Can you eat too much protein?
Intakes up to about 3 g/kg are safe for healthy kidneys in the research. The practical limit is opportunity cost: protein calories displace the carbs and fats that fuel training.
Find your daily protein target based on body weight, activity and goal, plus how to split it across meals for maximum muscle protein synthesis.
Daily protein (g) = weight(kg) × factor (0.8 sedentary, 1.4 active, 1.8 muscle gain, 2.2 fat loss while training). Per meal = daily ÷ 4 meals.
An 80 kg lifter cutting weight targets 2.0 g/kg = 160 g of protein daily, or roughly 40 g across four meals — about 150 g of chicken breast each.
Intakes up to about 3 g/kg are safe for healthy kidneys in the research. The practical limit is opportunity cost: protein calories displace the carbs and fats that fuel training.
Yes. In a calorie deficit, 2.0–2.4 g/kg preserves lean mass better than lower intakes, because protein also blunts hunger and has the highest thermic effect of any macro.
Total daily intake dominates, but spreading 0.3–0.4 g/kg across three to five meals maximises muscle protein synthesis better than one or two large servings.