Protein Intake Calculator

Eighty-four to a hundred and twelve grams

An active person weighing 70 kg has an estimated daily protein target of 84 to 112 grams — a range of 1.2 to 1.6 g per kilogram of body weight.

The range is deliberate. Protein requirement is not a single number; it depends on training, age, whether you are gaining or losing weight, and how the protein is distributed across the day.

The ranges by circumstance

Sedentary adults — the ICMR-NIN recommendation for Indians is around 0.83–1.0 g/kg, which is a minimum to prevent deficiency rather than an optimum.

Active or recreationally training — 1.2 to 1.6 g/kg.

Strength training with a goal of building muscle — 1.6 to 2.2 g/kg. Evidence suggests benefit plateaus somewhere around 1.6 g/kg for most people, with a margin up to 2.2 for those in a deficit or training intensively.

In a calorie deficit — the upper end, because adequate protein is what preserves muscle while fat is lost. This is the situation where protein matters most and is most often neglected.

Older adults — requirements rise rather than fall, to roughly 1.2–1.5 g/kg, because of anabolic resistance: ageing muscle responds less to the same protein stimulus, so more is needed to maintain mass.

The Indian dietary challenge

Meeting these targets on a typical Indian vegetarian diet requires deliberate effort, and the arithmetic explains why.

A katori of dal provides only about 6–7 g of protein. Two chapatis add roughly 6 g. A cup of rice, about 4 g. A conventional vegetarian thali might total 25–35 g across the whole meal.

To reach 84 g, the practical levers are:

Paneer — about 18 g per 100 g, and the most concentrated common vegetarian source. Curd and milk — roughly 3.5 g per 100 g and 8 g per cup respectively. Soya chunks — exceptionally high at around 50 g per 100 g dry. Rajma, chana and other legumes — 7–9 g per katori cooked. Sprouts and peanuts, and eggs at about 6 g each for those who eat them.

Combining sources matters. Cereals are low in lysine; legumes are low in methionine. Eaten together — dal with rice, rajma with chawal, idli with sambar — they provide a complete amino acid profile. Traditional Indian pairings do this intuitively, which is why the combination rather than either component is what counts.

Distribution across the day

Total daily intake matters most, but distribution has a secondary effect. Muscle protein synthesis responds to a per-meal dose of roughly 0.4 g/kg — about 28 g for a 70 kg person — and spreading intake across three or four meals stimulates synthesis more effectively than concentrating it in one.

The common Indian pattern of a light, carbohydrate-heavy breakfast and a protein-heavier dinner leaves much of the day without an adequate stimulus. Adding protein to breakfast is usually the single most effective change.

On supplements and safety

Whey and plant protein powders are a convenience, not a requirement. They are useful when whole-food intake is genuinely difficult to reach, and they are not superior to food at equivalent protein content.

High protein intake does not damage healthy kidneys. This is a persistent belief without support in the evidence for people with normal renal function. It is, however, genuinely contraindicated in existing kidney disease, where protein restriction is often part of treatment.

This is general information, not medical advice. Anyone with kidney or liver disease, or who is pregnant, should follow clinical guidance rather than a general formula.

Common mistakes

Assuming dal covers it. A katori provides 6–7 g against a target ten times that.

Ignoring protein while dieting. It is when the requirement is highest.

Concentrating intake in one meal. Distribution improves the response.

Believing protein harms healthy kidneys. It does not.

Using goal weight rather than current weight. Calculate on what you weigh now.