Named after the Greek word for "primary," protein isn't just for building muscle. It helps regulate hormones and fluid levels in your body, it transports and stores nutrients and it aids in the product of antibodies to fight infection. It does a lot, and that's why it's become one of the more recent fitness obsessions even though you likely already get enough without even trying.
How much protein you need each day need depends on your body weight and lifestyle -- 0.36 grams per pound is the general guideline, according to the Recommended Dietary Allowance for protein -- but the USDA's calculator will give you that number effortlessly. To help you visualize what 100 grams of protein looks like across different dietary styles -- vegan, vegetarian, omnivorous, and carnivorous -- I've put together this practical guide.
Please keep in mind these protein amounts were calculated based on specific products and their nutrition labels, so your numbers might vary slightly depending on the brand or preparation method. Each one of these pictures contains 100 grams of protein combined, not 100 grams per item. Here's what 100 grams of protein could look like for your diet.
Eating 100 grams of protein per day should be pretty easy if you don't have any dietary restrictions. Here's what that would look like:
Everything pictured above comes to 103 grams, which puts you slightly over 100 grams.
As you can see, getting 100 grams of protein from animal products doesn't take much:
This amounts to a perfect 100 grams of protein. If you ate all of this in a day, plus bread and other nonanimal products, you would surpass 100 grams of protein in a day.
For vegetarians, 100 grams of protein might look like this:
This actually comes out to 99 grams of protein, which is pretty close.
What you see isn't totally what you get with the amount of protein here:
This amounts to 79 grams of protein. If we double up on the mixed nuts, chia seeds and hemp seeds, this brings us to 93 grams of protein. You could add an extra tablespoon of peanut butter or eat a full cup of oats, instead of half a cup, to come closer to 100 grams.
This plate also excludes high-protein vegan meat substitutes, such as tofu, tempeh or plant-based meats like the Impossible Burger. Those food sources can make it easier to get 100 grams of protein for someone who eats a vegan diet.