A popular form of eating in the bodybuilding/fitness community is called reverse dieting. This type of eating follows the period after sticking to a low-calorie diet for a period for a period. The reason to eat this way is to avoid regaining a large amount of weight quickly after reintroducing higher calorie eating again. Low calorie diets are unsustainable, but when more calories are brought back, regulating how this is done can be important. Other people do reverse dieting when they feel like they have reached a weight loss plateau.
The key principle behind reverse dieting is called adaptive thermogenesis. Another term for this is metabolic adaptation. The body is telling its metabolism that energy intake is increasing but energy output needs to decrease to slow down weight loss from happening too fast. To effectively do this, the body can try a few mechanisms. The body is not meant to keep these changes ongoing, rather, they are temporary measures during the caloric restriction. Hormonal changes can take place. These are the hormones related to hunger cues which include ghrelin, leptin, insulin, and peptide YY. These hormones will either be suppressed or released to tell you to eat. Another approach is called EAT which means exercise activity thermogenesis. Overall, the body feels like it doesn’t have enough energy to exercise so you don’t burn as many calories when exercising. There can also be a decrease in NEAT which means non-exercise activity thermogenesis. This is the energy you need to live day to day life to do activities like walking or getting chores done. RMR, which is resting metabolic rate, can also decrease. The body will shift its focus to using energy for what is vital to live, versus paying attention to energy needed for less important factors like hair growth or something like nail growth. Overall, digestion can slow down. The body recognizes that less is being eaten so it slows down digestion to absorb as much as possible nutritionally from what foods that are consumed. TEF also decreases which is the thermic effect of food.
Individuals have different experiences of gaining weight after a period of dieting. In general, maintaining weight loss can be difficult and it requires the work and effort that was put in to lose the weight. Hitting or reaching a goal then abruptly stopping this behavior would eventually lead to weight gain because of the shift. Some people let go and overeat in a rebellious manner. They might even eat the foods they were not supposed to have during restriction. Some bodybuilders might even deem this as a period of binging. Activity level, environment, and food choices are all influencing weight gain factors.
The general guideline to reverse diet is that for the next 4 to 10 weeks after a diet, about 150 calories is added weekly to your eating until you get back to the amount you were having pre low calorie. The plan can be more conservative or aggressive where some people might add about 5% of calories back in weekly and others might add back in 15% each week.
This is an example if you originally ate 2,000 calories per day, restricted to 1,200, and wanted to return to 2,000 over a 12-week time frame in a more conservative manner:
| 1 | 1,260 + 60 calories (5% of starting calories) = 1,320 calories |
| 2 | 1,320 + 60 = 1,380 calories |
| 3 | 1,380 + 60 = 1,440 calories |
| 4 | 1,440 + 60 = 1,500 calories |
| 5 | 1,500 + 60 = 1,560 calories |
| 6 | 1,560 + 60 = 1,620 calories |
| 7 | 1,620 + 60 = 1,680 calories |
| 8 | 1,680 + 60 = 1,740 calories |
| 9 | 1,740 + 60 = 1,800 calories |
| 10 | 1,800 + 60 = 1,860 calories |
| 11 | 1,860 + 60 = 1,920 calories |
| 12 | 1920 + 60-80 = 1,980-2,000 calories |
The gradual process will restore energy and more control over hunger cues with each week. Staying in a low-calorie deficit then eating more has its pros, cons, and risks. Finding an eating style that is lasting and sustainable is always better than any up and down approach. Eating for a specific goal might be a circumstance that would entail restriction that replenishing, but the approach is important for your metabolism to adjust to what is taking place. Food is fuel and nutrition, but we all have relationships with it that adjust during certain periods of life. How we respond and gradually find our way back to a healthy lifestyle is what matters.
Originally printed on Every BODY’s Fit blog. Reprinted with permission.
Dr. Megan Johnson McCullough, owner of Every BODY’s Fit in Oceanside CA, is a NASM Master Trainer, AFAA group exercise instructor, and specializes in Fitness Nutrition, Weight Management, Senior Fitness, Corrective Exercise, and Drug and Alcohol Recovery. She’s also a Wellness Coach, holds an M.A. Physical Education & Health and a Ph.D in Health and Human Performance. She is a professional natural bodybuilder, fitness model, and published author.
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