Body recomposition — losing fat while gaining muscle — sounds too good to be true, but it's realistic for certain people.

Who it works best for

• Beginners to strength training.
• People returning after a break.
• Those with higher body fat.
• Anyone improving their protein intake and training quality significantly.

Experienced, lean lifters usually progress faster with distinct bulking and cutting phases.

How to set it up

1. Calories: eat at maintenance or a small deficit of 200–300 kcal.
2. Protein: around 1.8–2.2g per kg of body weight.
3. Training: progressive strength training three to four times a week — gradually lifting more weight or doing more reps.
4. Sleep: 7–9 hours to support recovery.

How to measure progress

The scale may barely move during a recomp, which confuses many people. Track these instead:

• Waist measurement (decreasing).
• Strength in key lifts (increasing).
• Progress photos every 2–4 weeks in the same lighting.
• How clothes fit.

Mealify's progress page has a before/after photo slider for exactly this reason.