If one of your main health and fitness goals is weight loss, it’s easy to fall into the trap of extreme low-calorie diets, especially when life is busy and you’re looking for fast, manageable results.

However, cutting calories too much for too long can lead to metabolic dysfunction—a condition where your metabolism slows down in response to prolonged calorie restriction. We want a healthy metabolism as this helps our body to burn more calories while at rest. This helps us to lose or maintain weight without having to overly restrict our food intake, or sacrifice our energy levels or health.

It seems counterintuitive as low calories equals less food intake which should equal weight loss… but this actually makes it harder to lose weight and maintain energy levels in the long term.

If you have been going the low-calorie route for too long, over time this can create an unsustainable cycle of restrictive eating and frustration. Reverse dieting, a gradual and supportive approach, offers a way to reset your metabolism and approach health in a more balanced way.

What is reverse dieting?

Reverse dieting is essentially the opposite of traditional dieting. Instead of cutting calories, you gradually add small increments to your daily intake. The goal is to encourage a more efficient metabolism, improve energy levels, and shift the focus from restriction to nourishment. Reverse dieting can help you fuel your body adequately, combatting the negative effects of prolonged calorie restriction and supporting your fitness goals in a sustainable way.

Would reverse dieting work for me?

If you’re wondering whether reverse dieting could help you, here are some common situations where it might be beneficial:

• Chronic dieting or ‘Yo-Yo’ dieting: If you find yourself frequently on and off the dieting bandwagon —especially diets that involve extreme calorie cuts—this teaches your body to expect less food, leading to a ‘slower’ metabolism. This adaptation is a survival response to the low-calorie intake but makes weight loss increasingly difficult and can lead to weight gain once normal eating resumes (so you don’t just end up back at square one, you can end up putting on more weight than when you first started). Reverse dieting helps break this cycle by gradually increasing calories and restoring metabolic function.
• Long-term caloric restriction: If you have maintained low-calorie diets over long periods of time – maybe finding yourself with persistent energy issues and stalled weight loss, even when you’re being consistent. Extended low-calorie intake causes the body to adjust by slowing metabolism to conserve energy. By slowly adding calories back in, reverse dieting helps your body get used to higher energy levels without storing all extra calories as fat.
• Post-diet recovery: Reaching your weight loss goals or simply wanting to stop dieting can feel like a dilemma – maybe even scary - when you’re concerned about regaining weight. Abruptly increasing calories after prolonged dieting can lead to a rapid ‘bounce back’ effect, as the metabolism is slow and unprepared to handle an influx of calories. Reverse dieting helps you ease out of restriction and maintain your progress without a harsh metabolic reaction.

Signs that reverse dieting might benefit you

Reverse dieting may be especially relevant if you experience the following:

• Persistent fatigue and low energy: Low-calorie diets can lead to chronic fatigue and low energy levels. If you’re finding it difficult to keep up with your busy routine despite eating what you think is “healthy,” it might be time to consider giving your body more fuel.
• Stalled weight loss: If your progress has plateaued despite maintaining a low-calorie intake, it’s likely that your metabolism has slowed. Reverse dieting helps restore a balanced metabolic rate, allowing your body to respond more efficiently to activity and food intake.
• Difficulty building muscle and strength: When the body doesn’t have enough calories, muscle growth and recovery are compromised, which can leave you struggling to see results from your workouts. By increasing calories, you’re able to provide the nutrients necessary for muscle repair and growth.
• Frequent cravings or binge episodes: Restrictive diets often lead to intense food cravings or bingeing, as your body attempts to make up for the deficit. Reverse dieting can help curb these urges by meeting your body’s needs and reducing feelings of deprivation.

To sum up

Reverse dieting is an holistic approach to restoring balance in your body and relationship with food. By gradually increasing calories after a period of restriction, it helps prevent the metabolic dysfunction that often accompanies extreme diets. If you’re experiencing low energy, stalled progress, or simply ready for a more sustainable approach, reverse dieting might be the gentle, health-boosting change you’ve been looking for.

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