Daily protein target
Track protein, daily, against a target tied to bodyweight. Aim for the number; the rest of the diet sorts itself.
Run a 30-day cycle with daily protein target.
The Cycle Planner walks you through six steps and gives you a clean plan to start from. We'll prefill the habit, the suggested length, and a starter exit condition.
Plan a cycle with this habit
Protein is the macronutrient most adults under-eat by the widest margin. Most lives drift toward carbohydrate-heavy meals, which feel filling but leave the body short of the building blocks for muscle, recovery, and steady energy. A daily protein target is the simplest available correction.
The number is roughly 1.6 grams per kilogram of bodyweight for an active adult. Round to the nearest 10 and run with it.
What it looks like
Pick a target. A 70kg person aiming for 1.6g/kg lands around 110g of protein daily; an 80kg person around 130g. The number stays the same across the cycle.
Track intake daily. A free app (MyFitnessPal, Cronometer) handles the database lookups; a pen-and-paper estimate works too once you know the typical numbers (chicken breast: 30g per 100g; eggs: 6g each; Greek yoghurt: 10g per 100g). Most people need three meals plus one snack to hit the number; protein-light breakfasts almost always undershoot.
By week three, you’ll know which meals work and which leave you 30g short by lunchtime. The tracking becomes lighter as the eye trains.
Why it works
Adequate protein supports almost every adaptation that exercise produces: muscle repair, bone density, immune function, hair and skin quality. Most adults eat enough total food but not enough protein, so the calories land but the building blocks don’t. The daily target corrects the imbalance without requiring any other change.
The compounding effect across sixty days is real. People who hit a 1.6g/kg target consistently for two months report better recovery from exercise, steadier energy across the day, and fewer between-meal cravings. Strength gains from any concurrent training compound faster.
Common pitfalls
The first pitfall is hitting the number with shakes. Whole-food protein (eggs, dairy, meat, fish, beans, lentils) brings other nutrients with it; powder doesn’t. Use shakes to fill gaps, not to do the work.
The second is over-eating to hit it. Protein doesn’t need to come with extra calories. Choose lean sources for most of the target; rich sources have their place but shouldn’t dominate.
The third is tracking obsessively beyond the cycle. Sixty days of tracking trains the eye. After that, most people maintain the target by intuition. Continued daily logging often becomes a separate problem.
A 30-day cycle suggestion
Thirty days, daily. Success criteria: 25 of 30 days within 10g of the target, tracked.
Exit condition: when the protein target is hit by intuition on most days, and the body’s energy and recovery have visibly shifted from where they were at Setup.