How Much Protein Do You Actually Need?

By Puja Matharu, Australian Certified Nutritionist Published 2026-07-30 Medically reviewed by Puja Matharu, Australian Certified Nutritionist, on 2026-07-30.

Protein is the nutrient people most often get wrong in both directions. Some are eating half what they need and wondering why they're hungry an hour after lunch. Others are drinking three shakes a day on the assumption that more is always better. The honest answer sits in between, and it depends on your body weight, your age and how much you're training.

This guide gives you the Australian reference figures, the higher targets that apply if you're training or losing weight, and how to actually hit them with food. If you'd rather skip to a number, use the protein calculator.

How much protein do you actually need?

Australia's official figures come from the NHMRC Nutrient Reference Values. The Recommended Dietary Intake (RDI) is the amount that meets the needs of nearly all healthy people — it is a floor for avoiding deficiency, not an optimal target for body composition.

Group	RDI (g per kg body weight)	Example: 70 kg adult
Men 19–70	0.84 g/kg	~59 g/day
Women 19–70	0.75 g/kg	~53 g/day
Men over 70	1.07 g/kg	~75 g/day
Women over 70	0.94 g/kg	~66 g/day
Pregnancy	~1.0 g/kg	~70 g/day
Breastfeeding	~1.1 g/kg	~77 g/day

Note that the requirement rises after 70. This is the opposite of what most people assume, and it matters: older adults lose muscle faster and absorb protein less efficiently, so the same intake does less work.

When you need more than the RDI

The RDI assumes a sedentary adult who isn't trying to change their body composition. Three situations push the useful target higher:

Building muscle: roughly 1.6–2.2 g/kg per day. Above about 2.2 g/kg there's little additional benefit for most people.
Losing weight: roughly 1.2–2.0 g/kg. Higher protein in a calorie deficit helps preserve lean mass and keeps you fuller, which is why aggressive low-protein diets so often end in the binge–restrict cycle.
Training regularly: roughly 1.2–1.6 g/kg for general fitness, higher for serious strength or endurance work.

Use goal weight, not current weight, if you're carrying a lot of excess weight. Protein needs scale with lean mass, not total mass. Calculating 2 g/kg from a starting weight of 140 kg produces a target most people can't eat and don't need.

Spreading it across the day beats one big hit

Total daily protein matters most, but distribution is the easiest free win available. Most Australians eat very little protein at breakfast, a moderate amount at lunch, and then a large amount at dinner. Flattening that curve improves both muscle retention and appetite control.

A practical target is 25–40 g of protein per meal, three or four times a day. Getting 25–30 g at breakfast is the single change that makes the biggest difference to how the rest of the day feels — it stabilises appetite before the mid-morning snack decision even arrives.

Australian protein sources, by the numbers

Approximate protein per common serve:

Food	Serve	Protein
Chicken breast, cooked	100 g	~31 g
Lean beef, cooked	100 g	~30 g
Salmon, cooked	100 g	~25 g
Greek yoghurt	200 g tub	~18 g
Cottage cheese	100 g	~12 g
Eggs	2 large	~13 g
Firm tofu	150 g	~18 g
Tempeh	100 g	~19 g
Lentils, cooked	1 cup	~18 g
Chickpeas, cooked	1 cup	~15 g
Edamame	1 cup	~17 g
Milk	250 ml	~9 g
Rolled oats, dry	1/2 cup	~5 g
Whey protein powder	1 scoop (30 g)	~24 g

Figures vary by brand and cut — check the label for anything packaged. The pattern to notice is that hitting 30 g from whole foods usually means a palm-sized serve of meat, fish or tofu, or two to three plant sources combined.

Getting enough on a plant-based diet

It is entirely achievable, with two adjustments. First, plant proteins are generally less concentrated, so portions need to be larger and more frequent. Second, most individual plant foods are lower in one or more essential amino acids — combining sources across the day (legumes with grains, for instance) covers the gap without any need for precise per-meal pairing.

Soy foods (tofu, tempeh, edamame, soy milk) are the exception: they're complete proteins and concentrated enough to build a meal around. Practically, they're the backbone of most plant-based plans that actually hit their target.

Can you eat too much protein?

For healthy adults with normal kidney function, high protein intakes within the ranges above are well tolerated, and the claim that protein damages healthy kidneys is not supported by the evidence. Two genuine caveats:

Existing kidney disease changes the picture entirely. Protein intake should be set by your renal team, not a calculator.
Displacement. The real cost of a very high protein diet is usually what it pushes off the plate — most often fibre and the vegetables that come with it.

If you have kidney disease, liver disease, or you're on a protein-restricted diet for any medical reason, treat this page as general background only and follow the advice of your GP or an Accredited Practising Dietitian.

Putting it together

Work out your target with the protein calculator, then check where your current intake actually lands — most people are surprised by the gap at breakfast specifically. From there it's usually two or three swaps, not a rebuild: yoghurt or eggs instead of toast alone, a legume added to lunch, and a protein source anchoring dinner rather than accompanying it.

If you're eating enough protein and still stalling, the problem is probably elsewhere — see why weight loss plateaus.

Frequently asked questions

How much protein do I need per day in Australia?

The NHMRC Recommended Dietary Intake is 0.84 g per kg of body weight for men aged 19 to 70 and 0.75 g/kg for women, rising to 1.07 g/kg and 0.94 g/kg after age 70. For a 70 kg adult that is roughly 53 to 59 g per day. If you are training or losing weight, 1.2 to 2.2 g/kg is a more useful target.

How much protein should I eat at each meal?

Aim for 25 to 40 g per meal across three or four meals. Total daily intake matters most, but Australians typically eat very little protein at breakfast and a large amount at dinner, so evening out that distribution is usually the easiest improvement to make.

Is too much protein bad for your kidneys?

In healthy adults with normal kidney function, protein intakes in the ranges above are well tolerated and do not damage the kidneys. If you already have kidney disease, your protein intake should be set by your renal team rather than a general guideline.

Can you get enough protein on a plant-based diet?

Yes, with larger and more frequent portions, since plant proteins are generally less concentrated. Soy foods such as tofu, tempeh and edamame are complete proteins and concentrated enough to build meals around. Combining legumes and grains across the day covers the amino acids that individual plant foods are lower in.

References

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