Reverse dieting, also called the “diet after diet,” claims to help you consume more calories without regaining. This dieting tactic is just the opposite of any typical low-calorie diet. Instead of gradually cutting down on calories, you slowly and methodically increase your calorie intake. This strategy helps your metabolism adjust to this change, as it has gotten used to burning fewer calories.
What Is Reverse Dieting?
Reverse dieting involves gradually increasing calorie intake to boost energy levels, prevent weight regain, and smooth the transition back to a normal diet.
It is commonly popular among competitive athletes and fitness professionals. This diet strategy often follows a strict low-calorie weight loss diet and spans several weeks or months, during which caloric intake is increased incrementally. In theory, this stepwise increase in caloric intake gradually restores hormonal balance and boosts metabolism while avoiding rapid weight gain after caloric restriction.
Several anecdotal reports claim that reverse dieting boosts energy levels and curbs appetite while maintaining the weight loss achieved in the previous diet. However, these claims require more concrete research-based evidence. Hence, the efficacy of this diet is not scientifically approved presently.
How Does Reverse Dieting Work?
During a low-calorie weight loss diet, the human body’s metabolic rate slows down. Many competitive athletes who need to maintain a weight class often go on such diets while competing in tournaments. After the competitions, they must regain their metabolic capacity to continue training. However, immediately going back to consuming pre-diet levels of calories may lead to rapid weight gain. This is where reverse dieting comes into play, allowing these fitness professionals to return to their regular eating habits.
The caloric intake observed during the preceding low-calorie diet serves as the baseline of the reverse diet plan. Proponents of the diet typically recommend increasing the calories by 2-3% above the baseline every week (3). This phased increase in calories may continue for 4-10 weeks or beyond until the target, pre-diet caloric intake during regular diet is reached.
Benefits Of Reverse Dieting
The reported beneficial effects of the reverse diet are largely anecdotal and require further research to prove their credibility. However, it is popular among fitness enthusiasts, and most athletes swear by its efficacy. Let us take a look at a few features of reverse dieting and the impact it may have on the human body –
1. May Help Mitigate Metabolic Adaptation
Metabolic adaptation is the body’s survival response where the metabolism (energy expense) adjusts to calorie intake to prevent further weight loss. Abruptly increasing caloric intake to pre-diet levels can lead to rapid accumulation of fat mass, leading to weight gain, as the metabolism does not get time to adjust and is still slow.
2. May Aid Weight Maintenance
The metabolism adjusts slowly to the dietary change and can tolerate a minimal increase in caloric intake. This may help the body transition from extreme weight loss to a weight maintenance stage without reversing the results from the low-calorie diet.
3. May Help Improve Energy Levels
Calorie-restricted diets may reduce your energy levels, leading to symptoms like increased fatigue, irritation, and decreased concentration levels. When you slowly increase your calorie intake, the body has to work with small amounts of increased calories at a time, making it easier to regulate the energy expended. This may help boost energy levels and reduce fatigue and other symptoms.
4. May Improve Athletic Performance
The stable and slowly increasing energy levels may enhance the body’s capacity to physically push itself and recover faster from exhaustion, allowing professional athletes to train better and improve their form and performance.
5. May Aid In Muscle Maintenance
The added calories can come from proteins, which, as the protein intake levels are stabilised, may help preserve the lean muscle mass gained during the diet.
6. May Restore Hormonal Balance
A long, low-calorie diet may disrupt the balance of hormones like ghrelin and leptin, which benefit regulate metabolism, hunger, and satiety (8). Anecdotal reports claim reverse dieting may help bring their levels back to normal.
7. May Prevent Binge Eating
Unhealthy eating practices and binge eating are common among athletes, especially competitive bodybuilders (9). Moreover, a sudden return to normal caloric intake after a low-calorie diet may lead to binge eating and other eating disorders. A transitional diet may help maintain the habit of tracking caloric intake, thus preventing overeating.
Although these benefits might not be science-backed, they seemingly work for many people. However, for any diet to work well, it has to be approached with a systematic plan. The same is applied to the reverse diet.
Common Misconceptions About Reverse Dieting
Despite the growing popularity of reverse dieting, several misconceptions persist:
Reverse dieting guarantees weight loss: Although it can support healthy weight management and assist in the control of metabolism, reverse dieting does not ensure weight reduction for all people. Individual factors like exercise level and metabolic rate can affect the results.
It is suitable for everyone: There is no one-size-fits-all strategy for reverse dieting. It might not be appropriate for everyone, especially those with specific medical disorders. Still, it might benefit people with severe calorie restriction or metabolic issues.
It is a scientifically proven method: Although reverse dieting has become more popular in the health and fitness sectors, there isn’t enough scientific evidence to support its claims. More studies are wanted to confirm its long-term effectiveness and benefits.
The following sections provide further insight into the fundamentals of this diet and how to set up a diet plan that works for you.
