How much protein does a woman over 40 need?

Short answer

The adult recommended dietary allowance (RDA) for protein is 0.8 grams per kilogram of body weight a day. Coach Josh’s coaching range is higher and is set from your goal weight: 0.9 to 1.0 grams per pound of goal weight. Enter your goal below to see your range per day and per meal.

Get my calorie & protein plan

Free · 4 questions · no email needed to see it

By Coach Josh · Get Your BMR

4 sources · Reviewed October 20, 2026

The short version

  • Adult RDA: 0.8 g per kg of body weight
  • Coach Josh’s coaching range: 0.9–1.0 g per lb of goal weight
  • Spread protein across your meals
Illustration: a plate with eggs, Greek yogurt and berries, chicken, beans and greens.

Free interactive tool

Your protein range

Coach Josh’s range, set from your goal weight, split across the meals you actually eat.

The RDA, the 65+ guidance and a coaching range

The recommended dietary allowance (RDA) for healthy adults is 0.8 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight a day.

For healthy adults 65 and over, an ESPEN expert group recommends at least 1.0 to 1.2 grams per kilogram a day. That guidance is for older adults, not women in their 40s and 50s. Coach Josh’s goal-weight range is a coaching choice, not an official guideline, so treat it as a starting point.

Why Coach Josh uses your goal weight

If you have weight to lose, protein set from your current weight can land very high and feel impossible. Setting it from your goal weight gives a number that fits the body you are building toward. It is the same range your Get Your BMR results show.

Example: a goal of 140 pounds gives 126 to 140 grams a day. Across three meals, that is about 42 to 47 grams each.

Protein on a GLP-1 or with a small appetite

Small appetites make protein harder. A 2025 joint advisory on GLP-1 nutrition discusses higher protein targets during active weight loss, and says there is still no consensus on which body weight to calculate from. That is exactly why your prescriber or dietitian should set your number if you take one.

Practical help: protein first at every meal, smaller meals more often, and soft or drinkable options on days food feels like work.

Find your number first

Your BMR estimate, a daily calorie target & Coach Josh’s protein range, from four quick questions.

Get my calorie & protein plan

Free · 4 questions · no email needed to see it

The 3-Day Walk & Water Challenge

How a round works

  1. 1. Join a team

    Two to four of you on one team: a friend’s, your own, or one you join in the app. Your team gets a name, a crest & a spot on the live leaderboard.

  2. 2. Walk + water, 3 days

    Tuesday, Wednesday & Thursday. A step goal & a water goal sized to where you are today. The board updates as you walk & closes Thursday at midnight, Arizona time.

  3. 3. Friday winners

    Friday morning the results go up. The winning team’s card glows gold, badges land beside names on the board, and a new round starts Tuesday.

Bigger isn’t better. Teams rank on their AVERAGE.

A team’s score is its average per woman, not its total. So two friends can beat a team of four, and every walker’s day counts the same. When one of you goes quiet, the others notice & send a nudge in team chat.

The Walk & Water team card: team name and crest, team level, the average steps per woman, and each teammate’s steps and glasses of water.
Your team card. The big number is the average per woman.
The Walk & Water leaderboard: your rank this week, steps, glasses of water, day streak, and the 3-day challenge rankings.
The live leaderboard. Solo, team & global ranks for this round.

Hit your range without forcing it

Three habits do most of the work.

  1. Protein first

    Coach Josh’s habit: start each meal with the protein on your plate, before the sides.

  2. Spread it out

    Split the day across your meals instead of one big dinner.

  3. Plan the easy wins

    Eggs, Greek yogurt, cottage cheese, chicken, fish, tofu & beans. Keep two on hand.

Questions

Is 100 grams of protein too much for a woman?

For many healthy women it is a reasonable daily amount, but needs vary. If you have kidney disease or a medical diet, ask your doctor.

Should I use my current weight or goal weight?

Coach Josh uses goal weight so the number stays realistic. Guidelines differ, so a clinician may use another method.

Do I need protein shakes?

No. Food works. Shakes are just a convenient option on busy or low-appetite days.

Sources

Written by Coach Josh and checked against these sources on October 20, 2026. General information, not medical advice.

Show all 4 sources
  1. NIH Office of Dietary Supplements — protein RDA (0.8 g/kg/day)
  2. Deutz et al. (2014). Protein intake and exercise for optimal muscle function with aging. ESPEN expert group, Clinical Nutrition
  3. Nutritional Priorities to Support GLP-1 Therapy for Obesity — joint advisory (2025), PubMed
  4. The Obesity Society — summary of the joint GLP-1 nutrition advisory
Coach Josh

Who writes these guides

Coach Josh

Professional trainer since 2018 · ISSA & NCCPT certified · Creator of Get Your BMR & the Walk & Water Challenge (BodyByReason)

I’m Josh. I built Get Your BMR so you could see what your body burns at rest, & I built Walk & Water so you’d have somewhere to use it with people who notice when you show up.

I walk every round too: same board, same three days, on my own team. I don’t always win. Tap Chat with Coach in the app & it’s me who answers.

About 7 in 10 women who finish a round come back & play the next one.

Walk & Water app data, 73 finishers, snapshot October 19, 2026.

Start with your number

Get my calorie & protein plan

Free · 4 questions · no email needed to see it

Already know your number? Join the 3-Day Walk & Water Challenge

Related guides

Get Your BMR is Coach Josh’s free calculator. The 3-Day Walk & Water Challenge is where you put the number to work, and it runs inside the APEX: Walk & Water app on iPhone and Android.