Protein can be surprisingly confusing. We hear that we should “eat more protein,” but what does that actually mean? And one of the biggest misunderstandings is that the weight of a food isn’t the same as the amount of protein it contains.
For example, if you eat 100g of cooked chicken breast, you haven’t eaten 100g of protein. You’ve eaten 100g of chicken, which contains roughly 30g of actual protein. The rest is mainly water, along with some fat and other nutrients.
So how much protein do we need?
A simple way of estimating protein requirements is by body weight. A generally healthy, fairly inactive adult needs roughly 0.75–0.8g of protein per kilogram of body weight each day. If you’re regularly exercising, particularly if you’re doing strength training, your requirements are usually higher — often somewhere around 1.0–1.6g per kilogram, depending on your training, age and goals.
So, for example, a 60kg person might aim for around 60–90g of protein a day if they’re exercising regularly.
But you don’t necessarily need to spend your day weighing food and doing calculations. It can be much easier to learn what an ordinary portion of food gives you.
Here are some useful approximate amounts:
Food
Approximate protein
100g cooked chicken breast
30g
100g cooked salmon
22–25g
2 eggs
12–14g
200g Greek yoghurt
18–20g
100g cottage cheese
11–13g
100g cooked lentils
9g
100g cooked chickpeas
8–9g
100g firm tofu
12–17g
30g almonds
6g
250ml milk
8–9g
These figures are only guides because different products and brands vary.
An easier way to think about it
Rather than becoming obsessed with counting every gram, I like the idea of asking:
“Where is the protein in this meal?”
Breakfast could include eggs or Greek yoghurt. Lunch might contain chicken, tuna, tofu, beans or lentils. Dinner could include fish, lean meat, tofu or pulses. Snacks might include yoghurt, cottage cheese, nuts or seeds.
For example, a day could look something like this:
Breakfast: Greek yoghurt with seeds — around 20g
Lunch: chicken salad — around 30g
Snack: two eggs — around 13g
Dinner: salmon with vegetables — around 25g
That’s already approximately 88g of protein, without needing protein bars and shakes all day.
Protein becomes particularly important as we get older
From midlife onwards, maintaining our muscle becomes increasingly important. We naturally tend to lose muscle as we age, particularly if we aren’t using it. Strength training combined with adequate protein helps us maintain muscle, strength and physical independence.
And that’s really the message I want people to understand. Protein doesn’t have to be complicated and we don’t have to turn every meal into a maths lesson.
Include a source of protein at each meal, eat a varied diet, and combine good nutrition with regular strength and resistance exercise.
It’s not about eating enormous amounts of protein. It’s about giving your body enough of the building blocks it needs to stay strong, healthy and energised.
