Dieting is a go-to option for many people who want to lose weight. There are various kinds of diets, each different from the other. Reverse dieting is the opposite of the normal diet plan. In this, you add more calories rather than cutting them. The main motive of dieting is to stay in a calorie deficit or consume fewer calories than your body is using.
What Is Reverse Dieting?
Commonly people follow this to lose weight and reduce fat. On the contrary, reverse dieting's idea is to increase your daily calorie intake without gaining weight. Reverse dieting tries to increase calorie intake following calorie restriction in order to increase metabolic rates and reduce fat accumulation.
Why Do People Go For Reverse Dieting?
Generally, people go on reverse dieting for two main reasons: to achieve the weight loss plateau and to compensate slowly for the high-calorie shortage.
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During times of restricted dieting, your body's metabolism is altered by adaptive thermogenesis. This is a defensive mechanism that lowers your energy expenditure in an effort to halt weight loss. So your body will halt this type of action when you eat very little in an effort to avoid burning too many calories while trying to save energy. Your body will boost activity and calorie burn if you gradually add more calories since it feels more secure with greater energy. This is reverse dieting that tries to increase calorie intake following calorie restriction while decreasing fat growth by restoring metabolic rates.
Bodybuilders adhere to rigid, unsustainable diets in order to achieve their ideal physique. But switching back to a greater calorie diet after competition can lead to weight gain because the metabolism of the body slows down during periods of restriction. To manage this, reverse dieting helps them significantly.
Risk Involved In Reverse Dieting
Once you increase your calorie intake, there is always a chance that you may gain weight. The science underlying weight changes are more nuanced than merely increasing caloric intake and taking into account physiological and psychological aspects. A person who consumes fewer calories would undergo hormonal, metabolic, and cognitive changes that might make maintaining weight loss difficult.
Long-term, restricted diets have been linked to changes in certain hormones, which can affect the metabolic rate. This eventually causes complications in maintaining a healthy weight.
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The risk involved in reverse dieting is that it can be a trigger for people with a history of eating disorders. For some people, the advantages of reverse dieting may not exceed the hazards since it involves precise calorie counting, leaving very little scope for mistakes.
Benefits Of Reverse Dieting
While there is no sufficient evidence that reverse dieting has any benefits, many people believe that it aids in boosting metabolism, appetite, energy, and muscle mass.
Bottomline
Everyone's body is different, and if you are thinking of going on a diet, you must talk to your doctor or dietician. Irrespective of its small benefits, reverse dieting may not be for everyone. While reverse dieting may be effective for some people, it is not recommended to keep doing it. Weight gain and increased health hazards can come from weight cycling.
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