Reverse Dieting Meal Plan
The reverse dieting plan builds on a caloric intake baseline, which may differ from individual to individual. To understand a sample reverse diet meal plan, let us assume you were on a 1000-calorie diet previously, irrespective of your fitness levels. You increase your caloric intake by 100 calories per day from this baseline. So, now you can eat under 1100 calories per day for a week. Carbs and fats are the usual food groups added for the extra calories; however, there is no defined set of rules about what you can or cannot eat unless you have food sensitivities. Here is how your 1100-calorie-a-day weekly diet plan may look:
| Meals | Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4 | Day 5 | Day 6 | Day 7 |
| Breakfast | 28g of rolled oats (110 cal), one hard-boiled egg (78 cal),
½ cup of sliced banana (67 cal) |
½ bagel (~150 cal), one tablespoon of peanut butter (100 cal) | 1 slice of cheese toast (210 cal),
1 fried egg (90 cal) |
1 cup of cereal (140 cal),
1 cup of skimmed milk (85 cal) |
3 egg white veggie scramble
(95 cal), ½ cup of green smoothie (200 cal) |
½ banana (60 cal),
1 cup of spinach smoothie (180 cal) |
½ cup of low-fat cottage cheese (100 cal),
½ cup of diced pineapple (50 cal), 1 tablespoon of honey (70 cal) |
| Mid-Morning Snack | ½ cup of flavoured yoghurt (70 cal),
4-5 rice crackers (~100 cal) |
1 glass of mixed fruit juice (170 cal) | 1 serving of rice crisps or cereal bar
(140 cal) |
½ cup of frozen yoghurt
(160 cal) |
1 small sliced apple
(80 cal), 1 tablespoon of peanut butter (100 cal) |
½ cup of carrot sticks (40 cal),
¼ cup of Greek yoghurt (40 cal), 4-5 rice crackers (100 cal) |
½ cup of frozen yoghurt (160 cal) |
| Lunch | ½ cup of lean turkey with gravy (80 cal),
½ cup of brown rice (90 cal), ½ cup of pinto beans (90 cal) |
1 cup of canned pasta with meatballs (260 cal) | 1 cup of farmhouse salad
(150 cal), 225 fluid grams of vegetable juice (50 cal) |
56 grams of udon noodles
(190 cal), ½ cup of canned shrimp (65 cal) |
85g of grilled chicken (100 cal),
1 cup of mixed veggies (40 cal), one tablespoon of balsamic vinaigrette (70 cal) |
½ cup of cooked quinoa
(120 cal), ½ cup of canned black beans (80 cal), one tablespoon of lime vinaigrette (30 cal) |
1 wholegrain wrap (100 cal), 1 cup of grilled mixed veggies (120 cal), ½ tablespoon of hummus (40 cal) |
| Evening Snack | 60g of white bread (150 cal), one tablespoon strawberry spread (40 cal) | 1 granola bar
(~150 cal) |
3-4 oat crackers (100 cal), one tablespoon of fruit spread (50 cal) | 1 cup of mixed frozen berries
(60 cal), 1 can of energy drink (80-90 cal) |
2 rice cakes (80 cal), ¼ cup of no-fat Greek yoghurt
(40 cal) |
¼ cup of frozen yoghurt (100 cal), one handful of berries
(40 cal) |
2 rice cakes (80 cal), one tablespoon of almond butter (100 cal) |
| Dinner | 85g of baked salmon (160 cal), 1 cup of steamed asparagus (40 cal), ¼ cup of mushroom gravy (20 cal) | ½ cup of chicken salad
(260 cal) |
2 grilled shrimp skewers
(~100 cal), 1 cup of steamed mixed veggies (~ 150 cal) |
1 cup of house salad in pesto
(210 cal), 1 cup of seasoned croutons (70 cal) |
½ cup of brown rice (100 cal), 85 g of tofu (80 cal), 1 cup of mixed stir fry veggies (40 cal), one tablespoon of soy sauce (30 cal) | 85g of chicken breast (100 cal), 28g of feta stuffing (80 cal), ½ cup of leafy salad (70 cal) | 1 cup of tofu miso soup (120 cal),
1 cup of steamed broccoli and carrots (50 cal), one herbed breadstick (100 cal) |
| Total Calories | 1095 | 1090 | 1040 | 1070 | 1055 | 1040 | 1090 |
Reverse dieting is recommended as a follow-up after a low-calorie diet. Therefore, you must be aware that 100 calories is not a lot. Half a bagel alone can amount to approximately 130-150 calories. This is how minute the change in daily caloric intake must be, gradually increasing every week.
The average daily required caloric intake on a regular diet is 2,000 calories per day for females and 2,500 calories per day for men. Therefore, an individual transitioning from a 1000-calorie diet will need at least 10 weeks to reach their pre-diet caloric intake goals.
