Timeline for recomposition

Cassandraw3

Anyone who has tried recomp, what kind of timeline should I expect? I understand that it is slow going, but I am wondering what to realistically expect. I still have too high of a body fat percentage to bulk, but am struggling hard with trying to keep a deficit to keep cutting. I am not completely unhappy with my body now, but I would still like it to be better which leads to recomp.

How long does it take? Is it realistic to think I can recomp 1% body fat per month? 2%? 0.5%? I am current sitting around 26-27% body fat at 5'4" maintaining between 145-150 lbs. Any insight would be great.

tcunbeliever

1% per week is tops...my actual experience as a female has been 1-2% per month is quite possible. I lost 5% in 12 weeks doing LC Leangains (25% to 20%) and it was a challenge, but sustainable.

It takes a long time, but seriously, the time is going to pass anyway. If what you are doing now is not sustainable for you right now, then switch it up...you can eat at maintenance, continue lifting, let the recomp do it's thing, and who cares if it's slow...slow progress is still progress...if in a couple months you decide progress is too slow, then you can go back to cutting and it won't be so awful because you have had a break. Or you can just stay at recomp for years and if it takes years to get where you want to get, that's ok too...it's better than spending those years getting fatter, right?

Cassandraw3

Thanks for the input! I have been eating around maintenance for a couple months now (trying to do a deficit for the last month, but eating to much). I don't know if it is the winter months making me want to eat more, or just the lack of motivation to be in a deficit because I'm not completely unhappy with my body anymore. I was just wondering if it was realistic to think I could lose 1-2% body fat per month. Not really sure where my end goal for body fat percentage is right now, maybe 20-22%?

steveko89

Cassandraw3 wrote: »

the lack of motivation to be in a deficit because I'm not completely unhappy with my body anymore.

I think this is way more of a factor than people seem to talk about it here. For me it's hard to stay diligent when I'm pretty much in a spot where I've never looked better, yet still want to improve. The net is that I've essentially spent a year trying to lose the same 5-10 lbs to get down closer to 10% body fat so I can bulk. That unintentional recomp yielded going from 14% to 12.2% if my skulpt device is to be believed (4/7/18 scan vs. 12/15/18 scan).

jseams1234

steveko89 wrote: »

Cassandraw3 wrote: »

the lack of motivation to be in a deficit because I'm not completely unhappy with my body anymore.

I think this is way more of a factor than people seem to talk about it here. For me it's hard to stay diligent when I'm pretty much in a spot where I've never looked better, yet still want to improve. The net is that I've essentially spent a year trying to lose the same 5-10 lbs to get down closer to 10% body fat so I can bulk. That unintentional recomp yielded going from 14% to 12.2% if my skulpt device is to be believed (4/7/18 scan vs. 12/15/18 scan).

I think this ^^ is a more realistic and reasonable expectation. In some cases probably much less - depending on current body fat levels; the less you have to "recomp" the slower the process.

1% a week isn't going to happen. That kind of reduction in bf% most likely wouldn't even happen with a strict deficit. I wish - imagine being able to safely and realistically drop 4% body fat a month and replace that with lean mass. Nobody would ever run a bulk or cut cycle ever again... but we are talking about recomp here.. maintaining weight and changing body composition - not simply a reduction of body fat. When people say it's a painfully slow process, they mean sloooow. Manage your expectations accordingly.

Cassandraw3

I knew 1% a week wasn't very realistic. From the sounds of it, I don't think even 1% BF reduction a month will even happen. I've already got a solid muscle base, which makes muscle gains more difficult already. Ideally I would like to drop my maintenance range down another 5 lbs, but I don't see that happening until the weather warms up and I start running again (I can't stand treadmills, I am bored after 1 minute).

jseams1234

Cassandraw3 wrote: »

I knew 1% a week wasn't very realistic. From the sounds of it, I don't think even 1% BF reduction a month will even happen. I've already got a solid muscle base, which makes muscle gains more difficult already. Ideally I would like to drop my maintenance range down another 5 lbs, but I don't see that happening until the weather warms up and I start running again (I can't stand treadmills, I am bored after 1 minute).

