Body recomposition is the process of reducing body fat while increasing lean muscle mass at the same time. According to MyFitnessPal registered dietitian, Joanna Gregg, a successful body recomposition plan combines adequate protein intake (typically 1.6–2.2 grams per kilogram of body weight) (7), progressive resistance training (2), and strategic calorie management.
You can lose fat and build muscle at the same time by eating in a modest calorie deficit while keeping protein high enough to protect lean tissue, and by consistently challenging your muscles with progressive resistance training (2). That combination lets your body draw on stored fat for energy while still supplying the amino acids and training stimulus it needs to build new muscle.
What Is Body Recomposition?
Think of body recomposition as a deep dive into your body’s health. Instead of setting goals around how much you weigh, the recomposition method aims to build muscle and shed fat by changing your habits and diet.
To do this, you’ll need to focus on your body’s composition (3), which covers lean muscle mass, body fat, and more. You can gauge this by measuring your abdominal circumference, skinfold thickness, and stature (3).
Rather than set your sights on direct weight loss, a body recomposition plan aims to help you eat healthier, build strength, and use stored body fat as fuel while building muscle.
This long-term process often incorporates additional practices (4), such as prioritizing high-protein meals with less fat.
Finding the right diet and workout strategy for body recomposition may take some trial and adjustment, but tracking progress this way is generally more accurate than relying on the scale alone (5). That’s because, by volume, muscle is denser than fat (3).
So, for example, you could lose 5 pounds of fat and gain 5 pounds of muscle and see little to no change on the scale, but your body composition might look and feel completely different.
Try MyFitnessPal’s Free Macro Calculator for Your Body Recomposition Plan
Ready to put a plan together? MyFitnessPal’s free macro calculator sets a calorie target and a protein/carb/fat breakdown built around your body recomposition goals. Adjust it as your body composition changes to keep your numbers on track. To create your own body recomposition calculator, pair it with the protein calculator if you also want to fine-tune your protein target on its own.
Goal-Specific Macro Guidance
Protein needs for the recomposition method generally fall within the 1.6–2.2 g/kg range (7). These are practical starting points and not rigid rules. Where you land depends on how active you are, your current body composition, and how your body responds:
By activity level (practical starting points)
- Sedentary or lightly active: toward the lower end of the range, around 1.6–1.8 g/kg per day
- Moderately active (3–4 training sessions per week): the middle of the range, around 1.8–2.0 g/kg per day
- Highly active (5+ sessions per week or intense training blocks): toward the upper end, around 2.0–2.2 g/kg per day
By body fat percentage bracket (practical starting points)
- Higher body fat (about 20%+ for men, 34%+ for women): the lower end of the protein range is usually a good place to start. (23)
- Moderate body fat (about 8–19% for men, 21–33% for women, which is the typical range for this age group): the middle of the range works well. (23)
- Lower body fat or more advanced trainees (below about 8% for men, 21% for women): lean toward the upper end (up to 2.2 g/kg). This is a common approach for protecting hard-earned muscle while you’re in a deficit. (23)
“As clients lean out or increase training intensity, I typically recommend higher protein intake within the range. That extra protein becomes the key factor separating muscle preservation from muscle loss during a deficit.” — Joanna Gregg, MS, RD
How Does Body Recomposition Work?
A body recomposition plan is a long-term process of shifting your body’s balance from fat toward muscle (4), and it requires full commitment across your nutrition, fitness, and other lifestyle choices.
Remember, every person’s body composition is unique,so there’s no universal recomposition process. Some people aim for a toned physique, while others want a slim, muscular build. Whatever your goals are, body recomposition is all about balancing your body mass in a healthy way.
Consider your own body and goals. Ask yourself what you’d like to get out of your new body recomposition diet and fitness routine now, and then a year from now.
For instance, if you want to build muscle quickly, you might start by prioritizing weight training and adequate calories, then shift toward more cardio and a calorie deficit (7).
Finding a healthy balance between fat reduction and muscle growth may take time. Your body may respond differently to training and diet, so be ready to readjust your routine. For example, consider adding more calories and protein to your body recomposition diet if you lose both fat and muscle weight.
Body Recomposition Key Principles
How to Lose Fat
Aerobic and cardio exercise can support fat loss as part of an overall training plan. That said, research directly comparing training types found resistance, aerobic, and combined training produced fairly similar effects on body-fat percentage in metabolically healthy adults (8). The right mix often comes down to what you’ll actually stick with and how well it fits around your recovery.
When looking at a body recomposition diet, a small, sustainable calorie deficit works better for fat loss than crash dieting. Larger, more aggressive deficits tend to increase the share of weight loss that comes from lean tissue rather than fat, especially in leaner people (6), while exercise during a deficit has been shown to help preserve lean mass and performance (9). Tools like MyFitnessPal’s macro calculator can help you find a deficit that supports fat loss without derailing your muscle gains.
How to Build Muscle
Getting enough protein can support improvement in lean body mass and help with muscle maintenance. (10). Staying above the minimum recommended dietary allowance (11) for protein, and closer to the 1.6–2.2 g/kg range above (7), gives your body the raw material it needs to build muscle rather than just meeting baseline needs.
