{"id":13911,"date":"2025-04-10T05:37:21","date_gmt":"2025-04-09T22:37:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/?p=13911"},"modified":"2025-04-10T05:37:21","modified_gmt":"2025-04-09T22:37:21","slug":"reverse-dieting-what-is-it-should-you-do-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/?p=13911","title":{"rendered":"Reverse Dieting: What Is It &#038; Should You Do It?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <script async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-3711241968723425\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div itemprop=\"articleBody\">\n<p>Diet trends are popularized in part because they\u2019re eye-catching. <em>Eat no meat! Eat all the meat! Eat all the meat between 2 and 4 PM and nothing after that!<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Reverse dieting became popular \u2014 especially with weightlifters \u2014 because it offers the opportunity to eat more while, theoretically, tricking your body into losing weight.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere are a bunch of claims associated with reverse dieting, like its ability to increase energy levels, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bodi.com\/blog\/hormonal-imbalance-symptoms\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">balance hormones<\/a>, and reduce hunger,\u201d explains Denis Faye, M.S. \u201cBut most people get stuck on increased metabolism because who doesn\u2019t want to be able to eat more?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>We\u2019ll clear up the science behind reverse dieting, discuss whether it\u2019s right for you, and give you some ways to incorporate it into your lifestyle, should you choose to.<\/p>\n<h2>What Is Reverse Dieting?<\/h2>\n<p>Reverse dieting is a plan of structured eating in which you slowly increase your <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bodi.com\/blog\/how-many-calories-do-you-need-to-eat-to-lose-weight\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">daily caloric intake<\/a> to coax your body into burning more calories than it did before, effectively allowing you to eat more while losing weight.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe theory is that you adapt your metabolism to eat more food by incrementally increasing your calories in a progressive, controlled fashion,\u201d says Faye.<\/p>\n<p>Reverse dieting is particularly desirable since most traditional diets are based on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bodi.com\/blog\/what-is-cico\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">consuming fewer calories than you use<\/a> to force your body to burn through its stores of fat.<\/p>\n<h2>Does Reverse Dieting Actually Work?<\/h2>\n<p><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-136867\" src=\"https:\/\/bod-blog-assets.prod.cd.beachbodyondemand.com\/bod-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/Body-Positivity.600.mirror.jpg\" alt=\"Young woman looking at herself in the mirror.\" width=\"600\" height=\"400\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Eat more, weigh less \u2014 sounds a little too good to be true, doesn\u2019t it? Well, it might be.<\/p>\n<p>Although there is lots of anecdotal evidence that reverse dieting can be effective, particularly for people coming off long periods of extended traditional dieting, there is little hard scientific proof in favor of reverse dieting as a means of weight loss.<\/p>\n<p>As a 2014 study in the <em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pmc\/articles\/PMC3943438\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition<\/a><\/em> concludes, \u201cMore research is needed to verify the efficacy of\u2026reverse dieting in supporting prolonged weight reduction.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That said, there may be times when you\u2019re not increasing your metabolism by reverse dieting but rather helping it safely return to its ideal level (a.k.a. your body\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bodi.com\/blog\/set-point-theory\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">set point<\/a>).<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen you under-eat chronically, your body adapts in a number of ways,\u201d says Faye, \u201cincluding shifting hormones around, causing cells to generate energy more efficiently, and subconsciously conserving energy by avoiding unnecessary movement.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In other words, when your diet requires you to drastically cut calories, your body goes into a kind of \u201csurvival mode,\u201d limiting itself only to necessary functions so you actually burn fewer calories. \u201cBecause you\u2019re maintaining weight at what was once a weight-reducing caloric deficit, it\u2019s easy to mistakenly assume this is your \u2018normal,&#8217;\u201d he adds.<\/p>\n<h2>How to Start Reverse Dieting<\/h2>\n<p>Reverse dieting is particularly popular for weightlifters and people who are coming off long-term, low-calorie diets. It offers an effective alternative to the rapid weight gain that generally comes from overeating, which often happens when people transition off these plans. So, how do you start?