Recomposition: Maintaining weight while losing fat
Replies
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Quick update picture only:
4 months side by side.
Starting weight: 152
Current weight: 153
Assumed bf%: 15%15 -
bump--a good one1
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I’ve been recomping for about 12 months now. Bodyweight has stayed within a tight range the whole time.
16 months ago I had an Inbody scan and was 8.5% body fat.
I probably got up to about 10% 12 months ago though.
Only started tracking calories 6 months ago and that’s when the magic happened.
I’ve noticed myself gradually getting leaner and very slowly dropping weight.
Just got scanned again tonight.
Total bodyweight is down 4lbs, but muscle mass is up almost 1lbs.
The most surprising figure is that my body fat is now down to just 5.4% from 8.5%.
I’m 43 years old now and do regular weight training and sprinting.6 -
AdrianSee1975 wrote: »I’ve been recomping for about 12 months now. Bodyweight has stayed within a tight range the whole time.
16 months ago I had an Inbody scan and was 8.5% body fat.
I probably got up to about 10% 12 months ago though.
Only started tracking calories 6 months ago and that’s when the magic happened.
I’ve noticed myself gradually getting leaner and very slowly dropping weight.
Just got scanned again tonight.
Total bodyweight is down 4lbs, but muscle mass is up almost 1lbs.
The most surprising figure is that my body fat is now down to just 5.4% from 8.5%.
I’m 43 years old now and do regular weight training and sprinting.
You must get cold very easily
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May 1st 2018 193 pounds
Sept 14 2018 180.6 pounds
Jan 31st 2019 184.2 pounds
Pretty happy with the changes. Averaging 3500 calories now. Average of 176 protein grams per day.
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May 1st 2018 193 pounds
Sept 14 2018 180.6 pounds
Jan 31st 2019 184.2 pounds
Pretty happy with the changes. Averaging 3500 calories now. Average of 176 protein grams per day.
@Dvdgzz
Well done! I am curious how many days a week are you lifting? How many cardio days if any? What are your macros and calorie intake? I am just getting started on my recomp journey so appreciate the feedback. Very encouraging!
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Okay, so I stopped weighing myself a couple weeks back so no idea where I’m at. Last I checked I fluctuated between 135-140 just depending on when I checked, what I ate the night before etc.
But overall I see my body changing. Not where I wanna be but I’m getting there. If anything recouping has helped me to realize I don’t need to starve myself to obtain the body I want. Nor do I need to be the smallest version ever!8 -
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@Dvdgzz
Well done! I am curious how many days a week are you lifting? How many cardio days if any? What are your macros and calorie intake? I am just getting started on my recomp journey so appreciate the feedback. Very encouraging!
Fat: 126.62g, Protein: 174.64g, Carbs: 477.21g 3644 calories. This has been my daily average for months. I get my fiber and vitamin targets on a flexible diet. Includes daily pizza, cheeseburger, ice cream etc.
I lift every day. Sometimes I take a rest day, maybe 2 per month. 2-hour sessions and sometimes two a days. I sit on a recumbent bike at work and use that off and on when I remember to pedal. So a lot of LISS but super low intensity.
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Here is another. 179.8 to 187.6. Up 7.8 pounds and while leaning out. Sept 27th 18' to Feb 2nd 19'. The top pic is the one from tonight.
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Let's bump this up!0
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bump
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Finally to the recomp part of my journey and stoked to be here.
5’9”/163.6 lbs/19% BF as of this morning. My goal is 15-16% BF.
I’ve added quite a few of you as friends and would love more as I’m figuring out how to adjust my macros and calories towards maintainence. You guys are so inspiring to me and the discourse here has been so informative so far. Thanks for everything you do!
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godlessandglittery wrote: »Finally to the recomp part of my journey and stoked to be here.
5’9”/163.6 lbs/19% BF as of this morning. My goal is 15-16% BF.
I’ve added quite a few of you as friends and would love more as I’m figuring out how to adjust my macros and calories towards maintainence. You guys are so inspiring to me and the discourse here has been so informative so far. Thanks for everything you do!
Well done you, looking good. As you are pretty lean already it's not going to take much of a reduction in BF% for your definition to really pop.3 -
Was 164 now down to 150 and looking to hold. I am now trying to tone up. New to this so will see how it goes.2
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5, 10 and just got to 150lb. Right now 1900 calories a day but doing 30-60 minute workouts 5-6 times a week so the calories will most likely increase. Looking for friends for motivation as I have just gotten back into this and new to this app. 😃1
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Great post. This might have already been answered, but how slowly do people notice actual changes in measurements? I've been trying recomp out for a couple months now but have just recently felt like I'm doing it right by actually reaching my maintenance calories (1800), getting lots of protein, and working on increasing my lifting weight. Also, I eat at 1600 on rest/cardio days and cut carbs by 50g. I was just wondering how people tend to notice actual changes in their body? I just would like to know if it's normal for things like measurements and body fat% to change very slowly. Currently I have noticed my endurance increasing as well as my strength so I know that ~something~ is happening, but I just want to know if fat loss is slow so I don't get discouraged when I check my measurments2
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@digidoomed
It's not so much that fat loss is slow it's that muscle gain is slow, that's not unique to recomp. Muscle gain unless you are young, male and relatively new to training or a genetic freak simply is slow.
