What's a "reverse diet"?
You’ve probably heard it said a hundred times: calories in, calories out. Want to lose weight? Eat less...
Except not always.
Now that doesn’t mean that the science behind that sentiment is false - it’s just that there’s more to the story. You know how if you don’t service your HVAC unit, it doesn’t heat or cool your home as efficiently? Our bodies are the same way. And if we never give them a break from an extreme calorie deficit (i.e., we never “service” them), they’re not going to work as well.
Metabolism is the process of how your body converts food into energy (i.e., burning calories). And if you stay in a calorie deficit for too long, it can actually slow down your metabolic rate (the rate at which your body burns calories). This is because when you’re consuming few enough calories for long enough, the body figures out how to slow down processes (or run them - less efficiently - on fewer calories), which means it requires fewer calories to maintain your same weight.
Thankfully, the opposite is also true - in this situation/adaptation, if you begin to eat more, you can train your body to increase your metabolic rate again. :) So a reverse diet is exactly that: gradually increase calories back to maintenance levels - or even higher, depending on your goals - to increase/improve your metabolic rate.
Now does this mean that if weight loss is our main goal, we should all be eating more?
No. This isn’t a “one-size-fits-all” thing. Some of us are operating in caloric surpluses, or even at maintenance levels, and will need to eat less in order to see weight loss. And if it’s actually fat loss or improved body composition we’re interested in, it may be more about changing the macronutrient breakdown of our consumption than it is about increasing or decreasing total calories. Everyone’s situation is different. But if you’ve been in a calorie deficit for a long time and see no results from it, experience lots of fatigue, etc… OR if your main goal is maximized athletic performance… a reverse diet might be worth exploring!
The good news: a fuelED nutrition coach can help you figure that out. :) Learn more at the link below!
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