The Complete Reverse Dieting Guide
“What is reverse dieting?”
“Can I lose weight while reverse dieting?”
“Is it the secret method to losing fat and building muscle at the same time?”
All of these questions (and more) will be answered in this article.
But before get into it, here’s exactly what you can expect from this article:
- What is reverse dieting?
- Who should reverse diet?
- What reverse dieting IS NOT
- How to implement reverse dieting?
- Reverse dieting versus going straight to maintenance calories
- FAQs
Imagine this…
You want to compete in this year’s upcoming bodybuilding show.
Okay, maybe you don’t, but I did say, “imagine this.”
You’ve been religiously and meticulous tracking every single calorie and macro you’ve been eating for the past 6 months. You show up to every strength training session, cardio session, walk past the temptation aisle at the grocery without batting an eye, and remain unwaveringly dedicated to getting the “shredz.”
Show day finally comes and you step on stage looking your absolute best ever!
(Keep in mind: Your stage could be your wedding, class reunion, photoshoot, tropical vacation, etc. Point being that reverse dieting can apply to many situations)
And then immediately after the “show,” you’ve already had a list accompanied with a map and plan of attack to visit ALL of your favorite restaurants and “cheat food” destinations.
Next thing you know, after eating 3 full sized dinners, 2 dozens of donuts, a whole chocolate cake, and a quart of ice cream to wash it all down, you go home and sleep like a baby with 10,000+ calories worth of food chilling in your stomach.
You wake up the next day, still looking pretty good, you’re not too worried.
But next thing you know, a few weeks later of eating in this similar pattern, you noticed you’ve gained a significant amount of weight (I’m talking like 30+ pounds).
You look in the mirror and you don’t even recognize yourself…
What now?!
You’ve finally gotten into the best shape of your life.
But you don’t have a plan for what to do next.
So what happens?
You eat.
You eat and eat and eat. More burgers, pizza, donuts, cake, and ice cream. Basically all of the things you were depriving yourself of while dieting.
And the worst part is?
It’s not because you necessarily want to do this. Maybe you just wanted to treat yourself after working for so hard and being so consistent and dedicated.
But next thing you know, you start eating and you don’t stop.
You say, “just one more treat and I’m done” but you just keep on eating and shoveling down more food. It’s almost as if you’re “possessed” by an eating demon who wants to make you as fat as possible.
Fortunately, it’s not a demon or anything paranormal. It’s simply ghrelin telling you to eat as many calories as possible because it thought your recent dieting phase was a period of famine or starvation so it doesn’t know how much food you have access to or when you’ll have access to it ever again.
But…
What if I told you there was a way to prevent this from happening?
Enter Reverse Dieting
What if you didn’t eat a whopping 10,000 calories and went from looking incredible to looking like someone who ate your previous self?
What if instead of throwing all of your logic out the window and eating everything visible within a 2-mile radius – you decided to maintain the same habits that got you lean in the first place?
Things like being aware of your calories and macros, strength training with intensity, and getting enough rest and recovery?
It might not be as fun as eating a restaurant’s entire menu three times over, but I can guarantee you shoveling down 10,000 calories worth of Five Guys, Ben & Jerry’s, Krispy Kreme, and Domino’s won’t be the ‘fun’ move either.
The solution? Reverse dieting.
What is Reverse Dieting?
Simply put, ‘reverse dieting’ is gradually adding calories to your current intake with the purposes of maintaining your physique, not gaining body fat, and increasing your metabolism.
I first found out about this concept from Layne Norton, a well-versed expert in the area of nutritional sciences.
After having applied reverse dieting on myself along with hundreds of coaching clients, I am more than happy with the results.
Obviously, I wouldn’t say I am at the same leanness in the two photos and the lighting in the two photos are different, but through reverse dieting I was able to minimize fat gain, build muscle, and still maintain a relatively lean physique.
What Reverse Dieting is NOT
Firstly, we have to talk about what reverse is NOT.
Because I feel like so many have it wrong. Especially those who are new to the fitness industry.
They hop around from diet to diet looking for the one that will work for them.
Until one day they spot ‘reverse dieting.’
This catches their eye because the term has both ‘reverse’ and ‘diet’ in it and so they jump to the conclusion of reverse dieting is somehow a diet where you don’t have to “diet.”
And thanks to the prevalence of bullshit spewing fitness influencers, people have it in their heads that, “I’m not losing weight because I’m eating too little. I have to eat more if I want to lose weight.”
Which isn’t true in the slightest.
Recall that the only way to lose weight is a calorie deficit. Which means eating fewer calories than you burn.
And by that same logic, you do not lose weight faster by eating more calories.
Here’s the more likely story…
You’re not being as accurate as you think you are and end up eating more calories than you realize. Whether it’s loosely tracking calories without much precision, not accounting for licks/tastes/bites/snacks, eating back your ‘calories burned’, or not realizing you’re restricting yourself all week and eating everything in sight on the weekends (here’s an article on what to do if you struggle with this).
While yes, it might make sense for specific individuals (very small percentage of the population) to increase calories in order to increase their metabolism and make future fat loss easier (more on this further below).
