When the body is repairing tissue, it is running a construction project. Collagen, new skin, new blood vessels and the immune cells that keep a wound clean are all built from amino acids — and amino acids come from the protein you eat.
Someone recovering from surgery or a slow-closing wound generally needs more protein each day than they did before, not less. Appetite, unfortunately, often moves in the opposite direction.
A working target
For a healthy adult, the usual reference figure is about 0.8–1.0 g of protein per kilogram of body weight per day. During recovery, clinical nutrition guidance commonly points to a higher range — often 1.2–1.5 g/kg/day, and sometimes more where losses are heavy.
For a 60 kg adult, that difference is concrete:
| Situation | Protein per day | Roughly equal to |
|---|---|---|
| Everyday maintenance | 48–60 g | 2 katori dal + 1 cup curd + 2 eggs |
| Recovery | 72–90 g | the above, plus 100 g paneer or 120 g fish |
Your clinician or dietitian sets the number that applies to you — kidney function, fluid limits and other conditions all change the answer. Read the table as a sense of scale, not a prescription.
Where the protein actually comes from
Approximate protein in familiar portions:
- Dal, cooked (1 katori, ~150 g) — 5–6 g
- Rajma or chana, cooked (1 katori) — 8–9 g
- Curd (1 cup, 200 g) — 6–7 g
- Paneer (100 g) — 18 g
- Egg (1 large) — 6 g
- Chicken or fish (100 g, cooked) — 22–25 g
- Roti (1 medium) — 3 g
- Milk (1 glass, 200 ml) — 6–7 g
Two things stand out. First, ordinary vegetarian meals do get you there, but only if pulses and dairy appear at every meal rather than once a day. Second, the gap between “maintenance” and “recovery” is usually one extra protein-dense portion — not an entirely different diet.
Spread it across the day
Muscle and tissue synthesis responds better to protein arriving in steady instalments than to one large evening serving. Aim for 20–30 g at each main meal rather than 15 g at breakfast and 50 g at dinner.
A practical version of that:
- Breakfast — curd or milk alongside the usual poha, upma or paratha
- Lunch — dal and a curd or paneer element, not either/or
- Evening — a boiled egg, a glass of milk, or roasted chana
- Dinner — the protein dish first on the plate, carbohydrate second
When appetite is low
Small, frequent, energy-dense servings beat three large meals nobody finishes. Milk-based drinks, khichdi enriched with dal and ghee, curd rice, and egg added to whatever is already being cooked are all easier to finish than an extra full plate.
If intake stays low for more than a few days, say so at the next appointment. Persistent poor intake during recovery is a clinical finding, not a personal failing, and there are established ways to support it.
Food is one input among many. Blood sugar control, circulation, pressure relief and wound care all matter alongside nutrition, and the plan for those comes from the clinical team looking after you.
Further reading: the Indian Council of Medical Research nutrient requirements publication sets out the national reference values for protein and micronutrients.