Protein needs more than one number. Calk keeps the daily amount, the protein in each main meal and the overall protein-fat-carbohydrate balance separate.
Daily Protein Adequacy#
What Calk calculates. Calk totals protein on complete food-log days and compares the average with a reference based on your goal, weight and sex, which rises gradually with age. The adult RDA of 0.8 g/kg/day was set to meet the needs of nearly all healthy adults, not as a universal target for every goal Rand 2003.
Training, energy restriction, age, pregnancy and medical conditions can change the relevant target. Sports-nutrition guidance commonly uses higher ranges for active adults Jäger 2017.
What you can do. If the average is low, add protein to the repeated meal with the clearest gap: eggs or yogurt at breakfast, beans or tofu at lunch, fish, poultry or another usual protein at dinner. Use clinical guidance if kidney disease or another condition affects protein needs.
Protein in a Meal#
What Calk calculates. Calk checks whether main meals contain a meaningful protein serving rather than only small amounts spread through drinks, sauces or toppings.
This is a practical meal-structure check. Protein below the threshold is still used by the body, and response varies with body size, age, activity and the meal itself Schoenfeld 2018.
What you can do. Name the protein food in the meal. If there is none and the meal leaves you hungry, test one ordinary serving.
Macro Balance#
What Calk calculates. Calk shows the share of recorded energy from protein, fat and carbohydrate and highlights only a sustained imbalance. Accepted ranges are broad because many different patterns can be nutritionally adequate Institute 2005.
What you can do. Look for what is consistently crowded out. A single unusual day does not need correction. If one macronutrient remains very low, change one repeated meal and watch the longer pattern.
Niacin Sources#
What Calk calculates. Calk estimates niacin from recorded food and identifies common sources such as meat, fish, poultry, peanuts and fortified or whole-grain foods NIH 2023.
The diary cannot diagnose niacin deficiency or account perfectly for the niacin the body can make from tryptophan. Use the view to find food sources. High-dose niacin is a separate question, and one for a clinician.