Weight loss, recomp alternating.

duddysdad

I used to be 180 pounds, which I considered myself skinny fat. I have unfortunately gained 50 pounds since then, which is not a massive change as I can still fit in my clothes, I am not happy. For reference I am 6'5", 35/M. I have a neurological disease that affects my muscles (extreme weakness), so I don't have much muscle tone, although I have no problem picking my 40 lb 3.5 y/o up above my head, or carrying a 50 lb dog food bag over my shoulder. Heck, I can even carry two 50 lb bags of cement at once.

I am going to lose this weight right this time. When originally losing weight, my mindset was to lose as quickly as possible, no exercise though since I can't really do it in my condition. I can however work my muscles, just not any form of cardio.

My plan, if anyone thinks it's a good idea, is to do a diet/recomp? alternating routine. I am thinking about dedicating M/W/F to strength training with resistance bands, eating around 200 calories above maintenance, then eating at a 1k calorie deficit the other 4 days. I figure I should lose about a pound a week.

I plan on doing upper body on Monday, core on Wednesday, and lower body on Friday, while dieting the other days.

Does this sound like a healthy plan, something that is doable? Would I see better results this way in regards to body composition? I know I won't be gaining muscle like crazy, but should I be able to build some muscle this way? I want to eventually hit my goal of 180 and have a leaner body than I did when I only dieted and did no form of exercise.

RoxieDawn

Recomp does not work like this and recomp is very very slow for muscle building. You still have 50 pounds to loose? I think you should loose it first then go into maintenance everyday (maintenance calories only or with a very slight deficit if you still have left over fat to loose).

Right now my best advice: Eat at a calorie deficit every day, do your strength training program according to your plan, and make sure you eat a good amount of protein in your diet while eating at a calorie deficit. I would look into some sort of total body program to do three days a week though.

This calorie cycling idea is great for those that are lifting regularly and wanting improve body composition i.e doing a full recomp, or even a bulk cycle. But totally not necessary!

I think you will end up very frustrated with this process. But you can really do any thing you choose to and however you want to do it!

edited to add: you may be interested in this thread. http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10177803/recomposition-maintaining-weight-while-losing-fat

duddysdad

Yeah, I know nothing about recomp other than a few things I've read online. I thought it was too good to be true, thanks for saving me the time and effort.

I had originally planned to recomp when I hit 180, but things happened and I gained weight. I'll take your advice and just lose the weight first, then slowly do a recomp. I'll check out that link. Thanks!