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If you believe you need bulk and cut to meet your fitness and aesthetic goals, allow us to introduce you to the body recomp approach.
Body recomposition (sometimes referred to simply as “recomp”) is the act of gaining muscle mass while simultaneously losing body fat, says Maura Donovan, MS, RD, registered dietitian and sports dietetics specialist. Unlike the bulk and cut method commonly used by bodybuilders to build muscle (bulk) then lose fat (cut) in separate phases, this two-in-one approach allows you to add lean mass and subtract fat at the same time. In essence, body recomp focuses on “changing the composition and shape of your body rather than the number on the scale,” she says.
No question, working toward two fitness goals at once is appealing for any exerciser—but it can be especially fruitful for beginners looking to change body composition. “Those who are new to resistance training will be especially successful at losing fat mass while gaining muscle, because the body adapts very quickly to new stimuli,” says Donovan. Fear not, experienced lifters: You can still recomp your figure, too. “You just might have to work a little harder,” she says.
Ahead, everything you need to know about making gains while cutting fat, no matter your experience level.
Meet the experts: Maura Donovan, MS, RD, CSSD is a registered dietitian and sports nutrition specialist with Thorne. Jason Machowsky, RD, CSCS, is an exercise physiologist and sports dietitian.
Can you actually lose fat and build muscle at the same time?
“It is possible to lose body fat while gaining muscle,” says Donovan. But compared to traditional methods, it takes more strategy and patience. “Especially for experienced gym-goers, it can be a long, slow, and difficult process,” she says. (As you build strength and muscle, the rate of muscle growth slows because the body adapts to the stimuli put on it, forcing you to work harder to create change. The recovery time your body requires may also go up as you work with more load.)
Building muscle and losing fat traditionally require opposing energy strategies. In a classic bulk and cut approach, you’d eat in a calorie surplus while focusing on strength training to bulk up, then shift into a calorie deficit to cut body fat. It’s a two-phase system where you prioritize one goal at a time.
Body recomposition, on the other hand, aims to do both simultaneously. “To gain muscle, you need to eat more calories than you burn. To lose fat, you need to eat fewer,” Donovan says. Since these goals are metabolically at odds, recomping requires you to hover around your maintenance calories—eating enough to fuel your workouts and recovery, without tipping into a surplus.
“Body recomping effectively means maintaining your body weight while skewing your macronutrient intake toward protein, which helps build muscle,” she says. Translation: no aggressive calorie cuts, but a tight, protein-forward eating plan paired with smart strength training.
In the gym, that means lifting at least three times a week and pushing progressively heavier weights as you get stronger. This principle—progressive overload—is essential for triggering muscle growth. “The key is to work your muscles hard enough to create exercise-induced micro-tears that the body can repair and build back stronger,” adds exercise physiologist and board-certified sports dietitian Jason Machowsky, RD, CSCS. And that repair process is exactly where all that protein comes in.
What You Need To Recomp Successfully
Body recomping will require edits to your workout and diet—but these adjustments aren’t as straightforward as the ‘eat less, move more’ of traditional weight loss. As Donovan says, “it’s not just about cutting calories, it’s about modifying your diet to eat what your body needs for your goals and also moving.”
1. Consume just enough calories.
There is a Goldilocks caloric intake, as far as body recomposition is concerned. In order to put on muscle and show up to your strength sessions with sufficient energy, you need adequate calories, says Machowsky. Too restrictive a diet and you won’t have the fuel you need to really bring intensity to your workouts.
What’s more, because strength training shears micro tears into your muscles (yes, even if it isn’t the highest intensity lift session) without that fuel, your body won’t be able to repair those muscles so that you actually get stronger, he says. The result is not ideal: You get weaker.
However, if you eat more calories than you can utilize throughout the day, you’ll wind up increasing fat mass. There is nothing wrong with that, per say, but it puts you into a bulking phase rather than a body recomping one.
So how do you find that ‘just right’ amount of calories? Utilize an online calculator that puts factors like age, sex, weight, height, and activity level through a formula to pump out your target intake. The National Institute of Health’s Body Weight Planner and MyFitnessPal are popular picks. Though, some will find it advantageous to hire an exercise nutritionist, as they’ll be able to update your intake as your activity level and physique change. (Research shows that muscle is a more metabolically active tissue than fat, so most people’s maintenance calories go up as their lean mass does).
2. Eat plenty of protein.
In the wonderful world of body recomposition, not all calories are created equal. “Protein, carbs, and fat all go into your total daily caloric intake, but protein is the macronutrient most important for gaining muscle while reducing fat,” says Machowsky. Why? The body breaks protein down into building blocks, called amino acids, that it then uses to repair exercise-infused damage to your muscle fibers, he says.
For those body recomping, Machowsky recommends consuming 0.8 to 1.0 grams of protein per pound of bodyweight. While you’ll likely still experience some strength gains getting just 0.6 grams per pound bodyweight, because protein is satiating, the higher end can keep you from calorie over-consumption, he says.