<\/p>\n<h3>1. Determine your current caloric intake<\/h3>\n<p>If you\u2019re not already on a dietary plan, spend a few days counting how many calories you\u2019re consuming. This will give you a baseline rate to work from going forward.<\/p>\n<h3>2. Gradually increase your daily calories<\/h3>\n<p>The key to reverse dieting is a controlled increase in what you eat. Celebrating your month-long carb fast by returning to your daily extra-large pizza and 32-ounce soda habit is a sure way to gain fat and erase the gains you\u2019ve already made.<\/p>\n<p>A paper published in the <em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.researchgate.net\/profile\/Lilian-De-Jonge\/publication\/334327529_Short_Communication_Curre_Res_Diabetes_Obes_J_Could_Slow_Reintroduction_of_Calories_after_Weight_Loss_Prevent_Metabolic_Adaptation_after_Weight_Loss\/links\/5d24a8c5a6fdcc2462cf1dc9\/Short-Communication-Curre-Res-Diabetes-Obes-J-Could-Slow-Reintroduction-of-Calories-after-Weight-Loss-Prevent-Metabolic-Adaptation-after-Weight-Loss.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Current Research in Diabetes and Obesity Journal<\/a>\u00a0<\/em>suggests increasing your calorie intake by two to three percent per week until you stop seeing weight loss.<\/p>\n<h3>3. Don\u2019t worry if you see an initial weight gain<\/h3>\n<p>\u201cWhen you first start something like this,\u201d explains Faye, \u201cit\u2019s perfectly normal for the scale to bump up a little. It\u2019s highly unlikely that this is fat. Since you\u2019ll be eating a few more carbs, this might result in an increase in glycogen in your muscles \u2014 and that can mean a little <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bodi.com\/blog\/what-is-water-weight-and-should-i-worry-about-it\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">water-weight gain<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2>Reverse Dieting Benefits<\/h2>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-168509\" src=\"https:\/\/bod-blog-assets.prod.cd.beachbodyondemand.com\/bod-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/19150803\/reverse-dieting-600-nutella.jpeg\" alt=\"Woman Eats Nutella From Jar | Reverse Dieting\" width=\"600\" height=\"400\"\/><\/p>\n<p>So, you understand the basics of reverse dieting, and how to get started, but what are the possible results of reverse dieting?<\/p>\n<h3>1. Allows you to eat more<\/h3>\n<p>This one\u2019s pretty obvious. Who doesn\u2019t want to eat a few more french fries at lunch, or an extra portion at dinner, especially if it\u2019s not supposed to impact your weight?<\/p>\n<h3>2. Helps avoid \u2018yo-yo\u2019 dieting<\/h3>\n<p>Prolonged periods of dieting are often followed by rapid weight gain as we over-indulge in treats we\u2019ve avoided, and our bodies struggle to compensate.<\/p>\n<p>A structured plan of increased caloric intake can help avoid that pitfall.<\/p>\n<h3><b>3. Eases the transition from a low-cal diet<\/b><\/h3>\n<p>Reverse dieting is probably best viewed as an effective way to transition off of a low-calorie diet.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cReverse dieting can be a perfectly healthy way to ease out of prolonged under-eating,\u201d says Faye, while stressing to \u201cmake sure the advice you follow doesn\u2019t smack of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bodi.com\/blog\/what-to-do-after-a-binge-to-get-back-on-the-weight-loss-track\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">binge eating<\/a>. Any plan that features methodically increasing calories in 100 to 300 increments until you find homeostasis is fine.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In summary, reverse dieting may work for you, and if it doesn\u2019t, you might be better off adopting more traditional\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.beachbodyondemand.com\/blog\/diet-plan-for-weight-loss\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">dieting methods<\/a>. Whatever you do, make sure you\u2019re <a href=\"https:\/\/www.beachbodyondemand.com\/blog\/beachbody-diet-plans\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">eating healthy<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-3711241968723425\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bodi.com\/blog\/what-is-reverse-dieting\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Diet trends are popularized in part because they\u2019re eye-catching. Eat no meat! Eat all the meat! Eat all the meat between 2 and 4 PM and nothing after that! Reverse dieting became popular \u2014 especially with weightlifters \u2014 because it offers the opportunity to eat more while, theoretically, tricking your body into losing weight. \u201cThere &hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13911","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-fitness"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13911","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=13911"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13911\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=13911"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=13911"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=13911"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}