Two of the most common goals at the gym are to lose fat and gain muscle. On the surface, these might sound like separate, mutually exclusive goals, but they don’t have to be.

With careful planning, hard work, and patience, it is possible to lose fat and gain muscle at the same time. The process is called body recomposition, or “recomping.”

There are lots of opinions on this topic and it can be confusing for those who are just starting their fitness journey. In today’s blog, we’ll discuss what it takes to achieve body recomposition at AFAC’s Thornton gym.

Striving for Fat Loss at the Gym

When people talk about losing weight, what they really mean is that they want to lose fat. But, if you simply go into a calorie deficit to lose weight, you’ll lose both fat and muscle. That means you probably won’t see the athletic, toned physique that most people hope for when they lose weight.

So, if you want visible muscle definition after you lose weight, you need to change your focus to losing fat and keeping – or better yet, gaining – muscle. The challenge of changing your body composition to lose fat while holding onto, or building, muscle is known as body recomposition.

Before you try to thread this needle, check with your doctor to get medical clearance on the dietary and exercise changes you’re planning on.

Finding Out Your Current Body Composition Using the InBody 770 AFAC Gym

The first step to recomping is to find out what your body composition is now. That way, you have a benchmark you can refer to as you work toward your goal to lose fat and gain muscle.

To learn what your current fat and muscle percentage is, ask the team at AFAC gym to measure your body composition using our InBody 770. This non-invasive device calculates your body’s fat mass, muscle mass, water weight, and other components in just a few minutes. All you need to do is stand on the InBody 770 and hold the hand electrodes, and the machine will print out a full, detailed report on your body’s composition that you can keep for future reference.

While you work on building muscle and losing fat, you can get InBody 770 assessments at AFAC gym on a regular basis to confirm that your fat percentage is going down and your muscle mass percentage is going up. This allows you to tweak your nutrition and workouts over time to achieve your goals.

As a member of AFAC gym, you can receive InBody 770 assessments for free! Please ask any member of our team for assistance.

How Diet Affects Body Recomposition at the Gym

The next step of body recomposition is refining your diet, as proper nutrition is probably the trickiest part of the recomping process. Here’s why:

The general rule for losing fat is maintaining a calorie deficit, or consuming fewer calories than you burn.
The general rule for building muscle is maintaining a calorie surplus, or consuming more calories than you burn.

It seems like these two goals are incompatible, but that’s not necessarily true. It is possible to do both simultaneously if you’re careful about measuring how many calories you consume and how much protein you eat. For best results, everything you eat should be dedicated to achieving your goal, with as little “cheating” as possible.

Maintain a Slight Calorie Deficit

The key with calories and body recomposition is to maintain a slight calorie deficit. The theory here is that, while in a calorie deficit, your body will use its own fat as fuel for the strength training you do to build muscle (more on that in a minute).

Being in a calorie deficit means that you eat fewer calories than your body needs to function. How many calories people need can vary depending on age, gender, activity level, height, and genetics. To find a rough estimate of your calorie needs, you can use an online calculator like this one.

Then, use an app to count how many calories you eat per day. If you lose fat over time, then you’re on the right track. If you don’t, then you might need to reduce your calorie intake and increase your physical activity.

The emphasis here should be on a “slight” calorie deficit. If you cut your calories too much, it will be tough to hold onto muscle, let alone build more muscle. Dropping your calories too low could also cause a slowdown in your metabolism, making it more difficult to lose fat and build muscle.

For body recomposition purposes, most people start with a calorie deficit of 200-400 calories per day. If you don’t have much fat to lose, then you can stick to the lower end of that range. Conversely, if you have significant fat to lose, stick to the higher end of that range.

Eat Plenty of Protein

Eating enough protein is essential for body recomposition, as your body needs protein to maintain and build muscle. Protein will also help you feel fuller, longer, which helps you stick to a slight calorie deficit.

There’s no one-size-fits-all formula for how much protein you should eat, but a common recommendation for body recomposition is to eat 1 gram of protein per pound of your goal body weight. In other words, if your goal body weight is 150 pounds, eat about 150 grams of protein per day.

The type of protein you eat matters, too. The healthiest sources of protein are:

Seafood — Seafood is usually low in fat. Some fish, like salmon, is a little higher in fat, but it’s the heart-healthy kind, Omega-3 fatty acids.
Milk, cheese, cottage cheese, and yogurt — Dairy foods like milk, cheese, cottage cheese, and yogurt (especially Greek yogurt) are excellent sources of protein. They also contain calcium and many are fortified with vitamin D.
Poultry — Poultry like chicken and turkey are excellent sources of lean protein. The skin is high in saturated fat, so remove that before eating.
Eggs — Eggs are an affordable source of high-quality protein.
Beans — A half-cup of beans contains as much plant-based protein as an ounce of broiled steak. Plus, beans are affordable and are loaded with fiber.
Soy — Soy products like tofu and soy milk can be a major source of protein. Soy foods also contain all 9 essential amino acids in ample amounts, making soy similar to animal protein.
Lean beef — Lean beef doesn’t have that much more fat than skinless chicken breast. Lean beef also contains zinc, iron, and vitamin B12.
Protein powders and bars — To supplement your protein intake, you can grab a protein shake or protein bar. Check the label to make sure the product is low in sugar and saturated fat.

