Protein calculator

How much protein do you need?

Protein builds and repairs muscle, skin, blood and the enzymes that run your body. Unlike fat, the body doesn’t store spare protein, so you need some every day. The amount depends mostly on your weight and what you ask of your body: an office worker, a weightlifter, a runner, a grandmother and a pregnant woman all need different amounts.

What Indian guidance says

The ICMR-NIN Nutrient Requirements for Indians (2020) set the RDA at 0.83 g of protein per kg of body weight a day for healthy adults, repeated in the Dietary Guidelines for Indians (ICMR-NIN, May 2024). That is about 54 g for the reference 65 kg man and 46 g for the 55 kg woman. The RDA covers almost everyone who is not training hard. If most of your protein comes from cereals alone, with little dal, milk or eggs, ICMR-NIN suggests about 1 g per kg instead, because cereal protein is used less well. ICMR-NIN adds about 9.5 g a day in the second trimester of pregnancy, 22 g in the third, 17 g while breastfeeding in the first six months and 13 g from seven to twelve months. The 2024 guidelines also advise healthy people against protein powders: food comes first. Figures checked as of October 2026.

When you need more

Beyond about 2 g per kg, most people gain little extra. If your BMI is high, dietitians base protein on a healthier target weight instead of today’s weight; turn on Check my BMI and Base it on a target weight.

How to use this tool

1. Type your weight and pick a goal and a diet.
2. Read your daily protein, the RDA for comparison and how much to eat at each meal.
3. See a sample day in your diet, the foods that make it up and a table of Indian foods with the servings that would cover your whole day.
4. Turn on Meal plan, Check my BMI, Base it on a target weight, Cost a day or Kidney condition if you need them.

Meena, a nurse in Thanjavur

Meena is 42, weighs 60 kg and is vegetarian. For everyday health she needs about 50 g a day (60 × 0.83). Her usual day of idli, rice, sambar and a little curd gives her maybe 35 g. She adds a glass of milk at breakfast, a bowl of curd at lunch, a handful of roasted chana at 4 o’clock and some paneer in her dinner sabzi, and she is there without any powder. When she starts a strength class at the hospital gym twice a week, she moves to Exercise often: 72 to 96 g, so she adds soya chunks to her kurma twice a week.

Common mistakes

• Counting the whole food weight: 100 g of paneer is not 100 g of protein; it is about 18 g.
• Eating it all at dinner: spread protein across the day, 20–30 g at each main meal.
• Reaching for powders first: dal, curd, eggs, soya and chana are cheaper and come with fibre and vitamins.
• Forgetting the kidneys: with kidney disease, high protein can do harm. Ask your doctor.
• Using today’s weight with a very high BMI: base it on a healthier target weight.