Let’s talk about two different scenarios! 

The first scenario:  So, you’ve been crushing your diet and working out regularly. You finally lost a good amount of weight. Congrats! But now that you got great results and you’re happy with the weight you lost, you might wonder if it’s time to start loosening the reigns and enjoying some of the foods you’ve been depriving yourself of. After all, what’s the point of getting in shape if you can’t enjoy your life? 

The second scenario: You’ve been dieting for months, and you’ve lost some weight, but after some time, you’re no longer losing weight. You’re already eating very few calories, so there is no way to drop your calories. How do you get your body to a place where it can lose weight again?

Unfortunately, with the first scenario, just because you got the desired results doesn’t mean you can afford to let your diet slip. If you backslide on your diet now and start eating excessive calories after dropping all this weight, you could undo all the progress you’ve made and end up right back where you started—or worse. Your metabolism is no longer in a place to accommodate extra calories. Your body has adjusted to eating deficit calories. 

With the second scenario, you’re already eating such few calories. To continue losing weight, you would need to slash those calories again. For example, let’s say you’re dieting on 1,500 calories. Once you plateau, you will have to lower your calories even more. This could be detrimental to your health. In both cases, it’s time to start a reverse diet!

First things first: what is a reverse diet ? A reverse diet is simply slowly introducing more calories into your diet after a restriction period. For example, let’s say you were eating 1,500 calories daily to lose weight. Once you hit your target weight or notice a plateau, you can work towards increasing your calories to your maintenance calories. You can add 100 calories weekly or bi-weekly until you reach your maintenance calories.

If your goal is to lose fat and get in shape, you must do a reverse diet at some point during your journey. That’s because as your body composition changes and you lose weight, your metabolism also changes. Let’s consider some signs indicating that a reverse diet is right for you.

In addition, eating at a calorie deficit puts your body in a state of stress, which can lead to muscle loss and metabolic damage. A reverse diet can help rectify this by slowly increasing your calories and giving your body the nutrients it needs to recover.

If you’re someone who has been dieting for a while or someone who has hit a weight loss plateau , a reverse diet may be something worth considering! Increasing your calories can give your body the nourishment it needs to heal and potentially see further progress with your weight loss goals ! Contact me if you don’t know where to start with your reverse diet. I’ve helped many through this process. A reverse diet might be exactly what you need to continue making progress.