Remember if you are perfectly maintaining weight your rate of fat loss matches your (slow) rate of muscle gain and other lean mass gain.
That rate is personal but governed by the usual factors of gender, training years, age, effectiveness or your training (you get to control that one at least!) and genetic gifts for hypertrophy which is also very varied.
Commonly it's stated that a male in first year of serious training may on average gain 2lb of muscle a month, halve that for females.
Track any and every way you can or want to - bodyfat has serious limitations in accuracy, photos needs to be consistent, tape measurements have to be repeatable. You are right that as your strength is improving (consistently over time) something is happening.2 -
@digidoomed
It's not so much that fat loss is slow it's that muscle gain is slow, that's not unique to recomp. Muscle gain unless you are young, male and relatively new to training or a genetic freak simply is slow.
Remember if you are perfectly maintaining weight your rate of fat loss matches your (slow) rate of muscle gain and other lean mass gain.
That rate is personal but governed by the usual factors of gender, training years, age, effectiveness or your training (you get to control that one at least!) and genetic gifts for hypertrophy which is also very varied.
Commonly it's stated that a male in first year of serious training may on average gain 2lb of muscle a month, halve that for females.
Track any and every way you can or want to - bodyfat has serious limitations in accuracy, photos needs to be consistent, tape measurements have to be repeatable. You are right that as your strength is improving (consistently over time) something is happening.
As an older female, my best guesstimate of muscle growth has been 1/4lb per month.5 -
mom23mangos wrote: »@digidoomed
It's not so much that fat loss is slow it's that muscle gain is slow, that's not unique to recomp. Muscle gain unless you are young, male and relatively new to training or a genetic freak simply is slow.
Remember if you are perfectly maintaining weight your rate of fat loss matches your (slow) rate of muscle gain and other lean mass gain.
That rate is personal but governed by the usual factors of gender, training years, age, effectiveness or your training (you get to control that one at least!) and genetic gifts for hypertrophy which is also very varied.
Commonly it's stated that a male in first year of serious training may on average gain 2lb of muscle a month, halve that for females.
Track any and every way you can or want to - bodyfat has serious limitations in accuracy, photos needs to be consistent, tape measurements have to be repeatable. You are right that as your strength is improving (consistently over time) something is happening.
As an older female, my best guesstimate of muscle growth has been 1/4lb per month.
@mom23mangos
As an ancient male with far too many training years and injuries I'm probably similar!
Funny enough I hurt my back this year and had to change my training from strength focussed (high weight / low rep) to what people would probably regard as a more hypertrophy friendly routine and probably rocketing along at maybe 1/2 a month, maybe, if I'm lucky.
More importantly I'm still enjoying my exercise and not making my back any worse.7 -
@digidoomed
It's not so much that fat loss is slow it's that muscle gain is slow, that's not unique to recomp. Muscle gain unless you are young, male and relatively new to training or a genetic freak simply is slow.
Remember if you are perfectly maintaining weight your rate of fat loss matches your (slow) rate of muscle gain and other lean mass gain.
That rate is personal but governed by the usual factors of gender, training years, age, effectiveness or your training (you get to control that one at least!) and genetic gifts for hypertrophy which is also very varied.
Commonly it's stated that a male in first year of serious training may on average gain 2lb of muscle a month, halve that for females.
Track any and every way you can or want to - bodyfat has serious limitations in accuracy, photos needs to be consistent, tape measurements have to be repeatable. You are right that as your strength is improving (consistently over time) something is happening.
Thank you for the information. I was also wondering about something else. Currently I'm at about 30% body fat. Can I still continue my recomp or is it meant to be done once at a lower body fat? I've really been enjoying it because I don't feel restricted or like I'm dieting but I always wonder if I should have waited until my body fat got lower to start it. Again, sorry if these kind of questions have been answered. This is a very long thread lol0 -
digidoomed wrote: »@digidoomed
It's not so much that fat loss is slow it's that muscle gain is slow, that's not unique to recomp. Muscle gain unless you are young, male and relatively new to training or a genetic freak simply is slow.
Remember if you are perfectly maintaining weight your rate of fat loss matches your (slow) rate of muscle gain and other lean mass gain.
That rate is personal but governed by the usual factors of gender, training years, age, effectiveness or your training (you get to control that one at least!) and genetic gifts for hypertrophy which is also very varied.
Commonly it's stated that a male in first year of serious training may on average gain 2lb of muscle a month, halve that for females.