It kinda sounds like you just need a break from the cut. Nothing wrong with sitting at maintenance while you keep working out for a bit until you can start running. Honestly, I'm at the top of a bulk and after I'm done with my next cut I'm probably going to sit at maintenance for quite a while. I'm getting kind of burnt on all these bulk/cut cycles. I need a "vacation" from it all.

Cassandraw3

jseams1234 wrote: »

Cassandraw3 wrote: »

I knew 1% a week wasn't very realistic. From the sounds of it, I don't think even 1% BF reduction a month will even happen. I've already got a solid muscle base, which makes muscle gains more difficult already. Ideally I would like to drop my maintenance range down another 5 lbs, but I don't see that happening until the weather warms up and I start running again (I can't stand treadmills, I am bored after 1 minute).

It kinda sounds like you just need a break from the cut. Nothing wrong with sitting at maintenance while you keep working out for a bit until you can start running. Honestly, I'm at the top of a bulk and after I'm done with my next cut I'm probably going to sit at maintenance for quite a while. I'm getting kind of burnt on all these bulk/cut cycles. I need a "vacation" from it all.

I did take an intentional break for December and tried to start cutting again in January, but the deficit just isn't happening. That's why I was curious about what to expect from recomp.

lildickybarrett

Aim to lose no more than 1% of your bodyweight a week, adjusy your calories to that. Example:

200lb person, loses 2lb a week. A 150lb person 1.5 lbs a week. As your weight drops you should constantly recalculate this.

Punch your details in here: https://www.calculator.net/calorie-calculator.html and it will give you a good estimate. Be conservative on the exercise level, most people dont do as much as they think.

Timeline depends on your goals. Estimate your current bodyfat and a %bodyfat goal, then you can see how much you have to lose and at losing 1% a week how long it will take.

born_of_fire74

I've been recomping for just over two years now. Never had a proper scan or used calipers, just estimating based on appearance along with occasionally plugging my measurements into the US Navy calculator and I feel that I've managed to go from ~25%BF to ~22%BF. As such, I'd say 1-2%/month is an unfeasibly high goal.

Now it's true that I've had some injuries that set me back some, I do crossfit rather than a dedicated lifting program and I'm not the most careful tracker so my progress may be slower than it could be but I still think your goal is extremely optimistic. Based on my experience, I think you will be looking at recomping something like 1%BF over 6 to 12 months.

There are some others here who've had very successful recomps and a fair bit quicker than mine, one member in particular going from ~22BF% to ~20%BF over the course of a year IIRC. This member is highly dedicated though so that'll likely be the high end of the spectrum for comparison sake.

FWIW I'm 5'4" and 130+/-2lbs so similar in size to you. I started out close to 160lbs and 30%BF, dropped weight until I got to 126lbs and then switched to recomping.

Cassandraw3

born_of_fire74 wrote: »

I've been recomping for just over two years now. Never had a proper scan or used calipers, just estimating based on appearance along with occasionally plugging my measurements into the US Navy calculator and I feel that I've managed to go from ~25%BF to ~22%BF. As such, I'd say 1-2%/month is an unfeasibly high goal.

Now it's true that I've had some injuries that set me back some, I do crossfit rather than a dedicated lifting program and I'm not the most careful tracker so my progress may be slower than it could be but I still think your goal is extremely optimistic. Based on my experience, I think you will be looking at recomping something like 1%BF over 6 to 12 months.

There are some others here who've had very successful recomps and a fair bit quicker than mine, one member in particular going from ~22BF% to ~20%BF over the course of a year IIRC. This member is highly dedicated though so that'll likely be the high end of the spectrum for comparison sake.

FWIW I'm 5'4" and 130+/-2lbs so similar in size to you. I started out close to 160lbs and 30%BF, dropped weight until I got to 126lbs and then switched to recomping.

