How much protein do you need per day?
The short answer: 1.6 to 2.2 grams per kilogram of body weight per day if you train and care about muscle, which is roughly 115 to 160 g for a 72 kg person. The official minimum of 0.8 g per kg keeps you alive; it is not the number that keeps you strong.
Why the range, not one number
Research on lifters finds benefits plateau around 1.6 g per kg for most, with 2.2 useful during a cut, when protein defends muscle while calories drop. Older adults also do better toward the higher end because muscle protein synthesis gets less responsive with age.
Body weight is the anchor because muscle tissue scales with it. That is why grams per kilogram beats a universal 100 g target: the right number for a 55 kg woman and a 95 kg man are very different. Get your personal range from the protein calculator.
Distribution matters more than timing myths
The anabolic window is wider than the old 30-minute myth, but distribution is real: 3 to 4 meals with 25 to 45 g each beats one giant dinner, because each protein feeding triggers its own round of muscle building.
Practical anchors help: a chicken breast is about 45 g, three eggs 18 g, a cup of Greek yogurt 20 g, a scoop of whey 25 g. Most people who miss their target simply never see the running total.
Hitting the number without spreadsheets
The failure mode is not knowledge, it is accounting. Guessing daily protein by feel is usually off by 30 to 50 g.
Equil counts it for you: snap a photo of the meal and protein is logged and totaled against your personal target, which adjusts with your goal, on a cut your protein target rises to protect muscle while calories drop.
Stop tracking by hand
Equil reads your food, glucose, sleep and training, then adjusts your plan in real time. Not another logger, a coach.
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