1.6 g per kilo as the target, sensibly spread across the day: what studies show about protein needs for muscle growth – minus the shake marketing and myths.
The honest answer to the most expensive question in the gym: for maximal muscle growth around 1.6 g of protein per kilo of bodyweight per day is enough — above that more offers on average no extra benefit. At 80 kg that is about 128 g a day; the study range goes up to about 2.2 g/kg, but that is the ceiling, not the target.
This is probably the most reassuring number in all of bodybuilding: you do not need 4 g/kg or a bucket of expensive powder. Protein is the building material your training turns into muscle — enough of it is mandatory, but "enough" is far less than the supplement industry wants to sell you.
More important than the last decimal is that you hit the amount every day and spread it sensibly — about 0.4 g/kg per meal across the day. Straight talk: first comes the daily amount, then distribution, then — last of all — timing. In exactly that order is how we build it here.
Take 1.6 g of protein per kilo of bodyweight as the target. 70 kg → 112 g, 90 kg → 144 g. In a diet or at very low body fat you may go higher — up to about 2.3–3.1 g/kg of lean body mass — to protect muscle, but for normal growth 1.6 g/kg is the sweet spot.
Do not hang everything on one meal. 0.4–0.5 g/kg of protein per meal across 3–5 meals best exploits muscle growth. At 80 kg that is roughly 30–40 g per meal — a palm of meat or fish, a big tub of quark, three eggs plus a side.
Animal sources (eggs, meat, fish, dairy) deliver all needed building blocks in an ideal ratio. Plant-based works just as well, you just need a bit more total amount and variety (legumes plus grains, tofu, soy). With sufficient daily amount the source is secondary — in the end your body only sees the building blocks, not the label on the package.
Whey or plant protein is not a muscle booster but convenient protein to go. Useful when you cannot hit your 1.6 g/kg from real food — post-workout or as a quick shake in daily life. Save the money and replace it with quark or skyr.
The famous "anabolic window" is more relaxed than believed. A protein meal before and after training covers any theoretical timing advantage — but as long as the daily amount is right, exact timing barely affects muscle growth. First amount, then distribution, then timing.
Build every meal around a protein anchor source instead of calculating protein at day's end. Breakfast: eggs or skyr. Lunch: poultry or fish. Dinner: meat, tofu or legumes. Snack: low-fat quark. If every meal contains a palm of protein, you land almost automatically at your 1.6 g/kg — without obsessive tracking. Structure beats willpower.
About 1.6 g per kilo of bodyweight maximizes growth; above that more offers on average no extra benefit. At 75 kg that is about 120 g. In a diet or at very low body fat you may go higher to protect muscle — for normal growth the 1.6 mark is enough.
No, not to the minute. A protein meal before and after training covers any timing advantage, but the effect of exact timing on muscle growth is small as long as the daily amount is right. Eat when it fits your day — consistency beats a stopwatch.
No, just a bit less concentrated. Plant sources need more total amount and variety to deliver the same building-block profile (legumes plus grains, soy, tofu). Hit your daily amount and combine cleverly, and you build muscle just as well as with animal protein.
For muscle growth, about 0.4–0.5 g/kg per meal is the practical target. Larger amounts are not "wasted" but are used less efficiently for growth. That is why you spread your protein over 3–5 meals instead of packing it into one.
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