Free tool
Protein and macro calculator
Get your goal calories, then your protein, fat and carbs in grams. You see the working, an honest range and Indian food examples.
Protein first. Then fat. Carbs get what is left. It follows our Build Your Own Diet guide, a 125-page guide that shows you how to work out your own diet, step by step.
Your numbers stay on your device. We never see them.
Your numbers
Fill in the boxes and press Calculate. Your goal calories, protein, fat and carbs show up here.
Please read
Your result
Your protein
0g a day
Goal calories
Protein
0 g
Fat
0 g
Carbs
0 g
See the foods that get you there
The working
Checks
Per meal
Check and change
Weigh in every morning. After 2 to 3 weeks, compare your 7-day average with your weekly rate. If the trend is off, check your logging first. Then change your goal calories by 100 to 200 kcal. Hitting the number to the gram is not needed. A day that is 10% off is fine. The weekly average is what counts.
Stop the cut and speak to a doctor if your periods stop, your strength drops for several weeks in a row, or you feel tired, cold or low all the time.
Want the full method, with worksheets and a food table? Our Build Your Own Diet guide walks you through every step.
This is education. It is not medical advice. Medical disclaimer.
Foods that get you there
Normal food has plenty of protein. No special food is needed. Rice, roti and other grains add a little too.
Two meals for your number
All 14 foods. Pick what you eat above to see only the foods that fit you.
| Food | Serving | Protein |
|---|---|---|
| Chicken breast, cooked | 100 g | 31 g |
| Fish (rohu or salmon), raw | 100 g | 20 g |
| Egg, boiled | 1 egg | 7 g |
| Paneer, full fat | 100 g | 19 g |
| Greek yogurt | 150 g | 15 g |
| Curd (dahi) | 1 katori, 150 g | 6 g |
| Milk | 1 glass, 200 ml | 7 g |
| Tofu, firm | 100 g | 17 g |
| Soya chunks | 30 g dry | 16 g |
| Dal, thin, cooked | 1 katori, 150 g | 6 to 7 g |
| Chole or rajma, boiled and drained | 1 katori, 150 g | 12 g |
| Peanuts | 30 g | 7 g |
| Cooked rice | 100 g | 3 g |
| Whey powder | 1 scoop, 30 g | 25 g |
Protein per serving, rounded from the Indian Food Composition Tables 2017 (NIN, ICMR) and USDA FoodData Central. Brands and recipes vary. Check your own pack. Thick dal and chole curry vary a lot.
Plant protein is a little harder to use. Mix dal with rice or roti, and use the top half of your range.
Who should not use this
Talk to a doctor or a registered dietitian first if you:
- are pregnant or breastfeeding
- have kidney, liver, heart or gut disease
- have diabetes and take insulin or a sulfonylurea tablet
- have a thyroid problem, had weight-loss surgery, or are in cancer treatment
- take a blood thinner or any other prescription medicine
- have or had an eating disorder. A macro plan can bring it back
India's guidelines also say to take high protein with care if you already have kidney disease. This tool is for adults aged 18 to 65.
Protein per day by body weight
For people who lift, with a BMI under 30. Each box shows the range, then a good place to start.
| Weight | Fat loss | Muscle gain | Maintenance |
|---|---|---|---|
| 50 kg | 80 to 120 gstart 100 g | 80 to 110 gstart 90 g | 60 to 80 gstart 70 g |
| 60 kg | 100 to 140 gstart 120 g | 100 to 130 gstart 110 g | 75 to 95 gstart 85 g |
| 70 kg | 115 to 165 gstart 140 g | 115 to 150 gstart 125 g | 85 to 110 gstart 100 g |
| 80 kg | 130 to 190 gstart 160 g | 130 to 175 gstart 145 g | 100 to 125 gstart 110 g |
| 90 kg | 145 to 215 gstart 180 g | 145 to 195 gstart 160 g | 110 to 140 gstart 125 g |
| 100 kg | 160 to 240 gstart 200 g | 160 to 220 gstart 180 g | 120 to 160 gstart 140 g |
Fat loss uses 1.6 to 2.4 g per kg, muscle gain 1.6 to 2.2, maintenance 1.2 to 1.6. If you do not lift, use the maintenance column. If your BMI is 30 or more, use the calculator above. It uses an adjusted weight.
Why is this more than 0.83 g per kg?
| Source | Number | What it is for |
|---|---|---|
| WHO and ICMR-NIN (India, 2024) RDA | 0.83 g per kg | Enough to avoid a shortage |
| ICMR-NIN (India, 2024) | 10 to 15% of calories | A guide for the general population |
| US Dietary Guidelines 2025 to 2030 | 1.2 to 1.6 g per kg | Adults, weight management, adjusted for energy |
| Sports bodies (ISSN, ACSM) and this page | 1.4 to 2.0 g, up to 2.4 on a hard cut | People who lift or diet hard |
None of these is wrong. They answer different questions. The first two stop a shortage. The last two protect muscle when you train or eat less. India's guidelines also advise care with high protein if you already have kidney disease.
Under the hood
How we calculate it
This page follows Parts 3 to 6 of our Build Your Own Diet guide. There are five steps.
- Goal calories. Start from your maintenance number. For fat loss we take off a share of your body weight each week: about 100 kcal a day for every 0.1 kg a week. For muscle gain we add the same way, with caps of 500 kcal for beginners and 350 for the next group. Advanced lifters get maintenance plus 100 to 250 kcal. We run 3 safety checks on a cut: not more than 25% of maintenance, not more than 500 kcal a day if you are lean or well trained (750 if not), and not below 1,200 kcal (women) or 1,500 kcal (men).
- Which weight. Your real weight, unless your BMI is 30 or more. Then we use your ideal weight plus a quarter of the extra.
