Protein calculator for women: how much do you need?
Australian adult women need at least 0.75 g of protein per kilogram of body weight a day. Published recommendations go up to 1.0 to 1.6 g for people over 65, losing weight or strength training. Enter your details for your own daily range, a target for each meal, and what that looks like in Australian foods.
Reviewed by Georgina Waugh, Clinical Nutritionist. Updated 13 September 2026.
General information for adults, not medical advice. Not for pregnancy, breastfeeding or kidney disease, where your GP or specialist sets protein with you.
Work out your daily protein
Tick everything that applies. The calculator uses whichever gives the highest supported range.
Your daily protein
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Why this number
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Meat, fish and eggs
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Plant foods
Protein per serve from FSANZ AUSNUT 2023.
Not sure how to fit this around your appetite, training or week? Book a free 15‑minute call and bring your number.
This one is for your GP
Protein needs change in pregnancy and while breastfeeding, and the Australian reference values set separate figures for both. This calculator does not cover them. Your GP or midwife is the right person to set yours.
If you have kidney disease, set your protein with your kidney doctor or GP, because some people with reduced kidney function are advised to limit it. This calculator does not cover that. Source 2
Your daily range, the reasons behind it and a meal builder will appear here.
Figures are rounded to the nearest 5 g a day. At a BMI of 30 or more the calculator uses an adjusted body weight, the same adjustment as our macro calculator.
How much protein do you need?
In Australia the starting point is the Recommended Dietary Intake (RDI) from the Nutrient Reference Values. It is set to cover nearly all healthy people, and it rises after 70.
| Adults | RDI per kg | RDI a day |
|---|---|---|
| Women 19 to 70 | 0.75 g | 46 g |
| Women over 70 | 0.94 g | 57 g |
| Men 19 to 70 | 0.84 g | 64 g |
| Men over 70 | 1.07 g | 81 g |
The daily figures are for the reference body weights the values were built on. Per kilogram is the more useful number for you, which is how the calculator works.
The NHMRC raised the figure for over-70s by 25% because older adults appeared to need more, while noting the data behind that increase are limited. An international expert group, PROT-AGE, went further and recommends at least 1.0 to 1.2 g per kilogram a day for people over 65, to help maintain muscle and function.
Protein in perimenopause and menopause
This is the question most women arrive with, and the honest answer is that no guideline sets a separate figure for it. Jean Hailes puts most adult women at around 0.75 g per kilogram and notes that keeping muscle and bone becomes more important through perimenopause and after menopause.
So when you tick perimenopause, the calculator borrows the 1.0 to 1.2 g per kilogram range recommended for people over 65. It is a practical starting point rather than an established target, and the result tells you that. If you also strength train, the training range takes over.
For the wider picture of energy, sleep and hormones in midlife, our page on women’s hormone support sets out how we work.
Protein when you are losing weight or on a GLP-1 medication
When you eat less, each meal has to carry more. A 2025 joint advisory on nutrition during GLP-1 therapy notes that targets of 1.2 to 1.6 g per kilogram a day have been proposed during active weight loss, offers a fixed 80 to 120 g a day as an alternative that may be easier to follow, and advises against 2 g per kilogram or more over the long term.
It also says it is not settled whether those targets should use actual, adjusted or ideal body weight. This calculator uses an adjusted weight at a BMI of 30 or more, so the number does not climb with every extra kilogram. Our guide to what to eat on a GLP-1 medication covers the rest of the plate, and the reduced appetite nutrient gap calculator checks the nutrients that tend to slip alongside protein.
Protein and strength training
A 2018 review of 49 trials pooled 1,863 people doing resistance training. Extra protein added a little to gains in lean mass and strength, and the benefit levelled off at around 1.6 g per kilogram a day. That is why the calculator stops at 1.6 even when several boxes are ticked.
What a meal’s worth looks like in Australian foods
Protein per serve, worked out from FSANZ’s AUSNUT 2023 data for the serve shown. The same numbers drive the meal builder above.
| Food | Serve | Protein |
|---|---|---|
| Meat, fish and eggs | ||
| Eggs, hard‑boiled | 2 eggs | 12 g |
| Chicken breast, grilled | 100 g cooked | 34 g |
| Tuna in brine | 1 small tin, drained | 25 g |
| Salmon, grilled | 1 small fillet | 22 g |
| Barramundi, grilled | 1 medium fillet | 24 g |
| Lean beef steak | 1 small steak, cooked | 25 g |
| Kangaroo steak | 1 small steak, cooked | 27 g |
| Sardines in water | 1 can, drained | 28 g |
| Dairy | ||
| Cottage cheese | half a cup | 22 g |
| High‑protein yoghurt | 1 tub (160 g) | 15 g |
| Greek‑style yoghurt | 170 g | 8 g |
| Milk, full cream | 1 cup | 8 g |
| Cheddar | 2 sandwich slices | 10 g |
| Plant foods | ||
| Firm tofu | 100 g | 13 g |
| Tempeh | 1 slice (50 g) | 12 g |
| Edamame | 1 small can | 14 g |
| Lentils, canned | 1 small can | 9 g |
| Chickpeas, canned | 1 small can, drained | 8 g |
| Soy milk | 1 cup | 10 g |
| Almonds | a handful (28 g) | 6 g |
| Peanut butter | 1 tablespoon | 6 g |
| Pumpkin seeds | 20 g | 6 g |
| Rolled oats | 40 g dry | 5 g |
| Wholemeal bread | 2 slices | 7 g |
One surprise in the data: natural Greek-style yoghurt comes out at about 8 g for 170 g, well under a high-protein tub at about 15 g. Check the label if yoghurt is your go-to protein.
