Does body recomposition actually work?
- Thread starter _marc97
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darcylbridge
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@_marc97 Here’s a great article about protein needs https://examine.com/guides/protein-intake/
@_marc97
- Recomp takes time.
- Are you sure 1500 is your maintenance? Even at your weight/height that seems pretty low.
- It is not possible to spot-reduce fat--i.e. there is nothing you can do to force your body to lose fat only in your stomach but stay the same or grow elsewhere. It's possible your stomach is the last place your body loses fat (which would not be uncommon at all--that's true for many women including me).
- How often do you weigh yourself? Our weight can fluctuate a lot from day to day, so just because you happened to weigh yourself at 107 at sometime in August and 109 today, does not mean you've gained 2 lbs. Also, you could gain weight in a recomp but *look* more fit/toned (if you gained muscle mass but lost fat).
@rajasingh I’ve been eating around 1500 for the past two years and staying at 107 (without exercising) and in the past two years there’s definitely been times I’ve overate past that but I’ve been consistent with 1500 and that’s what the calculators say for sedentary TDEE.
And I weigh myself once a week. For the past two years my weight was always 107.6 except if I ate a shit ton the night before but it always came off after a few days. But literally after a week of working out my weight went up to 109 and hasn’t gone back down and I weigh myself every week once a week and it’s consistently there which is strange to me. I know DOMS means I can have extra weight that isn’t fat but I don’t know
And I weigh myself once a week. For the past two years my weight was always 107.6 except if I ate a shit ton the night before but it always came off after a few days. But literally after a week of working out my weight went up to 109 and hasn’t gone back down and I weigh myself every week once a week and it’s consistently there which is strange to me. I know DOMS means I can have extra weight that isn’t fat but I don’t know
@_marc97 If you’ve been maintaining on 1500 calories without exercising, then continuing to eat that amount and now burning calories through exercise overall is putting you in a small deficit or at most, the lower range of your maintenance. Your body needs fuel to build. Up your calories and protein to nearer 1lb of protein per lb of body weight and you should make progress 
@_marc97 Also good to remember that TDEE is a range, not a set number. Your body can adapt to a few hundred more or less calories depending on what you're giving it. 1500 TDEE is extremely low but you say you weigh around 110lbs, which again is also pretty low. If your goal is muscular definition, you need to gain mass which a slow bulk can wonderfully do for you. I would advise to use the recommended TDEE calculator and tweak from there every 2 weeks.
And eat more protein. 1.6g per kg bw is a great start.
And eat more protein. 1.6g per kg bw is a great start.
nathan2018
New member
@_marc97 Sure. But it works slowly. It’s not the choice you should make if you want big changes in six months. Personally I start noticing subtle visual changes at about 4 months when I recomp, but my measurements aren’t usually wildly different at that point (very much within the “where exactly did I place the measuring tape and how tightly did I pull it” margin of error). There is a reason cutting and bulking is popular among strength athletes.
catholic500
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@nathan2018 Well yes your measurements and weight may not change much because you're replacing fat with muscle, but it is highly effective. Even pro athletes can lose body fat while gaining lean mass on a caloric defecit (which is a critical part of recomp).
The only reason it's not popular is due to all the myths floating around that you cannot gain muscle on a caloric defecit, which has been proven false by multiple studies.
The only reason it's not popular is due to all the myths floating around that you cannot gain muscle on a caloric defecit, which has been proven false by multiple studies.
nathan2018
New member
@catholic500 hi, zombie thread
Re: gaining muscle on a calorie deficit. Here is a recent summary of the scientific evidence. Gaining muscle in a deficit is possible but slower than if you are not in a deficit, and the bigger the deficit, the harder it is.
Re: gaining muscle on a calorie deficit. Here is a recent summary of the scientific evidence. Gaining muscle in a deficit is possible but slower than if you are not in a deficit, and the bigger the deficit, the harder it is.
catholic500
New member
@nathan2018 It's a top result when Googlin'g "body recomp" so figured I would contribute.
I appreciate the study and it is interesting - however, my problem with it is that it doesn't account for protein intake, something the author admitted:
The key to body recomp on a deficit is extremely high protein intake (2.2g/kg/day), so not following that will certainly slow down performance.
Also, here are a few studies for anyone stumbling upon this from Google like I did that show the efficacy of body recomp, even in pro-athletes:
I appreciate the study and it is interesting - however, my problem with it is that it doesn't account for protein intake, something the author admitted:
The key to body recomp on a deficit is extremely high protein intake (2.2g/kg/day), so not following that will certainly slow down performance.
