how many calories/protein should I target?

[Kimoae]

I’m 22 years old and I’m starting to learn about my body and the best way it works.
One of the things I am most interested in is figuring out which calorie and protein amount I should get.
I’m 220 pounds, 5’11’’ and 17% body fat. I want to cut down while holding muscle.
Should I aim for 300g protein and 4000 calories per day or should I adjust?

 

[Arabian]

You are only 5'11" if you are over 6 ft tall, it would be a different story.

 

[Quadsweep]

I think that you should alternate your calories start at 3300 and rotate them up and down.

 

[BodyMonster34]

Bro, should increase your protein. I like a lot of red meat, that's good. Quality protein. That's what you need.

 

[JasonPriest]

When it comes to Cal everybody's gonna be a little different, you can't put a number on it. 4000 Cal seems high, though.

 

[wootoom]

17% body fat, you shouldn't keep increasing your calories and try to hit a Target. You should be lowering them.

 

[2Thick]

try doing lower calories and see how you react. I think that you're eating way too much, especially at your body fat.

 

[Ulter]

Your calories look really good to me 4000 at 220 lbs, but I don't like your body fat being that high. So you should be cutting them lower.

 

[chesty]

You'll do fine on 4000 calories. If you want to bulk up only,

 

[ROIDDERS]

Since you want to cut down, absolutely not. I would drop protein down to 200 and do about 2500 calories.

 

[ceo]

Bros food, quality, very important. You can't just pay attention to calories and protein.

 

[HermQ]

Good on you for getting into it early, learning how your body works makes everything easier long term.

At 220 lbs and 17% body fat, your lean body mass is around 183 lbs. If your goal is to cut fat while holding muscle, 300g protein and 4000 calories is probably too much — that sounds more like a bulk setup. Here’s a more dialed-in starting point:

• Protein: Around 1g per pound of lean body mass, so ~180–200g per day is more than enough to maintain muscle during a cut.
• Calories: To cut, aim for around 10–12x your bodyweight in calories. That puts you in the 2200–2600 range. You can start around 2500, track progress, and adjust as needed.

Keep training hard, lift heavy, sleep enough, and stay consistent. You’ll drop fat and keep your strength if you do it right.