Reviewed by Nadia Chow, Registered Dietitian
Protein is having a moment. Your feed is full of “protein-maxxing” recipes, 150 g-a-day challenges and shakes that promise to fix everything. Meanwhile, a lot of people in Hong Kong are quietly under-eating it, and most don’t know.
We see it every week in our Kennedy Town kitchen when new clients tell us what a normal day looks like. The food is good. Hong Kong has some of the best seafood, eggs and tofu anywhere. The problem is how the day is put together.
This guide covers how much protein you need per day (based on your body weight, not an influencer’s), the best high-protein foods you can find in Hong Kong, and a sample 5-day high-protein meal plan. At the end, we’ll show you how to get it delivered so you don’t have to cook or count anything.
Why so many Hong Kong adults fall short on protein
Think about a typical working day here. Congee or a pineapple bun for breakfast. Wonton noodles or a cha chaan teng set for lunch. Rice with a few shared dishes for dinner. Every meal is built on a carb base, and protein turns up as a topping rather than the main event.
You won’t be deficient eating like that. But you’ll probably land well below the amount that helps you stay full, hold on to muscle and age well.
And it’s not a motivation problem. Most people know protein matters. They just don’t want to work out how many grams are in a bowl of preserved-egg congee and then adjust dinner around it. So they guess, and the guess is usually too low.
Social media makes it more confusing. A flat “eat 150 g a day” rule means something completely different to a 55 kg office worker in Wan Chai than to a 90 kg lifter in Tsim Sha Tsui. On the other side, plenty of nutrition researchers point out that protein has picked up a health halo it hasn’t fully earned, especially when protein bars and processed snacks start replacing real food. The sensible answer sits in the middle, and it starts with your body weight.
What protein actually does in your body
Protein isn’t only for people who lift. Every cell in your body uses it. The amino acids you get from food are used to build and repair muscle, skin, hair, enzymes, hormones and immune cells. So you need protein whether you train or not.
Nine amino acids you have to get from food
Your body uses 20 amino acids, and nine of them are essential: you can’t make them, so they have to come from what you eat. That’s why variety matters as much as total grams. Eating the same protein source every day can leave small gaps that a mix of foods would cover.
It keeps you full
Gram for gram, protein is the most filling macronutrient. It nudges up fullness hormones like GLP-1 and PYY and slows down how fast your stomach empties. In real life, that means fewer 4pm trips to 7-Eleven. If you’re trying to eat a bit less without logging every bite, this is the most useful thing protein does.
Your body burns more calories digesting it
Breaking down protein costs energy. Around 20–30% of the calories in protein are used just to digest it, compared with 5–10% for carbs. So 100 calories of chicken leaves you with fewer usable calories than 100 calories of white rice.
You can’t store it, so spread it out
Your body stores fat and it stores carbs, but it has no real reserve for protein. What you don’t use fairly soon gets broken down and flushed out. A huge steak at dinner won’t make up for a low-protein breakfast and lunch. Spreading protein across the day works better.
How much protein do you need per day?
The short answer: it depends on your weight and how active you are. Here’s how to work out your number.
0.8 g per kg is the minimum, not the goal
The old recommendation of 0.8 g of protein per kg of body weight was set to stop sedentary adults becoming deficient. It was never meant to be the ideal amount. The 2025–2030 Dietary Guidelines for Americans moved the bar up, recommending protein-rich foods at every meal and around 1.2–1.6 g per kg for most adults.
The ranges we use
- Lightly active adults: 1.2–1.4 g per kg of body weight
- Moderately active (a few workouts a week): 1.4–1.6 g per kg
- Regular strength or endurance training: 1.6–2.0 g per kg
If you’re not sure where you land, our diet assessment tool will estimate your daily calories based on your activity level and goal, which is a good starting point.
Why protein per kg matters more in Asia
Most viral gram targets come from Western body weights. Here’s what “120 g a day” means for two different people:
- 60 kg adult: 120 g = 2.0 g/kg. That’s the top of the range. If you’re lightly active, it’s more than you need.
- 90 kg adult: 120 g = 1.33 g/kg. That’s near the bottom.
Same number, two very different results. Working per kg fixes that.
If you’re over 50
Muscle loss with age (sarcopenia) picks up speed from your 40s and 50s. Research increasingly supports eating toward the higher end of the range to protect muscle, and the fact that protein is so filling helps if your appetite has got smaller. If you have kidney problems or another medical condition, check with your doctor before raising your intake.
Example: a 60 kg adult in Hong Kong
A 60 kg person who works out two or three times a week needs about 84–96 g of protein a day (1.4–1.6 g/kg). Over three meals and a snack, that’s roughly 25–30 g per meal. That’s the number the 5-day plan below is built around.