- Protein. Grams per kg from the range for your goal. If you lift: fat loss and recomposition 1.6 to 2.4 (start 2.0), muscle gain 1.6 to 2.2 (start 1.8), maintenance 1.2 to 1.6 (start 1.6). If you do not lift: 1.2 to 1.6 (start 1.4). We move the number up or down by 0.2 when two or more things point the same way. Going up: you are lean or train hard, your cut is big, you will diet for over 12 weeks, you are vegetarian or vegan (most of your protein from plants). Going down: your change in calories is small, your protein is mostly from meat, fish, eggs or dairy. We then round to the nearest 5 g and keep it inside the range.
- Fat. 25% of your goal calories to start, divided by 9. It never goes below 20% of your calories or 0.6 g per kg, and never above 35%. We round to the nearest 5 g and keep it between the floor and the ceiling.
- Carbs. The calories left after protein and fat, divided by 4, rounded down to the nearest 5 g. We then check that carbs are at least 130 g and at least 3 g per kg. If not, we lower fat to its floor, then protein to the low end of its range. If that is not enough, the answer is a smaller cut.
Protein and carbs have 4 kcal per gram. Fat has 9. The three should add up to within about 2% of your goal. This page does not track alcohol or sugar. The Build Your Own Diet guide covers both.
Rules of thumb
Some numbers here come from coaching practice and expert reviews. No trial has tested them: the adjusted weight rule, the 0.2 g per kg moves, the 0.6 g per kg fat floor, the muscle gain caps, and the 25% limit on a cut. Two cut-offs are ours: a "big cut" is 20% of maintenance or more, and a "small change" is 250 kcal or less. We list them so you can judge for yourself.
Why 18 to 65?
The Build Your Own Diet guide is written for adults. Teens and older adults have different needs, and a web page is not the right place to set them. If you are outside this range, talk to a doctor or a registered dietitian.
Where the numbers come from
- Muscle gain levels off at about 1.6 g per kg a day, with uncertainty up to about 2.2 (Morton and others, British Journal of Sports Medicine, 2018: 49 trials, 1,863 people).
- 1.4 to 2.0 g per kg for people who train (Jäger and others, ISSN position stand, 2017).
- 2.4 g per kg gave more muscle and more fat loss than 1.2 g per kg in a big cut (Longland and others, American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 2016: 40 young men, 4 weeks).
- 0.83 g per kg and 10 to 15% of energy (ICMR-NIN, Dietary Guidelines for Indians, 2024).
- 1.2 to 1.6 g per kg for adults (Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2025 to 2030). It comes from weight-management trials, not from a requirement study.
- Fat 20 to 35% of calories (US National Academies, EFSA). Carbs: 130 g a day floor (US National Academies).
- Higher protein did not harm kidney function in healthy adults (Devries and others, Journal of Nutrition, 2018: 28 studies).
Next
Questions
Protein and macro calculator FAQ
How much protein do I need a day?
The official minimum for adults is 0.83 g per kg in India (ICMR-NIN 2024) and 0.8 g per kg in the US. That only stops a shortage. If you lift or you are dieting, most sports guides go higher, about 1.4 to 2.0 g per kg. The US guidelines for 2025 to 2030 say 1.2 to 1.6 g per kg for adults. This page gives you a range and a starting number for your goal.
How much protein should I eat to lose fat?
When you eat less, your body can burn muscle for fuel. More protein helps you keep it. If you lift, this page uses 1.6 to 2.4 g per kg and starts at 2.0. The top of that range is expert advice. Only one trial tested 2.4 g per kg, in young men on a very hard diet. If you do not lift, the range is 1.2 to 1.6.
How much protein do I need to build muscle?
A review of 49 trials found that extra protein stopped adding muscle at about 1.6 g per kg a day. The uncertainty reached about 2.2 g per kg. So this page uses 1.6 to 2.2 and starts at 1.8. More than that has no proven benefit.
Why is this more than the 0.83 g per kg India uses?
Different numbers answer different questions. The 0.83 g per kg figure is the amount that stops a shortage in most people. India's guidelines also say protein should give 10 to 15% of your calories. A person who lifts, or who eats less to lose fat, needs more to protect muscle. The table under the result shows all four numbers side by side.
Is a high-protein diet safe for my kidneys?
A review of 28 studies with over 1,300 healthy adults found no harm to kidney function at 1.5 g per kg or more. Those studies left out people who already have kidney disease. If you have kidney disease, or you are not sure about your kidneys, speak to a doctor before you raise your protein. India's guidelines say the same.
Can I reach this as a vegetarian with Indian food?
Yes. A 12-week trial gave vegan and meat-eating men the same muscle gain at 1.6 g per kg. Plant protein digests a little less well, so aim for the top half of your range. Mix dal with rice or roti. Lean on paneer, curd, milk, soya, tofu, rajma and chole. India's guidelines suggest 3 parts cereal to 1 part pulses to improve protein quality.
Which weight do I use if I am overweight?
Fat tissue needs little protein, so your full body weight gives a number that is too high. If your BMI is 30 or more, this page uses an adjusted weight: your ideal weight plus a quarter of the extra. Your target is then 1.6 to 2.0 g per kg of that adjusted weight. This is expert practice. No trial has tested it.
Is 100 g of protein a day too much? Are 2 eggs a day too much?
For a healthy adult, no. 100 g is about 1.25 g per kg for an 80 kg person. Two eggs give about 14 g, a small part of that. If you have kidney disease, the answer is different, so speak to your doctor.
This tool is education. It is not medical advice. Read the medical disclaimer. Last updated: 16 October 2026.
Want the why behind the numbers?
Get the articles by email
Short, plain posts on training and food. No spam.
Opens Substack to confirm. No spam, unsubscribe any time.