7 Tips You Must Keep in Mind When Reverse Dieting
Often more than not, I receive dozens of inquiries for coaching from men and women who seem to be chronically under-eating. Yet, they inquire about my fat loss program. These are the individuals who typically have tried every diet under the sun and come to me frustrated because they are no longer seeing progress with anything.
In these cases, I recommend these people to actually stop dieting and begin to reverse diet to see weight loss results. I explain to them that they have a better chance of being patient, holding off on weight loss and putting their goal of fat loss on the back burner in order to enjoy long term success and freedom from counting calories down the line.
It’s important to understand that when you’re on a reverse diet, your primary goal cannot be to lose weight or drop body fat. Your goal should be to maintain close to your current weight while increasing the amount of food your metabolism can handle.
A reverse diet is intended to strengthen the metabolism over time for a variety of reasons. The most common reason is to prepare the body to respond more favorably the next time you enter a diet. This is why the process of achieving your goals may take a bit longer following this approach, however, the pay-off is MUCH greater.
Here are my top seven tips to keep in mind while you’re following a reverse diet:
1. Be consistent!
Consistency is hugely important in achieving results both in the Reverse Dieting and Body Fat Loss phases of your fitness journey. Do not expect to experience results and increase your caloric-intake with minimal weight gain if you only plan to be consistent 6 days a week. Your body will keep an accurate record of your discipline and consistency. Remember this is a lifestyle change, not a fad diet. I embrace and teach balance, no foods are off limits, but this does not mean that you can be inconsistent and still achieve your goals.
There are several apps available to help you track what you eat. My favorite is MyFitnessPal.
2. Counting macros vs. counting calories
The most effective way to approach nutrition and achieve fitness goals is through tracking the amount of proteins, carbohydrates, and fats (known as macronutrients or ‘macros’ for short,) that your body needs on a daily basis.
Your macronutrients determine your daily caloric intake. To track your macros keep in mind that:
1g of protein = 4 cals
1g of carbohydrates = 4 cals
1g of fat = 9 cals
Your protein intake will stay the same throughout the duration of your program, as your body does not need more than 1.0 – 1.4g of protein per pound of body weight. However, your carbs and fats will be adjusted.
After a full 7 days tracking and hitting your target macros, we will begin to slowly increase you. This weekly increase should continue as long as you do not begin to gain weight rapidly.
You will increase your carbs and fats by 2-5% every week as long as your weight stays the same or decreases.
If you gain 1-2 pounds or more in a week, hold off increasing food volume that week. Keep your macros the same for the next week to give your body more time to adjust to your current intake.
If you gain less than 1 pound in a week, increase carbs and fats by 2% that week. If you maintain your weight, increase carbs and fats by 4% that week. If you lose weight, increase carbs and fats by 5% that week.
Don’t worry about tracking your total daily calories. It is more important that you track your macros daily. When you track macros you are inadvertently tracking calories as well. The overall goal then becomes simply hitting your macro numbers for the day.
3. Adhere to your program
Strive for progress, not perfection. If you hit your macros within 5 grams consistently each day, you adhered fully. If you adhere fully and continue to gain weight, you have most likely reached your metabolic capacity. Before claiming you have reached your metabolic capacity, it is critical to evaluate your level of consistency!
4. Make it a priority to taper off cardio (if you’re doing more than 10 hours a week)
Your metabolism is affected by both your nutritional approach AND your approach to training. This can’t be overlooked. Your body and specifically your metabolism adapts to whatever it is subjected to. For example, if you are restricting your calories and doing cardio twice per day 5 days a week, your body will adapt and your metabolism will become more efficient (which, as stated earlier, is NOT a good thing!). This is why many individuals get stuck in a plateau. The body is fighting back and trying to protect itself against you, your diet, and your training approach.
I recommend a balanced approach to training, with the most effective method being weight training. I typically give my clients a weight-training program that involves 3-4 days of weight lifting intermixed with 1-4 days of High Intensity interval training (known as HIIT). Cardio sessions are high intensity but typically no longer than 30 minutes in duration and the maximum amount of time my clients ever spend in the gym is 2 hours, and this is on the high end.
5. Consider food volume
I want to point out one important note when it comes to “nutrient dense” foods like sweet potatoes and veggies versus less nutrient dense food like Pop Tarts and ice cream. Because nutrient dense foods have less chemicals and artificial ingredients, you will usually have to eat a lot more of them to hit your total macros versus meeting your macros using less nutrient dense foods, that tend to be much higher in carbs and fats.
For example a large plate of veggies, and a pile of sweet potatoes is going to have about the same amount of carbs as one little Pop Tart. Feeling satiated and full will happen much easier with nutrient dense foods. Again, you will just need to experiment with what works best for you. Remember this has to be an enjoyable lifestyle if you truly want to be able to maintain them long-term.
6. Prioritize meal planning
Once you have calculated your macronutrients you must then be able to create meals that fit within your specific amount of proteins, carbs, and fats. It will likely be an overwhelming task at first. Using a macronutrient tracking application like are MyFitnessPal, My Macros+ and Lose It! will simplify this process for you.
You are given three numbers and then have to create meals based on a certain number of proteins, carbs, and fats. Once you get the hang of meal planning, it will become easier. This is why people hire coaches for this process. It is difficult and overwhelming, but the longer you do it, the easier it becomes. Be persistent and patient, as you are not going to get it perfect at first and that’s OK! Just aim to do your best. The easiest way to begin creating your meals is dividing your daily total of macronutrients by the number of meals you wish to consume throughout the day.
7. Track your bodies biofeedback and pay attention to markers along the way so you know when to stop
You’ll know you've hit your threshold for maintaining calories when you notice the scale weight increase 2-3 pounds after two consecutive weeks OR you’ve just gotten almost uncomfortably full on a daily basis. You can stop adding calories and decide on your next game plan from there. If you feel good, you may want to stay at this level, work on strength and build muscle for the next 3-12 months.
Remember, the longer you stay out of a deficit (and build muscle!) the better your body will respond to a cut when the time is right. But If you'd like to lose weight now that your metabolism is at a better starting point, go for it. Just keep in mind the longer you wait, the better (and easier) your cut most likely will be.
But be smart about how you go about it; don't recklessly slash calories too quickly. You'll want to diet on as many calories as possible while still losing weight. Your metabolism depends upon it.
Overwhelmed? I’m here to help!
I recommend following an approach of meeting macros primarily with nutrient dense foods while also allowing flexibility and balance in my client's diet to avoid feeling like they’re sacrificing or restricting.
I find that allowing my clients to enjoy foods they love, as long as they count them into their daily macros, actually helps them make this a lifestyle that they can maintain for the long-term, rather than a “diet,” that lasts temporarily with no long term sustainable results.
Remember, reverse dieting is a long term investment in your health and you do not have to do this alone. I’m here to help and I’m currently taking on new reverse dieting clients!