Track any and every way you can or want to - bodyfat has serious limitations in accuracy, photos needs to be consistent, tape measurements have to be repeatable. You are right that as your strength is improving (consistently over time) something is happening.
Thank you for the information. I was also wondering about something else. Currently I'm at about 30% body fat. Can I still continue my recomp or is it meant to be done once at a lower body fat? I've really been enjoying it because I don't feel restricted or like I'm dieting but I always wonder if I should have waited until my body fat got lower to start it. Again, sorry if these kind of questions have been answered. This is a very long thread lol
Perversely it's easier to recomp at higher BF% levels - but much harder to see improvements when they are hidden under a layer of padding. The last few percentage points make a far bigger visual difference in terms of improved definition compared to the first few.
The quickest way to lose body fat is with a calorie deficit of course, so if leanness is your priority continue to cut - that doesn't have to be quick weight loss.
Whether your estimate of 30% is accurate is another question of course.
The "should" part is entirely personal, you set the agenda according to your goals and preferences.1 -
04/11/18 193 pounds
04/01/19 192 pounds
Practically, the same weight. I wanted to post for my 1 year anniversary of counting calories without fail. It's all about that consistency.
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Thank you @psuLemon ! I just wanted to add, for anyone trying to gain muscle, take that frequency up a notch. I've never had these types of gains so quickly before. While yes, muscle memory helped a lot, I don't think I would have progressed this well without hitting all muscles at least 3x per week. Also, I'm 37 years old.8
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Jumping in here because I got tipped in my topic.
I'm 5'7, 128-ish lbs, and assume I'm around 25% bodyfat (assume because I have not measured this).
I average 10k steps daily and want to do bodyweight resistance training 3x weekly, or give the gym another try.
When calculating tdee, should I consider this activity in the calculation (so walking and workouts)? I can't quite grasp how I will be able to lose fat if I'm not eating at a deficit.
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CapsLocker wrote: »Jumping in here because I got tipped in my topic.
I'm 5'7, 128-ish lbs, and assume I'm around 25% bodyfat (assume because I have not measured this).
I average 10k steps daily and want to do bodyweight resistance training 3x weekly, or give the gym another try.
When calculating tdee, should I consider this activity in the calculation (so walking and workouts)? I can't quite grasp how I will be able to lose fat if I'm not eating at a deficit.
The T in TDEE means Total - you include everything.
(Remember MyFitnessPal doesn't calculate TDEE.)
You lose fat as you build muscle and stay (roughly) the same weight. It used to be simply called "getting in shape".
It's your training that drives muscle growth so train smart and train hard.6 -
I am 5’4’’ 114 lb female and at 19-20% bodyfat. I have a Dexa scale I use all the time. My qieeion is, how long did it take u all to drop body fat? I have been the same % for FOUR months. I track all my food with a food scale and lift heavy. Wondering if anyone else is stalled. I follow the Mucle Building Routine (it was it program). I have been lifting for over a year, about 15 months. Cardio 6-7 days/week for calorie burn.0
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I am 5’4’’ 114 lb female and at 19-20% bodyfat. I have a Dexa scale I use all the time. My qieeion is, how long did it take u all to drop body fat? I have been the same % for FOUR months. I track all my food with a food scale and lift heavy. Wondering if anyone else is stalled. I follow the Mucle Building Routine (it was it program). I have been lifting for over a year, about 15 months. Cardio 6-7 days/week for calorie burn.
The thing is because you are already very lean being at the lower end of the BMI your progress might be slow to seemingly non-existent. I've been there, ultra lean trying to recomp, although I didn't stay with it as long as you did. At the end of the day if you have been recomping for over a year with little progress, and aren't happy with the direction you are going, I would start to think about changing things. It could be your workout program, I am not familiar with it but make sure it has adequate muscle stimulation and you are progressing over time. Also perhaps running a very small surplus for a while to gain weight then return to recomp or do a small cut.4 -
@alexmose so your goal is to lose body fat? You're already at the low end of things so you're going to find it really difficult to lose more. Your body needs fat to operate optimally and if you go too low you'll start feeling bad. Tired all the time, intense hunger cravings, insomnia, etc. 20% is probably not quite that level, but for a woman 14%-20% is considered elite athlete level so you're close.
If your goal is to build muscle then you probably want to do as @sardelsa suggests and go into a bit of a calorie surplus and use a structured weight lifting program to gain muscle mass. Probably a good idea to cut out some of that cardio as well. 6-7 days of cardio, depending on how intense it is, will make it hard for your body to have enough recovery time to be able to build muscle.
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Hello all! i'm at 23% BF, down from 29% after losing 50 pounds, i'm 6'0" and 215....i don't want to lose the muscle i've gotten during the three months of strength training. Sure, i'd love to lose more body fat....but i could care less about the scale and my weight hasn't changed much in the last 40 days or so. if my goal is to get below 20%, should i just keep doing what i'm doing or do i have to go into a cut phase? Thank you!1
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