Good high-protein staples to build a body recomposition diet around include chicken, turkey, fish, eggs, beans, Greek yogurt, cottage cheese, tofu, and edamame.
However, weight and resistance training is what actually drives muscle gain and strength (12).
Protein alone won’t build muscle without a training stimulus. The key principle is progressive overload (2): gradually increasing weight, reps, or training volume over time so your muscles keep adapting. Many body recomposition workout plans combine resistance training with cardio to support both muscle growth and fat loss. (1)
Can You Lose Fat and Gain Muscle at the Same Time?
Yes, this is exactly what body recomposition is designed to do. If you lose fat and gain muscle in roughly equal amounts, the scale may show little or no change. But because muscle is denser than fat (3), your body may look and measure differently at the same weight. It’s slower and less linear than a pure cut or bulk, which is why tracking body composition (not just weight) matters more here than in almost any other approach (3,5).
How Long Does Body Recomposition Take?
There’s no single timeline. Expect a range rather than a fixed number of weeks. Most people notice changes in how their clothes fit or how they look in the mirror before the scale moves at all, so don’t judge progress by weight alone.
Your starting point matters. A review of body recomposition research found that meaningful muscle gain alongside fat loss has been documented in calorie deficits and in calorie surpluses, challenging the traditional idea that you have to choose between a bulk or a cut.
That said, research varies on whether untrained or novice individuals see faster results than trained individuals and results vary a lot from person to person (1,13). Generally, treat “beginners are fastest” as a typical pattern, not a guarantee.
Body recomposition is generally a slower process than a dedicated cut or bulk, simply because you’re optimizing two things (fat loss and muscle gain) at once instead of one at a time. Expect plateaus and non-linear progress along the way; this is normal, not a sign that the recomposition method “isn’t working.” Tracking your calories and macros consistently is often the only way to confirm real progress is happening when the scale isn’t telling the full story.
“Give it more time than you think you’ll need. Body recomposition is a slow, steady process–not something that happens overnight. I tell clients to look for changes at the 8-to-12-week mark, not the 8-to-12-day mark, and to expect the process to take longer if they’re already lean or experienced.” — Joanna Gregg, MS, RD
Body Recomposition Works Best For…
A body recomposition plan isn’t the right fit for every goal, but it tends to work especially well for:
- Beginners: a dedicated review of body recomposition research found that untrained or novice trainees can build meaningful muscle even while in a calorie deficit during their first year of training. This is an effect that fades as training experience increases (1).
- People returning after a break: there’s emerging evidence for “muscle memory”. This is the idea that previously trained muscles may respond and rebuild faster than building it from scratch. Keep in mind though the research is still evolving and how much it speeds things up varies by person (21).
- Higher starting body fat: research suggests that people with more starting body fat tend to preserve more lean tissue during a deficit compared to leaner people (6). This can make it a bit easier to hang onto (and build) muscle while still losing fat, though it’s not a guarantee.
If you’re newer to tracking altogether, our guide on using MyFitnessPal for weight loss covers the basics of logging that a body recomposition plan builds on.
| Cutting | Bulking | Body Recomp | |
| Calorie target | Deficit (~15–25% below maintenance)* | Surplus (~10–20% above maintenance) (7) | Maintenance to a slight deficit (~100–200 kcal/day below) (1) |
| Protein target | 1.8–2.2 g/kg (1) | 1.6–1.8 g/kg (7) | 1.6–2.2 g/kg, upper end favored (7,1) |
| Training focus | Resistance training to preserve muscle + cardio for extra burn | Progressive overload resistance training | Progressive resistance training + moderate cardio |
| Timeline | Weeks to a few months* | Several months to a year or more* | Typically slower than a dedicated cut or bulk — often several months or longer* |
| Ideal user | Higher body fat wanting faster, visible fat loss | Lower body fat wanting to maximize muscle gain | Beginners, returning trainees, or anyone with moderate-to-higher body fat who wants both at once |
Body Recomposition Diet: Key Nutritional Rules
- Spread protein across 3–4 meals: distributing protein across the day, rather than back-loading it into one meal, supports muscle building. Aim for roughly 20–40 grams per meal as a solid target for most people (14).
- Favor a small, sustainable deficit over crash dieting: larger deficits tend to increase the share of weight loss that comes from lean tissue, especially in leaner people (6), while exercise can help preserve lean mass even during a caloric deficit (9). A modest, consistent deficit gets you there without working against your training.
- Time some protein or carbs around training (optional): eating protein and carbs before or after your workout can support recovery and performance, though total daily intake matters more than exact timing.
- Don’t overlook hydration and fiber: they’re supporting factors in body recomposition, not headline rules, but staying hydrated and getting enough fiber help regulate appetite and digestion while you’re adjusting your calories and protein.
Not sure which foods get you to your protein target fastest? Check our chart of protein content in foods for a quick reference.
