how many calories/protein should I target?

[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.