But increasing calories neither increases nor speeds up fat loss.
Simply put, no one has ever gotten fat from eating too little.
Because if that were the case, then people who are actually starving would be overweight and the world’s hunger crisis would be solved.
And even though anyone posting progress pictures could be eating more calories with their new physique, it was not the calorie increase that got them there.
Sometime between the two pictures, they were likely in a calorie deficit through either eating fewer calories, increasing physical activity to burn more calories, or a combination of both.
Pros of Reverse Dieting
Prevents Yo-Yo Dieting
This is honestly the single best reason why I have coaching clients reverse diet.
For some, this can help with adherence when transitioning from a deficit to maintenance by gradually increase calories over a period of 4-8 weeks. While for some, suddenly adding 500-700 calories can lead to a slippery slope of overeating.
But if you find that you have just finished your deficit phase and have no problem tracking your intake and staying consistent, then by all means increase your calories all at once.
However, in my experience, reverse dieting typically helps more with nutrition adherence.
Not Worrying About Overshooting Maintenance
You see, a lot of people will recommend, “Oh just go straight back to maintenance. You don’t need to waste your time with reverse dieting!”
However, the problem lies in the fact that you probably don’t know what your exact maintenance is.
Most people will use a random equation they find online, but here’s the thing, no single equation is accurate.
It doesn’t matter how many multipliers, factors, or other numbers you plug in, just because it has more numbers in the equation, doesn’t mean it’s more accurate.
The simple fact is, whatever number it spits out, is likely going to be an overestimate and here’s why:
You’ve been in a deficit for several months which means your metabolism has likely decreased significantly from a combination of factors including:
- Being at a lower body weight – a smaller you will use less energy to maintain and move around
- Metabolic adaptation – your body recognizes you’re getting less energy than before so it tries to compensate by conserving energy (usually by reducing NEAT – Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis)
- Reduced NEAT – your body makes you lazier to conserve energy. This is why some people may feel more lethargic, tired, and less fidgety when in a deficit.
Combine all of these things and we get a maintenance calorie intake that is significantly lower than the one you initially started out at.
What does this mean?
This means that you likely don’t know what your new maintenance intake is.
And by incorporating reverse dieting, you no longer need to play this guessing game of “what if I add too many calories and overshoot my maintenance?”
Instead, we slowly add calories week after week to ensure slow and steady gain in order to find your new maintenance.
Before someone says this, I am not against going straight back up to maintenance. In fact, I have had many clients do this successfully.
But I just want to give you all of your available options before you find yourself 10,000 calories deep into “bumping your calories back up to maintenance”.
Boosting Your Metabolism
Caution: There is no scientific evidence I have found to support this. So take this with a huge grain of salt.
Through anecdotal evidence with myself and working with clients, I have found that slowly increasing calorie intake (mainly through carbs) can help us simultaneously stay lean and increase calorie intake which leads me to believe that reverse dieting can temporarily increase our TDEE.
However, I do want to note that I didn’t completely pull this out of my ass. What has led me to believe this is because parts of our metabolism can vary widely daily as a direct consequence of our food intake such as NEAT (Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis) and TEF (Thermic Effect of Food), both are explained in this other article I have written here.
Although this isn’t the main reason that I use reverse dieting with clients, I have seen some people who are able add a small number of calories (~50-100 cals per week) over a period of 8+ weeks and increase their metabolism, all without adding much body fat.
Potential to Lose More Body Fat
This one isn’t anything out of the ordinary.
Your starting point of a reverse diet is typically a calorie deficit.
Calorie deficit = body fat loss.
Not something you need to write home about, but just stating the facts.
Cons of Reverse Dieting
Just one, really.
You have keep tracking your calories and macros for a few more weeks.
Although it really isn’t much of a con depending on the way you think about it.
Who Should Reverse Diet?
Anyone can. There’s really no harm in doing it.
However, there are two particular types of people, I believe, that can benefit greatly from reverse dieting.
1) Just Got Lean For The First Time Ever
If this is your first time ever getting to your current leanness and body fat levels, you probably are only familiar with two methods of eating: paying close attention to your calories and macros, or not paying attention to anything at all.
At this point, you probably don’t have enough experience yet with eyeballing calories and macros and/or eating intuitively (All hope is not lost! You can still master these with enough time and practice!).
Instead, we continue to apply your new habits rather than just ditching them because you’re “done dieting”.
Truthfully, the real diet starts after you’re done with the fat loss. Maintaining is 1000x harder.
Luckily, by using reverse dieting, we can apply the same concepts while eating more food and maintaining your current physique.
2) You’re Really Want to Maintain Your New Physique
If maintaining your new physique is one of your top three priorities and don’t want to put on a single ounce of body, you should consider reverse dieting.
As stated earlier, this allows you slowly increase calories, find your new maintenance calories, and stop to prevent any “spillover” into a surplus.
FAQs on Reverse Dieting
“Can I get leaner during my reverse diet?“
I’m going to use the fitness professional cop out answer of, “it depends.”