Spreading it across the day
Most people eat the bulk of their protein at dinner. In a laboratory study, muscle protein synthesis after a meal levelled off at about 0.24 g per kilogram in younger men and 0.40 g per kilogram in older men. The study was small and in men, but it is one reason a protein food at breakfast and lunch, not only dinner, is a sensible habit. The meal builder above uses your daily range divided by your meals.
What we look at in clinic. A protein number is a starting point. In a consult we look at what an ordinary day of eating actually delivers, how appetite and digestion are going, what training looks like, and the medicines and supplements in the picture.
The same number can be easy for one person and a daily struggle for another, and that difference is usually where the useful conversation starts.
Check with your GP first if
- you have kidney disease, or have been told your kidney function is reduced
- you are pregnant or breastfeeding
- you are under 19
- you have a history of disordered eating, where a number to hit can do more harm than good
This calculator is general information. It cannot account for your health history.
Hitting a number is the easy part
If you are eating less, training more or moving through perimenopause and your energy has not kept up, a short call is a good place to work out what else is going on. Bring your number and an ordinary day of eating. No test is booked on the call.
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Common questions about protein
How much protein does a woman need a day?
The Australian Recommended Dietary Intake is 0.75 g of protein per kilogram of body weight for women aged 19 to 70, which is 46 g a day at the reference weight, and 0.94 g per kilogram (57 g a day) over 70. That figure is set to cover nearly all healthy people. Some groups may benefit from more, including people over 65, people who strength train and people losing weight, which is what the calculator above adds.
How much protein should I eat in perimenopause or menopause?
No guideline in Australia or internationally sets a separate protein figure for perimenopause or menopause. The Australian RDI of 0.75 g per kilogram still applies. Because keeping muscle becomes more of a focus from midlife, this calculator uses the 1.0 to 1.2 g per kilogram range recommended for older adults as a practical starting point, and says so.
How much protein do I need on Mounjaro or another GLP-1 medication?
A 2025 joint advisory from four US nutrition and obesity societies notes that targets of 1.2 to 1.6 g per kilogram a day have been proposed during active weight loss, and that a fixed target of 80 to 120 g a day may be easier to follow. It also notes that it is not settled whether to use actual or adjusted body weight. Use any number as a starting point to personalise with your prescriber or practitioner.
Can you eat too much protein?
The same advisory says intakes of 2 g per kilogram a day or more over the long term should be avoided, which is why this calculator never goes above 1.6. If you have kidney disease, set your protein with your doctor, because some people with reduced kidney function are advised to limit it.
How much protein should I have at each meal?
Spreading protein across the day is a practical approach. In a laboratory study, muscle protein synthesis after a meal levelled off at about 0.24 g per kilogram in younger men and 0.40 g per kilogram in older men, so older adults may need more at each meal to get the same response. That study was in men, so read it as a guide rather than a rule for women.
More free tools
Sources
- NHMRC and New Zealand Ministry of Health. Nutrient Reference Values for Australia and New Zealand: Protein. The Australian EAR and RDI for protein by age and sex, and the 25% increase for adults over 70.
- Bauer J, Biolo G, Cederholm T, et al. Evidence-based recommendations for optimal dietary protein intake in older people: a position paper from the PROT-AGE Study Group. Journal of the American Medical Directors Association, 2013;14(8):542-59. At least 1.0 to 1.2 g/kg a day for people over 65, at least 1.2 g/kg for those who exercise, and the exception for severe kidney disease.
- Mozaffarian D, et al. Nutritional priorities to support GLP-1 therapy for obesity: a joint Advisory from the American College of Lifestyle Medicine, the American Society for Nutrition, the Obesity Medicine Association, and The Obesity Society. Obesity, 2025;33(8):1475-1503. The 1.2 to 1.6 g/kg range proposed during active weight loss, the 80 to 120 g a day alternative, and the caution on 2 g/kg or more.
- Morton RW, Murphy KT, McKellar SR, et al. A systematic review, meta-analysis and meta-regression of the effect of protein supplementation on resistance training-induced gains in muscle mass and strength in healthy adults. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 2018;52(6):376-84. 49 trials and 1,863 people: gains in lean mass levelled off at around 1.6 g/kg a day.
- Moore DR, Churchward-Venne TA, Witard O, et al. Protein ingestion to stimulate myofibrillar protein synthesis requires greater relative protein intakes in healthy older versus younger men. Journals of Gerontology Series A, 2015;70(1):57-62. Per meal, muscle protein synthesis plateaued at about 0.24 g/kg in younger men and 0.40 g/kg in older men.
- Jean Hailes for Women's Health. Protein: how much do women really need? The 0.75 g/kg figure for most adult women, around 1 g/kg in pregnancy, breastfeeding and over 70, and why muscle and bone matter more from perimenopause.
- Food Standards Australia New Zealand. AUSNUT 2023: food nutrient profiles and food measures. Protein per 100 g and household serve weights for every food in the tables on this page.
Important: This page is general information for adults, reviewed by a clinical nutritionist. It is not medical advice and does not replace care from your GP or another qualified health professional. Food data: Food Standards Australia New Zealand, AUSNUT 2023, used under a Creative Commons Attribution licence. FSANZ does not endorse this tool. Read our full disclaimer.
Reviewed by Georgina Waugh
Clinical Nutritionist, BHSc Nutritional Medicine
Last updated: 13 September 2026
Sources reviewed: the Australian Nutrient Reference Values, the PROT-AGE position paper, the 2025 GLP-1 nutrition advisory, Jean Hailes and FSANZ AUSNUT 2023