A lean body with defined muscles is often desired. To achieve a well-defined muscular appearance, it is essential to have a low body fat percentage so that the muscles are visible.
Traditionally, you can achieve this by bulking and cutting, which means bulking for muscle-building stage with higher calories and maintain your resistance training to build the muscles, then you will go on a cutting phase, which you will reduce your caloric intake and maintain your resistance training to maintain those muscle mass whilst losing body fat.
However, if you are short on time and want to achieve both at the same time, you may try the below 7 steps to lose fat and gain muscle at the same time to achieve body recomposition.
This blog post is all about the tips and guide for body recomposition, to lose fat and gain muscle at the same time.
What is Body Recomposition?
Body recomposition is the process of simultaneously losing fat and gaining muscle. Unlike traditional weight loss, which focuses solely on reducing body weight, body recomposition aims to change the overall composition of the body, improving muscle-to-fat ratio, so you will look leaner and with more visible muscle definition. This approach emphasizes:
- Decreasing body fat percentage to enhance muscle definition and tone.
- Increasing lean muscle mass to boost metabolism, strength, and physical performance.
Step 1: Set a Goal
It is paramount to set an achievable goal with specific objectives for us to plan and track our progress. Our goals have to be S.M.A.R.T., i.e. specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and timely.
Examples of a S.M.A.R.T. body recomposition goal is “to reduce 3% body fat percentage and increase 2kg of lean body mass in 6 months”.
Step 2: Assess Your Baseline Body Fat Percentage
To track and measure our progress, we first need to know our baseline body fat percentage and lean body mass, so we will know how far we have come and how far we are from our goal.
Body fat percentage can be measured using calipers, visual estimates, DEXA scans, or body weight scales with bioelectrical impedance, like the Withings BodyScan. The Withings BodyScan not only measures body fat percentage and lean body mass but also tracks fat and muscle percentages in specific areas such as the arms, torso, and legs. It provides a 3D visualization of your body and tracks progress in three key areas: legs, torso, and arms. This allows for more precise monitoring and adjustment of workout plans. Additionally, the Withings BodyScan assesses heart health by performing an electrocardiogram at each weigh-in to detect atrial fibrillation.
Withings BodyScan with localised body fat and muscle mass data
Step 3: Assess Your TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure)
You need a slight calorie deficit to lose fat, therefore, you have to know how much energy you are burning each day. Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE) is a measure of the total amount of calories your body burns in a day. This includes all the energy your body uses to perform basic physiological functions (like breathing and digestion), physical activities, and other processes.
Here’s a quick breakdown of the components that make up TDEE:
- Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR): The calories your body needs at rest to maintain vital functions.
- Physical Activity: The calories burned through exercise.
- Thermic Effect of Food (TEF): The energy your body uses to digest and process the food you eat.
- Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis (NEAT): The energy expended for everything you do that isn’t sleeping, eating, or sports-like exercise (e.g., walking, typing, fidgeting).
Calculating your TDEE helps you understand how many calories you need to maintain, lose, or gain weight. Thereby, you can calculate your calories intake and with reference to your TDEE, you should create a slight calorie deficit to achieve body recomposition.
Step 4: Create a Slight Calorie Deficit
To lose fat, you need to consume fewer calories than you expend, i.e. to create a calorie deficit. To achieve this, you can either reduce your calorie intake from your diet or increase your physical activity (i.e. TDEE). However, too much deficit could result in a loss in muscle mass. Therefore, the amount of calorie deficit should only be slightly below your TDEE. We are talking about a deficit of around 200-300 calories per day below your TDEE.
Step 5: Adequate Protein Intake
Protein plays a vital role in fat loss and muscle building.
Muscle Building:
Repair and Growth: Protein supplies essential amino acids that are crucial for the repair and growth of muscle tissues following exercise.
Strength and Size: Adequate protein consumption is necessary to support increases in muscle strength and size.
