The Recomp Guide

"I want to be leaner, tighter, more defined, but not bulky."

That's not weight loss. That's body recomposition: losing fat and building muscle at the same time. It's not only possible, it's what I coach all my clients through.

▶ Watch: How to Body Recomp (and why you've probably been doing the opposite without realizing it)

When you stop dieting and start building, everything changes. Here are the 3 phases every one of my clients goes through to recomp. Read this before you start another "new plan" on Monday.

Build

This is the boring part, and it's the part everyone skips. Before we chase anything, we build the habits you can keep on a bad week:

• Protein at every meal
• 3 workouts a week
• Your daily steps
• Real sleep

No extreme deficit. No 6-day split. No cutting out carbs. The goal here isn't intensity. It's consistency. Because a perfect plan you quit in week three is worth less than a simple one you actually follow.

Push

Once the basics are on autopilot, now we push. Progressive overload: more weight, more reps, better form, every week. Nutrition gets dialed in around your training.

This is where the recomp actually happens: fat comes off, muscle comes on, and your body starts changing shape even when the scale barely moves.

This is also where most women panic and go back to cardio and salads. Don't. Go by your measurements, your photos and your strength numbers, not the scale.

Level Up

This is the phase nobody talks about. Results stop being something you chase and start being who you are. You don't need motivation to train, it's just what you do. You know how to eat at a restaurant, on vacation, on a bad day, without starting over. You trust yourself.

That's the real transformation. Not a number. A woman who doesn't need to start over anymore.

Autopilot vs. intentional

Where are you right now?

Most women I talk to are trying to jump straight to Phase 2 (or 3!) without ever building Phase 1. That's why it keeps falling apart.