8 Essential Tips to Keep in Mind When it Comes to Reverse Dieting
The process of reverse dieting will look different for each and every individual, as each body will respond differently to the process. Try to approach it with an open mind and most of all, PATIENCE.
Before you begin this process, it’s important to note that your success directly correlates with your ability to be consistent, track your food and stay within your program.
I share my 8 non-negotiables when it comes to a successful reverse diet.
1. Calculate your current calories to decide on starting macro targets
To avoid jumping up in calories too quickly, you need to know how many calories you're currently eating to maintain your body weight. From there, you'll use this to establish baseline macros.
First, track everything you eat for a few days to determine your average caloric intake. Let's say that number comes out to be 1800 calories.
Second, set your protein target at 1 gram per pound of body weight. If you weigh, say, 150 pounds, your protein intake will be 150 grams of protein.
Third, subtract your protein calories from your current total-calorie goal to determine the remaining calories:
For example:
150 grams of protein x 4 calories per gram = 600 calories of protein.
1800 total calories - 600 calories from protein = 1200 remaining calories.
Take your remaining calories, and split them 40/60 or 60/40 between carbs and fat. Keep in mind that these numbers can be manipulated, but either one of the above is a good starting place.
2. Be consistent!
Consistency is hugely important in achieving results both in the Reverse Dieting and Body Fat Loss phases of your fitness journey. Don’t expect to experience results and increase your caloric-intake with minimal weight gain if you only plan to be consistent 4 days a week. Your body will keep an accurate record of your discipline and consistency. Remember this is a lifestyle change, not a fad diet. I embrace and teach balance, which means no foods are off limits. However this doesn’t mean that you can be inconsistent and still achieve your goals. There are several apps available to help you track what you eat and I recommend using one of them. My favorite is MyFitnessPal.
3. Counting macros versus counting calories
The most effective way to approach nutrition and achieve your fitness goals is through tracking the amount of proteins, carbohydrates, and fats, known as macronutrients or ‘macros’ for short.
Your macronutrients determine your daily caloric intake as:
1g of protein = 4 cals
1g of carbohydrates = 4 cals
1g of fat = 9 cals
Don’t worry too much about tracking your total daily calories. It’s more important that you track your macros which consist of your protein, carbs, and fats. The cool thing is when you track macros, you’re inadvertently tracking calories as well.
Note that your protein intake will stay the same throughout the duration of your program, as your body does not need more than 1.0 – 1.4g of protein per pound of body weight. However, your carbs and fats will be adjusted each week as you move through the process.
After a full 7 days tracking and hitting your target macros, we will begin to slowly increase you. This weekly increase should continue as long as you do not begin to gain weight rapidly.
You will increase your carbs and fats by 2-5% every week as long as your weight stays the same or decreases.
If you gain 1-2 pounds or more in a week, hold off increasing food volume that week. Keep your macros the same for the next week to give your body more time to adjust to your current intake.
If you gain less than 1 pound in a week, increase carbs and fats by 2% that week. If you maintain your weight, increase carbs and fats by 4% that week. If you lose weight, increase carbs and fats by 5% that week.
4. Adhere to your program
My motto is: strive for progress not perfection! If you hit your macros within 5 grams consistently each day, you adhered fully. If you adhere fully and continue to gain weight, you have most likely reached your metabolic capacity. Before claiming you have reached your metabolic capacity, it is critical to evaluate your level of consistency!
As mentioned earlier, the more consistent you are, the further you will be able to strengthen your metabolism, increase your macronutrient intake and gain minimal weight in the process. However, there will come a point where your metabolism will reach its maximum capacity and increasing your macros will cause weight gain.
At this point, you can either choose to stay with these macros with a goal of maintaining your current weight, or you can decide to enter a body fat loss phase where macros will then decrease with the goal of losing weight and body fat. I recommend maintenance (keeping calories and macros at the number we leave off at) for at least 8-12 weeks to allow the body to adjust to this new norm before we drop down again into a fat loss phase.
5. Protein versus calories
Understanding macros and how to create meals from the grams determined is incredibly important. Nutrition is about 80% of the overall puzzle when it comes to body composition. You can't out train a poor diet! Learning about nutrition and fueling your body correctly to function at its most optimal level will take time and practice.
