Many people think eating less is the key to fat loss, but believe it or not, that’s not always the case. Sometimes you have to eat MORE to lose fat!
This is a process called reverse dieting. But what exactly is it, when should you do it, and how does it work?
What is Reverse Dieting?
If you eat fewer calories than your body consumes, you’ll lose weight — but it doesn’t last forever. Your body will start preparing for survival by reducing your basal metabolic rate (BMR). You’ll use less energy as your body won’t require as much fuel. Additionally, your digestion will slow to help your body absorb as many nutrients as possible. Eventually you will stop losing weight, even if you are overweight and eating very little calories.
I’ve seen it happen frequently with clients — someone who is 30-50 pounds overweight and eating less than 1000 calories a day who cannot lose anymore weight despite how little calories they eat. Our bodies are smart and will adapt to anything you give it!
The problem is as your body adapts to the lower calories, it becomes harder to lose weight as your body is holding onto the reserves to preserve energy. This is why you need to reverse diet, which is to increase your calories slowly. Increasing your caloric intake can raise your BMR, meaning your body will expend more energy each day, regardless of what you’re doing. Your digestion will return to normal, and you’ll have more energy available for workouts.
However, you can’t jump straight into a higher-calorie diet, especially if you’re coming off a restricted-calorie diet. To avoid significant fat gain, you’ll need to add calories slowly and strategically WHILE lifting weights.
Lifting weights is an important part of reverse dieting since building muscle is the key to increasing your metabolism. When done correctly, reverse dieting will help you get out of the fat loss plateau while allowing you to eat more food. It’s a win-win!
Why Would Someone Need To Reverse Diet?
A few reasons:
You’ve Already Cut Back Your Calories But Aren’t Losing Weight
If you’re following a highly restrictive diet but have hit a weight loss plateau, reverse dieting will be the key to turning this around. It may seem counterintuitive, but slowly increasing your caloric intake while lifting weights will boost your metabolic output and restart your fat loss.
You Want To Put On Muscle
Want to gain muscle and improve your body composition without gaining too much fat? Eat more calories and lift weights! The key is to do strength training with the reverse diet to get the maximum benefits of eating more calories. Otherwise, those extra calories may be stored as fat instead of using it towards muscle growth.
How Do You Reverse Diet?
If you’re planning on reverse dieting, there are a few things you need to do to set yourself up for success.
First, you’ll need to choose a method for tracking your food intake. I like to use My Fitness Pal app. Track all your food for a week or two along with your weight on the scale to find out what your maintenance calories are. Your maintenance calories are the calories you consume daily/weekly where your bodyweight does not go up or down.
No online formula or calculator will get it right for every person because everyone is different, so you will need to experiment to find your maintenance calories for a few weeks to know for sure.
Once you figure out your maintenance calories, then each week, slowly add 50 calories per day. MAKE SURE YOU ARE LIFTING WEIGHTS!
For example:
1700 calories a day maintenance to begin.
Week 1: 1750 a day
Week 2: 1800 a day
Week 3: 1850 a day
This is not an absolute— you may find you can only add 50 calories every other week instead, or 100 calories every 3 weeks — it depends on your metabolism and your activity level.
Finally, you need to monitor your progress and make adjustments when necessary. You can weigh yourself daily or weekly, take progress photos, or measure your waist or hips to see changes in your body composition.
While some people can increase their caloric intake weekly without gaining much fat, others need more time. You may realize you can only increase your calories every 3-4 weeks.
It is common, if not welcomed, to gain 2-4 pounds in reverse dieting before it plateaus. It is EXTREMELY difficult to gain muscle without fat, and most people will not be able to do this. So expect some fat gain as part of the process and don’t panic!
Wondering if reverse dieting is the right solution for you or planning on trying it out but not sure where to start? I can help on both fronts! Contact me today at happyhelen@gmail.com to get started!