Fat Loss:
Satiety: Protein contributes to prolonged feelings of fullness, thereby reducing overall caloric intake.
Muscle Preservation: During periods of caloric deficit, protein helps preserve muscle mass as the body utilizes fat stores for energy. Muscle has a higher resting metabolic rate than fat, meaning you’ll burn more calories even when you’re not active.
Thermic Effect: The digestion of protein requires more energy than fats or carbohydrates, thus enhancing overall calorie expenditure.
The amount of protein intake you should aim for is around 0.8 to 1.8 grams per pound of body weight. The sources of protein should be from high quality source, with a high Digestible Indispensable Amino Acid Score (DIAAS) score and not from ultra-processed food source.
The DIAAS is a method to evaluate protein quality. It measures the digestibility of essential amino acids in the small intestine, providing a more accurate assessment of the protein’s contribution to human amino acid and nitrogen requirements. Protein with high DIAAS score contributes to muscle growth, because it provides all the essential amino acids in the right proportions promoting muscle repair and growth.
Protein with high DIAAS score is also easier for us to digest and absorb, supporting faster muscle recovery and growth. Examples of protein source with a high DIAAS score includes You may also check out our blog post on how vital protein promotes muscle growth for more details.
The protein you consume should aim for from whole food sources and not from ultra-processed forms. Preferably lean protein like chicken, lean beef, turkey, eggs, low fat dairy and beans.
Step 6: Incorporate Resistance Training and Cardio to Lose Fat and Gain Muscle
The best form of exercise to build muscle is resistance training. You can achieve muscle hypertrophy via resistance exercises that promotes muscle growth by creating micro-tears in muscle fibers that, when repaired, lead to increased muscle size and strength.
By incorporating resistance training in your exercise regime, you can increase your muscular strength, which can enhance your performance in other physical activities and especially helpful in longevity and aging gracefully.
Apart from the fat loss benefit, with more muscle and strength, this can greatly prevent you from falls and injury as you age. In terms of preventing injury, building more muscle around your joints can improve joint stability and reduce the risk of injuries. It can also help increase your bone density, reducing the risk of osteoporosis and fractures.
A well-rounded body recomposition exercise plan should include cardio exercises like walking, running, cycling, and swimming. Cardio burns calories, which helps to create a calorie deficit for fat loss. Apart from the fat loss benefit to create a lean physique, cardio has other health benefits, like improving your heart health, increase your lung capacity and improve your blood circulation ensuring that your muscles receive more oxygen and nutrients for growth and recovery. Blood glucose would be more stable with cardio exercise, contributing to fat loss and to prevent insulin resistance. All in all, it provides overall health and longevity benefits.
For a workout plan that caters for body recomposition, check out our blog post for the 7-day workout routine.
Step 7: Get At Least 7 Hours of Quality Sleep
Quality sleep is a key in recovery and for muscle growth. During sleep, especially in the deep sleep stages, your body releases growth hormone, which is essential for muscle repair and growth. This is when the muscles that were stressed during your workout rebuild stronger.
Sleep also enhances the process of protein synthesis, where cells construct new proteins, essential for muscle recovery and growth.
It is crucial that we have rest days and quality sleep for recovery and restore our energy. Your body restores glycogen, which is the energy stored in muscles, during sleep. This allows you to have better performance and lift heavier for muscle hypertrophy and faster muscle growth.
Stress hormones are the worst enemy for fat loss and muscle growth. High cortisol and insulin levels can contribute to fat gain and impede muscle growth.
With all these benefits, getting good night’s sleep can prevent all the effort you have put in the gym and your nutrition to be wasted.
Many people suffer from insomnia or problems with sleeping, you may check out our better sleep guide for tips to help you to get a night of good sleep.
This blog post is all about the 7 easy steps to achieve body recomposition, to lose fat and gain muscle at the same time. Hope these tips help.
Remember consistency is key. It takes time to see results, so be patient. With discipline and consistency, you will one day see the hard-earned results that you have been yearning for.
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