Ah, thank you. This is the kind of information I am looking for. So basically, I would be lucky to drop 0.5%-1% body fat before I am ready to start seriously cutting again. Which I likely won't even notice since that is well within any margin of error for body fat percentage calculators.

born_of_fire74

Cassandraw3 wrote: »

born_of_fire74 wrote: »

I've been recomping for just over two years now. Never had a proper scan or used calipers, just estimating based on appearance along with occasionally plugging my measurements into the US Navy calculator and I feel that I've managed to go from ~25%BF to ~22%BF. As such, I'd say 1-2%/month is an unfeasibly high goal.

Now it's true that I've had some injuries that set me back some, I do crossfit rather than a dedicated lifting program and I'm not the most careful tracker so my progress may be slower than it could be but I still think your goal is extremely optimistic. Based on my experience, I think you will be looking at recomping something like 1%BF over 6 to 12 months.

There are some others here who've had very successful recomps and a fair bit quicker than mine, one member in particular going from ~22BF% to ~20%BF over the course of a year IIRC. This member is highly dedicated though so that'll likely be the high end of the spectrum for comparison sake.

FWIW I'm 5'4" and 130+/-2lbs so similar in size to you. I started out close to 160lbs and 30%BF, dropped weight until I got to 126lbs and then switched to recomping.

Ah, thank you. This is the kind of information I am looking for. So basically, I would be lucky to drop 0.5%-1% body fat before I am ready to start seriously cutting again. Which I likely won't even notice since that is well within any margin of error for body fat percentage calculators.

That may be the case. Again, FWIW, I had originally intended to cut down to under 120lbs but found myself at the same sort of impasse you are at now where I just couldn't seem to maintain the deficit to drop any more weight so I started eating at maintenance to see where that would take me. It's been slow, very slow, but I do see an improvement and have been mostly happy with my progress. Happy enough that I haven't changed my WOE, tightened up my logging or switched to a dedicated lifting program though I suppose I could if I really wanted to.

cwolfman13

Cassandraw3 wrote: »

jseams1234 wrote: »

Cassandraw3 wrote: »

I knew 1% a week wasn't very realistic. From the sounds of it, I don't think even 1% BF reduction a month will even happen. I've already got a solid muscle base, which makes muscle gains more difficult already. Ideally I would like to drop my maintenance range down another 5 lbs, but I don't see that happening until the weather warms up and I start running again (I can't stand treadmills, I am bored after 1 minute).

It kinda sounds like you just need a break from the cut. Nothing wrong with sitting at maintenance while you keep working out for a bit until you can start running. Honestly, I'm at the top of a bulk and after I'm done with my next cut I'm probably going to sit at maintenance for quite a while. I'm getting kind of burnt on all these bulk/cut cycles. I need a "vacation" from it all.

I did take an intentional break for December and tried to start cutting again in January, but the deficit just isn't happening. That's why I was curious about what to expect from recomp.

My take on recomp has always been that it's more of a bi-product of eating well and good training...ie getting in shape. I went into maintenance 6 years ago this spring at 178 Lbs. I was for the most part fine with how I looked...not quite as lean as I was hoping for, but leaner than I had been and better body composition than I'd had in a very long time. I was also just tired of dieting after 7ish months.

Over time, my body just changed...it was slow and subtle and I actually didn't really notice much until last year when we moved and I was looking through some old picture books while packing. I looked at one from the summer of 2013 (shortly after going into maintenance) and a trip to San Diego and then I was going through one from 2017 and our trip to Colombia. Both had beach pictures of me with my shirt off...I was surprised at the difference as I was leaner and more well defined and really looked like I work out in the 2017 pictures...I was also 5 Lbs heavier.

I guess this is all to say, I wasn't really conscious of anything...it just happened...very slowly, but it happened.

ExistingFish

It's definitely different. I lost for 6 months and then I've been in recomp for 6 months. It's weird to look at pictures I feel I haven't changed much in the past 6 months, with such a drastic change in the first 6. That said, my lifts have gone up considerably, so there is change.

But then I look closer. There is less fat around the armpit. My waist is smoother. I have no objective way to measure body fat (that I care to bother with) but I can see little changes. I wish it were more drastic though, I'm considering switching to cutting for a bit.