Skinny-Fat Recomposition Macro Calculator
Skinny-fat means low muscle mass with a soft midsection — a body-composition problem, not a weight problem. That makes aggressive dieting the wrong tool. Eat close to maintenance, push protein high, and let training reshape the ratio. The plate below shows what a recomp day's meal looks like in practice.
This sample plate totals 889 kcal, 79.4 g protein, 61.3 g carbs and 36.3 g fats.
Macro breakdown — Skinny-Fat Recomposition Macro Calculator
| Food | Grams | kcal | Protein | Carbs | Fats |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken Breast | 180 g | 297 | 55.8 g | 0 g | 6.5 g |
| Basmati Rice (cooked) | 180 g | 218 | 5.4 g | 45.4 g | 0.7 g |
| Whole Egg | 100 g | 155 | 13 g | 1.1 g | 11 g |
| Broccoli | 150 g | 51 | 4.2 g | 10.5 g | 0.6 g |
| Avocado | 50 g | 80 | 1 g | 4.3 g | 7.5 g |
| Olive Oil | 10 g | 88 | 0 g | 0 g | 10 g |
| Total | 889 | 79.4 g | 61.3 g | 36.3 g |
How to build this plate
- Eat at or near maintenance. Bodyweight in lb × 14–15 kcal. A deficit costs you the muscle you are trying to build.
- Set protein at 1.6–2.2 g per kg. This is the lever that drives recomposition; everything else is secondary.
- Keep fats at 0.8–1 g per kg. Enough for hormones, not so much that carbs get squeezed out of training days.
- Put remaining calories in carbs. Carbs fuel the progressive-overload lifting that actually builds the muscle.
Things worth knowing
- Recomposition is slow — judge it on photos, tape measurements and lifting numbers, not the scale.
- Beginners and returning lifters recomp fastest; advanced lifters usually need separate bulk and cut phases.
- Sleep and step count move recomp results more than any macro tweak at the margins.
Frequently asked questions
- Should a skinny-fat person bulk or cut first?
- Most do best with a recomposition at maintenance for 3–6 months: protein high, training hard. If body fat is above roughly 20% for men or 30% for women, a small deficit first is reasonable.
- How many calories is maintenance?
- Estimate bodyweight in pounds × 14–15, then adjust after two weeks based on the scale trend and how your waist measurement moves.
- How long does recomposition take?
- Visible change usually takes 12–16 weeks. It is slower than a cut but you end it with more muscle instead of less.