On this page
- How much protein do you need per day?
- Your protein target in grams, by bodyweight
- How should you split protein across the day?
- A vegetarian day that hits about 115g
- The budget version: about 95g for under ₹140
- A non-veg day that hits about 118g
- Do you need protein powder?
- Special cases: women, older adults, fat loss vs muscle gain
- Common protein mistakes Indian beginners make
- FAQs
"How much protein should I eat?" is the most common question we get, and the internet's answers range from useless ("more!") to absurd ("300 grams or you're wasting your time"). Here's the honest, research-backed number, what it looks like in grams for your bodyweight, and how to actually hit it on a normal Indian diet and budget.
How much protein do you need per day?
There are two different numbers, and mixing them up causes most of the confusion.
If you're not training: the ICMR-NIN Dietary Guidelines for Indians set the recommended allowance for healthy adults at 0.83g of protein per kg of bodyweight per day. That's about 54g for a 65kg adult. That covers basic needs, not maximum muscle growth.
If you lift weights to build muscle: the research consistently lands around 1.6g per kg per day. The biggest meta-analysis on the topic (Morton and colleagues, 49 trials) found that muscle gains from resistance training stopped improving beyond roughly 1.6g/kg, with the upper end of the estimate around 2.2g/kg. The International Society of Sports Nutrition recommends a similar range of 1.4 to 2.0g/kg for most people who exercise. Even ICMR's 2024 guidelines note that intakes above about 1.6g/kg don't add further training gains.
So 1.6g/kg is a sensible target, and going much past 2.2g/kg buys you nothing for muscle.
Your protein target in grams, by bodyweight
Multiply your weight in kg by 1.6. For common bodyweights, with the ICMR baseline for comparison:
- 50kg: about 80g to build muscle (ICMR baseline 42g)
- 55kg: about 88g (baseline 46g)
- 60kg: about 96g (baseline 50g)
- 65kg: about 104g (baseline 54g)
- 70kg: about 112g (baseline 58g)
- 75kg: about 120g (baseline 62g)
- 80kg: about 128g (baseline 66g)
- 90kg: about 144g (baseline 75g)
If you're carrying a lot of extra fat, base the number on your target bodyweight instead of your current weight. A 95kg person aiming for 75kg can work with 120g rather than 150g. Or let the protein calculator on our free fitness tools page do the maths and the per-meal split.
Not "1 gram per pound" copied from American influencers, not 300g. A sensible, hittable number.
How should you split protein across the day?
The ISSN position stand suggests 20 to 40g per meal, every 3 to 4 hours. Eating all 110g at dinner is less effective than spreading it out.
That already matches a normal Indian day: breakfast, lunch, evening snack, dinner. You just need each of those four meals to carry 25 to 30g instead of 5 to 10g. Most beginners fail at breakfast (poha, upma or bread with nothing else), so fixing that one meal often closes half the gap. Our guide to high-protein Indian breakfasts has options that take under 10 minutes.
A vegetarian day that hits about 115g
This is where most people struggle, so here's a realistic day for a vegetarian around 70kg. Protein and cost figures are approximate and come from our Food Database:
- Breakfast: 2 besan chillas + 1 glass of milk. About 16g, ₹27.
- Lunch: 1 bowl moong dal + 100g paneer sabzi + 3 rotis + 1 bowl curd. About 46g, ₹110.
- Evening snack: 1 glass sattu drink + 1 cup roasted chana. About 22g, ₹25.
- Dinner: soya chunk curry + 1 plate rice. About 32g, ₹35.
Total: about 116g of protein for roughly ₹200. No powder, nothing exotic.
Dal and roti alone won't get you there: a bowl of cooked dal gives 11 to 14g. The heavy lifters here are paneer, soya and sattu. ICMR also notes that pairing cereals with pulses (about 3 parts grain to 1 part pulse by raw weight) improves protein quality, which a normal thali already does.
The budget version: about 95g for under ₹140
If paneer is too expensive for daily use, swap it out:
- Breakfast: sattu drink + 1 glass of milk. About 18g.
- Lunch: 1 bowl masoor dal + 3 rotis + 1 bowl curd. About 28g.
- Evening snack: 1 cup roasted chana + 1 glass of milk. About 16g.
- Dinner: soya chunk curry + 1 plate rice. About 32g.
That's about 94g for roughly ₹139, which covers a 60kg person's target. Add a second portion of soya chunks at lunch and you're past 110g for about ₹15 more. For three full sample days (veg, eggitarian and non-veg) at around ₹150, see our high-protein Indian diet on a budget guide.
