Like most people, you’ve probably been overwhelmed by the sheer number of popular weight loss diets and tricks from “gurus” promising body weight loss. I hate to make the news even worse, but if you want to make real changes to your body, none of these diets are likely right for you.
Thankfully, I have a successful alternative for you; learning about all things body recomposition macros! Whether you have your sights set on those elusive 6-pack abs or you simply want to tone up a bit, I will help you understand what happens during a body recomposition process and how to effectively track your macros on your way to success!
What is Body Recomposition?
As the name suggests, body recomposition is the process of altering your body with a goal to lose fat and build lean muscle. In fitness terms, body recomposition involves weight training programs, tracking total calorie intake, and calculating the total number of macronutrients or "macros" needed to increase or maintain muscle mass while shedding excess body fat.
Body recomposition largely focuses on Lean Body Mass. Lean Body Mass is the measurement of your total body weight, minus your overall fat mass. Achieving a higher percentage of Lean Body Mass by reducing body fat percentage is a common goal for those involved with body recomposition.
Body Recomposition Vs. Weight Loss: What’s the Difference?
When many people decide to start a diet, they usually prioritize overall weight loss, using the numbers on their bathroom scale to gauge their overall success. Much of the time, usually due to ingesting fewer calories, their body weight does drop, but they are confused as to why they haven't achieved their optimal body shape.
While losing a significant amount of body weight will have an impact on body composition, in order to experience the best body recomposition outcomes, adherents need to focus on activities that will lead to fat loss and muscle gain.
Body recomposition aims to create a lean and toned body instead of simply limiting the number of calories consumed. Additionally, body recomposition efforts can be beneficial for overall health by supporting heightened immunity, improved metabolism, and better bone and joint health.
What Should I Actually Do on My Body Recomposition Journey?
Now that we know that body recomposition should be prioritized over general weight loss, we need to figure out how to accomplish this. To effectively achieve body recomposition goals, you have to focus not only on resistance training fitness regimens, but also on incorporating nutrition and lifestyle changes into your life.
What’s the Ideal Macronutrient Ratio for Body Recomposition?
Nutrition plays the biggest role when it comes to body recomposition. The recommended macronutrient distribution for a body recomposition diet is as follows:
- Carbohydrates: 30-35% of total daily calories
- Proteins: 30-35% of total daily calories
- Fats: 30-40% of total daily calories
Of course, everyone is different and depending on your activity level, preferred form of strength training, and existing amount of muscle, these numbers may vary. However, these represent a good starting point for those who want to build muscle and lose fat.
The "standard" 2000 calories per day diet for this macronutrient distribution breaks down like this:
- Carbohydrates: 150 to 175g
- Protein: 150 to 175g
- Fats: 65 to 80g
You might be surprised to see how many carbohydrates are included in this breakdown, given the plethora of "low carb" and "no carb" diets making the rounds today. Carbohydrates play an important part in fueling workouts and without them, you run the risk of falling into an energy deficit.
As for proteins, they are vital to help your body repair muscles and boost your metabolism. During your body recomposition process, consuming 30 to 35% of your protein (or, as in the model above, 150-175 grams of protein) intake should be sufficient for facilitating muscle growth.
For fat intake, I highly recommend consuming a moderate amount of healthy fats like avocados, nuts, and seeds. The body needs healthy fats to help promote many of the body's core processes, but be careful; many calories are packed into even the smallest portions of these foods!
This macronutrient distribution is a balanced approach to help support muscle growth, have better energy levels, and improve your overall health while you’re on your body recomp journey.
What's the Ideal Body Recomposition Workout?
Contrary to popular belief, there is no "ideal" body recomposition training style. The good news is that you have a number of options that will support your goal to lose fat and build muscle.
Ultimately, you need to incorporate training components that will increase lean body mass. As such, resistance training, whether by incorporating free weights or weight machines, is preferable to long, boring cardio sessions. If the thought of this style of training somewhat bores you, consider the stimulation of high-intensity interval training (HIIT) or CrossFit-style workouts where resistance training and cardio elements are incorporated simultaneously to fast track body composition changes.
Even if you prefer less fast-paced workouts, working compound exercises such as deadlifts, squats, and bench presses into your training helps to work a lot of your muscles in short periods of time. If you want to gain muscle quickly, it makes sense to perform exercises that work a lot of muscle groups.
Establishing solid diet and workout routines, as opposed to mindlessly avoiding carbs, maintaining an excessive calorie deficit, or performing endless cardio sessions, are the most important points of performance as you work to achieve your desired body.
Frequently Asked Questions
Changing your body composition can seem tough, especially when you're just getting started. Let's take a look at some of the most common questions from beginners:
Q: How Long Does it Take to See Results from my Body Recomposition Efforts?
A: There is no exact timeline to see the results of body recomposition as each body is designed differently. There are a lot of factors that can affect your progress like your body composition, genetics, workout routines, and your diet. Your body recomposition might take months to achieve, but with consistent effort, you will achieve an outcome you can be proud of.
Q: How does using apps like MyFitnessPal to track macros help with the body recomposition process?
A: The truth is, most people are not so great at estimating their food intake and often find themselves underestimating their overall calorie intake. Apps like MyFitnessPal can help to keep track of daily carb, protein and fat intake and ensure that users are as close as possible at achieving daily body recomposition macros goals.
Q: Is it really possible to improve my body composition, lose fat and gain muscle at the same time?
A: Yes! It is really possible to lose fat and gain muscle mass simultaneously. By combining the diet and training elements previously discussed, your overall weight might remain the same, but your body composition will improve...maybe even drastically!
Lose Fat and Gain Muscle...Go Start Your Body Recomposition Plan!
I hope this guide has helped you gain a better understanding of body recomposition and will help you to develop your initial training and nutrition plans. To help kickstart your journey to achieving your ideal physique, check out some of our articles on different training routines or even on different fitness equipment to use during your workouts. When you really want to gain muscle, we have you covered!
Summary:
Want to really change your body? Then it's time to brush up on all things body recomposition macros. These are your shortcut to success, helping you to lean out, build muscle, and get your dream body.
