It's the question we get asked more than any other, and the usual answer — "eat more protein" — helps nobody. So let's be specific.
Most active New Zealanders need between 1.6 and 2.2 grams of protein per kilogram of bodyweight per day. For a 75 kg person, that's roughly 120 g to 165 g. But that's a wide range, and where you sit inside it depends on your goal, your age, and whether you're eating in a surplus or a deficit.
This guide gives you your actual number based on your weight and what you're training for, shows you what that looks like on a plate, and walks through a full day of eating that gets you there.
Why protein is calculated per kilogram
A 55 kg runner and a 105 kg powerlifter have genuinely different requirements, which is why flat numbers like "everyone needs 100 g" are useless. Protein needs scale with the amount of tissue you're maintaining and the demands you're placing on it.
The official baseline in New Zealand sits around 0.8 g/kg. Understand what that figure actually represents: it's the amount required to prevent deficiency in someone who doesn't exercise. It's a floor, not a target. If you train, it's well short of useful.
The working ranges look like this:
- 0.8–1.0 g/kg — sedentary, general health, avoiding deficiency
- 1.2–1.6 g/kg — active, maintaining your current physique
- 1.6–2.2 g/kg — building muscle with consistent resistance training
- 1.8–2.4 g/kg — losing fat while holding onto muscle
The fat loss range being the highest catches people out. It shouldn't — when total calories drop, protein has to work harder to protect the muscle you've already built.
Your daily protein target by bodyweight and goal
Find your weight, find your goal. That's your number in grams.
| Bodyweight | General health | Active / maintaining | Building muscle | Fat loss + training |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 55 kg | 44–55 g | 66–88 g | 88–121 g | 99–132 g |
| 65 kg | 52–65 g | 78–104 g | 104–143 g | 117–156 g |
| 75 kg | 60–75 g | 90–120 g | 120–165 g | 135–180 g |
| 85 kg | 68–85 g | 102–136 g | 136–187 g | 153–204 g |
| 95 kg | 76–95 g | 114–152 g | 152–209 g | 171–228 g |
| 105 kg | 84–105 g | 126–168 g | 168–231 g | 189–252 g |
One adjustment worth making: if you're carrying a significant amount of body fat, calculate from your target weight rather than your current weight. Fat tissue doesn't carry the same protein demands as muscle, so using your current figure inflates the target unnecessarily.
Building muscle
Meaningful returns start around 1.6 g/kg and flatten out near 2.2 g/kg. Pushing beyond that isn't harmful for healthy adults, but it isn't buying extra muscle either — you're just paying for expensive calories.
Consistency matters more than the ceiling. Hitting 150 g six days a week builds more muscle than hitting 200 g twice and 90 g the rest of the time. And protein is only the raw material — resistance training is the signal that tells your body what to do with it.
Losing fat
Higher protein in a deficit does two jobs. It preserves lean mass so the weight you lose is predominantly fat, and it's by a clear margin the most filling macronutrient, which makes the deficit easier to stick to. This is why it's the one thing worth getting right before you consider anything else.
Endurance training
Runners and endurance athletes routinely undershoot, assuming protein is a lifter's concern. It isn't. During a heavy training block, aim for at least 1.6 g/kg to support repair between sessions.
What 30 g of protein actually looks like
Numbers on a page stay abstract until you see them as food. Here's roughly what a single 30 g serve looks like:
| Food | Amount for ~30 g protein |
|---|---|
| Chicken breast, cooked | 120 g |
| Lean beef mince, cooked | 130 g |
| Salmon fillet, cooked | 140 g |
| Tinned tuna | 130 g |
| Large eggs | 5 |
| High-protein Greek yoghurt | 300 g |
| Cottage cheese | 270 g |
| Firm tofu | 200 g |
| Cooked lentils | 330 g |
Look at the bottom rows and the practical problem becomes obvious. Hitting 160 g from lentils alone means eating close to 1.8 kg of them in a day. Animal sources are considerably more concentrated, which is why plant-based eaters generally need to be more deliberate about planning.
