同时减脂又增肌（身体重组）到底行不行

Body recomposition (sometimes called “body recomp” for short) is the term on everyone’s lips these days, for good reason. It promises the best of both worlds: lose fat and gain muscle at the same time, says Maura Donovan, MS, RD, registered dietitian and sports dietetics specialist. Sounds ideal…but is it possible?

It is, particularly if you’re new to exercise. “Those who are new to resistance training will be especially successful at losing fat mass while gaining muscle because the body adapts very quickly to new stimuli,” says Donovan. But, fear not, experienced lifters: You can still recomp, too. “You just might have to work a little harder,” she says.

Ahead, everything you need to know about making gains while cutting fat, no matter your experience level.

Meet the experts: Maura Donovan, MS, RD, CSSD is a registered dietitian and sports nutrition specialist with Thorne. Jason Machowsky, RD, CSCS, is an exercise physiologist and sports dietitian.

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

“It is possible to lose body fat while gaining muscle,” says Donovan. It just takes more strategy, patience, and planning. Really, the reason body recomp can be so tricky is because building muscle and losing fat require opposing energy strategies. In a classic bulk and cut approach, for example, you'd eat in a calorie surplus while focusing on strength training to bulk up, then shift into a calorie deficit to cut body fat. It's a two-phase system where you prioritize one goal at a time.

Body recomposition, on the other hand, aims to do both simultaneously. “To gain muscle, you need to eat more calories than you burn. To lose fat, you need to eat fewer,” Donovan says. Since these goals are metabolically at odds, recomping requires you to hover around your maintenance calories—eating enough to fuel your workouts and recovery, without tipping into a surplus.

“Body recomping effectively means maintaining your body weight while skewing your macronutrient intake toward protein, which helps build muscle,” she says. Translation: you’ll need to avoid aggressive calorie cuts, but follow a tight, protein-forward eating plan paired with smart strength training.

In addition to nailing your nutrition, strength training—obviously—is critical for body recomp. You’ll want to lift at least three times a week and going for progressively heavier weights as you get stronger. This principle—progressive overload—is essential for triggering muscle growth. “The key is to work your muscles hard enough to create exercise-induced micro-tears that the body can repair and build back stronger,” says exercise physiologist and board-certified sports dietitian Jason Machowsky, RD, CSCS. (That repair process is exactly where all that protein comes in!)

Tips for Achieving Body Recomp

Body recomping will require edits to your workout and diet—but these adjustments aren’t as straightforward as the standard ‘eat less, move more’ weight loss advice. Instead, as Donovan says, “it’s about modifying your diet to eat what your body needs for your goals…and also moving.” Here’s exactly what you should keep in mind.

1. Consume just enough calories.

There is a Goldilocks caloric intake as far as body recomposition is concerned. In order to put on muscle and show up to your strength sessions with sufficient energy, you need adequate calories, says Machowsky. Too restrictive a diet and you won’t have the fuel you need to really bring intensity to your workouts.

What’s more, because strength training shears micro tears into your muscles (yes, even if it isn’t the highest intensity lift session), your body won’t have the energy it needs to repair them so that you actually get stronger, he says. The result is the opposite of what you’re going for: You get weaker.

Not sure where to start? Try our Guide to Eating for Body Recomp

However, if you eat more calories than you can utilize throughout the day, you’ll wind up increasing fat mass. There is nothing wrong with that, but it doesn’t help you with the losing fat part of body recomp, if that is your goal.

So how do you find that ‘just right’ amount of calories? The best approach is to talk to a professional—whether that’s your doctor, a dietitian, or even a trainer to help figure out the right caloric intake for you. (And, BTW, research shows that muscle is a more metabolically active tissue than fat, so most people's maintenance calories go up as their lean mass does).

2. Eat plenty of protein.

In the wonderful world of body recomposition, not all macros are created equal. “Protein, carbs, and fat all go into your total daily caloric intake, but protein is the macronutrient most important for gaining muscle while reducing fat,” says Machowsky. Why? The body breaks protein down into smaller particles, called amino acids, that it then uses to repair (and build!) your muscle fibers, he says.

For those body recomping, Machowsky recommends consuming 0.8 to 1.0 grams of protein per pound of bodyweight. While you’ll likely still experience some strength gains getting just 0.6 grams per pound bodyweight, because protein is satiating, the higher end can keep you from calorie over-consumption, he says.

Just keep in mind that these protein intake guidelines might not work for everyone, he adds. If you have a condition (like chronic kidney disease), you might have protein intake restrictions that you should discuss with a doctor.

3. And, spread that protein intake throughout the day.

For a 200-pound person trying to recomp, their sweet-spot is 160 to 200 grams of protein daily. That’s no small potatoes! For reference, one egg has six grams, one ounce of chicken has eight grams, and a cup of Greek yogurt has 16 grams of protein.

