How much protein does a woman over 40 need a day?

For keeping or building muscle, about 1.2 to 1.6 g per kg of body weight a day is a reasonable range, based on research in older and training adults. The UK reference intake of 0.75 g per kg is a floor for basic needs.

Should I use my current weight or my goal weight?

Use your current weight. The research the formula comes from is based on body weight as it is.

Is this calculator free?

Yes. It needs no email or account, and nothing you type is sent anywhere.

Can I eat too much protein?

For healthy people, the range here is well within what studies have used. If you have kidney disease, check with your GP or a dietitian first.

Protein calculator for women over 40

Updated 29 October 2026

Most women over 40 who want to keep or build muscle do well on 1.2 to 1.6 g of protein per kg of body weight a day, spread over three or four meals of about 25 to 30 g. For a 65 kg woman that is about 80 to 105 g a day. Use the calculator below for your own numbers.

Work out your protein

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Enter your weight to see your range. It uses 1.2 to 1.6 g of protein per kg of body weight a day.

The formula and where it comes from

The calculator multiplies your weight in kg by 1.2 for the bottom of the range and by 1.6 for the top. Your activity and goal move your daily aim within that range. It never goes above 1.6.

1.2 g per kg is what the PROT-AGE study group (Bauer and others, 2013) advises for older adults who exercise or are otherwise active. The ESPEN expert group (Deutz and others, 2014) suggests at least 1.0 to 1.2 g per kg for healthy older adults.
1.6 g per kg is roughly where extra protein stopped adding muscle in people doing resistance training, in a meta-analysis of 49 trials (Morton and others, 2018). The authors' own uncertainty around that point was wide, so treat it as a sensible top, not a hard line.
The meal split aims for about 25 to 30 g a meal, the amount Paddon-Jones and Rasmussen proposed to make the most of each meal for muscle.

One honest caveat. PROT-AGE and ESPEN wrote for people over 65. Nobody has set a separate figure for women aged 40 to 60, so this range borrows from the closest research we have. For comparison, the UK reference intake for adults is 0.75 g per kg, which the British Nutrition Foundation explains is set to cover basic needs, not to support training.

Using your number

Start where you are
If you eat well under the bottom of your range now, add protein to one meal at a time. Breakfast is often the easiest gap to fill.
Spread it out
Three meals of about 25 to 30 g each does more for muscle than one big dinner, which is the pattern How much protein per meal explains.
Pair it with strength work
Protein supports muscle; training is what asks the muscle to grow. The strength test gives you a starting point.

Questions people also ask

How much protein does a woman over 40 need a day?: For keeping or building muscle, about 1.2 to 1.6 g per kg of body weight a day is a reasonable range, based on research in older and training adults. The UK reference intake of 0.75 g per kg is a floor for basic needs.
Should I use my current weight or my goal weight?: Use your current weight. The research the formula comes from is based on body weight as it is.
Is this calculator free?: Yes. It needs no email or account, and nothing you type is sent anywhere.
Can I eat too much protein?: For healthy people, the range here is well within what studies have used. If you have kidney disease, check with your GP or a dietitian first.

Turn the number into meals.

Ojafi builds a week of meals that hit your protein target, with the foods you already like.

Get my protein plan

Sources

Ojafi gives general food and exercise guidance. It is not medical advice and does not diagnose or treat any condition. See our medical disclaimer.