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Nutrition Planner

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Appetune Nutrition Planner

Build a starting plan around the appetite you have today: meal frequency, tolerated foods, and the one or two things worth prioritising this month.

Written and checked byThe Appetune TeamNo independent clinical reviewer yet

Reviewed July 18, 2026

In development — not yet reviewed

This tool is being built. The page describes what it will ask you and what it will hand back, so you can judge whether it is worth waiting for. Nothing here calculates anything yet.

Who this tool is not for

This planner is not for you if you have kidney disease or liver disease, or if a clinician has set you a protein or fluid restriction. Those amounts are worked out from your labs and your history, and a general range can be the wrong answer. Use the figures your care team gave you. If you are not sure whether a restriction applies, to you or to someone you are cooking for, ask before you use anything here.

Build a starting plan

Nine questions, none of them about willpower. What comes back is a published range and a way to spread it, not a target with your name on it.

This part needs JavaScript

The interactive form has not started. Everything that matters — the method, what the tool asks, what it hands back, and when to call someone — is below on this page and does not depend on a script.

Before you start

This planner is not for everyone, and the reason sits above rather than below the result.

Does any of this apply to you, or to the person you are cooking for — kidney disease, liver disease, or a protein or fluid restriction set by a clinician?

Yes, or I am not sureNo, none of those

Then this planner is not the right tool, and it will not produce a range. Protein amounts in kidney disease, liver disease, or under a set restriction are worked out from labs and history, and a general range can be the wrong answer in a way that matters. Use the figures your care team gave you. If you are not sure whether a restriction applies, ask before you use anything here — a restriction is easy to miss from the outside.

Your age

The published ranges differ over 65, so this changes the answer.

Under 5050 to 6465 or over

Body weight · Required

Used once, to work out what the range comes to in grams. A rough figure is fine — the result is rounded to the nearest 5 g because that is all the method supports.

Unit

How active you are on a usual day

Not how active you would like to be. Today’s answer is the useful one.

Mostly restingUp and about, light activityModerately active most days

Resistance work — weights, bands, or getting up out of a chair repeatedly

Both expert groups pair protein with loading the muscles. This is the half people skip.

None at the momentOccasionallyRegularly, most weeks

Eating occasions you can manage on a usual day · Required

Count what happens, including a yogurt or a glass of milk. Three meals is not the answer if three meals is not happening.

Anything you do not eat

Filters the list of options. It does not change the range.

No dairyNo eggsNo fishNo meatPlant foods only

What is going down at the moment

Tick what is working. Nothing gets removed from the list — matches just move to the top.

Cold foodSmooth texturesThings that need no cookingDrinks and shakesSavourySweet

How things are right now

I am feeling sick most days, or eating much less than usual

This changes what the planner leads with. It does not change the arithmetic.

Who this is for

I am filling this in for someone I cook for

Adds the questions worth asking when you are the one noticing.

When this needs a clinician, not a recipe

Some of this is not a food problem. Contact your care team the same day — or use urgent care if you cannot reach them — if any of this is true:

You cannot keep fluids down for a day or more.
You are losing weight quickly without meaning to.
You have signs of dehydration: very dark urine, passing much less than usual, dizziness when you stand, a dry mouth that sipping does not fix, or new confusion.
Pain, vomiting, or trouble swallowing is stopping you eating or drinking at all.
Abdominal pain is severe, or it is not letting up.

If you are the one doing the cooking and you are the one noticing this, you are the right person to make the call. Say what you have seen and when it started — that is the useful part.

What this result is not

Not a personal target. It is the published range, or the published floor, for people whose answers look like yours.
Not a diagnosis, and not a judgement about whether you are eating enough.
Not a substitute for your care team, who can set an actual figure because they have your labs and your history.

Where each figure comes from

Every number this tool uses is one of these. Nothing is averaged between them, and nothing is estimated where a source does not exist.

Institute of Medicine — Dietary Reference Intakes, summary tables
The protein RDA for adults is 0.8 g per kg of body weight per day. Adequate Intake for total fibre is 38 g/day for men 19–50, 30 g/day for men 51 and over, 25 g/day for women 19–50, and 21 g/day for women 51 and over.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK56068/table/summarytables.t4/
PROT-AGE Study Group — Bauer et al., J Am Med Dir Assoc, 2013
For healthy people over 65, an average daily intake of at least 1.0–1.2 g protein per kg body weight per day. At least 1.2 g/kg/day for those exercising and otherwise active. 1.2–1.5 g/kg/day for most older adults with acute or chronic disease. People with an estimated GFR below 30 who are not on dialysis may need to limit protein instead.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23867520/
ESPEN Expert Group — Deutz et al., Clinical Nutrition, 2014
At least 1.0–1.2 g protein per kg body weight per day for healthy older adults, and 1.2–1.5 g/kg/day for older adults with acute or chronic illness, with more for severe illness or injury.
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4208946/
Morton et al., British Journal of Sports Medicine, 2018
A meta-regression of resistance-training trials found that gains in fat-free mass stopped increasing above a total protein intake of 1.62 g/kg/day, with a 95% confidence interval running from 1.03 to 2.20 g/kg/day. The confidence interval is wide, which is part of the finding.
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5867436/
Paddon-Jones & Rasmussen, Curr Opin Clin Nutr Metab Care, 2009
25–30 g of high-quality protein in a meal maximally stimulated muscle protein synthesis in both younger and older adults. Below roughly 20 g in a meal was insufficient in older adults, and above 30 g added little.
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2760315/

What it asks you

How often you are managing to eat, which textures and foods are going down at the moment, what you are avoiding and why, your usual activity, and the single thing you most want to improve first.

What it gives back

A protein range to aim at, a way to spread it across the meals you eat, a fluid routine attached to your day rather than a target, a gradual fiber step if it applies, and a short list of questions to take to your clinician.

How it works

Every figure a tool produces comes from a structured food record or a published reference, and the working is shown. If a number cannot be traced, the tool does not print it.

How we rate and calculate

What this page is not

A tool output is a starting point for a conversation, not a prescription. It does not know your medical history, your medications, or your labs.

Appetune is nutrition support: educational information and general wellness tools. It does not sell or supply medication, and it does not provide medical diagnosis, medication instructions, or individualized treatment. Contact a qualified healthcare professional about persistent symptoms, dehydration, severe gastrointestinal symptoms, medication concerns, or major changes in food intake.

When this needs a clinician, not a recipe

Some of this is not a food problem. Contact your care team the same day — or use urgent care if you cannot reach them — if any of this is true:

You cannot keep fluids down for a day or more.
You are losing weight quickly without meaning to.
You have signs of dehydration: very dark urine, passing much less than usual, dizziness when you stand, a dry mouth that sipping does not fix, or new confusion.
Pain, vomiting, or trouble swallowing is stopping you eating or drinking at all.
Abdominal pain is severe, or it is not letting up.

If you are the one doing the cooking and you are the one noticing this, you are the right person to make the call. Say what you have seen and when it started — that is the useful part.

Sources

What this draws on

These are the reference works this page is being written against. Specific citations are added, line by line, before it leaves draft.

USDA FoodData Centralfdc.nal.usda.gov
Dietary Guidelines for Americanswww.dietaryguidelines.gov

Bring the output to your next appointment.

A page of specifics is a better use of ten minutes than trying to remember how the month went.

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