How to Lose Fat and Gain Muscle
To lose fat, you need to eat a little less, and move a little more.
To gain muscle, you need to eat a little more, and lift more weights.
These two statements may already be clear to you.
But… how does someone lose weight AND gain muscle?
Like… at the same time?
This is a very common goal.
You might have a little bit of weight to lose, but you also want to put on some muscle.
And you don't want to spend months losing weight, only to turn around and spend MORE months focusing on gaining muscle.
So can you do both at the same time?
Well yes, you most certainly can lose fat AND gain muscle at the same time.
But it isn’t the same process as losing fat (aka losing weight) and it isn’t the same process as gaining muscle.
As you might have guessed, it’s a little bit of a mixture of both.
The process is known as recomposition.
It’s the ‘fancy’ term for losing fat while simultaneously gaining muscle.
Recomposition is the easiest for people who are new to training. So if you’re just starting out with strength training or just training in general, it will be much easier for you than it would be for someone who is more of a veteran to training.
This is because, as someone new to training, the stimulus of strength/resistance training is new to your body and for this reason you can put on muscle much more easily.
However, everyone CAN recomp.
The recomposition process is just longer for someone who has been training for longer.
There are major components of an effective recomposition program. They are as follows…
Effective Strength Training (focusing on getting stronger with each move)
A Slight Calorie Deficit (eating in a SLIGHT calorie deficit just below maintenance)
Adequate Protein Intake (aiming for AT LEAST 1 gram per pound of bodyweight)
Let’s dive into each of these individually though.
First, effective strength training.
What do I mean when I say ‘effective’ strength training?
What makes it effective?
When I talk about effective strength training, I am talking a strength training program where you…
A.) Stick to the same movements for weeks/months at a time
B.) Take your sets to or at least close to failure
C.) Focus on getting stronger and increasing weights whenever possible
So if you’re someone who shows up to the gym with no plan, does random movements here and there, never takes sets to failure, OR never increases their weights…
Then you are NOT strength training effectively.
And you will have a VERY hard time recomping (losing fat while building muscle).
So that is the first pillar or component.
Now onto number two, eating in a calorie deficit.
If you’ve read any of my articles prior to this one…
(and I would HIGHLY recommend going back and reading my other articles if you want to learn A TON about numerous topics related to weight loss, fat loss, nutrition, training, and more)
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…you may have heard me talk about eating in a calorie deficit to lose weight. Typically I recommend eating anywhere from 300-500 calories below maintenance to start depending on the person.
But for recomposition it’s a little different.
The research has made two things very clear.
1.) You NEED to be in a calorie deficit to lose fat/lose weight
But…
2.) The more aggressive or large the deficit you’re eating in, the harder it is to gain muscle
So if the goal is recomposition, I don’t recommend eating in that harsh of a deficit.
Eating in a SLIGHT deficit (anywhere from 150-300 calories) is what I recommend.
This is just enough to still cause fat loss, but not so much that is drastically impairs muscle gain.
And the final pillar is adequate protein intake.
This is also incredibly important for the goal of recomposition.
You NEED to be getting enough protein in order to lose fat and gain muscle at the same time.
This means at LEAST 1 gram per pound of bodyweight.
Getting at least 1 gram of protein per pound of bodyweight gives your body adequate protein to build lean muscle.
Now no one of these pillars are more or less important than the other.
Think of them literally like pillars.
You lose one, and you lose the whole structure.
These 3 pillars are essential to recomp (lose fat and gain muscle) effectively.
Now it's important to note that the recomposition process takes much longer than either…
A.) strictly losing fat
Or
B.) strictly gaining muscle
This is because, for each of those goals solely, you’re able to eat in a more aggressive deficit or surplus to reach your goals faster.
And the recomposition process requires a much LESS aggressive deficit which means slower fat loss progress, and you’re NOT eating in a surplus which means slower muscle gain progress.
However, as with pretty much everything health and fitness related, consistency and patience is the name of the game.
Stick with it LONG TERM, and at the end of multiple months of consistency, you’ll be happy with the result.
No matter what…
JUST. KEEP. GOING!
Thanks so much for reading! I hope this helps you and if you have any questions please don’t hesitate to reach out.
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