What Is Reverse Dieting and Signs You Need It

When losing weight, you are likely to search for effective diets, most of which suggest giving up your favorite food to shed pounds fast. Not only is it misleading, but it may lower the quality of your life significantly. After all, the whole point of losing weight is to stay healthy and feel confident while enjoying your life, right? Following a strict diet indefinitely doesn’t always yield successful results, but the time (and perhaps the mental and physical damage) of these strict programs cannot be reversed. 

That’s why, at Strong with Sarah, we personalize nutrition for our clients, allowing you to enjoy your favorite wine, cake, or cupcake in moderation. 

But what if you have been following expert advice and your scale hasn’t budged yet? It means you have reached a weight loss barrier. One way to overcome this is to…eat more! 

I know, I know - it sounds crazy! But bear with me while I explain… 

Reversed dieting is based on increasing your calories to help you lose weight or to maintain your weight loss results. Sounds confusing? Keep reading to find out why this phase of dieting makes sense and whether you need it. 

What Is a Reverse Diet? 

Reverse dieting involves gradually increasing your calorie intake for a certain amount of time. This is done to help you boost your metabolism and make your body burn more calories. It can also be done once you’ve reached your weight loss goal and are ready to return to maintenance.

Reverse dieting is also known as a diet you follow after another diet, especially if it is a rather restrictive one. For example, if you are in a calorie deficit, it means you’re consuming a reduced amount of calories. In order to maintain weight and not gain the pounds back, you need to slowly introduce more calories into your diet and sustain your weight.  

This kind of dieting is popular among bodybuilders who follow a restrictive diet before a competition and switch to a reversed diet to return to their sustainable body composition. 

Is Reversed Dieting a Fad?

Quite the opposite–reverse dieting is a strategy used to prevent gaining unwanted weight. It is suitable for professional athletes and bodybuilders, along with people who follow a less restrictive diet for health benefits. 

How Does Reverse Dieting Work?

When you consume fewer calories than you burn, your body adapts to this change and slows down your metabolism. This, in turn, makes your diet less efficient, but reducing calories even further isn’t always the right solution for everyone. 

Instead, switching to a reverse diet helps you normalize your body for a few weeks, maintain a sustainable weight, and make it easier to lose pounds when you start a new calorie deficit phase.

How to Reverse Diet the Right Way

Reverse dieting will depend heavily on your previous diet and will involve tracking calories. Let’s imagine that during your previous diet, you were successfully losing weight by aiming to eat no more than 1,500 calories. Here is how you would start a reverse diet:

1. During the first week, increase your calorie intake by 50-100 calories. Check whether 1,600 calories make any change on your weight gain. 

2. If you continue losing weight, increase your calorie intake to 1650-1,700 a day. Recheck the weight fluctuations throughout the week. 

3. Add another 50-100 calories if your weight doesn’t increase. 

❗Remember, the scale will always fluctuate on a daily and hourly basis for all of us! Focus on the overall trends (and average) of the scale throughout the week, instead of relying on one data point. 

Reverse dieting aims to help you consume the precise number of calories needed to maintain your current weight. Often referred to as maintenance dieting, it ensures you eat just enough to meet your body’s energy requirements without gaining or losing weight.

5 Signs You Need to Start Reverse Dieting

Reverse dieting may be helpful for you if:

1. You cannot lose any more weight when on a calorie deficit 

2. Your restrictive diet doesn’t provide enough nutrients and energy to the point that you are feeling fatigued.

3. You may have health-related problems like irregular or loss of your period, hormones, thyroid, etc. 

4. You have lost too much muscle mass compared to fat 

5. You started noticing mood swings or find it hard to control your emotions

Wrapping Up 

Reverse dieting is a safe and effective approach to transitioning to a sustainable body composition without unwanted weight changes. It gradually identifies the precise calorie intake your body needs to maintain its weight while allowing your metabolism to stabilize after a calorie deficit.

This process involves slowly increasing your daily calories by 50-100 increments, giving your body time to adjust without gaining the extra weight you worked so hard to lose. 

At Strong with Sarah, we offer personalized guidance for weight loss. We can also help walk you through a reverse diet that is customized to your body and your goals. Our experienced coaches will analyze your unique needs and create tailored nutrition and workout plans to help you achieve lasting results.

Frequently Asked Questions

• Is reverse dieting safe?

  Yes, reverse dieting is safe when done gradually and with proper guidance. By slowly increasing your calorie intake, reverse dieting allows your body to adjust without the risk of excessive fat gain. 

  It’s a rather slow process but it ensures you transition out of a calorie deficit safely. Not only do you maintain the same weight but also restore your metabolism and energy levels.

• Does reverse dieting work?

  Absolutely, reverse dieting works effectively for most people when done correctly. It helps to slightly boost your metabolism by gradually increasing your calorie intake, which allows your body to burn more energy without storing excess fat.

  It also helps prevent weight regain, a common issue after dieting, by training your body to handle a higher calorie intake. If paired with consistent exercise and mindful eating, reverse dieting can maintain or improve your results while enhancing your overall metabolic health.

• How long do you need to reverse diet?

  The length of a reverse diet varies depending on your goals and individual metabolic response, but it typically takes 2-4 weeks or longer. 

  This period allows your body to adapt gradually to higher calorie levels without sudden weight changes. The key is patience and consistency, increasing your daily calories by 50-100 increments each week or two.

• What are the main benefits of reverse dieting?

  Reverse dieting offers many benefits, but the biggest ones are:

  • Improved metabolic health

  • Reduced risk of weight regain

  • Long-term weight management

  Reversed dieting allows you to eat more without gaining unwanted weight.