Protein needs more than one number. Calk keeps the daily amount, distribution across meals, share of energy and 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 the user’s profile. 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 Distribution#
What Calk calculates. Calk shows how the recorded protein total was divided among meals. A heavily back-loaded pattern and a more even pattern can have the same daily total.
Small feeding studies suggest that distributing meaningful servings across meals can support muscle-protein synthesis, but they do not establish one exact distribution for everyone Mamerow 2014 Schoenfeld 2018.
What you can do. If almost all protein appears at dinner, move a normal protein food into an earlier meal. If the total and the meals already work, leave them alone.
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.
Protein Share of Energy#
What Calk calculates. This view expresses protein energy as a percentage of recorded calories. It can be low even when grams look adequate if total energy is high, or high during a low-calorie period.
Adult macronutrient guidance allows a wide protein range, commonly 10–35% of energy in US dietary reference intakes Institute 2005. The percentage is context, not a target by itself.
What you can do. Read it beside total protein and total energy. Fix the actual issue: too little protein, an unusually high total, or an incomplete day.
Protein Needs with Age#
What Calk calculates. From age 65, Calk uses a higher protein reference. Expert guidance for healthy older adults often suggests around 1.0–1.2 g/kg/day, with individual adjustment for activity and health Bauer 2013.
What you can do. Spread familiar protein foods across the day and combine adequate intake with appropriate resistance or weight-bearing activity. Medical conditions may require a different target.
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.