How many times have you lost weight for a special occasion, be it a wedding, a holiday or a big birthday, only to find it creep back on again?
It's something personal trainer and nutrition coach Chloe Thomas sees all too often in her clients, which can cause them to feel downtrodden.
"Weight loss is difficult to maintain and 80 to 90% of people end up regaining what they lost - and sometimes more," she explains. "One of the reasons this happens is because when you reduce your calories and cause your body size to shrink, your metabolism inevitably slows."
It can take up to six months for our metabolic rate to slow, so if you're someone who consistently diets, this is likely something you've seen.
"Often by the time we reach our goal, the amount of calories we can eat to maintain our weight doesn’t translate to a lot of food. It feels boring and incredibly difficult to stick to, so additional calories start to creep back in and the number on the scales can start to rise, meaning we might diet again, starting the yo-yo diet cycle."
Fed up seeing her clients disheartened, Chloe introduced them to the concept of reverse dieting, a method that slowly and strategically increases your daily food intake in an effort to raise your metabolism. "The method offers a lot of promise - when it is done right," Chloe says.
How does reverse dieting work?
"Reverse dieting works through metabolic adaptation," Chloe explains, adding that increasing your calorie intake by around 20 to 50 calories per day will increase your basal metabolic rate, meaning you burn calories quicker, and as a result could lose weight.
She is quick to point out these need to be whole food calories – adding in a handful of sweets or a glass of wine won't help, but a portion of nuts will.
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"It may seem scary to increase your calorie intake, but the outcome is amazing," she enthuses, explaining it has to be done very gradually.
How to reverse diet
In order to reverse diet effectively, it’s important to add calories slowly, Chloe emphasises, confirming that increasing your diet by 20 to 50 calories per day is key.
"A client of mine was eating around 1,200 calories per day – she was severely undereating, yet struggling to lose weight," Chloe shares.
"I started helping her slowly reverse diet over four months ago and she is now up to 1,850 calories a day and has lost over a stone and a dress size."
Chloe adds that another client, Gemma, lost over five stone in a year after ditching the calorie deficit she was committed to.
"If I’d kept her in a calorie deficit she wouldn’t be where she is now," Chloe says.
"I’ve done four reverse diets with her and this has helped keep her metabolism up, helped her have a higher energy expenditure, and of course her mental health is good.
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"If she had been in a calorie deficit for a year and a half, she would not be feeling good and her mental health could have been negatively affected. She would also be very hungry."
Adding that reverse dieting is not a quick fit, Chloe explains: "To be clear, reverse dieting is an advanced method and I would always recommend using a coach who has experience in the practice. It can be scary to increase your calorie intake and it can result in weight gain if it’s not done correctly."