It might sound obvious, but chipping away at that daily target throughout the day is much easier than cramming it all into dinner, Donovan says. “Try and aim for 20 to 30 grams of protein at breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and then 10 to 15 grams with each snack,” she says. A food scale and tracking app can help you pinpoint the amount of protein per nosh and keep you on track for your daily goals.

“If, through logging, you realize you're having trouble reaching your protein goals through foods like meat, poultry, fish, eggs, dairy products, nuts, seeds, and beans alone, utilizing a protein supplement can be helpful,” says Donovan.

5. Strength train regularly.

“For muscle growth you need to actually challenge your muscles,” says Machowsky. The way to do that? Strength training.

Following a program designed with body recomp in mind is the best route. In those programs, you can expect workouts that focus on progressive overload, compound movements, and working to muscular fatigue. (And, WH+ has plenty of trainer-designed ones that do just that.)

Get the WH+ Body Recomp Guide here

Overall, you’ll want to aim to work all major muscle groups at least two times per week, Machowsky suggests. “These can be done through two full-body strength workouts, or doing push-pull-legs workout splits.”

Common Body Recomp Mistakes to Avoid

1. Skimping on recovery.

Even if you’re nailing it in the gym and the kitchen, your progress will be stalled if you’re missing sleep or stressed out 24/7.

The body pumps out most of its muscle-supporting hormones (testosterone and growth hormone) at night, so getting seven to nine quality hours per night is an important piece of the body recomp puzzle, per Machowsky.

Additionally, whether it’s through yoga, meditation, or therapy, keeping your stress hormones like cortisol low is also non-negotiable. “If your body is constantly stressed—or in a fight or flight mode—it will be much harder for your body to lose body fat and build muscle,” because your endocrine (hormone) system will be out of whack, says Donovan.

2. Expecting fast progress.

Patience is a body recomposition virtue—perhaps, the most important. “It won’t happen overnight, it won’t happen in a week, it probably won’t even happen in a month,” says Donovan. In fact, it’s normal for body recomp to take months. But—and this is important—it will eventually happen if you stick with your diet and gym, she says. Another silver lining: it doesn’t happen all at once. Before you see major muscle definition, you’ll see evidence of increased strength, added energy, and more in earlier stages, per previous WH reporting.

Unfortunately, it is common for people to stray from the body composition results formula—that’s adequate calories with a focus on protein and strength training—when results don’t happen overnight and cut caloric intake further.

The issue? Eating too little encourages your body to think you’re staving it, which leads it to hold onto whatever body fat you currently have and store any incoming calories as fat. Too little calories will short how hard you can hit your workouts, which slashes calorie burn. In sum, stay the course or risk self-sabotage.

3. Not hydrating enough.

“Maintaining adequate hydration is helpful for body recomp goals, as proper hydration helps keep our joints lubricated, reducing the risk of injury, and ensures food moves through our system regularly,” says Donovan. Additionally, people are more likely to overeat calories and non-protein macronutrients when they are thirsty as “proper hydration enhances your ability to properly identify hunger and fullness cues,” she says

The National Academy of Medicine recommends a daily intake of 11.5 and 15.5 cups daily for women and men, respectively. Additional intake may be necessary if you sweat a lot while you exercise or live in a warm climate.

How to Tell If Your Body Recomp Plan Is Working

How you feel, look, and move and all better indicators of successful body recomposition than the scale. “Muscle is more dense than fat which means that one pound of muscle takes up less space,” says Machowsky. Meaning, as you lose weight and put on muscle, you could have a less body fat while still weighing the same—or ever more, he says.

Basically, consider this your permission to put your scale away. It just isn’t going to tell you much about your progress. Instead, pay attention to performance-based metrics like a higher one-rep max and increased endurance and stamina, or personal ones like higher confidence and better energy.

Still, if you’re looking to put a number to something, Machowsky suggests tracking how your hip or waist circumference measures or clothing size change each month. You can also utilize body composition measurement tools like skinfold calipers, hydrostatic weighing, or in-body scans, which are offered at most fitness, healthcare, and nutrition facilities, he says.

However you measure, keep in mind that body recomp is a journey—and you’ve got this.

Gabrielle Kassel (she/her) is a sex and wellness journalist who writes at the intersection of queerness, sexual health, and pleasure. In addition to Women’s Health, her work has appeared in publications such as Shape, Cosmopolitan, Well+Good, Health, Self, Men’s Health, Greatist, and more! In her free time, Gabrielle can be found coaching CrossFit, reviewing pleasure products, hiking with her border collie, or recording episodes of the podcast she co-hosts called