Macronutrients are not a specific “diet” plan. Macros are simply grams of proteins, carbohydrates, and fats. All foods are made of protein, carbohydrates, and fats. Some foods may contain all three of the macros- peanut butter for example is primarily a source of fat, but most brands also contain some protein and carbs, while others are made up of only one or two of the macros.
For example, chicken is primarily a source of protein but it also contains a small amount of fat. It does not have any carbohydrates.
Specific diet plans exclude certain foods, while putting an emphasis on other foods. There’s nothing wrong with this if someone has sensitivities to dairy or gluten for example. However, the common myth is that excluding certain foods classified as “bad” will help you progress closer to your goals. The truth is your body needs a specific amount of protein, carbs, and fats on a daily basis to function properly, and stated above, all foods contain some amount of protein, carbs, and fats. The overall goal then becomes simply hitting your macro numbers for the day.
6. Tapering off cardio
Your metabolism is affected by both your nutritional approach AND your approach to training. This can’t be overlooked. Your body and specifically your metabolism adapts to whatever it is subjected to. For example, if you are restricting your calories and doing cardio twice per day 5 days a week, your body will adapt and your metabolism will become more efficient (which is NOT a good thing!). This is why many individuals get stuck in a plateau. The body is fighting back and trying to protect itself against you, your diet, and your training approach.
I recommend a balanced approach to training, with the most effective method being weight training. I typically give my clients a weight-training program that involves 3-4 days of weight lifting intermixed with 1-4 days of High Intensity interval training (known as HIIT). Cardio sessions are high intensity but typically no longer than 30 minutes in duration and the maximum amount of time my clients ever spend in the gym is 1 hour (and this is on the high end).
7. Food volume
I want to point out one important note when it comes to “nutrient dense” foods like sweet potatoes and veggies versus less nutrient dense food like Pop Tarts and ice cream. Because nutrient dense foods have less chemicals and artificial ingredients, you will usually have to eat a lot more of them to hit your total macros versus meeting your macros using less nutrient dense foods, that tend to be much higher in carbs and fats.
For example a large plate of veggies, and a pile of sweet potatoes is going to have about the same amount of carbs as one little Pop Tart. Feeling satiated and full will happen much easier with nutrient dense foods. Again, you will just need to experiment with what works best for you. Remember this has to be an enjoyable lifestyle if you truly want to be able to maintain them long-term.
8. Meal planning
Once you have calculated your macronutrients you must then be able to create meals that fit within your specific amount of proteins, carbs, and fats. It will likely be an overwhelming task at first, using a macronutrient tracking app like are MyFitnessPal, My Macros+ and Lose It! will simplify this process for you.
You are given three numbers and then have to create meals based on a certain number of proteins, carbs, and fats.
However, once you get the hang of it, I promise you it will become easier! This is why people hire coaches for this process. It definitely is difficult and overwhelming at first but the longer you do it, the easier it becomes. Be persistent and patient when learning this process. You are most likely not going to get it perfect at first and that’s OK. Just aim to do your best. The easiest way to begin creating your meals is dividing your daily total of macronutrients by the number of meals you wish to consume throughout the day.
For example, if you choose to eat 5 meals a day and your daily macro requirements are 160 grams of protein, 180 grams of carbs, and 45 grams of fat, (random numbers), you will want to divide each of those numbers by 5 to determine the grams per meal:
160g protein / 5meals = 32g of protein per meal • 180g carbs / 5meals = 36g of carbs per meal • 45g fats / 5meals = 9g of fats per meal
When you put together a meal you’ll want to aim for 32g of protein, 36g of carbs, and 9g of fats per meal. Note that you will probably not be able to hit these numbers exactly, and that’s okay. Some meals may have a few grams more fat or carbs, while others will have a few grams less. Try to hit your daily totals as close as possible. But do NOT stress if you are a few grams off.
When you are counting macros from food sources you want to count all the macros for all of your foods. For example, chicken is primarily a source of protein but it also has some fat in it. Count both the protein and fat into your daily macros. You will want to count the carbs and proteins in peanut butter, in addition to the grams of fat.
I find that allowing my clients to enjoy foods they love, (as long as they count them into their daily macros), actually helps them make this a lifestyle that they can maintain for the long-term, rather than a “diet,” that lasts temporarily. Remember, this is a long term investment in your health and you do not have to do this alone. I’m here to help and I’m currently taking on new reverse dieting clients!
If you think you might be a good fit, or want to learn more about Reverse Dieting, fill out this form below and I’ll get back to you ASAP.