Reverse Dieting: Is It Helpful for Weight Loss?

The reverse diet is often described as "diet after the diet."

It is especially popular with bodybuilders and competitive athletes to lose weight and increase energy levels during bodybuilding maintenance.

While some have claimed that reverse dieting can be an effective way to lose weight and increase energy levels, others reject it as unnecessary and ineffective.

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This article takes a closer look at the reverse diet to determine if it is helpful for weight loss.

DIET review dashboard

Overall score: 3.17

Weight loss: 3.25

Healthy eating: 3.5

Durability: 4.5

Whole Body Health: 2.25

Nutritional quality: 3.5

Based on evidence: 2

BOTTOM LINE: 

Reverse dieting involves gradually increasing your calorie intake to increase metabolic activity and prevent post-diet weight gain. However, the predicted effects for weight loss are not supported by science and can be difficult to follow.

What is the reverse diet?

The reverse diet is an eating plan that gradually increases your calorie intake over a few weeks or months to help increase metabolic activity and help your body burn more calories throughout the day.

Popular with bodybuilders, it is often followed by people who want to return to a normal diet without gaining extra weight or fat after a calorie-restricted diet.

Some proponents of the plan also claim that it helps increase energy levels, reduce appetite, and break the weight loss plates.

SUMMARY:

Gradually increasing calorie intake after dieting in an effort to build metabolism is associated with reverse dieting. It is especially popular for bodybuilders to gradually return to a normal diet.

How does it work?

Creating a calorie deficit in most diets involves cutting calories, which means you consume less than you burn.

Over time, your body begins to adapt by slowing down your metabolism in an effort to conserve energy.

This can be problematic when you want to maintain your weight when you are ready to return to a normal diet, or when you hit a weight loss plateau and cannot cut any more calories.

How to reverse the diet

The reverse diet generally involves increasing your calorie intake to 50-100 calories per week above your baseline, this is the number of calories you are currently consuming to maintain your weight.

This period lasts 4 to 10 weeks, or until you reach your goal, go on a pre-diet.

Since protein needs are generally calculated for bodyweight rather than calories, the amount of protein in your diet remains the same.

Increasing your calorie intake can boost your metabolism, and non-exercise activities help your body burn more through thermogenesis (NEAT), which includes daily activities like walking, talking, and fidgeting.

In addition, the reverse diet can normalize the levels of conventional hormones such as leptin that control appetite and body weight.

Studies have shown that leptin, produced by fat cells in the body and excreted, decreases in response to reduced calorie intake. Reduced levels of leptin increase appetite and reduce calorie burning.

In fact, in a 6-month study of 48 people, limiting calories reduced leptin concentration by 44%.

SUMMARY:

Calorie consumption tends to increase gradually to normalize hormone levels after metabolism develops and you gradually lose weight on the opposite diet.

Does it work for weight loss?

Currently, research on the effects of reverse diets is limited. Most of its advantages are only supported by unknown evidence.

That said, increasing your calorie intake can increase calorie burning and normalize hormone levels, which can promote weight loss and maintenance.

Since calorie limitation can lower NEAT and leptin levels, these effects can be slow or reverse if you gradually increase your intake.

Reverse diets are also claimed to reduce the risk of eating charitable foods, a common problem among bodybuilders and those with a highly regulated diet in general. Theoretically, it works with ease to transition back to a normal diet.

Nevertheless, more research is needed to determine whether reverse dieting is an effective way to recover or prevent weight loss.

SUMMARY:

The opposite diet can normalize hormone levels and help your metabolism. However, more research is needed on its effects on weight loss.

Other Benefits

There is a lack of research on the potential health benefits of reverse dieting.

Nevertheless, advocates claim that its effects extend beyond weight loss.

Lets you eat more

One of the main reasons people start reverse dieting is because it allows them to eat more throughout the day.

This is especially nice for those who are dieting for weeks or months because it allows for a wide range of healthy foods.

Increase energy levels

Diets that are very limited are often accompanied by symptoms such as mood swings, frequent discomfort, and decreased energy levels.

This may be due to inadequate calorie intake or malnutrition.

Since the reverse diet focuses on gradually increasing your calorie intake, it can address a number of flaws associated with a restricted diet.

Decreased appetite

Cutting calories can alter the levels of a few hormones that affect appetite and appetite.

For example, a study of 14 male bodybuilders showed that 10 weeks of extreme weight loss resulted in a 27.7% decrease in leptin and a 26.4% increase in ghrelin 3 days before a competition.

While leptin stimulates satiety, ghrelin awakens feelings of hunger.

Gradually increasing your calorie intake can help balance these hormone levels and reduce appetite levels. However, there is still no research to prove this theory.

SUMMARY:

A limited diet may have additional benefits such as allowing you to eat more, increasing your energy levels, and reducing your appetite.

Possible Downsides

The reverse diet can have several drawbacks.

Difficult to implement

Although many tools can estimate your starting calorie range, it is very difficult to calculate specific needs.

Increasing your intake by slightly more than 50 to 100 calories per week can be even more challenging, according to reverse diet advice.

In fact, a large study of 3,385 people found that people generally reduced their calorie intake by as much as 259 calories.

Also, incorrectly measuring your portions or even adding extra snacks to your diet can hamper your progress during the reverse diet.

Plus, this plan can save you time by requiring you to carefully monitor your daily calorie intake.

Calorie focus

One problem with the reverse diet is that it tends to focus on total calorie intake without considering other factors.

Weight loss is incredibly complex, involving many ingredients.

Not only do different nutrients affect metabolism, appetite, and appetite separately, but factors such as sleep, stress, and hormonal fluctuations affect body weight and must be taken into account.

Lack of research

Still, very few studies support reverse dieting.

The case reports and the miracle evidence out there is that it is unclear if the reverse diet works, or if it is effective for the general public or only for certain teams, such as competing bodybuilders or athletes.

Therefore, unless more research is done, the reverse diet cannot be considered an effective tool for weight management.

SUMMARY:

The reverse diet is difficult to implement and concentrates on all calories without considering other factors. Furthermore, the lack of research makes it difficult to assess their effectiveness.

BOTTOM LINE:

The reverse diet involves gradually increasing your calorie intake to build metabolism and prevent weight regain after the diet. It can increase energy levels and reduce appetite.

However, its predetermined weight loss effects are not backed by science.

Also, it can be difficult to track and focus on calorie counting alone.

Before considering the reverse diet for weight loss, you may want to try other tips to see if you are on a balanced diet.

Article source healthline.com