How to Gain Muscle While Losing Body Fat

Can you gain muscle while losing body fat at the same time, or is body recomposition just a clickbait headline?

For years the advice has been that you have to pick one. Eat in a calorie deficit and lose body fat, or eat in a calorie surplus and build muscle. A brand new study published in the European Journal of Applied Physiology in April 2026 says the picture is more interesting than that, and it is already being butchered all over social media. I break the whole paper down for you. What the researchers did, what they actually measured, and the bits the headlines have quietly skipped over. Then I do the part that matters most, which is translating a study done on young resistance trained lifters into what it means for someone swimming, biking and running six days a week.

IN THIS EPISODE

- What body recomposition actually is, and why it is not the same thing as losing weight

- What the 2026 study did, and what happened to all three groups over 10 weeks

- Why an increase in fat-free mass does not automatically mean a kilo of new muscle

- The training detail that did just as much work as the nutrition did

- Whether you really need 2.5 grams of protein per kilo of body weight a day

- Why the size of the calorie deficit matters far more than most triathletes think

- Where this study stops transferring the moment you apply it to endurance training

- Who is well placed to recomp right now, and who is better off picking one goal

- The 4 things I would start with if body recomposition is your goal

TIMESTAMPS

00:00 Can you build muscle and lose fat at the same time
02:01 What body recomposition actually means
04:03 Inside the 2026 study
05:26 The results after 10 weeks
07:05 Why fat-free mass is not the same as muscle
08:43 The training that made it work
10:51 The big protein question
13:19 Why the deficit was only 250 calories
14:29 Where triathletes need a different approach
15:40 Who body recomposition actually suits
18:26 The 4 things I would focus on
21:07 The big takeaway

STUDIES MENTIONED

- Vargas-Molina, S., Garcia-Palumbo, A., Garcia-Sillero, M., Bonilla, D. A., Petro, J. L., Aragon, A. A., Schoenfeld, B. J., & Benitez-Porres, J. (2026). Comparison of two nutritional protocols in body re-composition of resistance-trained participants. European Journal of Applied Physiology, 126, 4019-4030. [doi.org/10.1007/s00421-026-06209-6](https://doi.org/10.1007/s00421-026-06209-6)

- Iraki, J., Fitschen, P., Espinar, S., & Helms, E. (2019). Nutrition recommendations for bodybuilders in the off-season: A narrative review. Sports, 7(7), 154. [doi.org/10.3390/sports7070154](https://doi.org/10.3390/sports7070154)

If body recomposition is one of your goals, this is a very good time to stop winging it and build a strategy around your training instead. The Triathlon Nutrition Academy is where I teach you how to work out your own numbers, against your own training program, in your own body, and then I am there every week while you actually do it. Doors only open a few times a year, so get your name on the list for the next cohort at [dietitianapproved.com/academy](https://www.dietitianapproved.com/academy).

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