Is more always better?
No. Above about 2.0 g/kg, most people who aren’t competing get very little extra benefit. And if the extra protein comes from processed meat or protein snacks, you’re also getting more salt and saturated fat. Hit your range most days and you’re doing it right.
The best high-protein foods in Hong Kong
Knowing your number is only useful if you can reach it with food you actually like. Figures below are approximate and vary by brand and cut; USDA FoodData Central has exact values.
Animal protein: complete by default
A complete protein has all nine essential amino acids in useful amounts. Fish, chicken, beef, pork, eggs and dairy all qualify, which makes them the easiest way to hit your target without eating huge portions.
Fish. Salmon has roughly 20–25 g of protein per 100 g. Garoupa, yellow croaker and seabass from the wet market are similar and work perfectly steamed with ginger and spring onion. On a budget, canned tuna and sardines give you the same quality protein for much less.
Eggs. About 6 g of protein each, and your body uses almost all of it. Two eggs add around 12 g to any meal, whether that’s a scramble, steamed egg with minced pork or a tomato and egg stir-fry.
Chicken and lean meat. Chicken breast gives you about 30 g of protein per 100 g cooked. Lean beef and pork loin aren’t far behind.
Plant protein: combine it and you’re fine
Most plant proteins are low in one or two essential amino acids on their own. Eat a mix across the day and that stops being a problem.
- Firm tofu: about 8–12 g per 100 g, depending on firmness
- Edamame: about 11 g per 100 g
- Tempeh: about 19 g per 100 g, the most protein-dense soy option
- Lentils, chickpeas and black beans: about 14–18 g per cooked cup, plus plenty of fibre
Beans and rice is the classic combination for a reason. Together, they cover the amino acids that each one is missing.
Dairy: the one most people forget
Greek yoghurt, cottage cheese and milk are in every Wellcome and ParknShop, but hardly anyone here eats them for protein. A 200 g tub of plain Greek yoghurt has about 18–20 g of complete protein and takes no effort at all. It’s one of the easiest upgrades you can make to breakfast.
Why hitting your protein target is harder than it sounds
Knowing which foods to eat is one thing. Getting enough protein at every meal, five days a week, alongside a Hong Kong work schedule, is where most people give up.
Counting is a pain
To count protein properly you have to weigh food raw, remember that it shrinks when cooked (150 g of raw chicken breast ends up around 110 g), and guess what the sauce added. Do that for every meal and it gets old fast. A US study of more than 2,000 young adults found that people working over 40 hours a week were much more likely to say they didn’t have time to eat healthily. In Hong Kong, long hours are normal, so that’s a daily problem.
Grab-and-go food is light on protein
Cha chaan teng lunches, convenience store bentos and canteen rice boxes fill you up, but the protein is usually thin. A bowl of wonton noodles often comes in well under 20 g. If you’re aiming for 25–30 g per meal, you’re already behind by 2pm.
Meal prep works if you actually do it
Sunday batch cooking is the standard advice, and it works for people who stick with it. Most don’t. Finding time to cook is the same problem that pushed people toward convenience food in the first place.
Apps usually get dropped
Calorie apps add another job to your day. Most people stop logging within a few weeks, long before it turns into a habit. Adding a protein column on top rarely helps.
What does help is taking the maths out of it completely. When meals arrive already portioned for your target, there’s nothing to weigh, cook or log. That’s the whole idea behind a healthy meal plan delivery service, and it’s why it works for people who’ve already tried tracking and quit.
A sample 5-day high-protein meal plan
Here’s what a week of high-protein eating can look like for a moderately active 60 kg adult. Each day lands around 90–105 g of protein, split across breakfast, lunch, dinner and a snack. It’s an example to show how the numbers add up, not a set menu.
