🧬 Science-Based Education

What It Means: Body recomposition means losing fat and building muscle at the same time. Historically, people didn't think it was possible to lose fat and build muscle simultaneously due to "metabolic antagonism", but recent research proves otherwise.

Who Can Do It: Studies show this works for many different people: teenagers, people who don't exercise much, people that are overweight, older adults, and even athletes.

How It's Measured: Scientists use special body scans and tests to accurately measure how much fat and muscle you have. These tools help track your progress beyond just weight.

Key Finding: Research shows you can lose fat even when eating enough calories, and you can build muscle even when eating fewer calories. This challenges old ideas about how our bodies work.

The Science: Research shows you can lose fat and gain muscle at the same time, even when your total weight doesn't change. Women's weight can go up and down by about 0.5 kg during their period due to water retention.

Muscle vs. Fat: Muscle weighs more than fat for the same size. This means your body can be getting stronger and leaner, even if the scale shows the same number or even moves up a little.

Why Weight Fluctuates: Your weight changes daily because of hormones, how much salt you eat, how many carbs you eat, and how much water your body holds.

Best Way to Track: Weigh yourself daily to see patterns throughout your cycle. This helps you see real progress that water weight might hide.

How Much You Need: Studies show you need 1.6-2.2 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight each day. Some research suggests even more (2.4-3.4g per kg) for advanced results in body recomposition.

Starting Point: Aim for 1.6-2.2 grams per kilogram of your body weight as a good starting point. Spread this across all your meals throughout the day.

Spread It Out: Try to get 20-35 grams of good quality protein at every meal, for example from chicken, fish, eggs, dairy, beans, nuts, oats, or from protein powders. Eating protein evenly throughout the day helps your body use it better.

After Exercise: Eat protein within 2 hours after your workout. This helps your muscles recover and grow stronger.

When Eating Less: Getting enough protein is especially important when you're eating fewer calories. It helps you keep your muscle build while losing fat.

Strength Training: This is essential for building muscle and keeping it when you're eating fewer calories. Moderate and lighter strength training works especially well.

How Often: Do strength training 2-4 times per week, and gradually increase the difficulty over time.

Mix It Up: High-intensity circuit training gives you both cardio and strength benefits. High-intensity interval training (HIIT) works well alone or with weight training. Mixing different types of exercise gives better results.

Recovery: Women often recover faster and can work the same muscle groups more often than men. Use this to your advantage by repeating a training session 2-3 times a week.

Intensity Matters: When you're eating fewer calories, very intense workouts can make it harder to keep your muscle. Moderate intensity works better for body recomposition.

Key Finding: Research shows that combining moderate or lighter strength training or cardio with eating fewer calories helps you lose fat while keeping muscle. This works better than just cutting calories alone.

Your Period's Impact: Research shows women gain an average of 0.45 kg during their period due to water retention. Up to 90% of women experience weight change because of hormone shifts throughout the month.

Hormonal Cycle Phases

• Follicular phase: Lower appetite, more stable energy
• Ovulation: Best for peak performance
• Luteal phase: Higher appetite (need 100-300 extra calories), more cravings, harder to lose fat
• Menstruation: Water retention is highest, bloating is common

If You Have PCOS: PCOS affects how your body uses insulin and regulates hormone levels, which can make losing fat harder. Focus on balanced meals with enough protein, eat plenty of fiber, and stay active consistently.

For Active Women: Studies show that eating too little for too long while training hard can cause serious problems. This includes a slower metabolism and altered hormone levels that may not fully recover even after 12 weeks of eating more.

What Research Shows: A Stanford study of 60 people found that fitness trackers measure heart rate pretty accurately (within 5%), but they're often wrong about calories burned - off by 27-52% on average. Some studies show they can overestimate calories by as much as 27-93%.

Why They're Not Perfect: Everyone's body is different - your metabolism, fitness level, body type, and even where you wear the device affects accuracy. Trackers use general formulas that don't account for your specific body or exactly how hard you're working.

How to Use Them: Use trackers to compare your activity day to day (more active vs. less active) rather than trusting exact numbers. Focus on staying consistent rather than hitting specific calorie targets.

Why Extreme Diets Don't Work: Eating too few calories and doing too much cardio can cause muscle loss, slow your metabolism, and make you more likely to gain weight back. Studies show women who lose weight too fast are more likely to experience menstrual irregularities and hormone imbalances.

The Yo-Yo Effect: Research on female athletes shows that repeatedly losing and gaining weight can be harmful. When you diet extremely, your body slows down your metabolism to conserve energy. After the diet ends, rapid weight gain often happens as your body tries to recover.

What Research Shows About Athletes: Studies on female athletes in physique sports focused on aesthetics (like fitness competitions) show they often go through cycles of extreme dieting, followed by rapid weight gain afterward. This pattern can affect metabolism and hormone levels, sometimes taking months to recover even after returning to normal eating.

Better Approach: Gradual, sustainable approaches work better for long-term health, combining eating fewer calories with exercise to keep muscle mass.