You’re in your 40s, you train with weights, and you actually care about keeping what you’re building. So you go looking for a straight answer on protein and get a mess: the label says one thing, a calculator says another, and half the internet is still quoting a number meant for someone who doesn’t train at all.
Here’s the short version, up front. If you lift, aim for roughly 0.7 to 1 gram of protein per pound of bodyweight per day. That’s about 1.6 to 2.2 grams per kilogram. For a 160-pound person, that’s around 130 to 160 grams a day.
That’s it. The rest is why that number is right, a table to find yours, and how to hit it.
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Why the number is higher than the RDA
The RDA for protein is 0.8 grams per kilogram of bodyweight. That number gets quoted like it’s a goal. It isn’t. It’s the floor set to keep the general population from being deficient, and most of that population doesn’t train.
If you’re pulling heavy and want to keep muscle on your frame, you’re not the person that floor was written for. The International Society of Sports Nutrition’s 2017 position stand on protein and exercise puts the range for building and maintaining muscle at 1.4 to 2.0 grams per kilogram per day for people who exercise. That’s close to double the RDA. Converted to pounds, it’s roughly 0.64 to 0.91 grams per pound, which is why “0.7 to 1 gram per pound” is such a clean rule of thumb.
Protein matters more, not less, when you’re training to keep strength for the long game. Combining resistance training with enough protein is what preserves and builds lean tissue. A widely cited 2018 meta-analysis in the British Journal of Sports Medicine pooled 49 studies and found that protein supplementation meaningfully improved strength and muscle gains alongside resistance training. So the number goes up because you train, and the training is doing more for you when the protein is there to back it.
Where the ceiling is (so you don’t overthink it)
That same 2018 meta-analysis found the returns flatten out at about 1.6 grams per kilogram of bodyweight. Roughly 0.73 grams per pound. Past that point, eating more protein didn’t add much to the muscle you built.
So there’s a comfortable band. The low end of “enough” and the point of diminishing returns are close together, which is good news: you don’t need to chase 250 grams a day. Landing between 0.7 and 1 gram per pound puts you right in the sweet spot for most people who train.
Two situations nudge you toward the top of your range:
- You’re eating in a deficit. The ISSN notes that during calorie restriction, higher intakes (roughly 2.3 to 3.1 g/kg) help protect lean mass. More protein is how you keep the muscle and lose the rest.
- You want to keep building. More stimulus, more raw material. Bias high.
Your protein target by bodyweight
Find your weight, pick the number in the range that fits your goal. Maintaining sits toward the lower figure. Building or cutting sits toward the higher one.
| Bodyweight | ~0.7 g/lb (maintain) | ~1.0 g/lb (build / cut) |
|---|---|---|
| 130 lb (59 kg) | 91 g | 130 g |
| 150 lb (68 kg) | 105 g | 150 g |
| 170 lb (77 kg) | 119 g | 170 g |
| 190 lb (86 kg) | 133 g | 190 g |
| 210 lb (95 kg) | 147 g | 210 g |
If you carry more body fat, lean toward the lower end of your range, since the target really tracks the muscle you’re feeding, not the total on the scale. If you’re lean and training hard, lean high.
How to actually hit it
Knowing the number is the easy part. Hitting it every day is where people fall off. A few things that make it automatic:
Spread it across the day. The ISSN suggests about 20 to 40 grams per meal, or roughly 0.25 g per kilogram per sitting. Three or four solid hits of 30 to 40 grams gets most people there without a giant dinner doing all the work.
Anchor each meal with a protein first. Decide the protein, build the plate around it. Eggs and Greek yogurt at breakfast, a real portion of meat or fish at lunch and dinner, and you’re most of the way there before snacks.
Keep two easy wins on hand. A powder and a bar cover the gaps on busy days. Here are three we’d actually use.
Optimum Nutrition Gold Standard 100% Whey
The default for a reason. Gold Standard 100% Whey gives you 24g protein, 120 calories, and about 1g sugar per scoop, and it mixes clean in water without the chalk. Who it’s for: anyone who wants a reliable 24 grams they can add to a shake, oats, or yogurt.
- Pro: Widely available, mixes easily, one of the best value-per-gram options out there (roughly $1.20 to $1.40 a serving).
- Con: It’s whey concentrate, so if dairy doesn’t sit well with you, an isolate or plant option is friendlier.
David Protein Bar
The macros on these are almost silly. Each David bar packs 28g protein into 150 calories with 0g sugar, which is one of the highest protein-to-calorie ratios on the shelf. Who it’s for: anyone eating in a deficit who wants a big protein hit without spending much of the calorie budget.
- Pro: 28 grams for 150 calories is genuinely hard to beat, and the texture is better than most high-protein bars.
- Con: Around $3.25 a bar, they’re a premium buy, and the sweetener blend isn’t for everyone.
Quest Protein Bar
The reliable middle. A Quest bar runs 21g protein, 190 calories, and 1g sugar, with a big fiber hit that keeps net carbs low. Who it’s for: someone who wants a chewier, more snack-like bar at a friendlier price than the ultra-lean options.
- Pro: Cheap enough to keep a box in the drawer (about $2.20 a bar), tons of flavors, easy to find anywhere.
- Con: More calories per gram of protein than David, and the sugar alcohols can bother some stomachs.
Compare the picks
| Product | Protein | Calories | Sugar | ~Price | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ON Gold Standard Whey | 24g | 120 | ~1g | ~$1.30/serving | Everyday shakes and mixing |
| David Protein Bar | 28g | 150 | 0g | ~$3.25/bar | Max protein on a tight calorie budget |
| Quest Protein Bar | 21g | 190 | 1g | ~$2.20/bar | An affordable, snack-like grab |
The real friction isn’t the protein. It’s the logging.
Once you know your number, hitting it is about staying honest, day after day. The reason people stop tracking isn’t discipline. It’s that logging a meal in most apps takes thirty seconds of tapping, searching, and picking the “right” database entry.
That friction is what kills consistency. Miss a few logs, lose the picture, stop caring.
TrakMac fixes the part that actually breaks. You just say what you ate. “Two eggs, Greek yogurt, and a Quest bar.” About 8 seconds, no searching, no barcode. It estimates the macros, subtracts from your protein target, and you move on with your day. That’s the whole point: the fastest way to hit a protein number is to make logging so frictionless you never skip it.
The bottom line
If you train in your 40s and want to keep what you’re building, protein is the lever that matters most. Aim for 0.7 to 1 gram per pound of bodyweight, spread it across three or four meals, and keep a powder and a bar on hand for the busy days. The number is settled enough to stop second-guessing it.
Then make the daily part effortless. Download TrakMac free, set your protein target, and log it by voice in about 8 seconds. More on how the app sets your numbers is in the FAQ.
This is general information for people who train, not medical or dietary advice. If you have a specific health condition, talk to a registered dietitian.