Reverse Dieting For Weight Loss: Does It Work?
A reverse diet is not considered a standalone diet for weight loss. There is limited research to support this diet’s effectiveness in weight loss, although followers of the diet claimed to have observed related changes in their bodies. Let us reconsider the following factors to understand why some people may experience weight loss while on the reverse diet:
1. May Addresses The Imbalance Between Digestive Hormones
Anecdotal claims suggest that slowly increasing caloric intake may restore the balance between hunger and satiety hormones, thus helping you regulate your eating patterns.
2. May Allow Your Metabolism To Catch Up With Dietary Changes
During the low-calorie diet, your body acquires a state (metabolic adaptation) that is used to burn only a small amount of calories and cannot burn any excess overnight. In theory, an incremental increase of small amounts of calories might be less challenging for the body to burn, helping it slowly increase its metabolic rate.
3. May Keep Eating Behaviours In Check
As the reverse diet still requires constant monitoring of calorie counts for each meal, the prospect of binge eating is low.
Side Effects Of Reverse Dieting
The low-calorie diets preceding reverse dieting are themselves considered unhealthy. Many nutritionists argue that there is no need for another diet following that. Theoretically, this diet may help people return to their regular caloric intake, but not everybody’s body is the same. While some people might enjoy the benefits it claims, others may continue to experience nutrient deficiencies, weakened bone health and immunity, and more, from the low-calorie diet. The reverse diet is a slow process and delays the recovery in such cases. Here are some more ways in which this diet can have opposing effects on the body:
1. May Lead To Weight Fluctuations
Constantly changing diet patterns may confuse the body’s understanding of food supply. As the body feels that food intake is unreliable, it may start storing fat and interfere with weight management.
2. May Cause Digestive Discomfort
The diet emphasises caloric but not nutrient intake. Increasing the consumption of precise nutrients, such as fibre, may disrupt the gut microbiota and result in inflammatory conditions.
3. May Have A Negative Psychological Impact
For those who move to a reverse diet after a very low-calorie diet (VLCD), it will still be considered a VLCD, which may lead to symptoms of depression, anxiety, or other behavioural issues.
Besides these side effects, there are other drawbacks of reverse dieting, such as:
- It is not a science-backed diet, with its reasoning rooted in theoretical presumptions.
- It lacks a basic diet structure, which makes it infeasible for everyone.
- It does not suit dynamic weight management goals.
- It is not a sustainable diet for those with an active social life.
Weighing the negatives against the positives, it is safe to say that this diet is not for everyone, especially beginners. If you need to lose a lot of weight and maintain it for some purpose, it is better to consult registered dietitians and nutritionists before getting on the reverse diet.
Infographic: Pros And Cons Of Reverse Dieting
Reverse dieting promises a stable transition from a low-calorie diet to a regular diet by gradually increasing caloric intake. This is meant to reduce the strain on the body’s metabolism while boosting it. Theoretically, it seems like a sound concept, but there has been no credible research or proof of its effectiveness. Hence, this diet has its fair share of negatives and positives. Check out the infographic below, where we have compiled the key aspects of this diet.
Conclusion
Reverse dieting is a weight-loss maintenance strategy that proposes a phased increase in daily caloric intake, promising higher food consumption with little to no weight gain. It is recommended for people who have been on a low-calorie diet for weight loss and wish to return to their regular diet without losing their progress. Proponents of the diet, which is apparently a large chunk of the fitness community, claim the diet has multiple benefits for serious fitness enthusiasts. However, scientific research to prove its efficacy is limited. Since the diet works with small amounts of caloric intake way below the average daily requirement, it is recommended to consult diet and nutrition experts to understand its functions and if it is the right fit for you.
Frequently Asked Questions
What to do after a reverse diet?
Fitness instructors typically recommend going on a maintenance phase after achieving normal calorie intake and weight goals through reverse dieting. This phase involves maintaining an active lifestyle and monitoring your weight, energy levels, and overall well-being, while you start easing your calorie restrictions. You may also set new fitness goals like improving your strength, agility, or specific athletic performances.
How do I know if reverse dieting is proper for me?
If you wish to transition from a prolonged low-calorie diet, reverse dieting may be beneficial. However, consult a registered dietitian or nutrition expert to assess your current body conditions and needs and discuss other possible solutions.
How long should I be in the maintenance phase after the reverse diet?
The duration of the maintenance phase varies according to individual needs and goals. While some continue on it indefinitely for a balanced lifestyle, others may look forward to new health and fitness goals. Talking to your instructor may help you plan your maintenance phase.
Can I exercise while reverse dieting?
Yes. Regular exercise is recommended during reverse dieting to help your body build the capacity to burn calories, increase caloric intake, and maintain its composition. As your calorie intake increases, your exercise routines may require adjustments. Get regular consultations from fitness and nutrition experts to work around this.