Is re-comp possible while losing slowly?

Sillybee727

I've seen a bunch of posts on here about body recomposition through bulk/cut and strength training. It seems like people usually do all/most their losing first, then try to build up muscle, take a little more fat off, build up muscle, etc. That all makes sense to me, and I also see posts they say "you can't lose weight while building muscle" or something to that extent.

So, I have always tended to get into fitness in spurts of a few months, go hard and then burn out. When those spurts happen, I find that I do not lose weight much, but do lose inches and body fat fairly quickly. I once won a six week "boot camp" challenge at my gym due to body fat change, but didn't lose a lb. I also one year trained for and ran a marathon without losing any weight. Part of my burnout, honestly, has been that I never see weight loss, and yes I know that is due to not watching my calories, or deciding that I "need/deserve" more because I'm working out hard.

The situation this time is a little different though. I had to go on an elimination diet to determine skin allergies, and it has been VERY restrictive. As such, I've lost about 20 lbs since January without really trying and without exercising at all. Now, I'm slowly adding eliminated foods back in, and weight loss has stopped. I have simultaneously gotten back on an exercise kick and started 30 Day Shred, planning to build back up to running again and eventually would like to start some strength training because the first 20 lbs off already has me looking soft and flabby and I need to tone up A LOT.

So, if I actually stuck with the exercise (cardio and strength) this time and still ate at a slight deficit, could I still lose at a slower rate while toning the underlying muscle where the fat was? Can I cut fat and gain/develop existing muscle at the same time?

KickboxFanatic

Body re-comp is a very long process in which you eat just slightly below maintenance and strength train. Google Lyle McDonald and read up on his stuff for in depth explanations on body recomposition.

lorrpb

It's my understand that's what recomp is, eating at about a 250 calorie deficit and doing progressive weight training.