A worked day: hitting 160 g
Here's what a realistic day looks like for a 75 kg person training to build muscle. Nothing exotic, nothing that requires two hours of meal prep.
| Meal | What's in it | Protein |
|---|---|---|
| Breakfast | 3 large eggs on toast, 200 g high-protein Greek yoghurt | 38 g |
| Mid-morning | Protein bar | 20 g |
| Lunch | 150 g chicken breast, rice, vegetables | 45 g |
| Afternoon | Protein shake | 25 g |
| Dinner | 150 g salmon, potatoes, greens | 33 g |
| Total | 161 g |
Two things stand out. First, breakfast and lunch are doing most of the heavy lifting — and those are precisely the meals most people skip protein at entirely. Second, only 45 g of that total comes from supplements. Whole food is still the backbone.
Most Kiwis we talk to are eating a decent amount of protein at dinner and almost nothing before it. Fixing breakfast and lunch alone typically adds 40–60 g without any heroics.
Closing the gap
Once you've pushed whole food as far as it comfortably goes, supplements cover the remainder. Not as a replacement for meals — as the thing that makes a 160 g target realistic on a work day.
A scoop of whey delivers 25–30 g in thirty seconds. Basic Supplements Whey Protein Blend is a straightforward daily option, third-party tested and easy on the stomach, while Radix Nutrition Natural Whey Protein uses New Zealand grass-pastured milk with an exceptionally high digestibility score. Plant-based eaters are well served by Macro Mike Peanut Plant Protein or Radix Nutrition Natural Plant Protein.
For the days meal prep falls over, Grenade Protein Bars carry 20 g with under 2 g of sugar, and Grenade Protein Shakes deliver up to 25 g per bottle for under 200 calories.
If you want the detail on scoop counts and how many serves a day makes sense, our guide to how much protein powder you should take per day covers that specifically. For choosing between products, see our ranked guide to the best protein powders in NZ for 2026 or browse the full protein powder range.
Spreading it across the day
Total daily intake matters most, but distribution has a modest edge over loading everything into dinner. Aim for roughly 25–40 g per meal across three to four meals, and add meals rather than cramming more into each one.
The old "30-minute anabolic window" has been comprehensively walked back — you do not need to sprint from the squat rack to the shaker. We covered the evidence in our piece on whether protein timing actually matters for muscle growth.
When your needs are higher
Over 40. Ageing muscle responds less readily to the same amount of protein, so sitting nearer 2.0 g/kg helps offset the drift. Our guide to the best supplements for women over 40 covers this alongside bone health.
On a GLP-1 medication. With appetite suppressed and total intake down, protein is the first thing to fall short and muscle the first thing to go. See our article on supplements for Kiwis on weight loss medication.
Eating plant-based. Sit toward the upper end of your range, since plant proteins generally carry less leucine per gram. Our comparison of plant-based protein versus whey explains the difference, and the plant-based protein range covers the options.
Common questions
Can your body only use 30 g of protein at once?
No. This myth refuses to die. You absorb essentially all the protein you eat — the 20–30 g figure relates to what maximally stimulates muscle protein synthesis in one sitting, and even that ceiling looks higher than once believed. A 60 g meal is not wasted.
Is high protein bad for your kidneys?
In healthy adults, high protein intakes have not been shown to cause kidney damage. If you have existing kidney disease, are pregnant, or have another relevant condition, speak with your GP or a registered dietitian before making significant changes.
Does collagen count toward my target?
Not for muscle purposes. Collagen is an incomplete protein and low in the amino acids that drive repair, so it shouldn't be counted toward a muscle-building total. It has real value for joints and skin — just a different job. We explain it in whey protein versus collagen.
Do I need protein on rest days?
Yes. Repair happens on rest days. Keep intake consistent across all seven.
The bottom line
Take your bodyweight in kilograms, pick your goal from the table, and you have your number. Most active Kiwis land between 1.6 and 2.2 g/kg. Spread it across three or four meals, get protein into breakfast and lunch rather than leaving it all to dinner, and use supplements to close whatever gap is left.
The target is the easy part. Browse the build lean muscle collection or the protein snacks range to make hitting it a lot less effort.
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