How to consolidate your body recomposition progress when you hit your goal

Making the right choices to avoid the yo-yo approach

The past few articles have focused on getting started and maintaining adherence to the fitness component of a body recomposition strategy. But now let’s fast forwards 6–12 months — you’ve successfully achieved your primary body recomposition goals and want to switch to a maintenance strategy that allows you to keep the results while allowing some more flexibility into your routine.

Doing less work but maintaining the same results is technically the truth, but there’s still the requirement to manage your energy balance in line with your goals. Let’s step through how that works.

Making your energy balance decision

If losing body fat was a component of the body recomposition goal then it’s likely you were in an energy deficit before achieving it. Maintenance doesn’t require an energy deficit and therefore we can reduce energy expenditure and/or increase energy intake up to an energy balance that will allow body composition to be maintained (where intake matches expenditure).

Most of my clients choose to increase their energy intake and maintain physical activity at the current level, while others select to make…