How much protein should I eat a day? (UK guide)

If you are active, aim for roughly 1.2 to 2.2g of protein per kilogram of bodyweight a day. So a 70kg person lands somewhere between about 84g and 154g, depending on how hard they train and whether they are trying to build or hold onto muscle. The general UK reference intake is lower, around 50g a day, but that is a floor for a sedentary adult, not a target for someone lifting weights, running, or eating in a calorie deficit. Here is how to pick your number and hit it.

Where the range comes from

The 1.2 to 2.2g per kilogram range covers most active people. Broadly:

1.2 to 1.6g per kg suits general fitness, staying active, and holding steady.
1.6 to 2.2g per kg suits building muscle, training hard, or dieting while trying to keep the muscle you have.

Pick a point in the range that matches what you are doing, then multiply by your bodyweight in kilograms. A 70kg person aiming to build muscle at 1.8g per kg needs about 126g a day. The same person just staying active at 1.4g per kg needs about 98g.

You do not need to be surgical about it. Landing within 10 or 20g of your target most days is plenty. Protein is forgiving.

Why protein matters more than the other two

Two things make protein worth prioritising over carbs and fat.

It keeps you full. Gram for gram, protein is the most filling of the three macros. A breakfast built around eggs or Greek yoghurt keeps hunger away for longer than the same calories in toast or cereal. When you are eating less to lose weight, that fullness is the difference between sticking to your target and raiding the biscuit tin at 4pm.

It protects and builds muscle. Muscle is made of protein, and your body needs a steady supply to repair and grow it. When you diet without enough protein, some of the weight you lose comes off as muscle rather than fat, which is not what you want. Keep protein high and more of the loss stays fat. If you are lifting to build muscle, protein is the raw material for the job.

There is a smaller bonus too: your body burns a few more calories digesting protein than it does digesting carbs or fat. Useful, but the fullness and the muscle are the real reasons to care.

Easy UK protein sources

You do not need powders or special products. Ordinary food from any UK supermarket does the job. Rough guides, since exact figures vary by brand and cut:

Chicken breast is one of the densest sources, around 30g of protein in a medium cooked breast.
Eggs give roughly 6g each, and a three-egg breakfast is an easy 18g to start the day.
Greek yoghurt (the thick, strained kind, not standard yoghurt) is high in protein for the calories. A pot makes a solid snack.
Tinned tuna, salmon and mackerel are cheap, keep in the cupboard, and are protein-heavy.
Cottage cheese is another quiet winner, high protein and low fuss.
Baked beans, lentils, chickpeas and tofu cover you if you are vegetarian or vegan, and add fibre on top.
Milk, cheese and semi-skimmed milk in tea and cooking add up across the day more than people expect.

A simple way to hit your target: put a protein source at the centre of every meal, and add a high-protein snack or two. Eggs at breakfast, chicken or tuna at lunch, a yoghurt in the afternoon, fish or beans at dinner. That structure gets most people to 100g or more without much thought.

Spread it across the day

You will absorb protein better if you spread it across three or four meals rather than eating almost none until a giant dinner. Aim for a decent hit of protein at each meal, roughly 20 to 40g, instead of loading it all into one sitting. It is not a hard rule, just a sensible habit that also happens to keep you fuller for longer.

Let the app add it up

Working out grams of protein per meal, and checking whether you hit your daily number, gets tedious by hand. Fettle (stayfettle.com) sets a protein target from your weight and goal, then totals your protein as you log each meal, so you can see how much you still need before dinner. It has UK foods and barcode scanning, it is free, and there is no account to set up.

One honest note

These figures are general guidance for healthy, active adults, not medical advice. If you have a kidney condition, are pregnant, or have been given a specific protein target for a medical reason, check with your GP or a registered dietitian before changing how much protein you eat.