Can You Lose Fat and Gain Muscle at the Same Time? Yes, Here's How

Body recomposition isn't about weight loss; it's about fat loss. Because muscle is denser than fat, you may maintain your current weight or even gain weight on a body recomposition plan.

Weight loss isn't the primary goal with body composition, so you can ditch the scale because it doesn't differentiate between fat loss and muscle loss.

Body recomposition comes down to your specific health and fitness goals.

Basic guidelines to successfully change your body composition:

• Cardiovascular exercise for fat loss
• Resistance (weight) training to build muscle
• The overall decrease in calorie consumption to lose fat
• Increased protein intake to promote muscle formation

Fat loss is about your calorie maintenance. To lose fat, you must eat fewer calories than you burn. The best technique for fat loss is cardiovascular exercise or combined cardio and resistance exercise and a healthy diet.

A sustainable way to lose fat is to have realistic goals and not deprive your body of its nutrients.

Focus on two main factors:

1. Weight training. Your muscles won't grow if you don't challenge them.
2. Protein consumption. You must eat more calories than you burn to promote muscle growth. Protein is essential for building muscle. Without it, your body will struggle to repair the muscle tissues that get broken down during weight training. 

Figure out your maintenance calories - how many calories you burn on a day you don't exercise. Use a certified personal trainer, dietitian or an online calorie calculator.

• On days that you do cardio exercise, consume enough calories to meet your maintenance number. It ensures that you're in a slight deficit to promote fat loss.
• On days that you do a strength training workout for 30 minutes or more, eat 5% to 15% more calories than your maintenance number with a focus on protein. 
• On days that you don't work out at all, eat 5 % to 15%  less than your maintenance calories.