What’s Reverse Dieting?
several downsides related to restricted dieting.
Reduced hunger Cutting calories are able to alter the amounts of several hormones which influence appetite and hunger.
For example, one study in fourteen male bodybuilders showed that ten weeks of extreme weight loss led to a 27.7 % decrease in leptin and a 26.4 % increase in ghrelin three days prior to a competition (15Trusted Source).
While leptin promotes fullness, ghrelin stimulates feelings of hunger (16Trusted Source).
Slowly increasing calorie intake may balance levels of these hormones and reduce hunger levels. Nevertheless, no studies have yet proven this theory.
Potential downsides Reverse dieting may have several drawbacks.
Hard to execute Although many tools are able to estimate your prime calorie range, it can be quite difficult to calculate precise needs.
It is usually a lot more complicated to boost the intake of yours by small increments of 50 100 calories each week, as reverse dieting recommends.
In reality, one large study in 3,385 folks showed that folks usually underestimate the calorie content of a meal by up to 259 calories (17Trusted Source).
Additionally, measuring your portions even or incorrectly adding an additional snack to the diet of yours might end up hindering the progress of yours while reverse dieting.
What is more, this program may be time consuming, as it calls for you to meticulously track the daily calorie intake of yours.
Focuses on calories One issue with reverse dieting is actually it focuses entirely on calorie intake without taking other factors into consideration.
Weight loss is so complex, with numerous components playing a role.
Not only do various nutrients impact appetite, hunger, and metabolism differently, but factors as sleep, stress, and hormone fluctuations also affect body weight and need to be taken into consideration (18Trusted Source, 19Trusted Source, 20Trusted Source).
Lack of research All in all, very little research supports reverse dieting.
As anecdotal evidence and case reports are actually all that exists, it is unclear if reverse dieting works – or perhaps whether it is effective for the general population or perhaps just specific groups, like competitive athletes or bodybuilders.
Therefore, until further investigation is conducted, reverse dieting can’t be considered a highly effective tool for weight control.
The bottom line Reverse dieting involves gradually increasing your calorie intake to increase metabolism and prevent weight regain after dieting. This may also boost energy levels and reduce hunger.
Nevertheless, its purported weight loss effects are actually unsupported by science.
Additionally, it could be hard to follow and focuses entirely on counting calories.
Before considering reverse dieting for weight loss, you might want to try out some other suggestions and ensure you are eating a healthy diet.