5 Ways Reverse Dieting Can Take Your Body to the Next Level
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<p class="slide-count desktop-hidden">1 of 6</p><img width="1109" height="614" src="/uploadfile/2024/1208/20241208223620155.jpg">Put it in Reverse
When you think of losing body fat you usually think of low calories and avoiding the stuff you really want to eat. The problem with losing body fat is that you are in a caloric deficit for an extended period of time. When you are in a deficit for longer then 16 weeks your body begins to push back. In an effort to hang on to remaining fat stores, your body begins to slow down certain hormones that are related to weight loss such as T3 and Leptin. In addition to these hormones slowing down, your body slows down your metabolism. Most people believe that when they diet their metabolisms are faster, in reality your metabolism is slower. What is the most common practice after finishing up your cut? You go out for a cheat meal; you binge out on items you have been craving since the start of your cut. The problem we now face is that now you are introducing a lot of calories back into your body. Your body is always in a state of homeostasis (your body is always trying to bring itself back to your body fat set point). Since you are introducing these calories your metabolism (which has slowed down since the start of your diet) is primed to put body fat back on. How do we combat this natural occurrence? Reverse dieting is the answer for you. Reverse dieting done correctly can help you maintain your newfound leanness and can help improve your metabolic capacity. Reverse dieting can help you not gain unwanted body fat.Here are five reasons why reverse dieting will take your body to the next level.
Repair Your Damaged Metabolism
As stated earlier when you are in a caloric deficit for an extended period of time you actually slow down your metabolism. After dieting if you immediately jump back into higher then normal calorie levels your body will add those old layers of fat back on. This is called yoyo dieting. I have seen competitors go from contest ready shape to full on offseason look in a weekend! When this happens we are damaging our metabolism in the long run. Yoyo dieting overtime can create a problem between your bodyfat levels and your metabolic rate, where your bodyfat levels are higher and your metabolic rate is slower. We are actually looking to achieve the opposite, lower bodyfat levels and higher metabolic rates. Reverse dieting will help to achieve this. By slowly adding calories back in and slowly walking your calorie limit back up you give your body a chance to rebound from the stress of dieting. Adding in 10 grams of carbs and five grams of fat per week is more then enough to get your metabolism revving in the right direction. Slow and steady wins the race; I have had people who have managed to maintain their lean physique while eating at their offseason level.
Keep a Lean Physique All Year
Since you will be slowly adding calories back into your diet you will allow your metabolism to recover fully. When your metabolism is at 100 percent you will burn through more calories more efficiently. Instead of going from cut to bulk if you slowly transition you set yourself up for lean gains. Once your metabolism is back up to 100 percent you may even find yourself even leaner then you were when you were dieting.
Consume More Calories
Reverse dieting correctly can help set up your metabolism for a bigger caloric limit. Lets say in your bulking phase you were consuming 3,500 calories, then you went on a cut consuming 2,500 calories. After you finished your cut if you slowly walked your calories back up to 3,500 (taking equally as much time as you spent dieting) you will be leaner and your metabolism would be fully operational. You can then slowly begin to push your metabolism by adding more calories in. If you monitor your physique and do not let yourself get fat you can consume more calories while maintaining a leaner physique.
Diet on more Calories
If you have outlined all my other steps correctly you will be starting your diet on more calories then the last time you dieted. Why is this a good thing? The more calories you have while dieting the more muscle you will maintain, and the more muscle you maintain the leaner and more ripped you will look. In addition, the more calories you consume, the better your workouts will be and overall you will have a better dieting experience.
Get a Better Relationship With Food
It can get to the point in any diet where you are almost counting the seconds to your next meal, but reverse dieting can give you that little mental break you need. Consuming those extra calories will prevent you from binging and help to keep you sane. Severe caloric restrictions cause cravings, cravings cause binges. Binges lead to an unhealthy relationship with food. Remember food is your fuel, you are not a dog. You need to stop thinking of rewarding yourself with food. If you got super lean dieting you don’t deserve a cheat day, you deserve to reverse diet and maintain that new lean you for longer then one days time.
