If you spend any time in fitness circles, you’ve probably heard a lot of confident claims about protein. Some people say you need a gram per pound of bodyweight every single day, others say that’s way too much, and a few will insist the whole thing is overblown. So what’s actually true?

The short answer is that protein needs vary depending on your goals, your activity level, and your body composition. For someone who is sedentary, the recommended daily allowance of around 0.36 grams per pound of bodyweight is sufficient to prevent deficiency. But for someone actively trying to build muscle or preserve lean mass while losing fat, that number is almost certainly too low.

The research consistently supports a higher intake for people who train. Most sports nutrition experts land somewhere between 0.7 and 1 gram of protein per pound of bodyweight as a practical target for active individuals. For a 160-pound person, that works out to roughly 112 to 160 grams per day. That sounds like a lot until you start mapping it across meals.

Three solid meals each containing 35 to 45 grams of protein will get most people where they need to be. Chicken breast, eggs, Greek yogurt, cottage cheese, beef and fish are all solid sources. A protein shake can help fill gaps on days when whole food intake falls short, but it’s not a requirement.

Timing matters less than total daily intake. The old idea that you had to slam a shake within 30 minutes of your workout has largely been debunked. What matters far more is hitting your overall target consistently across the week.

One thing worth noting for North Texas residents is the summer heat. When it’s 105 degrees outside and you are losing a lot of fluid to sweat, hydration and electrolytes become especially important for muscle function and recovery, right alongside protein intake.

The bottom line is to hit a reasonable daily target from mostly whole food sources, stay consistent, and not overthink it. Protein is important, but it’s one piece of a larger puzzle.