High protein: the least sexy diet rule with the best evidence. Eat it at every meal.
No guru, no book deal, no phases. Just more protein, spread over your meals. It keeps hunger down, protects muscle while you lose fat, and has some of the strongest evidence in nutrition.
The short version
- What it is
- More protein than the minimum, about 1.2–1.6 g per kg of body weight a day, spread over every meal.
- Good for
- Fullness, keeping muscle while losing fat, staying strong as you age.
- Bad at
- Working on its own. Protein doesn't cancel a calorie surplus.
- Evidence
- Strong. Many trials and meta-analyses.
- Our take
- A core rule. Every meal starts with protein.
What a high-protein diet actually is
Protein is the building material for your muscles, organs, skin and enzymes. The official minimum for adults in Europe is 0.83 g per kg of body weight a day. That's the amount that covers almost everyone's basic needs, not the amount that's best for losing weight or keeping muscle.1
"High protein" means going above that minimum. For weight loss, researchers often suggest about 1.2 to 1.6 g per kg a day, with about 25 to 30 g at each meal.2 For a 70 kg person, that's roughly 85 to 110 g a day. In food terms: two eggs at breakfast, a chicken breast or a portion of fish at lunch, a bowl of lentils with tofu or Greek yoghurt at dinner.
It isn't a diet with a brand. It's a rule you can add to almost any way of eating, from low-carb to vegetarian.
How it works in your body
Three things happen. First, protein is the most filling of the three macronutrients, so you tend to eat less overall.2 Second, your body burns more energy digesting protein than digesting carbs or fat.2 Third, and most important when you lose weight: protein tells your body to keep the muscle and lose the fat.
When you eat less, your body takes energy from fat and from muscle. Not enough protein, and more of the weight you lose is muscle. That's bad news: less muscle means a weaker, slower body and, with age, a higher risk of falls and frailty.
What you eat, what you don't
Eat
- Fish and seafood, especially oily fish
- Eggs
- Chicken, turkey, lean meat
- Greek yoghurt, skyr, quark, cottage cheese
- Lentils, beans, chickpeas, tofu, tempeh, edamame
- Nuts and seeds as a topping
Forget it
- Processed meat as your main protein (sausages, salami, bacon)
- "Protein" bars that are sweets with a gym membership
- Protein shakes instead of meals
- A carb-only breakfast (toast and jam, cereal, pastries)
- Huge steaks once a day instead of protein at every meal
- Sugar, soft drinks, juice
Alcohol on a high-protein diet
OK, now and then
- One glass of dry wine with a meal
- Spirits with soda water and lime, with food
- A light beer with dinner
Out
- Drinking after training as "recovery"
- Cocktails, liqueurs, sweet wine
- Anything with juice, cola or energy drinks
- Drinking on an empty stomach
50 Club: one glass of wine or one light beer with a protein-rich dinner.
Alcohol pauses fat burning while your liver deals with it: two drinks cut it by about 73% in one study.8 All the details are in our alcohol guide.
What a high-protein diet is good for, with proof
More fat lost, more muscle kept
A meta-analysis of 24 trials with over 1,000 people compared high-protein and standard-protein diets while cutting calories. High protein led to slightly more weight loss (about 0.8 kg), more fat lost, and more lean mass kept.3 Triglycerides (a blood fat) also dropped a little more. Not dramatic in kilos, but it's the right kind of kilos.
Bigger gains from training
A meta-analysis of 49 trials found that extra protein helped people build more muscle and strength from resistance training. The benefit levelled off at about 1.6 g per kg a day, and got smaller with age.4 So more isn't always better. 1.6 is the sweet spot for most gym-goers.
Staying strong as you age
A European expert group recommends that people over 65 eat at least 1.0 to 1.2 g of protein per kg a day, and more if they're active or ill, to protect muscle.5 More in our article on eating over 50.
Protecting muscle during fasting
Fasting windows can cost muscle if protein drops. In the TREAT trial, the 16:8 group lost more lean mass than the control group.6 That's why we pair every eating window with protein first. See time-restricted eating.
The uncomfortable truth
"High protein wrecks your kidneys." Not in healthy people. A meta-analysis of 28 studies found that kidney function changed the same way on higher- and lower-protein diets in adults with healthy kidneys.7 EFSA considers intakes up to twice the reference amount safe for healthy adults.1 If you already have kidney disease, it's a different story: your doctor may want you to limit protein.
