Body recomp at a deficit?

Francl27

I'm not getting the logic behind this. How can you recomp if you can't build muscle? It's like the 'losing inches but not weight' thing while eating a deficit. I'm not getting it... how is it possible?

BigGuy47

If body composition is defined as the percentage of lean body mass then it's possible to recomp at a deficit.

Resistance training at a calorie deficit would result in losing fat and a small amount of muscle. The percentage of LBM would be higher.

A calorie deficit with no exercise would result in losing both fat and muscle. The percentage of LBM could remain the same or possibly be lower.

Does recomping specifically mean adding muscle or does it mean changing your body composition (fat to lean mass ratio) ?

magerum

If body composition is defined as the percentage of lean body mass then it's possible to recomp at a deficit.

Resistance training at a calorie deficit would result in losing fat and a small amount of muscle. The percentage of LBM would be higher.

A calorie deficit with no exercise would result in losing both fat and muscle. The percentage of LBM could remain the same or possibly be lower.

Does recomping specifically mean adding muscle or does it mean changing your body composition (fat to lean mass ratio) ?

Solid take on it. I will submit however that most "recomp" is done at our about maintenance levels as to mitigate muscle lose. Which will happen in deficit, you just try to minimize it with training.

DancingMoosie

When I had 40 lbs to lose, I could eat at a deficit, strength train, lose fat, and build or maintain muscle, because my body could use all that extra body fat as energy to burn. As I got closer to goal, and my bf% dropped, I needed to increase my calories. I'm no expert, but it worked for me.

wild_wild_life

I think bigguy47 hit it on the nose. Recomp is just change in body composition. Although I usually think of it as being done at/around maintenance.

I don't think straight up weight loss while lifting would technically qualify as recomp, even though you are changing body composition. I think it specifically means trying to change body composition without losing or gaining weight.

I am "recomping" with the leangains calorie cycling protocol which calls for TDEE +20% on lifting days and -20% on rest days. Although your weight should remain about the same, the theory is that you are optimizing calorie partitioning by providing more protein/carbs during the time that your muscles are more metabolically primed to accept them and when insulin sensitivity is highest (post workout). Who knows if it makes any practical difference, but I like eating at a surplus on the regular and not gaining weight...

paleojoe

I'm not getting the logic behind this. How can you recomp if you can't build muscle? It's like the 'losing inches but not weight' thing while eating a deficit. I'm not getting it... how is it possible?

Your body makes up the deficit with it's own body fat to hit TDEE. So you may be eating at a deficit but your body is not operating in a deficit... hence you lose weight/fat.

sijomial

Doesn't really matter what labels you hang on it - the principles are the same: small deficit, adequate protein and a good weights/resistance routine.

Results will be different for everyone, someone who is trained and lean is unlikely to add any significant muscle, someone who has plenty of fat and is untrained (newbie or returning athlete for example) may well gain some lean mass (small amount and slowly).
That's without taking into account age and gender which have a big impact on results as well.

At the worst you would be retaining as much LBM as possible for you.

Over seven months (part deficit, part maintaining) I lost 7.7lbs of fat, gained 3.5lbs of LBM and reduced body fat percentage by 4%.
Not a huge change but it wasn't my main focus either.

marioalberto1

To me body recomp means when you maintain your current weight while losing fat and putting on muscle at the same time. If you lose 5 pounds of fat and gain 5 pounds of muscle you would weigh the same but your body composition is different.