein and training, lean mass is on the menu. The higher anchor, 2.2 g/kg, is what makes a deficit come out of fat instead of muscle. Maintenance can afford the bottom of the band.
Does the timing or the source matter as much as the total?
The daily total dominates. Spreading it across three or four feeds and anchoring some around training helps at the margin, but no timing trick rescues a day that missed the band. Hit the range first; refine the schedule later.
more free tools
- one-rep max calculatorYour estimated 1RM from any set, with the three formulas the platform uses.
- tdee calculatorMaintenance calories from Mifflin-St Jeor and an honest activity multiplier.
- macro calculatorA calorie target split into protein, fat, and carbs, priced at 4/4/9.
- body fat calculatorThe US Navy tape-measure estimate, marked as the rough proxy it is.
- calorie deficit calculatorAn intake target and an honest weekly rate; below-BMR plans are refused.
a calculator estimates once. the platform watches what actually happens.
Every number this page gives you is a starting point. Trainbase is where a coach and a client watch the real ones move: every set logged against a program, every reading on one honest scale, every estimate marked as an estimate. When the trend disagrees with the calculator, the trend wins.