Recomposition: Maintaining weight while losing fat

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  • Orphia
    Orphia Posts: 7,097 Member
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    Sumiblue wrote: »
    I'm in the Fitness category, according to Bodpod. But I don't like how fluffy my lower body is

    Ditto, but my stomach is where I'd like the fat to disappear.

    I can pinch a good inch above and below the navel.

    Recomp yet or no?

    And does recomp mean maintenance or a slight deficit?
  • Springfield1970
    Springfield1970 Posts: 1,945 Member
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    macchiatto wrote: »
    So I'm 5'7" and currently right around 130 lbs. I'm doing YAYOG and might try Strong Lifts in a few months once I've made some progress with body weight workouts. I'm below my original GW of 133 and weight loss has really slowed. I've been torn between trying to lose a bit more weight or start a recomp. I think my BF% might still be around 27-28%; does that seem too high to start a recomp? Since I have a tendency toward "skinny fat" it can be easy for me to get overly thin in some places while trying to lose more of my stubborn belly fat. (I'd love to get BF% to 24% or so while also getting stronger.)

    Just out of interest, how did you arrive at your body fat level? It seems high, if you think parts of you look thin.
    I'm the same weight and height, circa 20%.
  • Sumiblue
    Sumiblue Posts: 1,597 Member
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    Orphia wrote: »
    Sumiblue wrote: »
    I'm in the Fitness category, according to Bodpod. But I don't like how fluffy my lower body is

    Ditto, but my stomach is where I'd like the fat to disappear.

    I can pinch a good inch above and below the navel.

    Recomp yet or no?

    And does recomp mean maintenance or a slight deficit?

    Recomp is maintenance. If you are at deficit then you are cutting. You recomp when you don't want to lose more weight but want to change your shape.
  • huango
    huango Posts: 1,007 Member
    edited March 2016
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    griffinca2 wrote: »
    I am pretty much where I want to be weight wise; my problem is body fat (I'm close to 24% and would like to get it down to abt 21%). Thing of it is, right now I can't do much exercising; broke my right arm (near the wrist) and can't put any weight on it. Have started walking (as weather permits) and started doing some yoga poses that don't require me to put any weight on it. Any suggestions on how to reduce my body fat would be appreciated. B)

    What does the doctor say you are allowed to do?

    - squats, can put a bar or 1 dumbbell on the left shoulder, holding w/ left hand and do squats
    - same for lunges
    - wall leans (great for quads), where your legs are at 90degree and back against wall
    - hip thrust or glute bridge, w/ or w/out DB or bar on your hip
    - single-arm KB swing?
  • tigerblue
    tigerblue Posts: 1,525 Member
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    So how much fat can a women expect to recomp during any given time? Eating at maintenance and lifting. For 3 months. For 6 months. Etc. I know it is not an exact science, but how much change is to be expected?

    I'm about 10 pounds over where I think I should be, and I'd like to lose about 3-4% body fat (I am at 26%). Are we talking one month, two months, six months, a year?? Two?? I know it is supposed to be slow.
  • griffinca2
    griffinca2 Posts: 672 Member
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    huango, Many thanks; doc says can do anything that doesn't require weight on right hand. I'll give the above a try.
  • macchiatto
    macchiatto Posts: 2,890 Member
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    macchiatto wrote: »
    So I'm 5'7" and currently right around 130 lbs. I'm doing YAYOG and might try Strong Lifts in a few months once I've made some progress with body weight workouts. I'm below my original GW of 133 and weight loss has really slowed. I've been torn between trying to lose a bit more weight or start a recomp. I think my BF% might still be around 27-28%; does that seem too high to start a recomp? Since I have a tendency toward "skinny fat" it can be easy for me to get overly thin in some places while trying to lose more of my stubborn belly fat. (I'd love to get BF% to 24% or so while also getting stronger.)

    Just out of interest, how did you arrive at your body fat level? It seems high, if you think parts of you look thin.
    I'm the same weight and height, circa 20%.

    Two years ago when I was about this weight (132), SideSteel and Sara in the Eat Train Progress group did a body fat estimation for me and they put me at 28-29%. (I have a small frame and not much muscle. I'd guess most people our height/weight have lower BF%.) Since then, I gained 20 lbs after a med change and this winter lost the weight and a couple more pounds. This time around I did lose a little more belly fat; 27-28% is a guesstimate. I'd love to get a DEXA scan or bodpod or something to have a better idea. It's hard for me to guess by looking at the charts/pictures just because of how my fat is distributed.
  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
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    tigerblue wrote: »
    So how much fat can a women expect to recomp during any given time? Eating at maintenance and lifting. For 3 months. For 6 months. Etc. I know it is not an exact science, but how much change is to be expected?

