How Much Protein on Keto? A Plain Number by Body Weight

Summary: For most adults losing weight on keto, about 1.2 to 1.6 g of protein per kg of body weight per day is a well-supported target, with 0.8 g/kg as the bare minimum and up to 1.8 to 2.0 g/kg in a steep calorie deficit.

The plain number

Minimum: 0.8 g/kg per day (the RDA).
Good everyday target for weight loss: 1.2 to 1.6 g/kg per day.
If you exercise regularly: 1.4 to 2.0 g/kg per day.
In a large calorie deficit: 1.8 to 2.0 g/kg per day.
Over 65: at least 1.0 to 1.2 g/kg per day.

Pick the low end of a range if you are less active and the high end if you lift, train hard or are eating well below maintenance.

What each source says

Source	Who it covers	Daily amount
National Academies RDA (2005)	Healthy adults	0.80 g/kg (protein can be 10–35% of calories)
EFSA (2012)	Adults, including older adults	0.83 g/kg; up to about twice that considered safe
PROT-AGE (Bauer et al., 2013)	Adults over 65	1.0–1.2 g/kg; 1.2–1.5 g/kg if ill
Leidy et al. (2015)	Appetite and weight management	1.2–1.6 g/kg, about 25–30 g per meal
ISSN (Jäger et al., 2017)	Most people who exercise	1.4–2.0 g/kg
Morton et al. (2018)	Resistance training, 49 trials	Gains level off around 1.6 g/kg
Phillips & van Loon (2011)	Energy restriction	1.8–2.0 g/kg, depending on the deficit
Helms et al. (2014)	Lean, trained athletes dieting	2.3–3.1 g per kg of lean mass

Two notes on this table:

The Phillips & van Loon figure is 1.8 to 2.0 g/kg. Some summaries quote a higher upper bound; the PubMed abstract gives 2.0.
Helms and Morton studied trained people. Most of these studies enrolled men or mixed groups. None was specific to women aged 30 to 60 on low-carb diets.

Grams per day by body weight

Weight in pounds ÷ 2.2 = weight in kg. Then multiply by the target.

Body weight	0.8 g/kg (floor)	1.2 g/kg	1.6 g/kg	2.0 g/kg
60 kg (132 lb)	48 g	72 g	96 g	120 g
70 kg (154 lb)	56 g	84 g	112 g	140 g
80 kg (176 lb)	64 g	96 g	128 g	160 g
90 kg (198 lb)	72 g	108 g	144 g	180 g
100 kg (220 lb)	80 g	120 g	160 g	200 g

These are simple multiplications of the ranges above, not study results.

How to work out your number

Find your weight in kg. Divide pounds by 2.2.
Choose a range. Use 1.2 to 1.6 for everyday weight loss. Use the higher end if you train or eat far below maintenance.
Decide which weight to use. The sources above give grams per kg of body weight. If you carry a lot of body fat, total weight can give a high number; some people use a goal weight or lean mass instead. Helms is the only source in the table that uses lean mass. See Body weight or lean mass?.
Multiply. Weight in kg × target = grams per day.
Count grams on the label, not grams of meat. 100 g of chicken is not 100 g of protein.
Track for a week or two to see where you really land. See Tracking.

If you have kidney disease, set this number with your doctor. See Does high protein hurt your kidneys?.

Per meal

Spreading protein over the day helps you reach the total.

Source	Per-meal amount
Leidy et al. (2015)	About 25–30 g per meal
PROT-AGE (Bauer et al., 2013)	25–30 g per meal for adults over 65
ISSN (Jäger et al., 2017)	20–40 g (about 0.25 g/kg) every 3–4 hours
Schoenfeld & Aragon (2018)	About 0.4 g/kg per meal over at least four meals

Three meals of about 30 g each comes to about 90 g, which covers 1.2 g/kg for someone around 75 kg. More: How much protein per meal?

What KetoDick suggests

KetoDick gives flat gram numbers rather than g/kg:

Women about 80 g a day, men about 100 g, plus 20 g if very tall and 20 g more for heavy lifting, CrossFit or endurance events (video UygKGoP_BtA).
Women about 80 to 120 g depending on activity, and about 140 g for himself (video 1JbK1_ClDmY).
In an earlier video he gives a wider range: women from about 50–60 g up to 100–120 g, men from about 80 g to 140 g or more for intense athletes (video s_sNd1v8Low).
He says protein should be set by lean mass (video 8Jk5ShSUpFY).
In month one he says most people get enough protein without tracking it, and suggests a calculator set to about 30–35% of calories from protein (video DoSUgIr2rNo).
"100 g protein" means 100 g on the label, not 100 g of meat (video cTGYIFOTPl8).

How his numbers compare: for a 70 kg (154 lb) woman, his 80 g starting point is about 1.15 g/kg. That sits just under the 1.2 to 1.6 g/kg range in the Leidy review, and his 120 g upper figure is about 1.7 g/kg. His starting point is a little lower than the studies for that weight; his "err high" advice (video UygKGoP_BtA) moves it into range.

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Last verified: 2026-10-31