How to Lose Fat and Build Muscle

No, the answer is not Ozempic.
People who go that route will inevitably gain all the weight back—and maybe even more.

I’m talking about sustainably losing fat while building muscle.
Meaning: you’ll burn fat and build muscle for as long as you want.

The internet calls this body recomposition, and it’s basically the holy grail of fitness.
But people overcomplicate the process—or worse, believe it’s not possible.

It is possible.
And in today’s newsletter, I’ll walk you through the exact steps to lose fat and gain muscle at the same time.
Along the way, you’ll gain something even more valuable: confidence.
Because who doesn’t feel confident when your body looks like a damn work of art?

Let’s get into it.

The 5 Recomp Steps

Step 1: Fix Your Diet

The root of your problem is always your diet.
The reason you look the way you do? Your eating habits.

Your body is just a reflection of what you habitually eat.

If you want to lose fat, you need to be in a calorie deficit.
But that doesn’t mean starving yourself.

The smarter way is to swap out high-calorie foods for lower-calorie alternatives.

Example:
Swap sugary cereal for Greek yogurt with fruit.
Boom—300 to 400 calories saved, just like that.

🔻 How big should your deficit be?
Aim for 500–600 calories per day.
More than that, and your energy tanks.

Also—get 1g of protein per pound of bodyweight.
Why? Because you’ll need it to recover from the next step...

Step 2: Strength Training

Yes, you need to train.
If you want to build muscle, there’s no way around it.

👉 If you’ve been training for a while:
Track your lifts. Watch your strength.
If your numbers start dropping, eat more—you're likely under-recovered and losing muscle.

👉 If you're new:
You have noob gains in the tank. You’ll gain muscle just by showing up.

But don’t go too deep into a deficit.
You’ll need energy to grow.

Try these exercises to start:

• Bench Press

• Incline Dumbbell Press

• Lat Pulldown

• Cable Row

• Bicep Curl

• Tricep Pushdown

• Leg Press

• Leg Extension

• Machine Crunch

(If you want a custom plan, I’ve got something for that too—ask me.)

Step 3: Walk More. Yes, Walk.

I clown cardio all the time, but let’s be honest:
Cardio works.

Still—you won’t outrun a Big Mac.
Trying to fix your diet with cardio is backwards.

Here’s the smarter play: walk 10k steps a day.

Walking is low-effort, low-stress, and doesn’t spike your hunger.
It also helps with digestion, recovery, and mental clarity.

Pro tip:
Buy an under-desk treadmill. Game-changer.

Step 4: Sleep Well

I get it. Sleep’s not sexy.
But you can’t skip it.

Bad sleep =

• Poor recovery

• More cravings

• Low energy

• Higher cortisol

• Weight gain

Sleep is not optional.
Aim for 7–9 hours.

Try these:

• No phone 1 hour before bed

• Don’t eat too late

• Read a book or listen to a chill podcast

• Chamomile tea works wonders

Step 5: Consistency + Accountability

Everyone talks about consistency—like a damn meme at this point.
But here’s what they forget: accountability.

Being consistent is hard when nobody’s holding you to it.
And let’s be honest—most people around you aren’t helpful.
They’ll invite you to junk food binges before they ever support your goals.

That’s why I created the Swap Lean Cohort.

It’s a 4-week coaching program where I help you swap your current meals for lean, satisfying meals that actually help you lose fat without feeling like you’re dieting.

We start next week.
Founding price: $150. After that, the price will go up.

More info here: https://swap.loc-ng.com/

P.S. The pay button doesn’t work yet, but if you’re interested in joining the Swap Lean Cohort, just reply to this email and I’ll personally follow up with you.

That’s it for this email.
Hope you got something valuable out of it.

Until next time,
Kind regards,
Loc Nguyen