    I'm about 10 pounds over where I think I should be, and I'd like to lose about 3-4% body fat (I am at 26%). Are we talking one month, two months, six months, a year?? Two?? I know it is supposed to be slow.

    Usually the reference is given with a strong progressive lifting routine in place, consistent.

    Men 1 lb every 3-4 weeks (compared to every 1-2 in bulking mode), women every 5-6 weeks.

    Now in this study, men so better hormones, and talking LBM not only muscle mass specifically, and already athletic.
    3.5 lbs of trade in 16 weeks. Obviously some of that is more glucose stores with attached water in the more used muscle, but probably some muscle mass gain too.

    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/778012
  • macchiatto
    macchiatto Posts: 2,890 Member
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    Thank you, @heybales; I had wondered that, too! That's actually a bit better than I had hoped. :)
  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
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    Oh yeah - 3.5 lbs of fat gone when already at healthy weight - that's usually a massive change in body look for 4 months of a good workout.
    Stretch it to 5 months for not so good consistency - and still.
  • Orphia
    Orphia Posts: 7,097 Member
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    Sumiblue wrote: »
    Orphia wrote: »
    Sumiblue wrote: »
    I'm in the Fitness category, according to Bodpod. But I don't like how fluffy my lower body is

    Ditto, but my stomach is where I'd like the fat to disappear.

    I can pinch a good inch above and below the navel.

    Recomp yet or no?

    And does recomp mean maintenance or a slight deficit?

    Recomp is maintenance. If you are at deficit then you are cutting. You recomp when you don't want to lose more weight but want to change your shape.

    Thanks!

    So "changing your shape" means losing fat AND gaining muscle?
  • Sumiblue
    Sumiblue Posts: 1,597 Member
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    To me, changing shape means losing the fat that is hiding the muscle. If you are doing a progressive lifting program consistently then you are working the muscles, perhaps building some of your nutrition is good. Lose fat and suddenly you look better. I built up my shoulders and now they balance my wide (but now smaller) hips. I lost 22 lbs lifting on a deficit and now I'm on maintenance to hopefully shift fat off lower body and continue building upper.
  • vms4evr
    vms4evr Posts: 105 Member
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    Looking to recomp. I've read a bunch of this but not all 1,000 responses ;-)

    Age: 60, Ht: 6.0, Wt: 161, BF% 17. Workout ~5 days/week./ Mostly HIIT (T25, P90X). Started adding in weights 3x/week and removing some cardio.

    My goal is same weight. A bit more muscle. Remove some belly fat leftover that refuses to die! Pretty lean over the rest of my body.

    First. T25 and P90X are not pure cardio in my mind. You use your own body weight a lot. Think pushup, plank, pullup, chinup, crunches, squats, dips, lunges, etc. I do use dumbbells for a number of these.

    For weights. Just started. I added a mix routine with lower one day, upper 1 day, back and abs 1 day. This is not like strong lifts. I have back issues and can't be doing big squats and dead lifts. I'm stuck at about 100lbs max before the hardware in my back jams my spine. So 1-3 rep max stuff is out because it'll kill me. I had tried Beachbody Beast and that helps without getting crazy on the weights.

    I used a couple of sites to help me with TDEE and my macro splits. Here is what I came up with.

    BMR: 1580. TDEE: 2726. (w 5-6 hours/week aggressive workouts).
    Carb: 45%. Prot: 25%. Fat: 30%. Daily grams C/P/F is 305g/170g/90g.

    I had another option to run TDEE at 2450 to be more conservative since eating 3K cals / day is hard for me.

    Any insight would be appreciated.
  • Georgia422016
    Georgia422016 Posts: 38 Member
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    sooo i have no idea where to start for a recomp! im 112ib 5"5 18 year old female. im 21% bf ish.

    i want to lose some bf and get ab definition, my mantinence is 1400, i do intense cardio once a week, weightlifting 3 times and yoga once. how many calories should i be eating and what kind of weight workout should i do?

    i dont have access to a barbell, only 2 dumbells.
  • youngmomtaz
    youngmomtaz Posts: 1,075 Member
    edited March 2016
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    Actually, at your age and approximate activity level your bmr is 12-1300, your maintenance is about 2000. If you are actually eating 1400(weighing and logging food properly) you are way below what you should be eating. Try adding some calories and finding a way to lift heavy!
  • codsterlaing95
    codsterlaing95 Posts: 221 Member
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    sooo i have no idea where to start for a recomp! im 112ib 5"5 18 year old female. im 21% bf ish.

    i want to lose some bf and get ab definition, my mantinence is 1400, i do intense cardio once a week, weightlifting 3 times and yoga once. how many calories should i be eating and what kind of weight workout should i do?

    i dont have access to a barbell, only 2 dumbells.

