Is it possible to recomp without dieting and tracking?

T

thetravman

New member
I'm at a weight and size I'm happy with 32F, 5'6, 137lbs. However, I would like to burn some fat and grow more muscle i.e. recomp. I mostly avoid processed foods and most of what I eat is fresh or homemade (yogurt, hummus from dried chickpeas, granola, etc.). I eat healthily enough M-F (yogurt, chicken and veggies, eggs) and the weekends I indulge moderately (ice cream, 3-6 drinks, pizza).

I've been doing CrossFit for 6 months and without any major changes to my diet (other than trying to get plenty of protein) I've lost about 6lbs and gained some nice muscles. Will cutting back on small things like eating my yogurt without honey, subbing dark chocolate for a small scoop of ice cream, vodka soda vs vodka tonic make a big impact or do I need to go all in and start meal planning and tracking macros if I want to see more pronounced results?

Thing is, while I do some meal planning/prepping, I wouldn't know where to begin putting together a whole elaborate meal plan that is both functional, affordable and hits my macros/calorie goal.

Anyone successfully recomp making minor changes? Any source of good meal planning blogs that keep it simple? I love the idea of Bon Appetit's week of meals (those chickpeas are amazing, btw) but it's a bit too elaborate, and Ali Spagnola's Same Breakfast is a bit too bleak. Any tips on how to ramp it up yet keep it simple?

Thanks in advance!
 
@thetravman In regards to meal planning, I like to make high protein casseroles that I eat throughout the week! I usually just steam some veggies to go with it. This deconstructed pizza casserole is sooo good. Also I’ve made a simple taco casserole with ground beef, crushed tomatoes. and taco seasoning then topped with cheese and jalapeños served with sour cream over cauliflower rice. Also love this chicken bacon ranch casserole. These helped me lose that pesky holiday weight and make it really easy to plan dinners that fit your macros.
 
@thetravman I have similar stats and goals. I have been pretty successfully recomping without actual tracking, but I have a general idea of calories and I would probably have to measure/track more carefully if I wanted the process to go quicker. But personally I’d rather go slower and have a little extra fat, because it’s better for me mentally to do mostly intuitive eating.
 
@thetravman Well you've had success so far. I think if you want results *faster* you're going to have to take more drastic measures, especially while continuing to do things like drink alcohol. recomping in and of itself is a slower process than cutting and bulking, so that's something else to keep in mind. I think it might be useful to count calories/macros just for a couple weeks to really get a sense of exactly what you're putting in your body, and where you could potentially make changes.
 
@thetravman I made good progress without tracking. According to my DEXA scans in 5 months I gained a couple pounds while losing a little fat and gaining a few pounds of lean mass. I have tracked my calories before though. I also progressed faster while tracking but I was also doing a more intense workout.

I was more concerned with building muscle than burning fat because I’m small. I would do more cardio to speed up fat loss. I was mostly just walking then.
 
@thetravman Sometimes, this sub makes it sound like unless you count every calorie and every macro religiously you are going to be obese forever, or, even worse, the dreaded "skinny fat". In my experience, things in real life are much more flexible. I personally do not track. I know with good approximation how many calories there are in the food I eat, I know when I don't get enough protein per day, but it's not strict tracking. And in terms of recomp, the workouts change did more for me than religious tracking (religious tracking only helped me get down to a BMI of 16, so I kind of figured out that maybe it's not for me). Will results come as fast as if doing an aggressive bulk and cut cycle? Of course not. But changes still happen in the body.
 
@bubblegum2021 I’m always nervous of counting and tracking because I have a history is disordered eating. I get really obsessive and guilty about it and instead of eating say 1500 calories I will eat 1000 or see if I can get below that- it’s like a game to me and seeing the scale go down is a prize. I do not eat fast food, I don’t drink pop, and I am very mindful of what o put into my body however I cannot put myself through tracking - because hat leads to me going off the rails. It’s really hard to explain to people who can track why you can’t especially when they think it’s the only way. Will I ever look like a Instagram model (no but who will?) but will I look like a healthy individual who is enjoying my life? Yes
 
@thetravman If you haven’t notice a difference in terms of recomp progress by now doing what you’re doing.... you probably won’t notice big changes. Minor changes are going to result in minor improvements. Tbh it sounds like you’re looking for Some relatively quick results (months) so you will need to make some larger changes if you want to see progress quickly.
 
@mlm146 Yup, when I saw the first bit of definition in my arms and back I definitely started wanting faster results! I feel really good about my relationship to food atm and don't want to do anything too drastic. I feel like I eat pretty well, have plenty of energy to get me through even the hardest workouts. I was hoping maybe just eating a bit cleaner could do the trick.
 
@thetravman I hear ya! Sounds like you're making progress. Just wanted to be a realistic voice because progress is often slow and a long haul commitment.

Honestly, I don't track/meal plan because I'm finding it too challenging with my career right now to put in that investment. However, I did an overhaul in how healthy I'm choosing to eat (more than small substitutions). So I'm seeing results a bit faster now... its still never as fast as I'd like though. Honestly as long as you find something sustainable where you are making progress you'll see changes you want over time. Just gotta hang in there and be consistent!
 
@mlm146 It is helpful to hear, thanks. I do think an overhaul would be a helpful first step. I've considered taking photos of everything I eat for a week to serve as a visual food diary and going from there.
 
@thetravman Just speaking to my own experience, I didn't track what I was eating for the first several months that I was lifting weights, I just tried to be mindful and make good choices. I definitely saw some muscles start to grow, but I don't feel like my body fat changed at ALL until I starting cutting calories.
 
@mentorwayne That's how I was feeling at first, because I knew I was gaining muscle. But then I felt like I plateaued and didn't gain muscle or lose fat. But, like I said, I wasn't weighing myself consistently during this time, so I'm not certain of how much my weight changed.
 
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