Why two numbers
1.2 g per kilogram is a common planning floor for adults who want to keep muscle while they walk and eat normally. 1.6 g per kilogram is a range often discussed when resistance work is part of the week. More than that is not automatically better. The macro calculator may print a higher gram figure if it takes 25 percent of a large TDEE; you can ignore that ceiling and stay with grams per kilogram.
Spread protein across meals rather than saving it for a late shake. The protein article and the meal framework exist for that reason. Older adults who are also doing sit-to-stand work still need the food that rebuilds the thigh they just trained.
Worked example
72 kg × 1.2 = 86 g. 72 kg × 1.6 = 115 g. That is yogurt at breakfast, fish or beans at lunch, and a palm of protein at dinner — not three tubs of powder. If appetite is small, use the same grams in smaller, more frequent palms.
Frequently asked
Does the protein calculator store what I type?
No. The arithmetic runs in your browser. See the privacy page.
Is this medical advice?
No. Read the medical disclaimer. Take unusual results to a clinician.
Should children use this?
No. These tools are written for adults.
How does this sit next to BMI?
Use the BMI calculator as a size snapshot, then return here for the question this page actually answers.
What should I read after the number?
Food: meal framework. Joints: knees or back. Metrics: adult indicators.
Formulas are named on the page. They are planning maths, not clinic devices.
Using the result in a normal week
Write the figure once. Do not recalculate after every meal. Recalculate when weight has changed by several kilograms, when a clinician has changed a medicine that affects weight or heart rate, or when your job has become much more or much less physical. Daily recalculation is how a useful tool becomes noise.
Food still comes from the meal framework, the foods list, and the dinner templates in the journal. Movement still comes from walking and from the mobility articles when a joint is the limit. Metrics still come from waist, blood pressure, and sleep on the adult-indicator pages.
If the result looks extreme, assume the inputs or the equation limits before you assume your body is extreme. Heights typed in the wrong unit are the usual villains. Then talk to a person who can examine you.
Keep the same units you used last time. Measure height once against a wall and write it in the notebook you already keep for waist, morning weight, and walks. Consistency beats precision theatre.
Using the result in a normal week
Write the figure once. Do not recalculate after every meal. Recalculate when weight has changed by several kilograms, when a clinician has changed a medicine that affects weight or heart rate, or when your job has become much more or much less physical. Daily recalculation is how a useful tool becomes noise.
Food still comes from the meal framework, the foods list, and the dinner templates. Movement still comes from walking and from the mobility articles when a joint is the limit. Metrics still come from waist, blood pressure, and sleep — see adult indicators and home blood pressure.
Shortcuts that promise to replace this work are collected in why crash diets fail and teas, wraps, and shortcuts. Read those if the reason you opened a calculator was a product promise rather than a planning question.
If the result looks extreme, assume the inputs or the equation limits before you assume your body is extreme. Heights under 140 cm or weights typed in the wrong unit are the usual villains. Then talk to a person who can examine you. A second calculator tab is not that person.
Keep the same units you used last time. Mixing pounds and kilograms, or inches and centimetres, is the most common way to get a theatrical result. When in doubt, measure height once against a wall and write it in the notebook you already keep for waist, morning weight, and walks. Consistency beats precision theatre.