How to Structure Your Macros for Cutting

This is the standard recommendation for most people on a cut (about 1.6 g/kg), and it holds even though "just eat more protein to protect muscle" gets repeated constantly online. Protein doesn't need to spike just because you're cutting, unless you're running a very aggressive deficit (1,000+ calories/day), where pushing it slightly higher is reasonable insurance. For anyone running a standard deficit, bumping protein further has a real cost — your total calories are already restricted, so extra protein calories are coming directly out of your carbs, and carbs are what's fueling your training performance. "Just eat more protein, there's no downside" isn't true. The downside is a flatter, weaker training session.

For most people this lands somewhere around 30–60g of fat per day while cutting. Yes, that's low relative to maintenance — that's expected on a deficit, and it's part of why fish oil supplementation becomes more relevant while cutting (covered in the training and supplementation article).

Carbs get whatever calories remain once protein and fat are set. This is intentional — carbs are the flexible macro, and they should absorb most of the deficit's calorie reduction rather than protein or fat. This is also why pre- and intra-workout carb timing matters more while cutting: with fewer total carbs to work with, where you place them in your day matters more than it does at maintenance.

For a 180 lb person: protein ~144g/day, fat ~55–90g/day, carbs from remaining calories after protein and fat are accounted for. This structure holds across most standard deficits. The only real adjustment point is pushing protein slightly higher if you're running a more aggressive cut — otherwise, stick with the ratios above and let carbs flex with your total calorie target.