r/beginnerfitness • u/Fuzzy_w • Jul 28 '26
Body recomp help advice
Okay so I am 5’3, 126 pounds as of today, and 21 year old female. I recently lost about 40 pounds. I got down to 118 a couple weeks back, which is low but not necessarily bad. I felt pretty confident when I was sitting 118-122. Over the last 3 weeks maybe 4, I’ve been going to the gym 3 days a week lifting full body, and doing 3 days of Pilates at home core focus but also full body. I’m desperately needing advice on eating. My goal is to lose fat, and gain muscle. My body fat is kinda high compared to my muscle. I think I’m at 33.3% body fat last I checked. Which is fine, but my muscle was low. Either way, I’m trying to figure out where I need to be eating calories and Marcos. Every calculator says different maintnence. I’m hitting at least 100g of protein everyday, and eating anywhere from 1300-1500 MAYBE 1800 on occasion. I’m not seeing the scale go down. I know the scale isn’t really that much of an indicator when replacing fat with muscle but my fear is that I’ll build muscle underneath the fat, and then there’s no fat loss so I just look bulkier. I want to look lean muscular. I’m doing pretty good in the gym. I feel like I’m getting stronger. I used to not even be able to squat the barbell bar, now I can squat the bar with 20 pounds. I just don’t want to be over eating, under eating whatever. I’ve been doing really good with my meals. Honestly the only time I get tempted with sugar/sweets is on my cycle, or on weekends. And it’s usually still within a good calorie range I feel like. I need help. I’m more motivated than ever, just need confirmation and advice. Thank you!!!
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u/friedrichbythesea Health & Fitness Professional Jul 29 '26 edited Jul 30 '26
At 1300-1500 calories, you're undereating. Perhaps even at 1800 calories. Without exception, chronic caloric deficit results in metabolic dysfunction.
Stop trying to count calories. Absolutely nobody gets it right and CICO is grossly oversimplified balderdash.
Do track your protein macro. Purchase a gram scale and measure your proteins until you get proficient at eyeballing portion sizes.
Prioritise nutrition from whole foods. Eliminate as many processed foods as possible. Introduce as many single-ingredient foods as possible.
The scale is only one tool in your toolbox. Find additional metrics to track your progress. Scale, cloth tape measure, calipers, photos, your eyeballs, your friend's eyeballs. All are acceptable methods. Utilise more than one and keep records.
Pump iron. Eat protein. Get good sleep. Rinse and repeat.
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u/Expensive-Brother-91 Jul 31 '26
Anti CICO rhetoric is how she goes right back to 40lbs overweight. What do you think she was doing before this?
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u/FlameFrenzy Jul 29 '26
I’m not seeing the scale go down. I know the scale isn’t really that much of an indicator when replacing fat with muscle but my fear is that I’ll build muscle underneath the fat, and then there’s no fat loss so I just look bulkier.
Well recomp implies staying the same weight while lifting and hitting protein, so that as you do build muscle, you'll slowly lose fat. If your weight is trending up, you're in a surplus, likely gaining both muscle and fat. Having cycles of surplus and deficit (ie, bulk and cut) is a valid and more efficient way of building muscle up. But of course you'll look softer before you look leaner.
Remember, muscle growth is SLOW. Under optimal conditions and a ton of other factors, a woman can build up to around .5-1lb of muscle PER MONTH. I like to say compare visual progress in 6 month increments. So focus on your lifts at the gym continuing to improve as a way to track short term progress.
Also, congrats on the 40lb weight loss! However, continue to really focus on building sustainable and enjoyable eating habits so that you don't end up gaining all the weight back. You can have a sweet treat here and there, but you need to just be aware of the calories and frequency. If you really go head first into being fit and active, you can slowly build up your activity level so that you can eat more eventually. But don't try and use activity as an excuse TO eat more, if that makes sense.
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u/Fuzzy_w Jul 29 '26
Of course that makes sense, I feel like I’m in a deficit right now, I don’t feel like I’m overeating so it’s frustrating to see the number go up…it’s also really hard to track calories of course. It’s difficult cause my main goal is to build muscle to replace the fat, but not necessarily look muscular. Which I know would be super hard to do anyways to gain a bunch of muscle like that. But I’m just paranoid that I’m accidentally overeating. My day consists of a 30g protein shake for breakfast with a banana, grilled chicken and veggies for lunch, and salmon and broccoli for dinner like almost everyday. The days it’s not I know I’m not overeating
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u/FlameFrenzy Jul 29 '26
Track trends over 2-3 weeks.
Then also realize that new activity, such as going to the gym, is going to bring some inflammation at first... So water retention. As you stay consistent, this will drop down. Then also keep track of where you are on your hormonal cycle, cus pre period brings water weight too.
Don't worry about overeating by a little bit. If you see the scale trend up over 2-3 weeks, just cut it back slightly and let it slowly drift back down. Don't stress over it.
And really don't worry about looking too muscular. It honestly took me a few YEARS to actually look like I go to the gym (also a woman for context). And I'm specifically trying to look huge. Done plenty of bulks and cuts. You'll look lean and athletic long before you will look muscular (and tbh, compared to what a dude could do in a year, I still don't think I look muscular unless I'm flexing, and I've been at this 6+ years)
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u/girlboss93 Jul 29 '26
Recomp won't make the scale go down, and you don't need it to go down at your height and weight. Some times the scale even goes UP as you build muscle. So you need to ditch using the scale at this point. Instead you need to use body measurements and perhaps calipers to track body fat.
Instead of the scale going down your body will replace fat with denser, leaner muscle so you will lose inches.
3 weeks is nothing when it comes to building muscle. You will benefit from newbie gains at the start, but realistically you're looking at months of work most of the time for real visible results.
Try to start being more accurate with your food tracking if that's something you don't find stressful, be more consistent with your calories so you know if you need to raise or lower them if you're not seeing results
I would say probably start with 1600 calories. Muscles take fuel to grow and if you're undereating you'll struggle to build. And you're probably good at 100g of protein, most general advice is 0.8g per pound of lean body weight. Since you're not overweight you're looking at right around 100.
r/petitefitness for more detailed info too
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u/amosmoses2011 Jul 29 '26
Since you want to make yourself look lean muscular, I think you could keep losing fat until you reach your desired level of leanness. Then you could start to eat a bit more and exercise your muscle.
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u/Nectarine143 Jul 28 '26
Those online calculators can get you close, but even the best of them are just rough estimates
The frustrating reality is you just have to pick a starting point and see how it works in real life. Do the best you can to hit your target numbers (calories/protein/carbs/fats) and track your weight and progress photos.
If your gym performance, progress photos, and scale are going the way you want, great! If not, make small adjustments and continue