“Just be aware that those with certain diseases (like chronic kidney disease) have protein intake restrictions and talk to your doctor if that could be you,” he says.
3. Get protein all day long.
For a 150-pound person trying to recomp, their sweet-spot is 120 to 150 grams of protein daily. That’s no small potatoes! For reference, one egg has 6 grams, one ounce of chicken has 8 grams, and a cup of Greek yogurt has 16 grams of protein.
It might sound obvious, but chipping away at that daily target throughout the day is much easier than cramming it all into dinner, notes Donovan. “Try and aim for 20 to 30 grams of protein at breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and then 10 to 15 grams with each snack,” she suggests. A food scale and tracking app can help you pinpoint the amount of protein per nosh.
“If, through logging, you realize you’re having trouble reaching your protein goals through foods like meat, poultry, fish, eggs, dairy products, nuts, seeds, and beans alone, utilizing a protein supplement can be helpful,” says Donovan.
5. Strength train regularly.
“For muscle growth you need to actually challenge your muscles,” says Machowsky. Fail to do so and your body can’t utilize your food as fuel, and will be forced to store it as fat.
So, how do you challenge your muscles, exactly? Strength training. A combination of bodyweight movements like push-ups and squats and compound exercises with weights (like the barbell squat, kettlebell deadlift, or overhead press) will elicit the desired stimulus, says Donovan.
The key is to balance the weight lifted, reps logged, and sets completed so that you’re moving with sound form but also pushing the intensity, she says. One way to dance that line is to follow a personalized plan that implements the progressive overload principle in its design. Alternatively, you can check in with your body, either aiming for an rate of perceived exertion (RPE) of eight, or leaving just two reps in the tank, which is also known as training to fatigue.
“Aim to work all major muscle groups at least two times per week,” suggests Machowsky. “These can be done through two full-body strength workouts, or doing push-pull-legs workout splits.”
Common Body Recomp Mistakes To Avoid
1. Skimping on recovery.
Even if you’re nailing it in the gym and the kitchen, your progress will be stalled if you’re skimping on time in the sheets or stressed out 24/7.
The body pumps out most of its muscle-supporting hormones (testosterone and growth hormone) at night, so getting seven to nine quality hours per night is an important part of the body recomp puzzle, per Machowsky. Additionally, whether it’s through yoga, meditation, or therapy, keeping your stress hormones (A.K.A. cortisol) low will is also non-negotiable. “If your body is constantly stressed—or in a fight or flight mode—it will be much harder for your body to lose body fat and build muscle,” as your endocrine (hormone) system will be out of whack, says Donovan.
2. Expecting fast progress.
Patient is a body recomp virtue—perhaps, the most important. “It won’t happen overnight, it won’t happen in a week, it probably won’t even happen in a month,” says Donovan. “It is normal for body recomposition to take many months to achieve,” she says. But—and this is important—it will eventually happen if you stick with your diet and gym, she says.
Unfortch, it is common for people to stray from the body composition results formula—that’s adequate calories with a focus on protein and strength training—when results don’t happen overnight and cut caloric intake further.
The issue? Eating too little encourages your body to think you’re staving it, which leads it to hold onto whatever body fat you currently have and store any incoming calories as fat. Too little calories will short how hard you can hit your workouts, which slashes calorie burn. In sum, stay the course or risk self-sabotage.
3. Not hydrating enough.
“Maintaining adequate hydration is helpful for body recomp goals, as proper hydration helps keep our joints lubricated, reducing the risk of injury, and ensures food moves through our system regularly,” says Donovan. Additionally, people are more likely to overeat calories and non-protein macronutrients when they are thirsty as “proper hydration enhances your ability to properly identify hunger and fullness cues,” she says
The National Academy of Medicine recommends a daily intake of 11.5 and 15.5 cups daily for men and women, respectively. Additional intake may be necessary if you sweat a lot while you exercise or live in a warm climate.
How To Tell If Your Body Recomp Plan Is Working
How you feel, look, and move and all better indicators of successful body recomposition than the scale.
“Muscle is more dense than fat which means that one pound of muscle takes up less space,” explains Machowsky. Meaning, you could have a less body fat and smaller frame, while still weighing the same—or ever more, he says.
No doubt, this can be a mental mindfuck for anyone who grew up in a body negative society that puts the scale on a pedestal. But going by the scale will stop you from appreciating the progress you’ve made and leave you feeling frustrated, says Donovan.
Non-scale victories like higher confidence, new one rep max, reduced fatigue after day-to-day life, increased independence, better-fitting clothes, and higher energy can all indicate that your new habits are working, she says.
Not ready to let go of the high of a lower numeric value? Machowsky suggests tracking how your hip or waist circumference measures or clothing size change each month. You can also utilize body composition measurement tools like skinfold calipers, hydrostatic weighing, or in-body scans, which are offered at most fitness, healthcare, and nutrition facilities, he says.
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