Reverse Dieting: Fixing Your Metabolism After Crash Diets

Hello Ziddis! We have all heard about reverse psychology, but what about “reverse dieting”? If you have ever lost weight quickly and then reached a stubborn fat-loss plateau or gained it all back, your metabolism must be feeling unhappy with your crash diets and fads. This is where reverse dieting comes into the picture. Popular among the fitness coaches and people stuck in aggressive calorie cuts, reverse dieting focuses on healing your metabolism instead of punishing it.

Reverse Dieting

Reverse dieting is a structured approach where the calories are slowly increased over time after a long period of strict diet. The goal in this case is metabolic recovery and not just fat loss. Here is how your body feels better because of this technique:

• Lowering the resting metabolic rate
• Increasing your hunger hormones in a healthy manner
• Reducing energy and workout performance

Reverse dieting works with your body’s survival mechanism instead of fighting against your body’s needs. Once you have achieved your desired weight loss result, it is important to start increasing the calorie intake to signal that the food is again available in abundance. This allows your metabolism, hormones and energy levels to be normalised.

Reverse Dieting Plan

A successful reverse dieting plan is slow, strategic and consistent. Here are some tips for the same:

• Start from your current intake, even if it is low.
• Increase your calories gradually by adding 50 to 150 calories per week, depending on body size, activity level and dieting history.
• Prioritise carbs because they are metabolically protective. This can improve your recovery and even thyroid function.
• Maintain a healthy protein intake. Make sure to add protein powder to your pre-workouts and consider adding some BCAA to your regimen.
• Keep training. Do not stop or change the momentum of your training schedule.
• Track your body’s energy levels, strength, sleep quality, hunger control, mood and in women’s case-menstrual health instead of just keeping a check on the weighing scale.

Reverse Diet Example

Example of a successful reverse diet is:

Read Also: The Role of Proteins in a Muscle Building Diet

Takeaway

Reverse dieting is not a shortcut but a reset to your toxic diet. If the crash diet has done more harm than good, your metabolism will thank you for the reverse diet. It will restore the hormonal balance, improve your energy levels, push you to train more rigorously and make it easy to lose weight in future.