Also, here are a few studies for anyone stumbling upon this from Google like I did that show the efficacy of body recomp, even in pro-athletes:
- One study looked at elite gymnasts. These were national level athletes with a training volume of 30 hours a week. They could do 17 pull-ups where their chest touched the bar (try doing 1). They were put on a 1,971 calorie, ketogenic diet. In case it wasn’t obvious, that’s pretty drastic for someone training over 4 hours a day. Their fat percentage of 7.6% dropped to 5% – lower than many bodybuilders in contest shape – in 30 days. Even under these conditions, they gained 0.9 pounds of lean body mass. And don’t forget they must have lost a lot of glycogen and water eating just 22 grams of carbs a day.
- Similar findings of positive body recomposition have been found in elite athletes of various other sports,
- This study and this study both found positive body recomposition in competitive rugby players.
- This study found positive body recomposition in NCAA Division football players already squatting over 382 lb (174 kg) and benching over 289 lb (131 kg).
- Even some women competing in the IFBB have been found to gain muscle during contest prep during a study that carefully monitored their hormone levels.
breelovesgod
New member
@catholic500 Hey I know this is an old comment, but would you happen to have advice for what kind of calorie deficit to aim for percentage wise for recomposition?
This article you linked is great, but due to lots of conflicting (or just bad) information on the internet, I’m having a hard time figuring out if I should eat the same calories every day in a slight deficit, or lower calories on “rest” days and higher on work out days. I work out in the evening though, and from what I understand muscle protein synthesis lasts for 24-48 hours, so would a slight (25% lower than maintence maybe?) deficit daily be ideal, assuming I’m getting protein at 2.2g/kg of body weight?
This article you linked is great, but due to lots of conflicting (or just bad) information on the internet, I’m having a hard time figuring out if I should eat the same calories every day in a slight deficit, or lower calories on “rest” days and higher on work out days. I work out in the evening though, and from what I understand muscle protein synthesis lasts for 24-48 hours, so would a slight (25% lower than maintence maybe?) deficit daily be ideal, assuming I’m getting protein at 2.2g/kg of body weight?
@breelovesgod I have the Google Pixel watch and it uses Fitbit for calories, steps, and workout tracking. The Fitbit app on my smartphone uses this data to adjust my calories per day allowance so that I can maintain the same caloric deficit day to day but eat more on hard workout days where I burn 1000 calories and eat less when I'm lounging on the couch all day
catholic500
New member
@breelovesgod From the research I've done so far, it seems the timing of nutrients is not a very big deal. It does have an impact but it's very minuscule to the point that it would only be relevant to professional athletes.
For example, the idea that you can only digest so much protein in one sitting is a myth and was based on a study that simply suggested additional intake would go to waste but never proved it. You can actually take in a lot of protein in one sitting, as this study shows.
To answer your question, look at your caloric intake on a weekly level as opposed to daily. Like, say your maintenance rate is 1800 cals a day, which is 12,600 a week. As long as you get enough protein in during the protein synthesis window (and enough carbs to fuel your muscles), then you'll be fine. Just make sure you meet your weekly caloric intake. Personally, on off days, I cut out carbs which drops my calories significantly. It’s the only way for me to reach my 15% weekly caloric deficit. If you can do 25% deficit go for it, but it was too difficult for me to get my protein and fats in with that much of a cut even when cutting food on off days.
TL;DR: feel free to drop your calories on off days, just keep your protein levels high during the protein synthesis window
For example, the idea that you can only digest so much protein in one sitting is a myth and was based on a study that simply suggested additional intake would go to waste but never proved it. You can actually take in a lot of protein in one sitting, as this study shows.
To answer your question, look at your caloric intake on a weekly level as opposed to daily. Like, say your maintenance rate is 1800 cals a day, which is 12,600 a week. As long as you get enough protein in during the protein synthesis window (and enough carbs to fuel your muscles), then you'll be fine. Just make sure you meet your weekly caloric intake. Personally, on off days, I cut out carbs which drops my calories significantly. It’s the only way for me to reach my 15% weekly caloric deficit. If you can do 25% deficit go for it, but it was too difficult for me to get my protein and fats in with that much of a cut even when cutting food on off days.
TL;DR: feel free to drop your calories on off days, just keep your protein levels high during the protein synthesis window
breelovesgod
New member
@catholic500 excellent thank you for the great reply!
@nathan2018 From experience, this is the correct answer IMO. I’ve wanted smaller hips because that’s the area I have the most fat, and the only time I’ve seen progress is after more than 3 months.