Body recomposition plan

How to do body recomposition, step by step

A deficit is optional. Start with estimated maintenance as a reference, then choose an intake that supports your goal and training. Review weight, waist, strength and recovery over several weeks before adjusting. A slight surplus may support growth, but fat loss is less predictable and measured-surplus evidence is limited.

Updated September 2026

Step 1: Find your maintenance calories first

Maintenance is the number of calories that holds your current weight steady, and it is the anchor every other step is measured against, so estimate it before touching any deficit. This whole protocol is one chapter of the wider body recomposition guide.

There are two ways to get it. A bodyweight-and-height formula gives you a starting estimate instantly, or a guess-and-check method tracks two weeks of intake and weight change to back-calculate it from your real response. A formula gives you a number today but is generic; guess-and-check is tuned to your body but takes about two weeks. Either is fine as long as you end up with a believable maintenance figure.

Maintenance changes with body composition and activity. Use the TDEE calculator for a starting estimate, then refine it with several weeks of intake and weight data.

Step 2: Calories around maintenance

Recomposition means losing fat and gaining muscle over the same period. A deficit is optional. Training, protein, recovery and starting body composition influence the response; no calorie target guarantees both changes.

A deficit can help prioritize fat loss, but larger deficits tend to limit lean-mass gains. Maintenance or a slight surplus may better support training and growth in some people, with less predictable fat loss. There is no universal percentage where recomposition starts or stops.

Use the recomposition calculator for a starting estimate. Its current model chooses maintenance or a deficit, so it does not cover every possible recomposition approach. Review training, recovery and measurements before changing intake.

Target

Maintenance · 2,500 kcal

Daily target

2,250 kcal

vs maintenance

−250 kcal

Resting
1,55062%
Movement
70028%
Digestion
25010%

The marker illustrates a 10 percent deficit. This is one possible starting point when fat loss is the priority. Recomposition can also occur around estimated maintenance or in a slight surplus; the diagram does not define its limits.

Step 3: Set the protein floor that protects muscle

Use estimated maintenance to choose a calorie target, pair it with progressive resistance training and aim for about 1.6 to 2.2 g of protein per kg of body weight daily. Protein needs vary, especially during a deficit. Review progress and recovery before adjusting calories.

Prioritize complete protein sources that carry all nine essential amino acids. Animal sources pack the most muscle-building punch per gram; vegans can hit the same target by pairing sources or using a rice-and-pea blend. The amino acid leucine is the trigger for muscle protein synthesis, and the per-meal threshold to maximize that response runs around 0.045 g of leucine per kg of bodyweight.

Set your daily gram target with the protein calculator, then carry that number into the macro split in Step 4.

Step 4: Fill the macro split with carbs and fat

Set calories for your goal, then allocate protein and dietary fat. Carbohydrate fills the remaining calories and supports training. Recomposition does not require a deficit or a particular carbohydrate limit.

Do not strip fat to zero. Dietary fat is needed to support natural anabolic hormone levels, including testosterone, and very low-fat intakes can suppress them and hinder progress. Spread your daily protein across 4 to 6 meals roughly 3 to 5 hours apart so each feeding triggers muscle protein synthesis, rather than skewing it all into one or two large meals.

Build the full daily split, protein plus carbs plus fat, with the macro calculator so the numbers add up to your Step 2 calorie target.

Step 5: Train progressively

Three to four resistance sessions per week can be one workable routine. Choose a frequency you can recover from and progress over time. Resistance training provides the muscle-building stimulus for recomposition.

Add a little every weekProgressive overload is the core rule: do measurably more over time by adding load, adding reps at the same load, adding sets, or improving technique, so the muscle always has a reason to grow.
Hit the right volume and rep rangeMost muscle groups respond to roughly 10 to 20 working sets per week, with most working sets landing in a practical 6 to 15 rep range and 1 to 3 reps left in reserve on compound lifts.
Train each muscle about twice a weekTrain each muscle about twice a week rather than once. Upper/lower or full-body splits hit that frequency far better than a one-muscle-per-day bro split.
Lead with compound liftsEmphasize compound, multi-joint movements (squat, press, row, pull, hinge) for the most muscle worked per set, then add isolation work for lagging areas. Beginners, returning detrained lifters, and higher-body-fat individuals get the most out of this protocol; their physiology recomposes fastest.

Step 6: Track weekly signals and adjust

Fat loss and muscle gain can partly offset each other on the scale. Your weight may fall, stay similar or rise, depending on the size of each change. Stable weight alone does not prove recomposition; assess it alongside body measurements and training progress. See also: body fat calculator, waist-to-height ratio.

Measurable changes can appear within weeks, while visible changes often take months. The pace varies with training experience, starting point, intake and recovery. Compare weight and waist trends with training progress rather than expecting a fixed date.

Adjust off the trend, not off one bad day. If the weekly trend and measurements stall in the wrong direction, nudge calories by re-running Step 1 and Step 2, since maintenance drifts as your body changes. Hold the protein floor steady through every adjustment. You change calories by moving carbs and fat, not by cutting the protein that protects your muscle.

Let the app run Step 6 for you

Recomp AI brings your food log, weight trend and body measurements together. Review them alongside your training progress to decide whether your calorie target needs adjusting. Stable weight alone does not show whether you lost fat or gained muscle.

Download on the App Store

How to do body recomposition: questions

How should I set calories for recomposition?

How much protein do I need for body recomp?

Hold protein at 1.6 to 2.2 g per kilogram of bodyweight per day, every day, even as you adjust calories. Protein supplies the building blocks for muscle, blunts hunger in a deficit, and costs the most energy to digest. Spreading it across 4 to 6 meals helps: a controlled study found that a higher-protein diet eaten across six meals a day produced the greatest body fat loss and was the only group to gain lean mass (Arciero et al., Obesity, 2013).

Can you build muscle and lose fat at the same time?

Yes, fat loss and muscle gain can occur over the same period. Training experience, starting body fat, protein and calorie intake influence the response. It is usually easier to add muscle when new to training or returning after a break, but results vary.

How often should I train for body recomposition?

Three to four progressive resistance sessions per week can be a workable routine, but no single frequency is required. Train major muscle groups regularly, allow recovery and progress load, reps or sets over time. Schoenfeld, Ogborn and Krieger (Journal of Sports Sciences, 2017) found a relationship between weekly training volume and muscle growth; that study does not establish an exact session count.