Activity levels can vary by the day for event planners. On sedentary desk days, nutritionists at Mayo Clinic say to shoot for a little more than a third of a gram of protein for every pound of body weight.
For someone who weighs 150 pounds, that’s about 54 grams of protein a day—roughly 7-8 oz. of cooked lean steak. But on those on-site event days, logging thousands of steps, setting up booths and managing logistics, scale up to about a half gram per pound. Our 150-pound planner, in other words, needs roughly 75 grams of protein—9-10 oz. of steak.
On the show floor, you need to eat like an athlete
English professional soccer player Andros Townsend, while at the FIFA World Cup this summer, wrote online that he packed in protein-laden sardines, steak, boiled eggs and bone broth to maintain his stamina. It set off a tsunami of searches in Britain along the lines of “sardines for men.”
A writer for The New York Times did a recent piece titled “The Most Powerful Men in America Are Eating Only Steak and Sauerkraut. Could I?” in which he interviewed the doctor who has been advising several members of the Trump cabinet to eat nothing but the meat of grass-fed ruminants (plus a variety of fermented foods), which he says jacks up your metabolism and promotes weight loss.
World-class athletes—and bodymaxxing high officials, apparently—do eat significantly more protein than the average person to support tissue repair, metabolic function and muscle recovery. Guidelines from the International Society for Sports Nutrition recommend consuming high-quality protein every three to four hours throughout the day to provide a steady stream of essential amino acids required for ongoing physiological support.
Read More: Healthy You: Good Mood Food
Medical experts say stress and sustained job pressures can be just as physically draining as a hard workout, and sometimes even more so, because they do not allow for physical recovery. Protein is key for your sustained energy despite unpredictable schedules and delayed meals, for cognitive focus for on-the-fly problem-solving and for overnight muscular repair after walking miles on concrete convention center floors.
But how much protein does a meeting prof need? It depends. You love your job, but you also know it can be highly demanding at times, less so at others.
“How much protein does a meeting prof need? It depends.”
Doing the Numbers
OK, let’s get specific. On sedentary desk days, nutritionists at Mayo Clinic say to shoot for a little more than a third of a gram of protein for every pound of body weight. For someone who weighs 150 pounds, that’s about 54 grams of protein a day—roughly 7-8 oz. of cooked lean steak. But on those on-site event days, logging thousands of steps, setting up booths and managing logistics, scale up to about a half gram per pound. Our 150-pound planner, in other words, needs roughly 75 grams of protein—9-10 oz. of steak.
Does this mean meeting profs should switch to a red-meat carnivore diet? Not necessarily, says Harvard’s T.H. Chan School of Public Health: “Available evidence indicates that it’s the source of protein (or the protein ‘package’), rather than the amount of protein, that likely makes a difference for our health…. Eating healthy protein sources like beans, nuts, fish or poultry in place of red meat and processed meat can lower the risk of several diseases and premature death.” In fact, Harvard researchers have found that eating just two servings of red meat per week may increase the risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
And here’s another reality: When the show must go on, sticking to regular mealtimes can be its own stressor despite your best intentions. Since it’s better to eat smaller amounts throughout the day anyway, be sure to incorporate a midmorning and afternoon protein snack even if you are keeping to your meal schedule.
A single serving of plain Greek yogurt, for example, can be consumed quickly behind the scenes and give you 15 grams of protein with almost no fat. An ounce of turkey jerky—shelf-stable, completely portable—affords about 12 grams of protein. Pumpkin seeds (7 grams of protein in only an ounce) offer the bonus of a boost in magnesium, which helps stave off muscle cramps from all your walking. And those many, many brands of protein bars? Look for low-sugar options using whey or pea protein isolate and beware of chocolate-covered disasters that melt in your pocket or luggage.
This article appears in the September 2026 issue. You can subscribe to the magazine here.
