Protein calculator
The amount that supports training and protects muscle — not the minimum that prevents deficiency. Those are different numbers, and most calculators return the wrong one.
Where the ranges come from
The training and deficit ranges follow the ISSN Position Stand on Protein and Exercise (2017), which puts 1.4–2.0 g/kg for people who train and higher when energy is restricted. The 0.8 g/kg figure shown separately is the RDA: a deficiency floor for sedentary adults, and the number most calculators hand back as a goal.
sedentary 0.8 – 1.2 g/kg training 1.4 – 2.0 g/kg losing weight 1.8 – 2.4 g/kg building 1.6 – 2.2 g/kg
Spread beats stacking
Roughly 0.4 g/kg per meal across three or four meals uses protein better than the same total eaten mostly at dinner. It is a second-order effect next to hitting the daily number at all — but it is free.
These are the same numbers and the same guards the Talk2Fit app applies when it builds your plan — the calculator is the app's own arithmetic, not a separate approximation.
Questions
Isn't 0.8 g/kg the official recommendation?
It is, and it answers a different question. The RDA is the amount that prevents deficiency in a sedentary adult — a floor, set to cover almost everyone's minimum. It was never proposed as the intake that supports training, protects lean mass in a deficit, or keeps older adults from losing muscle.
Why does a deficit need more, not less?
Because that is exactly when the body is most willing to break down muscle for fuel. Higher protein plus resistance training is the best-evidenced way to make the weight you lose come mostly from fat. It is also why the app's own 'lose' preset sits at 2.0 g/kg rather than the 1.6 it uses for maintenance.
Is high protein bad for the kidneys?
In people with healthy kidneys, controlled trials have not shown harm at these intakes. In existing kidney disease it genuinely matters and is a conversation with a doctor, not with a calculator.
Should I use my body weight or my goal weight?
At a normal build the difference is small. Carrying a lot of fat makes body weight overstate the need — protein scales with lean mass, and fat tissue barely uses any — so lean body mass or goal weight is the better input there.