Recomposition: Maintaining weight while losing fat

I thought I'd throw in a little 2 cents from an article I wrote recently, just for those who are trawling through the pages and want to find some evidence to support Body Recomposition!

Sometimes it may be hard to see the finish line, so knowing that it is a scientifically backed training and dieting concept might help you regain your motivation and get back on track.

If you are wondering if you are capable of Body Recompositioning, check out the following study-backed categories and see if you fall into any of them:

Overweight (A lil thicc)

If you have significant extra fat, then by training and eating at a deficit you will not only lose fat but build muscle at the same time. This is the result of the excess fat being used as energy to fuel the muscle building process.

A 12-week study by Demling and DeSanti aimed to analyse the effects of a caloric deficit and resistance training in overweight (26% body fat) police officers. The results showed a total fat loss of 9.3 lbs and gained 8.8 lbs fat free mass over those 12 weeks.

Beginner/Novice Lifter (Get them Noob Gains!)

Treuth et al. examined the “effects of strength training on total and regional body composition in older men.” These untrained individuals gained 2kg on average in fat-free mass, while losing 2kg of fat mass over 16 weeks.

Nindl et al. focused on “Regional body composition changes in women after 6 months of periodized physical training.” They found that the untrained women had a 2.2% increase in lean body mass and a 10% decrease in fat mass.

Palumbo et al. researched the “Effect of combined resistance and endurance exercise training on fat loss.” The results showed a 1.2kg gain in Lean Body Mass, and a loss of 1.7kg to 2kg in fat mass.

Detrained Athlete

Zemski et al. note a substantial gain in Fat Free Mass (1.8kg increase) with a significant reduction in Fat Mass (-2.2kg) in elite Rugby players who are coming off a 4 week detraining block.

Ogasawara et al. noted similar findings that individuals who experienced periods of detraining are able to make the same strength gains as those who continuously train. This suggests that the body adapts to training stimulus incredibly quickly and be primed for muscle growth after a period of detraining.

Enhanced/Steroid Users

This category goes without saying, and is an area I am not as familiar with. If you are taking steroids, testosterone replacement, fat burners or some combination of all three, your body will respond accordingly. Feel free to do the research on this one yourself if you’re interested.

If you look at any Body Recomposition articles, these are the four types of trainee that are most suited to gaining muscle and losing fat at the same time.

However, it’s 2021 and the idea of Body Recomposition has been studied for over 20 years. One such researcher and Body Recomposition expert is Chris Barakat, who has become somewhat of an popular figure in the area of Body Recomposition. It is his belief that there is a fifth type of trainee that can benefit:

The “Sub-Optimally Trained Athlete”

Cribb et al. researched the effect of whey protein on trained individuals and found they gained 1.3 kg of Lean Body Mass, minimal change in Fat Mass, and added 20 kg to their Bench Press.

Mackenzie-Shalders et al. in a study of protein distribution in Elite Rugby Players preseason training found 2.7 kg increase in Lean Body Mass over 12 weeks and lost roughly 2 kg of fat.

Rauch et al. Studied collegiate female volleyball players entering into a highly controlled power-training block. The players gained on average 2.7 kg of Lean Body Mass, and lost 2.7 kg of Fat Mass.

So if you're reading this in 2021 with some new Fitness or Body Recomp goals but aren't sure if it's right for you, hopefully this will help you make up your mind!

- Sean

This is all so helpful, so glad I found this thread. I was in prep for a BB show last year and switched over to a bulking/building phase in since May 2020 (when my show was canceled bc of Covid). I hit the top of my bulk in Sep and have maintained since. In prep I followed my coaches macro plan, hit my protein targets and never missed a lift day, but I was so weak, depleted and didn’t look very defined at all (picture on the left). I’m not sure if a meal plan would serve me better next prep, maybe I just didn’t get lean enough, I had been in a deficit at that point for years or maybe I just didn’t have enough of a base. I start my cut again in May but am so scared I’ll lose everything I’ve built, most specifically my strength. In terms of a reasonable deficit to retain strength I would aim for .5 lb loss a week, but to hit a 20 lb loss that would take me 40ish weeks, isn’t being in a deficit that long also harmful when trying to retain? Sorry for the length, I’m already stressed about my upcoming cut 🤣

Body recomp started today very slight calorie deficit hoping to lose some fat and retain as much muscle as possible

Morning, Thought everyone had lost interest in this thread, glad to see a few others with an interest. Thought I would update my progress. Within 3.5 lbs of goal weight now. I was increasing my walking every couple of weeks to the point I was up to about 8 miles per day everyday. I found myself getting more fatigued each day and realized my calorie deficit was reaching over 1500 per day. Adjusted myfitnesspal to start adding exercise calories back into the mix, but keeping a base 500 calorie deficit for the day. Energy increased substantially, felt much better. Body fat hovers between 19 and 20%, while muscle mass is hovering around 75%. Purchased a used Bowflex a couple of weeks ago and started utilizing it versus the weights. Enjoying it much more than weights. did a reset in myfitnesspal on goals and myfitnesspal adjusted base calories to 1650 per day and I upped it 1900 per day on the 3 days I workout, Mon, Wed, Friday. Also made a slight adjustment in Macros to bring carbs back to 40% and Fat and Protein at 30%. Usually manage to stay within 2-3% of goals. Still find it difficult to get enough water in each day, but notice on days I do manage to get 8 glasses a day, I seem to get a better sleep.