Day 1 (about 96 g protein)
- Breakfast: Greek yoghurt with berries and mixed seeds (20 g)
- Lunch: Grilled salmon with quinoa and steamed bok choy (32 g)
- Dinner: Chicken and edamame stir-fry with brown rice (30 g)
- Snack: Two soft-boiled eggs (14 g)
Day 2 (about 94 g protein)
- Breakfast: Scrambled eggs on wholegrain toast with avocado (22 g)
- Lunch: Tofu and tempeh bowl with soba and sesame dressing (28 g)
- Dinner: Steamed seabass with ginger and spring onion, sweet potato and broccoli (30 g)
- Snack: Cottage cheese with cucumber (14 g)
Day 3 (about 91 g protein)
- Breakfast: Overnight oats made with milk and chia seeds (18 g)
- Lunch: Lean beef and black bean stir-fry with rice (34 g)
- Dinner: Prawn and vegetable brown rice bowl with miso dressing (28 g)
- Snack: A bowl of edamame (11 g)
Day 4 (about 105 g protein)
- Breakfast: Egg white omelette with spinach and cheese (24 g)
- Lunch: Grilled chicken breast with lentil salad and roasted peppers (35 g)
- Dinner: Steamed tofu with minced pork and shiitake over rice (28 g)
- Snack: Greek yoghurt (18 g)
Day 5 (about 98 g protein)
- Breakfast: Smoothie with milk, banana and peanut butter (22 g)
- Lunch: Tuna niçoise salad with boiled eggs and green beans (36 g)
- Dinner: Teriyaki salmon with soba and edamame (32 g)
- Snack: A small handful of mixed nuts (8 g)
What to notice
No single meal does all the work. Every meal adds a decent amount of protein, which is better for muscle than one big serving at night. The sources also rotate between fish, meat, eggs, dairy, soy and beans, so you cover all your amino acids and don’t get bored.
Day 3 is the lowest at 91 g and still hits the target, using edamame as the snack instead of a shake. Day 4 reaches 105 g with nothing unusual, just a bigger lunch and a yoghurt.
Could you cook all of this yourself? Of course. But you’d be shopping, prepping and portioning every day, which is exactly the problem we covered above.
How to adjust the plan for your goal or diet
Vegetarian or vegan
Swap the meat and fish for tempeh, tofu, lentils, chickpeas and fortified soy milk, and spread them across the day. For example, replace the Day 1 salmon with 150 g of tempeh (about 28 g of protein) and the Day 4 chicken with a lentil and chickpea bowl over brown rice. A 60 kg adult can still get to 85–90 g a day this way. Our vegetarian meal plan does the combining for you, and the flexitarian plan works well if you want mostly plant-based with some fish or meat.
Weight loss
High protein is your friend when you’re cutting calories. It keeps you full and helps you keep muscle while you lose fat. When calories come down, cut refined carbs and added fats first, not protein. If you’d like a structured start, have a look at our 6-Week Slim Reset.
Building muscle
Push your target up to 1.8–2.0 g/kg and add a proper meal after training, like a chicken and rice bowl. For a 60 kg adult, that’s 108–120 g a day, which you can reach by making the existing meals a bit bigger. Our Optimal Performance meal plan is built for this, with about 30% of calories coming from protein. If you want more on balancing fat loss and muscle gain, read how to choose a diet plan to lose fat and build muscle. Training for a race? Our guide to pre-Hyrox nutrition covers fuelling for event day.
Keto, paleo and gluten-free
These diets are already high in protein, so your target doesn’t change. Just swap the rice and soba for cauliflower rice, courgette noodles or sweet potato, depending on how many carbs you eat. See our Keto Light, Paleo and Gluten-Free Low Carb plans. New to keto? Start with our keto diet for beginners guide.
Get a high-protein meal plan delivered in Hong Kong
Everything above comes down to four things: know your target in grams per kg, eat a mix of good protein sources, spread it across your meals, and make it easy enough that you actually keep doing it.
The last part is where we come in. Every Eatology meal is designed by our dietitians and cooked fresh in our Kennedy Town kitchen, with more than 100 recipes on rotation so you’re not eating the same chicken breast every day. Meals arrive every morning between 7:00am and 10:30am, or the evening before, and delivery is free across Hong Kong Island and Kowloon.
Not sure which plan fits your protein target? Book a nutritionist consultation and we’ll help you pick, or browse all our meal plans and start in as little as 48 hours.
FAQs
How much protein do I need per day?
Most adults do well on 1.2–1.6 g of protein per kg of body weight per day, and up to 2.0 g/kg if you train hard. For a 60 kg person, that’s roughly 72–96 g a day, or up to 120 g with regular training.
Is 100 g of protein a day too much?
For most healthy adults, no. At 60 kg, 100 g works out to about 1.7 g/kg, which sits well inside the range for active people. If you have kidney disease, talk to your doctor first.
Can I get enough protein as a vegetarian in Hong Kong?
Yes. Mix tofu, tempeh, edamame, lentils, eggs and dairy (if you eat them) across the day. Pairing beans or lentils with rice covers the amino acids each one is missing.
What’s the easiest way to eat more protein without cooking?
Add Greek yoghurt or eggs to breakfast, choose fish or chicken over noodles at lunch, and keep edamame or cottage cheese for snacks. Or let a high-protein meal delivery service in Hong Kong handle it and skip the planning altogether.
