Protein timing
calculator

Turn your daily protein target into per-meal grams, using the 0.4 g/kg-per-meal distribution from Schoenfeld & Aragon (2018). With the per-meal dose older adults actually need — and why more meals isn't better.

How the math works

Protein timing is the question of how to split your daily protein across the day. The daily total does most of the work — muscle gains plateau at about 1.6 g/kg/day (Morton et al. 2018, breakpoint 1.62). Distribution is the optimisation on top.

Schoenfeld & Aragon (2018) recommend a per-meal dose of 0.4 g/kg across a minimum of four meals to reach that 1.6 g/kg/day. Notice that 0.4 × 4 = 1.6 — the per-meal number is simply the daily total repackaged. The calculator works both ways:

The upper of the per-meal band, 0.55 g/kg, is where the same paper puts the top daily intake (2.2 g/kg/day) spread over four meals. Above roughly that dose in one sitting, the extra protein is increasingly oxidised rather than used to build tissue.

Worked example

An 80 kg (176 lb) lifter under 65, eating 1.6 g/kg/day across four meals.

• Daily protein: 80 × 1.6 = 128 g/day
• Per meal (4 meals): 128 ÷ 4 = 32 g, which is 0.40 g/kg — exactly the recommended per-meal target
• Sensible meal range: 3 to 4 meals. Three meals is ~43 g each (0.53 g/kg, still in band); five meals drops each to ~26 g (0.32 g/kg), below the 0.40 target
• If they were 65+: the per-meal dose to aim for rises to ~0.40 g/kg, so those same 32 g meals only just clear it — and splitting into five smaller meals would leave every meal short

When this calculator is wrong

Protein timing is a rounding error next to protein total — until you're older. The daily total does almost all of the work, and the per-meal recommendation (0.4 g/kg across ≥4 meals) is just 1.6 g/kg/day repackaged. So spreading protein doesn't raise your requirement, and adding meals only divides the same total into smaller, eventually sub-threshold servings. The exception is age: Moore et al. (2015) found the per-meal dose that maximises muscle protein synthesis nearly doubles, from ~0.24 g/kg in young adults to ~0.40 g/kg in older ones, so for older readers meal size — not meal count — is the lever.

• The "anabolic window" is oversold. The claim that protein must land within an hour of training doesn't survive controlled comparison; the pre- and post-training meals are hours apart yet both count toward the day. Total intake and the leucine dose per meal drive the response, not the clock.
• Protein quality shifts the per-meal floor. The trigger for muscle protein synthesis is the leucine in a meal, not the total grams. A plant-forward meal is lower in leucine per gram, so it needs more total protein to clear the same threshold — the single per-kg coefficient here assumes a complete, higher-leucine protein.
• The single-meal cap is context-specific. The ~20–25 g "maximal MPS" figure comes from studies of fast-digesting protein taken alone. A mixed meal digests more slowly, so a larger single dose isn't necessarily wasted — the 0.40–0.55 g/kg band is the more useful guide than a hard gram ceiling.

What to do with the result

Set the daily total first — that's the number that matters. Use the protein calculator to pick it from your goal, or start at 1.6 g/kg/day. Then split it so each meal lands in the 0.40–0.55 g/kg band: for most people that's three or four meals, which the calculator shows above.

Don't chase more, smaller feedings for their own sake. If a reading comes back below the target, you've split into too many meals — consolidate. If it comes back above 0.55 g/kg, you're relying on too few large meals; add one. If you're 65 or older, bias toward fewer, larger protein meals so each clears the higher ~0.40 g/kg dose, and pair them with resistance training, which restores much of the anabolic response.

Common questions

How much protein should I eat per meal to build muscle?

About 0.4 g per kg of bodyweight per meal (Schoenfeld & Aragon 2018) — roughly 32 g for an 80 kg (176 lb) person. Across four meals that reaches the ~1.6 g/kg/day that maximises training gains. Older adults should aim higher, closer to 0.4 g/kg as a floor rather than a target.

Does protein timing actually matter, or just total intake?

Total intake matters far more. Hitting your daily target (~1.6 g/kg/day) does most of the work; distribution is a smaller optimisation. Spreading it over 3–4 meals of 0.4 g/kg each is the sensible default, but it won't rescue a day that's short on total protein.

Is there really a limit to how much protein one meal can use?

For maximising muscle protein synthesis, about 20–25 g of a fast-digesting protein saturates the response in young adults, and past ~0.55 g/kg in one sitting more is increasingly oxidised. But protein above that isn't "wasted" — it's still used for other tissues, and a mixed meal digests slowly enough to blunt the cap. It's a reason to distribute, not to fear a big meal.

How many meals should I split my protein into?

Enough that each meal lands in the 0.40–0.55 g/kg band. At 1.6 g/kg/day that's 3–4 meals; at 2.2 g/kg/day it's 4–5. More meals than that pushes each below the per-meal dose that maximises the response, without adding any protein to the day.

Do older adults need more protein per meal?

Yes. Because of age-related anabolic resistance, the per-meal dose that maximises muscle protein synthesis roughly doubles — from ~0.24 g/kg in young adults to ~0.40 g/kg in older ones (Moore et al. 2015). For older adults, fewer larger protein meals beat more small ones, and resistance training restores much of the response.

Does it matter what kind of protein I eat at each meal?

Somewhat. The trigger is the leucine content of the meal, and animal proteins are more leucine-dense than most plant proteins. A plant-based meal needs a bit more total protein (or smart pairing) to clear the same threshold, so treat the per-kg number as a minimum for lower-leucine sources.