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Protein Calculator
A gram target is useless if you cannot picture it. This one converts your number into katoris of dal, grams of paneer and actual eggs, so you can see whether your current day gets close.
Quick answer
If you train three or more days a week, target 1.6 to 1.8 g of protein per kg of bodyweight. In fat loss, push to 1.8 to 2.2 g per kg to protect muscle. The ISSN position stand puts trained people in a deficit at 2.3 to 3.1 g per kg, so this is the conservative end. A 70 kg person training regularly needs roughly 112 to 126 g a day.
For scale: that is fourteen to sixteen katoris of dal if dal were your only source, which is why it never is. Paneer, curd, soya chunks and eggs do the heavy lifting.
Your goal
Training
Diet
Your daily protein target
Aim for about 119 g a day, which is roughly 30 g across four eating occasions.
What 119 g looks like on vegetarian food
Those are alternatives, not a shopping list. Real days mix three or four of them.
Why the RDA Number Misleads Indians
The Indian RDA for protein is 0.83 g per kg. That figure is a deficiency threshold, the amount below which a sedentary adult starts losing tissue. It was never meant to be a performance target, yet it is quoted constantly as if exceeding it were unnecessary or risky.
If you train, the relevant numbers come from sports nutrition research, not deficiency prevention: 1.6 g per kg is roughly where muscle protein synthesis plateaus for most people, and fat loss raises the requirement because protein is what stops the body dismantling muscle for fuel.
This matters more in India than in most places, because the baseline diet is structurally low in protein. Population surveys have repeatedly found large shares of Indian adults falling short, and vegetarians in particular underestimate their own intake because dal feels like a protein food when it is largely a carbohydrate one.
The Breakfast Gap
Look at where your protein currently lands across the day. In our members' food logs (19 April to 17 September 2026) the median breakfast carried 24.6 g, lunch 23 g, dinner 29 g and a snack 13 g, and only 58% of breakfasts reached 20 g. A plain poha, upma, idli or paratha breakfast is carbohydrate-led: a katori of poha is 4.5 g.
Closing that gap is worth a lot with no other change: two moong dal chillas are 20 g against 4.5 g for a katori of poha. Practical swaps that work in Indian kitchens:
- Moong dal chilla instead of poha: about 9 g per chilla
- Paneer bhurji instead of aloo sabzi: about 19 g per katori
- Curd or Greek yogurt alongside anything: 5 to 15 g
- Two or three eggs if you eat them: 13 to 19 g
- Sprouts added to any breakfast: about 8.5 g per katori
Next Steps
Once you have your target, check what your current meals actually deliver with the Indian food calorie calculator, and set your overall calorie budget with the TDEE calculator. For the full food-by-food breakdown read Indian protein sources ranked and hitting 100 g as a vegetarian. Food by food: which dal has the most protein, protein in 1 to 10 eggs and paneer tikka protein per plate. If kidney safety is your concern, we covered the research in the protein and kidneys myth.
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How the range is worked out
Grams per kilo, by goal and activity
Protein range (g) = bodyweight (kg) x low end, to bodyweight (kg) x high end
- Each goal and activity level has a range in grams per kg, from 0.8 for a sedentary maintenance target to 2.2 for heavy training in a deficit.
- The page follows the ISSN position stand for the range, and raises the fat-loss band because needs go up in a calorie deficit.[2]
- Diet type sets which foods make the target practical: dal and curd for vegetarians, eggs for eggetarians, chicken and fish for non-vegetarians.
Worked example: 70 kg, moderate activity, maintenance: 1.2 to 1.4 g per kg gives 84 to 98 g protein a day.
Dal, 3 katoris24 g protein 
Paneer, 140 g25 g protein 
Curd, 4.5 katoris24 g protein 
Soya chunks, 100 g26 g protein
Each photo is about 25 g of protein, sized from our food table: toor dal 8 g per 150 g katori, paneer 18 g per 100 g, toned curd 5.4 g per katori, cooked soya chunks 26 g per 100 g.
- of calories from protein in the national diet, against a 15% guideline
- 12%
- protein in one katori of toor dal, in our food table
- 8 g
- protein in 100 g of cooked soya chunks, in our food table
- 26 g
National figure from ICMR-INDIAB (Nature Medicine 2025). Food values are YourTrainer's food table, cooked weights.
One dal bowl counted as the protein
Dal is useful, but a katori gives about 8 g. Add curd, paneer, sprouts or eggs to the same meal.Protein only at dinner
In member food logs (19 April to 17 September 2026), only 36% of snacks reached 20 g of protein, against 58% of breakfasts, 62% of lunches and 69% of dinners.One number for every week
Protein needs change with training load and deficit. Re-check the range when your training or your calories change.
Sources
- Anjana RM et al. ICMR-INDIAB national diet survey: carbohydrate 62.3%, fat 25.2% and protein 12% of energy; protein guideline 15%. Nature Medicine 2025. www.nature.com/articles/s41591-025-03949-4
- Jager R et al. ISSN position stand: protein and exercise. J Int Soc Sports Nutr 2017;14:20. Resistance-trained people in calorie deficits: 2.3 to 3.1 g per kg a day. doi.org/10.1186/s12970-017-0177-8
- Morton RW et al. Systematic review and meta-analysis of protein supplementation with resistance training. Br J Sports Med 2018;52(6):376-384. Gains in lean mass levelled off above about 1.6 g per kg a day. doi.org/10.1136/bjsports-2017-097608
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
How much protein does an Indian adult need per day?
A sedentary adult needs about 0.8 to 1.0 g per kg of bodyweight. Anyone training three or more days a week needs 1.6 to 1.8 g per kg, and 1.8 to 2.2 g per kg during fat loss to protect muscle. The ISSN position stand puts trained people in a deficit at 2.3 to 3.1 g per kg, so 1.8 to 2.2 is the conservative end. For a 70 kg person training regularly that is roughly 112 to 126 g a day. The Indian RDA of 0.83 g per kg is a minimum to prevent deficiency, not a target for someone training.
Can a vegetarian hit 100 g of protein a day in India?
Yes, but not on dal alone. One katori of dal is about 8 g, so hitting 100 g would need twelve katoris. A realistic vegetarian day uses soya chunks (26 g per katori cooked), paneer (18 g per 100 g), curd (5.4 g per katori), sprouts (8.5 g per katori) and milk (8 g per glass), optionally with one whey scoop at 24 g. That structure reaches 100 to 120 g comfortably.
Does protein need to be spread across the day?
Spreading helps but matters less than the daily total. Aim for 25 to 35 g per eating occasion across three or four meals, since muscle protein synthesis responds to a per-meal threshold. In Indian eating patterns, breakfast is almost always the weakest protein meal, so that is usually where the biggest gain is available.
Is high protein bad for Indian kidneys?
In people with healthy kidneys, high protein intake has not been shown to cause kidney damage. Controlled trials up to 2.5 to 3.3 g per kg found no adverse effect on kidney function in healthy trained adults. The caution applies to people with existing chronic kidney disease, who should follow their nephrologist's advice rather than a general calculator.
Should I use bodyweight or goal weight for the calculation?
For most people, current bodyweight works. If you carry a lot of excess fat, using your target weight or lean body mass avoids inflating the number, since fat tissue does not need feeding with protein. Someone at 110 kg aiming for 80 kg should calculate on roughly 85 to 90 kg rather than 110.
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