How to Gain muscle and lose fat at the same time?!
Body Recomposition is a fancy term for changing the way that your body looks by simultaneously gaining muscle and losing fat. This much sought after transformation can be accomplished with these 5 steps.
Body recomposition is a popular term in the fitness world, referring to the process of simultaneously losing body fat and gaining muscle mass. While many people may associate weight loss with a calorie-restricted diet and cardio, and muscle gain with lifting heavy weights and eating a surplus of calories, body recomposition involves a more nuanced approach to nutrition and exercise. Whether you're looking to improve your overall health, build a leaner physique, or simply enhance your athletic performance, understanding the principles of body recomposition can help you reach your goals more efficiently and sustainably.
Body recomposition is really desirable for many people as it offers several benefits beyond simply losing weight or gaining muscle. By reducing body fat while increasing lean muscle mass, body recomposition can improve body composition, increase strength and endurance, and enhance overall physical appearance. So if your goal is to enter a recomp phase… what do you do next?!
Body Recomposition Basics
Keep Protein High
Keeping protein high will ensure that your body has plenty of fuel for muscle protein synthesis (i.e. building muscle). Ideally protein intake will sit somewhere between 0.8 and 1.3 grams per pound of bodyweight. You can break this down by thinking about trying to consume 20-30 grams with each meal… and yes that also includes snacks!
Find maintenance calories
During a recomp phase, you want to eat right around your maintenance calories. You’re trying to change your body composition while keeping your weight relatively stable. If you’re currently maintaining your weight with your current diet, try tracking your food for ~1 week. The average number of calories consumed will give you a pretty good indication of where your maintenance calories sit. If you’re currently gaining or losing weight with your current diet, you can either add or subtract 200-500 calories to your current tracked intake (depending on the rate of weight loss/gain) to approximate maintenance.
Strength train
Half of the goal of a body recomposition phase is to gain muscle, which means you MUST be on a progressively overloaded strength training program to effectively build some juicy muscles.
Manage expectations
Patience young grasshopper… body composition changes take time and the amount of time will depend on your starting point. If you’re already super jacked and lean then it’s going to take you longer to get even more jacked and more lean. Conversely if you’re starting off with more body fat and/or you’re newer to the gym, expect to see changes faster. Regardless of your starting point just stick with it… big changes take time and yo-yo dieting is a sure fire way for you to not see the progress you’re looking for.
Track progress over time
Pick at least 1 or 2 progress indicators aside from the scale! The scale is not your friend during a recomposition because the whole goal is to change your body composition without changing your weight. So if the scale is your only metric for progress, you’ll likely be really disappointed. Choose some other progress indicators and track them over a longer time horizon (we’re talking months here). You can use metrics such as progress photos, lifting numbers, energy levels, and more!
Body recomposition is a powerful approach to transform your body composition and overall health. It involves a combination of exercise, nutrition, and consistency, which can seem overwhelming at first. But with the right guidance and effort, anyone can achieve body recomposition effectively and sustainably. If you’re looking for some help moving through your next recomposition phase, take the quiz below to learn more about 1:1 coaching with Moxie Barbell!
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