"Protein makes you lose weight on its own." No. Calories still count. Protein makes eating less easier. It doesn't make a takeaway disappear.
The risks
- Kidney disease. If you have it, protein targets are set by your doctor, not by us.
- The source matters. Low-carb diets heavy in animal protein and fat were linked with higher mortality in a large cohort study, while plant-based versions were linked with lower.9 Mix fish, eggs, dairy and legumes. Go easy on processed meat.
- Constipation if protein pushes out vegetables and fibre. Keep the plate half vegetables.
- Gout. If you have gout, ask your doctor which protein foods suit you before piling on meat and seafood.
- Supplements. Shakes and powders aren't needed by most people, and some contain added sugar or sweeteners.
Allergies: watch the staples
Many of the best protein foods are major allergens. If you're allergic, the plan has to swap them, not just drop them, or your protein falls short.
| Protein staple | Allergen (EU list of 14)10 | Swap |
|---|---|---|
| Eggs | Eggs | Tofu, fish, chicken |
| Greek yoghurt, cottage cheese, whey | Milk | Soy yoghurt, pea protein, lentils |
| Salmon, tuna, sardines | Fish | Chicken, eggs, legumes |
| Prawns, mussels | Crustaceans, molluscs | Fish, chicken |
| Tofu, tempeh, edamame | Soy | Lentils, chickpeas, eggs |
| Peanut butter, nuts | Peanuts, tree nuts | Pumpkin seeds, sunflower seed butter |
| Seitan | Cereals containing gluten | Tofu, tempeh, lentils |
Don't go high protein without your doctor if you…
- have kidney disease or reduced kidney function
- have liver disease
- have gout that flares with meat and seafood
- have a rare metabolic disorder that limits protein (such as PKU)
Healthen me asks about all of these and gives you a different plan if any apply.
How we use high protein in your plan
This is a core rule. Every meal starts with protein. Your first meal, the keto-style one that breaks your fast, is built around eggs, fish, Greek yoghurt or tofu. Every meal after that has a proper portion of protein, then vegetables, then carbs if any.
The engine sets your daily protein target from your body data, age and activity, and checks it against official reference values for your region. Over 50 or training hard, the target goes up. If Healthen me flags kidney disease, the target comes from your doctor instead.
This article is general information, not medical advice. If you have a medical condition or take medication, talk to your doctor before changing how you eat.
Sources
- EFSA Panel on Dietetic Products, Nutrition and Allergies. Scientific opinion on dietary reference values for protein. EFSA Journal 2012;10(2):2557. doi.org/10.2903/j.efsa.2012.2557
- Leidy HJ et al. The role of protein in weight loss and maintenance. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 2015;101(6):1320S–1329S. doi.org/10.3945/ajcn.114.084038
- Wycherley TP et al. Effects of energy-restricted high-protein, low-fat compared with standard-protein, low-fat diets: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 2012;96(6):1281–1298. doi.org/10.3945/ajcn.112.044321
- Morton RW et al. A systematic review, meta-analysis and meta-regression of the effect of protein supplementation on resistance training-induced gains in muscle mass and strength in healthy adults. British Journal of Sports Medicine 2018;52(6):376–384. doi.org/10.1136/bjsports-2017-097608
- Bauer J et al. Evidence-based recommendations for optimal dietary protein intake in older people: a position paper from the PROT-AGE Study Group. Journal of the American Medical Directors Association 2013;14(8):542–559. doi.org/10.1016/j.jamda.2013.05.021
- Lowe DA et al. Effects of time-restricted eating on weight loss and other metabolic parameters in women and men with overweight and obesity: the TREAT randomized clinical trial. JAMA Internal Medicine 2020;180(11):1491–1499. doi.org/10.1001/jamainternmed.2020.4153
- Devries MC et al. Changes in kidney function do not differ between healthy adults consuming higher- compared with lower- or normal-protein diets: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of Nutrition 2018;148(11):1760–1775. doi.org/10.1093/jn/nxy197
- Siler SQ, Neese RA, Hellerstein MK. De novo lipogenesis, lipid kinetics, and whole-body lipid balances in humans after acute alcohol consumption. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 1999;70(5):928–936. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10539756
- Seidelmann SB et al. Dietary carbohydrate intake and mortality: a prospective cohort study and meta-analysis. Lancet Public Health 2018;3(9):e419–e428. doi.org/10.1016/S2468-2667(18)30135-X
- Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 on food information to consumers, Annex II (the 14 allergens). eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2011/1169/oj