REVERSE DIETING AND TRACKING MACROS: WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW AND WHY IT’S NOT MAGIC
If you follow nutrition or fitness accounts online, chances are you’ve heard about reverse dieting. But what does it actually mean to reverse diet, and what can you expect it to do for you?
WHAT IS A REVERSE DIET?
The simplest way to explain a reverse diet is an intentional, gradual increase of calories over a number of days or weeks. This is usually done for the purpose of offsetting some of the effects of being in a calorie deficit for long periods of time, but can also be used as a way to discover what your true maintenance calorie needs are.
You’ll notice that I didn’t say that reverse dieting is a magic way to lose weight by eating more.
Some people have noticed that they do continue (or begin) losing weight when embarking on a reverse diet. Part of this has to do with the impact of metabolic adaptation. When you eat at a calorie deficit for a long period of time, your body may adapt by causing you to feel more tired or lethargic. Even if you don’t consciously feel tired, your body may be expending less energy through non-exercise activity thermogenesis (NEAT). When you give your body more fuel/calories, you may begin to increase your NEAT. Or you may just feel better and be able to perform at a higher capacity in your workouts.
Reverse diets may also be helpful if you’ve been eating a deficit for a long period of time and want to get an idea for what your current maintenance calorie needs are. It can be beneficial to slowly increase calories to make sure you’re keeping the habits you established while in your calorie deficit, rather than just considering the end of your deficit to be a signal to just stop being mindful of your nutrition altogether. Chances are that your ideal maintenance nutrition doesn’t look much different than your deficit nutrition – just slightly larger meals and a little extra flexibility.
One of the most useful benefits of a reverse diet that can result in weight loss is that it may help you find the right amount of calories to maintain a calorie deficit consistently. If you’ve been trying a large deficit and it makes it harder to stay compliant, chances are you’ll have better consistency eating a smaller deficit. Even though the smaller deficit is theoretically less advantageous, your ability to stay consistent makes all the difference.
So even though a reverse diet isn’t magic, it could be a great way to troubleshoot as you pursue your goals. Especially if you’ve been pursuing weight loss goals for a long time.
Note: A reverse diet is a process that can help you work your way into a Maintenance Phase, an essential part of not just our fat loss goals but also our overall health and relationship with food. You can learn more about what a Maintenance Phase is here!
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