Direct answer
The International Society of Sports Nutrition position stand recommends about 1.4–2.0 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight per day for most exercising adults building or maintaining muscle. Distribute protein across meals; meeting the daily total matters more than perfect timing. Individual needs vary with energy intake and training load.
That range is a planning frame for healthy adults who lift, not a prescription and not a promise of a certain amount of muscle. This page is general education. If you have a medical condition, are pregnant, or need a clinical diet, talk with a registered dietitian or physician before you change how you eat.
ISSN range in plain English (g/kg)
The 2017 ISSN position stand on protein and exercise, published in the Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, states that an overall daily intake of 1.4–2.0 g of protein per kilogram of body weight is sufficient for most exercising individuals who want to build muscle mass or keep the muscle they have. The stand notes that this range sits inside the Acceptable Macronutrient Distribution Range published by the Institute of Medicine.
Kilograms, not pounds, are the unit in the paper. If you know your weight in pounds, divide by 2.2 to get kilograms, then multiply by a number inside 1.4–2.0. A lifter who sits near the bottom of the range and a lifter who sits near the top are both inside the ISSN frame. The stand does not treat one single gram amount as the only correct target.
ISSN also says the picture changes with energy intake and with the training itself. Resistance-training program variables, training status, and the quality and quantity of protein all show up in how the authors discuss strength and body-composition outcomes. That is why copying a friend’s gram target, without knowing body weight or whether you are eating enough food to train, is a weak plan.
The same paper mentions the recommended dietary allowance of 0.8 g/kg/day as a reference point, and it discusses intakes above that allowance for people who train. The 1.4–2.0 g/kg/day range is the stand’s main statement for most exercising people building or maintaining muscle. Higher intakes are discussed separately below, especially when calories are low.
Example day for 70 kg and 90 kg lifters (illustrative math only)
These numbers are arithmetic from the ISSN range. They are not measured results from a study of a 70 kg or 90 kg person, and they are not a meal plan you must follow.
| Body weight | 1.4 g/kg/day | 2.0 g/kg/day |
|---|---|---|
| 70 kg (about 154 lb) | 98 g protein | 140 g protein |
| 90 kg (about 198 lb) | 126 g protein | 180 g protein |
A 70 kg lifter who aims at the middle of the range, about 1.6 g/kg, lands near 112 g for the day. A 90 kg lifter at the same 1.6 g/kg lands near 144 g. If you weigh more or less, redo the multiplication. Do not borrow the 70 kg total because it “sounds like a lot of chicken.”
ISSN’s general per-serving suggestion is 0.25 g of high-quality protein per kilogram of body weight, or an absolute dose of 20–40 g. For the same two body weights, 0.25 g/kg is about 18 g at 70 kg and about 23 g at 90 kg. Many meals will land higher than that 0.25 g/kg figure because the stand also describes an absolute dose of 20–40 g and says doses should be spread through the day. The useful check is still the daily total inside 1.4–2.0 g/kg, built from meals you can actually eat.
An illustrative split, not a required menu: four meals across the day for the 70 kg lifter at ~112 g could look like roughly 25–30 g at each meal. The 90 kg lifter at ~144 g might use meals closer to 30–40 g. Food labels and a kitchen scale are how you check a real plate. This site is not assigning those meals as the only pattern that works.
Per-meal doses often discussed in the literature
ISSN’s position statement puts the mixed per-serving recommendations in plain terms: about 0.25 g of high-quality protein per kilogram, or 20–40 g, with the dose depending on age and on recent resistance exercise. The stand says those doses should ideally be evenly distributed, every 3–4 hours, across the day.
It also says the anabolic effect of exercise is long-lasting (at least 24 hours) but likely diminishes as more time passes after training. In the timing section, the authors review evidence that total daily protein is the stronger driver of hypertrophy. They cite a meta-analysis in which a small effect of consuming protein within an hour after lifting largely disappeared once total protein intake was accounted for. Their practical reading matches the opening of this page: hit the day, and use meal timing as a way to spread that day out, not as a stopwatch you fail if you miss by thirty minutes.
You might be thinking you need a shake the minute the last set ends. ISSN’s own discussion is more forgiving. Pre- or post-workout protein can both fit, individual tolerance matters, and a meal in the hours around training is a reasonable feeding opportunity. If you already eat enough protein for the day, shifting the same grams by an hour is a smaller lever than missing the daily range entirely. For a closer look at meals around the session without turning eating into a timer, see meal timing around training.
The stand also notes a pre-sleep casein dose of 30–40 g in its position points, as a way to raise overnight muscle protein synthesis in the studies it reviews. That is one option discussed in the paper, not a rule that every natural lifter must buy casein. If your evening meal already covers a solid protein dose, you do not need a second product to “complete” the ISSN range.
