Is 100 grams of protein right for you?
100 grams is a round number, and it fits many active adults. But your own target may be higher or lower. It depends on your weight, your age, and your goal.
The minimum for adults (the RDA) is 0.8 grams per kilogram of body weight. People who lift weights or want to lose fat often do better with more. A large review found that muscle gains from strength training kept rising up to about 1.6 grams per kilogram a day.
Not sure where you land? Use our protein calculator. It takes about 30 seconds.
The simple plan: 4 × 25 grams
Trying to eat 100 g in one or two big meals is hard. Splitting it up is much easier:
- Breakfast: about 25 g
- Lunch: about 25 g
- Snack: about 25 g
- Dinner: about 25 g
Each of these only needs one main protein food. The table below shows how much protein common foods give you.
How much protein is in common foods?
| Food | Portion | Protein |
|---|---|---|
| Chicken breast, roasted | 4 oz (113 g) | 35 g |
| Lean beef mince, cooked | 4 oz (113 g) | 33 g |
| Salmon, baked | 4 oz (113 g) | 25 g |
| Cottage cheese | 1 cup (226 g) | 24 g |
| Plain Greek yogurt, nonfat | 1 cup (226 g) | 23 g |
| Canned tuna in water, drained | 4 oz (113 g) | 22 g |
| Firm tofu | 4 oz (113 g) | 20 g |
| Eggs | 3 large | 19 g |
| Lentils, cooked | 1 cup (198 g) | 18 g |
| Paneer | 100 g | 16 g |
| Edamame | ½ cup (78 g) | 9 g |
| Milk (2% / semi-skimmed) | 1 cup (244 g) | 8 g |
| Whole-wheat bread | 2 slices | 8 g |
| Peanut butter | 2 tbsp | 7 g |
Values come from USDA FoodData Central. Brands vary, so check your labels.
Sample day: about 113 grams
| Meal | What you eat | Protein |
|---|---|---|
| Breakfast | 3 eggs on 2 slices of whole-wheat toast | 27 g |
| Lunch | Tuna sandwich (4 oz tuna, 2 slices bread) | 30 g |
| Snack | 1 cup plain Greek yogurt with berries | 23 g |
| Dinner | 4 oz salmon with 1 cup rice and 1 cup broccoli | 33 g |
Vegetarian sample day: about 124 grams
| Meal | What you eat | Protein |
|---|---|---|
| Breakfast | 1 cup Greek yogurt, plus peanut butter toast | 38 g |
| Lunch | 1 cup lentils with 100 g paneer | 34 g |
| Snack | 1 cup cottage cheese | 24 g |
| Dinner | 4 oz tofu with ½ cup edamame | 29 g |
Easy ways to add protein
- Swap the base. Use Greek yogurt instead of regular yogurt, and cottage cheese instead of cream cheese.
- Double the main food. One more egg or an extra ounce of chicken adds 6 to 9 grams.
- Keep ready-to-eat protein at home. Hard-boiled eggs, canned tuna, and yogurt cups make fast snacks.
- Add beans or lentils. Stir them into soups, salads, and rice dishes.
Eating out? You can still hit 100 g
Many chains now show protein on their menus. A few examples from our restaurant guides:
- Chick-fil-A: 12 ct Grilled Nuggets have 38 g of protein for 200 calories.
- Chipotle: the High Protein-High Fiber Bowl has 46 g of protein.
- Subway: the Grilled Chicken Protein Bowl has 48 g of protein.
- Starbucks: a Grande Iced Sugar-Free Vanilla Protein Latte has 29 g of protein.
One of these orders can cover a third to half of your day. See all our restaurant chain guides for more.
The bottom line
You don’t need shakes to eat 100 grams of protein. Plan four meals or snacks with about 25 grams each, and build each one around a protein food you like.