Key Takeaways
Reverse dieting is a dieting method that proposes eating more to maintain weight after a calorie-restrictive diet. Popular among competitive athletes and bodybuilders, it’s a way to return to pre-diet eating patterns without gaining excess weight or fat.
For many, reverse dieting might sound like a dream, but does it work for everyone? Moreover, is it only effective for maintaining weight, or can you lose weight with reverse dieting? This article dives into reverse dieting, its benefits and risks, and its effectiveness for weight loss.
What Is Reverse Dieting?
Reverse dieting involves slowly increasing your caloric intake following a calorie-restrictive diet. The goal is to boost your metabolism to prevent regaining the weight you have lost.
Most diets require that you restrict calories to create a caloric deficit, meaning you consume fewer calories than you burn. Over time, your body adapts to receiving fewer calories, and your metabolism slows to conserve energy as a result. This can make it difficult to return to a normal diet without gaining weight and lead to weight loss plateaus.
This is where reverse dieting comes in. By increasing your caloric intake gradually, you can give your metabolism the boost it needs to return to pre-diet eating patterns- without compromising your weight loss progress.
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How to Reverse Diet
Reverse dieting works by increasing your calorie intake gradually rather than bouncing right back to pre-diet eating patterns. It proposes increasing your caloric intake by 50 to 100 calories each week until you reach your normal, pre-diet calorie count.
For example, say you want to transition from a 1,300-calorie diet. Reverse dieting would call for consuming 1,400 calories each day for the first week, then 1,500 calories each day for the second. You would continue this trend until you reach your pre-diet eating patterns or 2,000 calories per day, which is the recommended daily intake for most dietary guidelines.
What are the Benefits of Reverse Dieting?
The main benefit of reverse dieting is reintroducing pre-diet eating patterns without compromising your weight loss progress. It can also help boost your metabolism if you’ve hit a weight loss plateau and can’t cut further calories. Other potential benefits include reduced hunger and increased energy.
Reverse dieting proponents say that reverse dieting can help limit your appetite. This claim comes from research that suggests calorie monitoring regulates leptin levels, the hormone that creates feelings of hunger. Reverse dieting also allows you to eat more, which can boost your energy levels, especially if your low-calorie diet left you feeling fatigued.
Can You Lose Weight with Reverse Dieting?
The main goal of reverse dieting is to maintain weight after transitioning from a calorie-restrictive diet. But can you lose weight with reverse dieting?
While research specifically on reverse dieting is limited, related studies provide support for its potential role in weight loss. For example, some studies show that increasing your calorie intake can support a healthy metabolism and increase the amount of resting calories you burn each day.
Other research points out that calorie-restrictive diets can lower leptin levels, leading to increased hunger. Increasing your calorie intake may help bring leptin levels back to normal, which can reduce hunger and keep you feeling fuller for longer.
Who Should Try Reverse Dieting?
Reverse dieting first became popular in the bodybuilding community as a way to reintroduce a higher calorie count following a low-calorie diet. However, it’s not exclusive to athletes.
Anyone who has completed a calorie-restrictive diet and wants to return to normal eating patterns can try reverse dieting. Some research suggests that slowly introducing more calories into your diet can be beneficial for people with disordered eating, especially those with anorexia.
Risks of Reverse Dieting
Reverse dieting has potential downsides. Its benefits are based mostly on anecdotal evidence from fitness enthusiasts, which lacks scientific evidence and is not reflective of the general population. Little research supports that reverse dieting works for the general population.
Reverse dieting can also be difficult in practice. Studies show that people generally underestimate their calorie intake by about 200 calories per meal. Increasing your caloric intake by such a small window, only 50 to 100 calories per week, requires meticulous tracking that is unrealistic for many people.
Weight loss also involves more than counting calories. Factors like exercise, lifestyle, genetics, hormones, sleep, and stress all play a role in weight maintenance. Overall, reverse dieting may work for some people, but it lacks research and requires a lot of work.
Discover if Reverse Dieting is Right For You
You don’t have to count every calorie to reach your health goals. If you want to return to normal eating patterns after a calorie-restrictive diet without compromising your progress, one of our licensed dietitians can guide you.
At Dietitian Live, our expert dietitians assess your history, lifestyle, and goals to create a personalized plan tailored to your needs. Whether dealing with plateaus, feeling stuck, or unsure of how to proceed, our dietitians can help you transition from a low-calorie diet and reintroduce foods in a sustainable way.
Book an appointment with Dietitian Live today, and let’s create a plan to say goodbye to low-calorie diets. A balanced, healthy life starts here!
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