Food sources vs powders (no brand rankings)
ISSN states that physically active people can meet daily protein needs from whole foods. It also says supplementation is a practical way to help with protein quality and quantity while keeping calories in check, especially when training volume is high. Powders are a convenience, not a requirement, and this page does not rank brands.
The stand tells athletes to focus on whole-food sources that contain all of the essential amino acids, because those amino acids are what stimulate muscle protein synthesis. It adds that rapidly digested proteins with a high proportion of essential amino acids and enough leucine are effective at stimulating synthesis, and that protein type and quality change how amino acids show up after you eat or drink a supplement. Dairy foods, eggs, meat, fish, and soy foods are everyday examples of protein-rich foods people use to build the daily total. You can mix them. You do not need a supplement aisle to land inside 1.4–2.0 g/kg if the plate already gets you there.
A powder can fill a gap when appetite is low, when a meal is hard to pack, or when you want protein without a large amount of extra food. It does not replace the daily total, and it does not outrank a meal that already supplies 20–40 g of high-quality protein. Skip brand comparisons. Compare the gram amount on the label with the gap left in your day.
Cutting phases: why intake may sit higher in the range
When calories come down, protein is one of the levers ISSN discusses for body composition. The position stand says that, combined with resistance training and a hypoenergetic diet, an elevated daily protein intake on the order of 2–3 times the RDA (the RDA they cite is 0.8 g/kg/day) can support greater fat loss and better preservation of the overall body-composition picture in the work they review. Two times 0.8 g/kg is 1.6 g/kg. Three times is 2.4 g/kg. So a cut often sits toward the top of the 1.4–2.0 g/kg range, and the paper’s energy-restriction discussion also includes intakes a bit above 2.0 g/kg.
The stand separately notes novel evidence that intakes above 3.0 g/kg/day may affect body composition in resistance-trained people, including fat mass. That figure is above the main 1.4–2.0 g/kg statement. It is not a target this page tells you to chase, and it is not medical advice. For most natural lifters in a cut, the practical reading of the stand is: do not drop protein to the bottom of the range just because calories are lower. Keep resistance training in the week, and let protein sit higher in the range while you reduce energy gradually.
A cut still has to be something you can eat and train through. Very low calories plus very high protein is not automatically better, and ISSN ties favorable composition changes to the combination of the diet, the training, and the protein intake, not to protein alone. If strength on your main lifts is falling every week, the problem may be the size of the deficit, sleep, or the training plan, not a missing shake. Cutting while keeping performance covers how this site talks about deficit pacing alongside protein.
What this site will not claim
This page will not discuss anabolic steroids or tell you how to use them. The ISSN range above is about food protein for exercising adults.
It will not claim that a protein number treats or prevents disease. It will not promise fat loss, a body-weight change, or a strength total. Illustrative math is only multiplication.
It will not claim a supplement is required for natural lifters, or that one powder is superior. Whole foods can meet the daily range. A powder is optional.
It will not claim that missing a post-workout window ruins the session. The stand’s timing discussion points back to total daily intake as the stronger predictor in the meta-analysis it reviews.
Training still has to progress if you want long-term change in the gym. Protein supports that work; it does not replace it. Progressive overload without ego lifting is the companion piece on how to add training stress without turning every session into a max-out.
When to see a registered dietitian
See a registered dietitian or a physician before you push protein up, or before you cut calories, if any of these apply: kidney disease or a history of kidney problems, an eating disorder or a troubled relationship with food, pregnancy or lactation, a medical condition that already comes with a diet order, or medication that changes how you should eat. Lifters under 18 should get guidance from a clinician or a qualified coach who works with youth, not from a blog range written for adults.
Also get individual help if you cannot hit a protein target without feeling sick, if weight is changing in a way you did not plan, or if you need numbers that account for a clinical condition. A dietitian can turn the ISSN range into a pattern that fits your labs, your culture’s foods, and your schedule. This article cannot do that.
Use the range as a check on the week, not as a score you owe every single day. If one day lands low, the next day can carry a normal meal pattern again. Pair that eating with training you can repeat, and with enough sleep that sessions are not a guess. What will you write down this week: body weight in kilograms, a protein target inside 1.4–2.0 g/kg, and whether your meals actually add up?
Sources
- Jäger R, Kerksick CM, Campbell BI, et al. International Society of Sports Nutrition position stand: protein and exercise. Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition. 2017. Full text (Springer / JISSN). PubMed record.
General fitness and nutrition education for healthy adults. Not medical advice, not a diet prescription, and not an endorsement of any supplement brand.