Kelsey HigginsonSports Nutrition Coach and Founder at Clutch Day Coaching

How much protein should athletes eat

1 Jan 2026 · 1 min

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In this segment, the speaker emphasizes that achieving optimal muscle growth hinges on consuming the right amount of protein—neither too little nor too much—coined as the "Goldilocks principle." Too little protein hampers muscle repair and growth, while excessive protein crowds out essential carbohydrates and fats needed for athletic performance. To determine the ideal daily protein intake, the speaker provides a simple calculation: convert body weight from pounds to kilograms by dividing by 2.2, then multiply the result by 1.8. The resulting figure represents the grams of protein an elite athlete should consume each day to support muscle development while preserving room for other vital nutrients.

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The amount of protein you eat is the difference between building muscle and not building any. This is the Goldilocks principle. You don't want too little, you don't want too much, you want it to be just right. If you have too little, you're not going to have enough protein to build and repair that muscle. But if you have too much, you're not going to have enough of the other nutrients, aka carbs and fats, to be able to help you perform well on the court or the field. We want just the right amount. The way that you find that is I want you to take your weight in pounds and you're going to divide that by 2.2. So grab your calculators. Whatever number you get, multiply it by 1.8, and that's going to give you the amount of grams of protein that you need to eat every day to be able to have just the right amount to put on muscle, but then saving room for the other nutrients that your body needs too as an elite athlete.