    You're underweight for your height. You'd be better of gaining some muscle and then trimming the fat.
  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
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    sooo i have no idea where to start for a recomp! im 112ib 5"5 18 year old female. im 21% bf ish.

    i want to lose some bf and get ab definition, my mantinence is 1400, i do intense cardio once a week, weightlifting 3 times and yoga once. how many calories should i be eating and what kind of weight workout should i do?

    i dont have access to a barbell, only 2 dumbells.

    Be clear - MFP perhaps is estimating your NON-exercise maintenance as 1400 - if truly sedentary (assuming you selected that activity level).
    But are you truly a bump on a log almost all days outside of your workouts - no other activity, pets, ect?

    And once you log your workouts correctly - your maintenance is of course not 1400 for that day.

    You'll never gain muscle eating way below what your body needs, your body will make everything seem intense.
    But until you compare a workout to not eating so little - you'll have no idea how good a workout could be.
  • Sumiblue
    Sumiblue Posts: 1,597 Member
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    Agree. Your BMR is more than 1400, not your maintenance calories.
  • tigerblue
    tigerblue Posts: 1,525 Member
    edited March 2016
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    heybales wrote: »
    tigerblue wrote: »
    So how much fat can a women expect to recomp during any given time? Eating at maintenance and lifting. For 3 months. For 6 months. Etc. I know it is not an exact science, but how much change is to be expected?

    I'm about 10 pounds over where I think I should be, and I'd like to lose about 3-4% body fat (I am at 26%). Are we talking one month, two months, six months, a year?? Two?? I know it is supposed to be slow.

    Usually the reference is given with a strong progressive lifting routine in place, consistent.

    Men 1 lb every 3-4 weeks (compared to every 1-2 in bulking mode), women every 5-6 weeks.

    Now in this study, men so better hormones, and talking LBM not only muscle mass specifically, and already athletic.
    3.5 lbs of trade in 16 weeks. Obviously some of that is more glucose stores with attached water in the more used muscle, but probably some muscle mass gain too.

    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/778012

    Thx. I'm being as consistent as I can with my schedule (usually can hit three times a week if I work at it. I'm shooting for four.). I've also changed up my routine a good bit--had a trainer write a series of workouts for each group of muscles, so now I can push harder than when I was doing full body three times a week.

    I am hopeful.

    I still hate lifting, though. It feels like something on my to-do list rather than something I GET to do.
  • briscogun
    briscogun Posts: 1,135 Member
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    tigerblue wrote: »
    heybales wrote: »
    tigerblue wrote: »
    So how much fat can a women expect to recomp during any given time? Eating at maintenance and lifting. For 3 months. For 6 months. Etc. I know it is not an exact science, but how much change is to be expected?

    I'm about 10 pounds over where I think I should be, and I'd like to lose about 3-4% body fat (I am at 26%). Are we talking one month, two months, six months, a year?? Two?? I know it is supposed to be slow.

    Usually the reference is given with a strong progressive lifting routine in place, consistent.

    Men 1 lb every 3-4 weeks (compared to every 1-2 in bulking mode), women every 5-6 weeks.

    Now in this study, men so better hormones, and talking LBM not only muscle mass specifically, and already athletic.
    3.5 lbs of trade in 16 weeks. Obviously some of that is more glucose stores with attached water in the more used muscle, but probably some muscle mass gain too.

    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/778012

    Thx. I'm being as consistent as I can with my schedule (usually can hit three times a week if I work at it. I'm shooting for four.). I've also changed up my routine a good bit--had a trainer write a series of workouts for each group of muscles, so now I can push harder than when I was doing full body three times a week.

    I am hopeful.

    I still hate lifting, though. It feels like something on my to-do list rather than something I GET to do.

    This will change (at least for most folks!).

    When you start a program like this for the first time, the exercise is looked at as a means to an end. After it becomes a habit, you start to crave it and miss it when you take days off, and the mean becomes the end! The workouts themselves become the reward, and the body benefits are like icing on the proverbial cake.

    Just stick with it. The gains/improvements will be hard to notice from day to day and week to week, but once you start to see them it will be fuel to the fire!

    Good luck!