How Much Protein Per Day? A Practical Answer

The official protein recommendation was designed to stop you getting ill, not to help you keep muscle through a diet.

Why the RDA is the wrong number

The 0.8 grams per kilogram figure represents the minimum required to prevent deficiency in a sedentary adult. It was never intended as an optimum for someone training, dieting or over 50. Using it as a target is like treating the speed limit as a recommended cruising speed on an empty motorway.

Practical targets

For general health with light activity, 1.2 to 1.6 grams per kilogram. For weight loss while training, 1.6 to 2.2 grams. For adults over 60, at least 1.2 to 1.5 to counter age-related muscle loss. If you carry significant excess weight, calculate against target bodyweight rather than current to avoid an absurd number.

Hitting it without effort

Anchor each meal on a protein source first and build around it. Thirty grams at breakfast is the highest-leverage single change most people can make. Greek yoghurt, eggs, cottage cheese, tinned fish, chicken and a whey shake cover most situations cheaply.

The satiety dividend

Higher protein reduces hunger independently of calories, which means the deficit gets easier rather than harder as you go. It out-performs every appetite ingredient in a capsule — including the ones in SodaSlim, which are best understood as support on top of this, not instead of it.

Editorial note: This article is general information, not medical advice. SodaSlim contains caffeine and is not suitable for everyone — see who should not take it and our full disclaimer. Individual results vary and no outcome is typical or guaranteed.

Keep reading: what SodaSlim is • how it works • the ingredients • the benefits • our full review