Losing weight (and keeping it off) is a tough nut to crack, especially since weight loss and maintenance is so unique to each individual.
But social media is abuzz with videos promoting a new way of eating that seems to turn dieting — and weight maintenance — on its head.
TikTok influencers call reverse dieting a way to “train your metabolism” to eat more food and not gain weight. It was popularized by bodybuilders who lose weight before a competition and then use this technique to return to their non-competition size gradually.
Certainly, the promise of eating more and maintaining weight loss is alluring, but does it work? Here’s what you need to know about reverse dieting, the science behind it and what experts gave to say.
What is reverse dieting?
Dr. Lilian de Jonge, associate professor at the department of nutrition and food studies at George Mason University, tells TODAY.com that reverse dieting often involves adding back 50 to 100 calories per day — mostly in the form of protein — in weekly steps. To put that into perspective, that’s roughly the number of calories in one-quarter of a cup of cottage cheese or a large hardboiled egg, so it’s not a huge increase in food.
In theory, reverse dieting can help you gradually liberalize your diet and find the calorie level where you can comfortably maintain your weight. However, at this point, there’s no scientific evidence that reverse dieting has any effect on your metabolism, and the practice has some drawbacks.
What happens to your metabolism when you lose weight?
Since reverse dieting is intended to counter the metabolic adaptations of strict dieting and weight loss, it helps to understand some metabolism basics.
As you lose weight, your metabolism adjusts to a smaller body. Suppose you used to weigh 200 pounds and you now weigh 175 pounds. It makes sense that you’d need fewer calories to maintain your lower body weight. But your body takes things a step further.
Evidence suggests that your body…
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