But I’ll give a couple of examples to explain:
First situation:
Let’s say you’ve had a successful fat loss phase and have gone from 180 to 150, are satisfied with your progress, and want to maintain your new condition.
If you decided to reverse diet for the next ten weeks, you would technically still be in a calorie deficit during that time.
| Week | Calorie Intake | TDEE |
| 1 | 1600 | 2200 |
| 2 | 1650 | 2210 |
| 3 | 1700 | 2220 |
| 4 | 1775 | 2230 |
| 5 | 1850 | 2240 |
| 6 | 1925 | 2250 |
| 7 | 2000 | 2260 |
| 8 | 2100 | 2270 |
| 9 | 2200 | 2280 |
| 10 | 2300 | 2300 |
As you can see, even though calories were gradually increased, you were still in a deficit throughout the entire period, which will equate to fat loss.
Second situation (one where you would not get leaner):
Karen weighs 132 lbs. She has been going to the gym every single day doing an hour of cardio for 6 months. She has been eating very few calories. Her energy levels took a hit. She has trouble sleeping and isn’t feeling the best. While she saw a significant amount of progress for the first couple of months, it eventually has stalled out and she hasn’t seen progress for the past 6 weeks.
However, because she hasn’t quite attained the level of leanness she’s after, her coach is lowering her calories to get her into a deficit.
I would also apply a reverse diet in this situation, but not for the same reason as the previous scenario. In this case, the purpose of reverse dieting is gradually increase Karen’s BMR as the chronic underfeeding has led her body to undergo metabolic adaptation, be more efficient, and burn less calories to prevent starvation.
In Karen’s case, we would not expect her to get leaner.
“Will I gain fat while reverse dieting?“
Yes, the scale will increase.
And no, you should not be freaking out because it is NOT fat.
The reason for this is because you are likely eating more carbs than you were previously. Carbs are the preferred source of energy for our muscles so they quick become stored as muscle glycogen.
This also causes our body to store more water. For every gram of muscle glycogen, it binds to 3g of water which is why you gain weight (NOT fat) whenever you eat more carbs than normal and lose a lot of weight (again, NOT fat) for the first week on a low-carb diet.
If you still don’t believe me, there’s a way to ensure this.
It’s been shown that waist circumference measurements can be highly correlated with body fat gain/loss. So, if your waist measurements are staying the same even though the scale says otherwise, you likely are not gaining fat.
“Is reverse dieting only useful after a fat loss phase?”
Nope.
Remember that scenario we talked about above regarding metabolic adaptation and using reverse dieting to increase your metabolism.
This is another legitimate reason to reverse diet.
This is a common method I use for clients when their fat loss stalls.
More specifically, women who are highly stressed, overworking, and underfeeding. Often times, these women are legitimately eating 1000-1200 without seeing an ounce of progress and it would neither be safe nor healthy to keep decreasing calories.
Again, I have no scientific evidence to support this point, but anecdotally speaking, I have seen success in both myself and clients.
“Can I just go straight back to maintenance after a fat loss phase?”
Of course you can. You can do anything you want to 🙂 Just be aware that you might overshoot maintenance and could end up adding about 1-2 pounds of body fat (which is honestly nothing to worry about and is totally fine).
Reverse dieting more quickly by adding more calories over a shorter time period is also another option!
“After I started adding calories, my scale weight actually DROPPED. Why??”
Firstly, why are you complaining?? Just kidding, it’s a fair question.
This is actually a common occurrence I see. This is because when you’re in a calorie deficit, your body reacts by increasing stress levels (which your body responds by producing more cortisol). Cortisol typically causes your body to store and hold more water.
So when we start to increase calories, this brings cortisol levels down along with your weight.
Again, this likely isn’t because you’re losing more body fat, but likely because you’ve begun to flush out more water weight.
“Where should the extra calories from when reverse dieting?“
I discuss this into further detail in my other article, The Complete Guide on How to Track Your Calories and Macros.
Generally, when we’re looking at “ideal” macros, we want protein to be high enough for satiation and to maintain/build muscle and fat to be high enough for all of the health benefits.
This leaves carbohydrates as the “filler” macro for the rest of your calories.
This will go for the same for reverse dieting. We want to be increasing your calories primarily from carbs. Carbs are less readily stored as fat and helps replenish your muscle glycogen so that you can train hard.
However, there is no ‘perfect’ method to all of this. This is a highly individualized process and there is no one size fits all answer. But generally, we want to be increasing carbs and even considering reducing protein as carbs have a ‘protein-sparing’ effect when you’re not in a deficit and are eating more carbs.
Final Thoughts On Reverse Dieting
So here’s basically everything you’ve ever wanted to know about reverse dieting.
Again, reverse dieting is NOT a dieting regimen. There are no arbitrary food rules you need to adhere to.
Reverse dieting is simply a tool to use in order to slowly add in more calories to your intake for the goal of:
- Increasing your metabolic rate or
- Maintaining your lean physique after a fat loss phase
As always, if you have any more questions or concerns, please do reach out by emailing me with the subject line: “Reverse Dieting” and I’ll more than happy to answer any questions you may have.
Until next time,
-Aus
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