Protein is a vital nutrient your body needs to build and repair all of its cells, tissues and organs. Protein also provides you with calories and energy. Good protein sources include beans, lentils, nuts, tofu, lean poultry and reduced-fat dairy products. You should get approximately 10 to 35 percent of your calories each day from protein, according to MayoClinic.com. You can calculate how many total calories you need to get from protein in your daily diet.
Step 1
Determine how many grams of protein you require per kilogram of body weight each day. Adult men and women need 0.8 grams per kilogram per day. Children ages 1 to 3 require 1.05 grams per kilogram; from ages 4 to 13, they require 0.95 grams per kilogram. If you're a teenager, you need 0.85 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight. Consult your physician for your protein requirements if you're an athlete or if you're pregnant, breastfeeding or have any disorder, such as diabetes or kidney disease.
Step 2
Calculate the total grams of protein you require each day. First, divide your weight in pounds by 2.2 to calculate how many kilograms you weigh, based on the fact that one kilogram equals 2.2 pounds. Next, multiply the number of kilograms you weigh by 0.8 grams of protein to arrive at the total grams of protein you need each day. For example, if you weigh 140 pounds, divide 140 by 2.2 to calculate that you weigh 64 kilograms. Multiply 64 by 0.8 to calculate that you require 51 grams of protein each day.
Step 3
Calculate the total number of calories you'll get from your daily protein requirement. One gram of protein contains 4 calories, so multiply the total number of protein grams you need each day by 4 to arrive at your total calories from protein. For example, if you require 50 grams of protein, multiply 50 by 4 for a total of 200 calories.
Step 4
You can also determine how many total calories you should get from protein based on the total number of calories you eat. Take your total daily calories and calculate 10 percent and 35 percent of that number. The results will represent the range in the number of calories you should get from protein based on the recommended amount of 10 to 35 percent. For example, if you eat a 2,000-calorie diet, you should get between 200 and 700 calories from protein.
Step 5
You can also figure out how many calories you get from protein in a day if you keep a record of the number of grams of protein you consume. Multiply the total number of grams by 4 calories per gram to calculate the total number of calories you got from protein. For example, if you consumed 50 grams of protein in a day, multiply by 4 for for a total of 200 calories.
Things You'll Need
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