Soya chunks deserve a special mention. At roughly 26g of protein for ₹13 (one cup cooked, from 50g dry), they give about 20g of protein per ₹10 spent, one of the best values on our entire database. Sattu is next at about 12g per ₹10. Paneer, for comparison, is closer to 3.6g per ₹10. If you're veg and struggling, soya is your cheat code. More options: cheap high-protein foods in India.
A non-veg day that hits about 118g
Easier, honestly. Eggs and chicken do the heavy lifting:
- Breakfast: 4 boiled eggs + 1 glass of milk. About 30g, ₹38.
- Lunch: 150g chicken breast + rice + 1 bowl curd. About 55g, ₹130.
- Evening snack: 1 cup roasted chana. About 10g, ₹15.
- Dinner: 1 bowl moong dal + 3 rotis. About 23g, ₹45.
Total: about 118g for roughly ₹230. Eggs are the budget hero: 2 boiled eggs give about 12g for ₹13, around 9g per ₹10, more than twice the value of chicken breast. An eggitarian can replace the chicken with a 4-egg bhurji at lunch and still land near 100g for about ₹170.
Do you need protein powder?
No. One scoop of whey gives about 24g of protein for around ₹75, which works out to roughly 3g per ₹10. That's pricier per gram than soya, sattu, eggs or dal. ICMR's guidelines state that protein powders are unnecessary for a normal healthy life and that taking them on top of a balanced diet won't build extra muscle.
It makes sense if you travel a lot or are always 20 to 30g short. If you buy it, choose a reputable, third-party tested brand, because supplement adulteration is a real issue in India.
Special cases: women, older adults, fat loss vs muscle gain
Women: the per-kg number is the same. Because many women weigh less, the absolute target is lower: a 55kg woman needs about 88g, not the 120g+ numbers often quoted online. Pregnancy and breastfeeding change requirements, so follow your doctor there.
Older adults (65+): the PROT-AGE expert group recommends at least 1.0 to 1.2g/kg per day, because ageing muscle responds less efficiently to protein. The Morton meta-analysis also found smaller gains in older lifters. Don't aim low, and pair it with regular strength training.
Fat loss: keep protein at 1.6g/kg or slightly higher while eating in a calorie deficit. It helps you keep muscle while the scale drops. The ISSN notes that lean, trained lifters in a deficit may benefit from 2.3 to 3.1g/kg, but that's for advanced lifters, not beginners. See also how to lose belly fat.
Muscle gain: 1.6g/kg is plenty. Your bottleneck is almost always total calories. If you're thin, read how to build muscle as a skinny guy.
Existing kidney disease: ICMR advises care with high-protein diets here, so talk to your doctor first.
Common protein mistakes Indian beginners make
- Counting dal as "enough protein." One katori is 11 to 14g. You need 3 to 4 solid sources a day, not one.
- Chasing 200g+. Beyond about 2.2g/kg you're paying for protein your muscles can't use.
- Low-protein breakfasts. Poha, upma or bread-jam leaves you 20g behind before lunch.
- Forgetting calories. ICMR is clear that protein isn't used well for muscle without enough energy from carbs and fats.
- Skipping training. Without resistance training and progressive overload, extra protein won't be used to build muscle.
Get your protein roughly right, eat enough overall, train with a real plan, and your body will do the rest. If you want that whole system built around your food preferences and budget, that's exactly what our coaching does.
Frequently asked questions
How much protein do I need per day to build muscle?
About 1.6g per kg of bodyweight per day, so roughly 112g for a 70kg person. Gains level off around there, with little extra benefit beyond about 2.2g/kg.
How much protein does a vegetarian need per day?
The same per-kg amount as a non-vegetarian: about 1.6g/kg if you're training. Cereals with pulses, plus dairy, soya and sattu, can reach 95 to 115g a day without supplements, as the sample days above show.
Is 100g of protein a day enough?
For most people between 55 and 65kg who lift weights, yes. At 70kg and above, aim a little higher, around 110 to 130g, to hit 1.6g/kg.
Is too much protein bad for your kidneys?
In healthy people, protein intakes in the ranges used by sports nutrition research have not been shown to harm the kidneys. If you already have kidney disease, high-protein diets need medical supervision, so check with your doctor first.
Can I get enough protein without whey or supplements?
Yes. The sample vegetarian day above hits about 116g from dal, paneer, soya, sattu and milk. ICMR's guidelines state that most people, including athletes, can meet their protein needs through food alone.
