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Protein After 40: Work Out Your Own Number

If you train, eat well and still feel you are losing muscle or recovering slowly, protein is one of the first things worth checking. It is also one of the simplest to change. Three steps give you your own daily number, then the tables turn it into meals.

Carlyle Jenkins, AHPRA registered chiropractor and lifestyle medicine practitioner

Why the usual figure is too low

The Australian guideline figure, about 0.84 grams per kilogram a day for men and 0.75 for women, is set to prevent deficiency, not to hold muscle on a body over 40.

With age, muscle responds less to the same amount of protein. The amount needed to hold onto it goes up.

Step 1: Find your range

How you live	Grams per kilogram, per day
Mostly sitting, little planned exercise	At least 1.2
Moderately active	1.4 to 1.6
Training regularly	1.6 to 2.0

Step 2: Multiply by your weight

Use your current weight in kilograms. Start at the lower end of your range. If you are losing weight, aim for the upper end of your range.

Example: 85 kg and training regularly. 85 × 1.6 = 136 g a day, up to 85 × 2.0 = 170 g.

If your BMI is over 30, ask your doctor or dietitian which weight to use.

Step 3: Spread it across the day

Your body uses protein best in doses through the day, not one large dinner. Aim for at least 0.4 g per kilogram at each meal, across three or four meals. For most people that is 25 to 40 g a meal.

Example: 85 kg × 0.4 = 34 g, at each of three or four meals.

What a meal's worth looks like

Cooked weights. Round numbers are close enough.

Food	Portion	Protein
Lean beef	150 g, about a palm	48 g
Chicken breast	150 g, about a palm	45 g
Salmon fillet	180 g, a medium fillet	41 g
Cottage cheese	200 g	34 g
Firm tofu	200 g	26 g
Tuna in water	One 130 g tin, drained	25 g
Eggs	Three large	19 g
Lentils	200 g, a large cup	15 g
Chickpeas	170 g, a large cup	12 g
Greek yoghurt, plain	200 g	Varies widely by brand. Check the label

Where most days fall short

Dinner usually takes care of itself. Breakfast and lunch are where the gap is. A coffee and toast falls well short. Three eggs with 100 g of cottage cheese comes to about 36 g.

Food first. Protein powder is a convenience, not a requirement.

Check with your doctor first if

You have kidney disease, or you have not had your kidney function checked and you have diabetes, high blood pressure or a family history of kidney disease. Your target may be much lower than these ranges.
You are on dialysis. Your needs are different again and are set by your renal team.
You have liver disease, or you are on a prescribed diet.
You have a history of disordered eating. Counting a daily target may not be the right tool for you.
You get gout. The amount matters less than which foods, and that is worth a conversation.

Let your AI plan the week

Once you have your number, the AI you already use can turn it into meals. Fill in the brackets and paste it in.

Prompt

My daily protein target is [your number] g, about [your per-meal number] g at each of [three or four] meals. Build me a week of breakfasts, lunches and dinners that reach it.

1. Use everyday foods I can buy in [Australia or the UK], with portions in grams or household measures.
2. Show the protein in each meal and the total for each day, and say that your figures are estimates to check against the label or a food database.
3. Food first. Do not add protein powder or supplements unless I ask.
4. I eat: [any preferences]. I do not eat: [anything you avoid or are allergic to].
5. Breakfast and lunch are my weak meals, so make those the easiest to prepare.
6. Before you plan anything, ask me whether I have kidney disease, liver disease, gout, a history of disordered eating, or diabetes, high blood pressure or a family history of kidney disease without a recent kidney function check. If I say yes to any, or I am on dialysis, stop and tell me to set the target with my doctor or renal team first.

Keep each day to a short list I can shop from.

Keep in mind

Protein works best alongside strength training, which is the signal for your body to build and keep muscle.

These ranges are general guidance for healthy adults over 40. Nothing here is a diagnosis, a treatment or medical advice, and it does not replace your GP or your specialist. I am a lifestyle medicine practitioner sharing general information, not your treating doctor.

Your number is a starting point.

Inside Xone Health we set it against your own blood markers, food data and training, then check what changes. Two or three things, not twenty-seven.

Where to go from here

1
Take the Energy Check
Five minutes, scored on the spot.
2
Discover more about Xone Health
How I work, who it suits and what it costs.

Sources

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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: Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences. 2015;70(1):57-62. doi.org/10.1093/gerona/glu103
Stokes T, Hector AJ, Morton RW, et al. Recent perspectives regarding the role of dietary protein for the promotion of muscle hypertrophy with resistance exercise training. Nutrients. 2018;10(2):180. doi.org/10.3390/nu10020180
Moore DR. Protein requirements for master athletes: just older versions of their younger selves. Sports Medicine. 2021;51(Suppl 1):13-30. doi.org/10.1007/s40279-021-01510-0
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National Health and Medical Research Council and New Zealand Ministry of Health. Nutrient Reference Values for Australia and New Zealand: Protein. NHMRC. Accessed 12 October 2026. www.eatforhealth.gov.au/nutrient-reference-values/nutrients/protein
Institute of Medicine (US). Dietary Reference Intakes for Energy, Carbohydrate, Fiber, Fat, Fatty Acids, Cholesterol, Protein, and Amino Acids. National Academies Press. 2005. nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/10490/dietary-reference-intakes-for-energy-carbohydrate-fiber-fat-fatty-acids-cholesterol-protein-and-amino-acids
Food Standards Australia New Zealand. Australian Food Composition Database, Release 3 (nutrient profiles per 100 g). FSANZ. Accessed 12 October 2026. www.foodstandards.gov.au/science-data/food-nutrient-databases/afcd
Kidney Disease: Improving Global Outcomes (KDIGO) CKD Work Group. KDIGO 2024 Clinical Practice Guideline for the Evaluation and Management of Chronic Kidney Disease. Kidney International. 2024;105(4S):S117-S314. doi.org/10.1016/j.kint.2023.10.018
Ikizler TA, Burrowes JD, Byham-Gray LD, et al. KDOQI Clinical Practice Guideline for Nutrition in CKD: 2020 Update. American Journal of Kidney Diseases. 2020;76(3 Suppl 1):S1-S107. doi.org/10.1053/j.ajkd.2020.05.006
Hahn D, Hodson EM, Fouque D. Low protein diets for non-diabetic adults with chronic kidney disease. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. 2020;10(10):CD001892. doi.org/10.1002/14651858.CD001892.pub5
FitzGerald JD, Dalbeth N, Mikuls T, et al. 2020 American College of Rheumatology Guideline for the Management of Gout. Arthritis and Rheumatology. 2020;72(6):879-895. doi.org/10.1002/art.41247
Belanger MJ, Wee CC, Mukamal KJ, et al. Effects of dietary macronutrients on serum urate: results from the OmniHeart trial. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 2021;113(6):1593-1599. doi.org/10.1093/ajcn/nqaa424