Button slide previous Back to intro Button slide nextPut it in Reverse
When you think of losing body fat you usually think of low calories and avoiding the stuff you really want to eat. The problem with losing body fat is that you are in a caloric deficit for an extended period of time. When you are in a deficit for longer then 16 weeks your body begins to push back. In an effort to hang on to remaining fat stores, your body begins to slow down certain hormones that are related to weight loss such as T3 and Leptin. In addition to these hormones slowing down, your body slows down your metabolism. Most people believe that when they diet their metabolisms are faster, in reality your metabolism is slower.
What is the most common practice after finishing up your cut? You go out for a cheat meal; you binge out on items you have been craving since the start of your cut. The problem we now face is that now you are introducing a lot of calories back into your body. Your body is always in a state of homeostasis (your body is always trying to bring itself back to your body fat set point). Since you are introducing these calories your metabolism (which has slowed down since the start of your diet) is primed to put body fat back on. How do we combat this natural occurrence? Reverse dieting is the answer for you. Reverse dieting done correctly can help you maintain your newfound leanness and can help improve your metabolic capacity. Reverse dieting can help you not gain unwanted body fat.
Here are five reasons why reverse dieting will take your body to the next level.
Repair Your Damaged Metabolism
As stated earlier when you are in a caloric deficit for an extended period of time you actually slow down your metabolism. After dieting if you immediately jump back into higher then normal calorie levels your body will add those old layers of fat back on. This is called yoyo dieting. I have seen competitors go from contest ready shape to full on offseason look in a weekend! When this happens we are damaging our metabolism in the long run. Yoyo dieting overtime can create a problem between your bodyfat levels and your metabolic rate, where your bodyfat levels are higher and your metabolic rate is slower. We are actually looking to achieve the opposite, lower bodyfat levels and higher metabolic rates. Reverse dieting will help to achieve this. By slowly adding calories back in and slowly walking your calorie limit back up you give your body a chance to rebound from the stress of dieting. Adding in 10 grams of carbs and five grams of fat per week is more then enough to get your metabolism revving in the right direction. Slow and steady wins the race; I have had people who have managed to maintain their lean physique while eating at their offseason level.
Keep a Lean Physique All Year
Since you will be slowly adding calories back into your diet you will allow your metabolism to recover fully. When your metabolism is at 100 percent you will burn through more calories more efficiently. Instead of going from cut to bulk if you slowly transition you set yourself up for lean gains. Once your metabolism is back up to 100 percent you may even find yourself even leaner then you were when you were dieting.
Consume More Calories
Reverse dieting correctly can help set up your metabolism for a bigger caloric limit. Lets say in your bulking phase you were consuming 3,500 calories, then you went on a cut consuming 2,500 calories. After you finished your cut if you slowly walked your calories back up to 3,500 (taking equally as much time as you spent dieting) you will be leaner and your metabolism would be fully operational. You can then slowly begin to push your metabolism by adding more calories in. If you monitor your physique and do not let yourself get fat you can consume more calories while maintaining a leaner physique.
Diet on more Calories
If you have outlined all my other steps correctly you will be starting your diet on more calories then the last time you dieted. Why is this a good thing? The more calories you have while dieting the more muscle you will maintain, and the more muscle you maintain the leaner and more ripped you will look. In addition, the more calories you consume, the better your workouts will be and overall you will have a better dieting experience.
Get a Better Relationship With Food
It can get to the point in any diet where you are almost counting the seconds to your next meal, but reverse dieting can give you that little mental break you need. Consuming those extra calories will prevent you from binging and help to keep you sane. Severe caloric restrictions cause cravings, cravings cause binges. Binges lead to an unhealthy relationship with food. Remember food is your fuel, you are not a dog. You need to stop thinking of rewarding yourself with food. If you got super lean dieting you don’t deserve a cheat day, you deserve to reverse diet and maintain that new lean you for longer then one days time.