What About Fat and Carbohydrates?

As far as the other macronutrients — fat and carbohydrates — how much you eat of those is less important but make sure you eat enough of them to maintain your health and energy. For body recomposition, a good daily goal could be to get 40% of your calories from protein, 30% from carbs, and 30% from fats.

Not all carbs and fats are created equal, however.

Good Carbs vs. Bad Carbs

Refined carbs like white bread, white pasta, white rice, and sugar can be unhealthy in high amounts. It’s better to eat whole-grain products, vegetables, fruits, nuts, and beans. Focus on carbs like oatmeal, brown rice, almonds, walnuts, bananas, sweet potatoes, oranges, blueberries, apples, chickpeas, spinach, broccoli, and any other type of vegetable you desire.

Good Fats vs. Bad Fats

You should be careful with the types of fats you eat, too. The American Heart Association recommends that saturated fat should be limited to less than 10% of total fat intake.

Nutritious sources of monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fat include avocados, cheese, dark chocolate, fatty fish, whole eggs, nuts, extra virgin olive oil, and full-fat yogurt.

Stimulate Muscle Growth Through Resistance Training With Progressive Overload at the Gym

Strength training is essential to body recomposition. Training hard with heavy weights will help you to retain and gain muscle while you lose fat.

Strength training alone, however, is not enough. You need to apply a technique called “progressive overload.”

Whether you’re working out with barbells, dumbbells, kettlebells, or some other type of strength training equipment at the gym, progressive overload means you’re gradually increasing what you’re lifting, either in terms of weight or number of reps.

Your body adapts to stimulus, so you need to continually give it something new to adapt to, instead of performing the same number of reps doing the same exercises with the same weights.

If you’re just starting a strength training program at the gym, then you’ll likely experience rapid muscle growth that occurs when anyone begins lifting weights for the first time. If you’re already a more advanced weightlifter, then you’ll need to train harder to gain muscle.

Likewise, if you have a higher body-fat percentage and are new to strength training, you’ll probably make quicker progress than someone who is highly trained and leaner.

Age can also have an impact on how fast you’re able to build muscle tissue, as the mechanisms in your body that build muscle slow down as you get older. It’s still possible, though, as long as you’re patient and consistent with your strength training.

There’s No Reason to Overload on Cardio at the Gym

You might be thinking to lose fat, you need to do a ton of cardiovascular exercise, but that’s not always the case. Cardio does burn calories, which helps with that calorie deficit you’re going for. And there are many other benefits to cardiovascular workouts, but if you do too much, you could be more likely to lose lean muscle tissue.

Running and other strenuous cardio workouts put stress on your body which can interfere with muscle recovery, increase your appetite, and pound on your joints. These workouts aren’t necessarily bad, but there are better and easier options for your cardio workouts.

We do know that fat is used during low-intensity exercises like walking. When you’re trying to build muscle and lose fat, start by walking at least 10,000 steps per day and see how that works for you. There are also many other cardio machines at the gym you can choose from to get the cardio workouts you need to achieve your goals.

Try High-Intensity Strength Training at the Gym

In addition to cardio exercise, there are other ways to get your heart rate up to burn calories and build muscle at the gym.

AFAC gym offers a variety of group classes that combine high-intensity strength training circuits using light weights and high repetitions with bursts of cardio mixed in. Classes like Mixed Martial Arts, Tabata, Power Plate, Fit Soldiers 2.0 Boot Camp, Spin and More, Kickboxing, POP Mat Pilates, Circuit Training, Strength and Conditioning, and TRX are all great examples of classes at our gym that can help you build muscle and lose fat at the same time.

Combining cardio with strength training elevates your heart rate and keeps it elevated during the entire workout. Not only does this burn a lot of calories, but the calorie burn continues for several hours after class is over as your body works to rebuild muscle.

Being Patient With Body Recomposition at AFAC Gym

With a goal like body recomposition, being patient is important because you can’t measure your progress with the scale. You’re not just trying to lose weight — you’re trying to lose fat and gain muscle — which means the numbers on your bathroom scale could remain unchanged or go down very slowly. But, as body fat goes down and muscle increases, you’ll notice that your clothes will feel looser because muscle is denser than fat. And, since you’re a member of AFAC gym, you can take advantage of our body composition assessments to measure your progress.

Changing your body composition is a long journey, and you should be prepared for it to take some time. Fat loss won’t happen overnight, and building muscle takes even longer, so don’t rush it. Stick with your healthy, high-protein diet and strength training program and results will happen!

The great news is, AFAC gym is here to support you in your body recomposition goals. Our team of personal trainers can tailor a strength training and cardio program to get you where you want to be.

If you’d like more information about our strength training equipment, cardiovascular machines, and packed schedule of fitness classes, please stop by and speak to our team at AFAC gym. We can give you a tour and show you why we’re the best gym in Thornton, Colorado. For more information and assistance, you can also contact our gym owner, Susan, at 720-849-0245 or susan@adventurefitness.club.