Workout Plan for Muscle Gain and Fat Loss
A practical starting point for any body recomposition workout plan is 3–4 resistance training days plus 2 cardio or conditioning days per week, with at least one full rest day. Treat this as a flexible template rather than a fixed prescription. Research on training frequency suggests your total weekly training volume and experience level matter more than hitting an exact number of sessions (15), so scale it up or down as needed: fewer weekly sessions per muscle group for beginners, more for advanced trainees.
Whatever split you use, progressive overload (2) is what drives the muscle-building side of the recomposition method: gradually adding weight, reps, or sets over time. On the fat-loss side, place cardio so it doesn’t eat into your recovery between resistance sessions (for example, on separate days or after lifting rather than immediately before it).
If you’re building toward a heavier training phase later, our guide to tracking macros while bulking is a useful next step. And if you’d rather follow a plan than build one from scratch, MyFitnessPal’s in-app body recomposition workout routines (including full-body burn and stretch-and-strengthen sessions) are built around these same principles.
“Sustainability beats intensity. Training three or four times a week, consistently, for months will always outperform an occasional five or six-day week you can’t maintain. “ — Joanna Gregg, MS, RD
Potential Benefits of Changing Your Body Composition
Like any health journey, following a body recomposition plan has the potential to improve your life and health in countless ways. Some of the benefits of body recomposition include:
- Mobility and strength: Healthy muscle gain improves your strength and physical capabilities, and in studies of athletic populations, resistance training specifically has been shown to cut the risk of sports and overuse injuries (16).
- Improved metabolism: Muscle tissue burns more energy at rest than fat tissue does, so a higher muscle mass modestly raises your resting metabolic rate (17). This means you’ll naturally burn a bit more throughout the day, even at rest.
- Lower risks of health concerns: Muscle-strengthening activity has been linked to a lower future risk of type 2 diabetes in a large study of women (18). Strength training has also been linked to lower insulin resistance in a study of men. However, that link showed up only in men, came from a single-point-in-time (cross-sectional) study rather than one that tracked people over time, and body composition didn’t appear to explain the connection in that data (19). Resistance exercise may also benefit several aspects of immune cell function, though effects vary by outcome and training protocol (20). These are associations, not guarantees of disease prevention.
- Confidence: Tracking body composition instead of just the scale can help you notice real progress (like losing fat and building muscle at the same time) that weight alone would hide. Recognizing that kind of progress can be motivating in its own right.
Bottom Line
Body recomposition means building muscle and losing fat at the same time, using protein intake(generally 1.6–2.2 g/kg) (7), a modest and sustainable calorie approach (1), and consistent progressive resistance training (2) as your three main levers.
It’s typically slower and less linear than a dedicated cut or bulk, since you’re working toward two goals at once. Expect a matter of months, not weeks, and judge progress by how you look, feel, and perform rather than by the scale alone, since muscle is denser than fat and the scale can’t tell the two apart (3,5).
It tends to work best for beginners (1), people returning after time off (21), and anyone starting with moderate-to-higher body fat (6), though the same principles apply at any starting point with enough patience.
Tracking food and exercise in MyFitnessPal can make it easier to monitor your protein, calories, and training consistency over time. These are the three things that matter most for successful body recomposition.
Balancing your body recomposition diet and exercise goals can inform and motivate you when you’re just getting started. And, when in doubt, MyFitnessPal can help.
Frequently Asked Questions: Body Recomposition
- What is body recomposition?
It shifts goals from weight to body makeup, aiming to build muscle and reduce fat by changing habits and diet.
- Is the process the same for everyone?
No. Every body is unique. Goals vary, and routines may need readjustment over time.
- What eating approach supports muscle growth?
Choose protein-rich foods like chicken, turkey, fish, eggs, beans, Greek yogurt, cottage cheese, tofu, and edamame. Hitting a daily protein target is one of the key pillars of muscle growth, alongside resistance training (10).
- What workouts help with body recomposition?
Cardio can support fat loss as part of an overall plan (8), while weight and resistance training drives the strength and muscle-building side (12). Many plans blend both.
- Does body recomposition actually work?
Yes, resistance training has been shown to increase muscle mass in healthy adults (13), and a dedicated review of body recomposition research confirms it’s achievable even in a calorie deficit, especially for newer trainees (1). It’s typically a slower process than a dedicated cut or bulk, and how quickly any one person sees results varies; research is mixed on whether beginners consistently see faster results than experienced trainees.
- Can I recomp at 20% body fat?
Possibly. Whether the recomposition method is realistic for you depends on your training history, protein intake, calorie target, consistency, and how your body fat was measured. It’s not about hitting one specific body-fat number.
- What are signs of successful body recomposition?
Clothes fitting differently, visible muscle tone, strength gains in the gym, and a lower body fat percentage. These are signs to pay attention to even if your scale weight barely changes. Progress photos and body composition measurements typically show change well before the scale does, since muscle is denser than fat (3) and the scale itself can’t tell the two apart (5).
- Can MyFitnessPal help with body recomposition?
Yes. Logging your food and exercise can help makes it easier to hit a consistent protein target and a sustainable calorie deficit. These are the two main nutrition pieces of the body recomposition puzzle. Meanwhile, MyFitnessPal’s macro calculator and in-app workouts can support the training side.
Originally published November 1, 2017; Updated August 2026
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