The RIGHT Way To Reverse Diet (And How To Avoid The Common-Wrong Way) 

I’ve been on a deficit for while and have been in a plateau for a few months now. had people tell me to reverse diet & I was like “WTF IS THAT?” & they hit me with the “buy my plan” line. Lol Thank you for the free content! Truly appreciate it!

I definitely slept better after the third day of adding 400 more calories to my 1400 calorie cutting diet i feel like a new man at the gym and internally

Great explanation. The only thing I would challenge is the idea that eating MORE won’t cause weight loss. I see this all the time…. People cut their calories way to low and then their body locks up fat due to high levels of cortisol. When we add some calories and reduce the deficit, suddenly they start losing weight. It’s a real thing….

Excellent info and really Good teaching that engagemang the listner, ✊💪 Will Follow for sure👊

First time seeing your channel. Already subbed. Great video!

Most helpful video I've watched regarding reverse dieting. Thank you!!!!

Great explanation! ☺️ thank you

dude thank you so much ive finnally found my fix to my plateau you don't know how long I've been trying to find a way to start loosing weight again

Thank you for this video.

The best video I’ve found about this

Very informative! Thank YOU!

Great chalk talk. Very clear and well presented.

Great video well stated

thank you! this is very much understandable and informative.

you explained this perfectly and answred all my questions thank you!

Very well explained.

I have been in a deficit for a period of5months..... My metabolism crashed and im eating only 1100 cals or maybe less...... Thanks mate... Now i will reverse diet and bulkup some weights and put on some muscles... After increaseing my metabolism to 2000 with some muscle mass... I will cut again... Anyway it will take a month to change metabolism to 2000...will work hard🔥❤

It was very helpful and detailed. Thankyou !!

Good stuff thanks you

Love it bro thank you

Hello! I’ve been reverse dieting for a year now and I was eating 2,500 calories every day. But due to vacations and work trips I stopped tracking calories and I’m pretty sure I was under eating for approximately a month. I was planning to start my cut phase but because I was not eating as much calories as before this past month I’m not sure if the cut will work. Should I eat my 2500 calories again for a few weeks and then cut, or should I start the cutting phase right away? Thank you, I love your videos!!

thank you so much!

I am so thankful for this video. I'm glad you said to make a calorie jump to get healthier quicker. That's what I ended up doing. I was going to reverse diet slowly, like so many people say, but just reached a point where, after years of restricting/binging/obsessing about food, I just was exhausted physically and mentally. I ended up just quitting all of it - no more 6-7 hours of cardio per week, no more restricting, counting, or measuring. I decided it's time to heal from my ED's and poor body image by doing the opposite of what I've done for years - eating more and lifting more. I've been so much happier.

Not everybody is the same, so that aggressive increase will not work right for many, I've been on a deficit for close to a year, and everytime I try to eat even 200 extra calories I get a big stomach and can't finish my food, the proper way is too increase it steadily, like 100 calories a week, or even less

Thank you for your video! Greetings from Germany👋🇩🇪 I have the same problem. When I did my diet in combination with strength-endurance training, it went well, because in 7 months I lost approximately 28kg, not happy with my body because I look skinny fat but with the weight I am happy. I'm approx. 1.71m tall and normally weighs 73.5kg but it's higher now. I also ate too little during the weight loss and after the weight loss and did too little sport due to time constraints due to school. I didn't calculate my correct calorie cumsumption correctly in a day, such as including activities. I calculated my resting calorie consumption and subtracted 300-500 calories and took that as the daily requirement to lose weight, i.e. approximately, I ate 1400 - 1500 calories a day. Now I've found that it wasn't right, but I can still do something about it by doing strength training regularly and balancing my calorie needs with physical activity. Right now I'm gaining weight, because as you said, the body has recognized this number of calories as a calorie requirement and is now living on it without me losing weight. I have now increased my calorie requirement, but I still have a deficit, but I'm gaining weight precisely because of my body's habit of the old and too low calorie count. From 1400 - 1500 calories, I started eating approximately 2100 - 2300kcal and I think that was wrong because the weight increases quickly. I should eat like 1800 - 2000 kalories per day. I gained 1kg in 5 days. I plan to do sports 4-5 times a week, of which 4 days will be strength training (hypertrophy) and 1 day cardio. I want to maintain my weight by burning fat and building muscle. I also eat mostly healthy. As you said, I will slowly increase my calorie requirement. How can I get rid of the current 1kg? Are these the right approaches? How much calories should I increase after 500-600 calories more and when? Should I eat a week after or a month after the increase of 500 - 600 calories? I hope, you can answer my question.

Ive been in deficit for about around 1 year now and the weight is not moving down anymore and i am facing issues with my sleep. It’s time to start the rever diet i gues.

Hey thanks for the great video, Im in week 4 of my program with a PT going to the gym 3x a week. My macros are (100grams protein, 65 grams fat, 155 grams carbs). Im Still not sure where the maintenance is because my baseline weight is going up due to increasing calories and eating more. I used to consume 1200 calories weighing in at 60kg and now I weight 65.5kg. Im not too fussed about the scale changing or my weight going up so long as I keep workout out and my metabolism gets used to the new routine. Just wondering when or how long until I might see results of low body fat and high muscle If Im consistently lifting heavier each week and Im uping calories to my end goal of over 2,000 calories per day and sticking to macros?

Hi My name is B . I was browsing RU-vid for tips because I was in a calorie surplus trying to gain weight but I’m trying to maintain now but I made the mistake of cutting my calories too low and I feel tired all the time . I want to raise them up but I’m not sure how so I researched how to properly raise my calories and your video came up . Do you have any advice you could offer me ? I’m afraid to gain too much more weight back .

Hey, this was an extremely helpful video. Thanks for your time in sharing it. May I ask what would your advice be for someone who has had several years of under eating and currently reverse dieting to reach a healthy weight? How would you suggest they work out their maintenance calories? Considering they are trying to build muscle, get fit and be at their optimal health during this process, would aggressive reverse dieting quickly as you mentioned here be something you would recommend? Thanks if your able to answer, it sure would be helpful :)

Do you recommend calorie deficit and cardio to lose weight prior to strength training?

Been focused on my Macro nutrition went on a cut for 4 months slowly uping up my carbs every week and fats every week by ten percent aint really worried about calories but there also going up but tryna gain weight again and then slowly cut again

Starting 800 calories today. From the looks of it ima have to start that weight gain at 140 i will be coming back to share my journey STARTING WEIGHT MARCH 11 -198

I was 46kg.. after 21 Mar I started my reverse diet because im tired mentally and physically i’ve been on calorie deficit for almost 9 months I lost my period, and I can’t sleep well at night i think about food all the time, i feel always tired and hungry.. idk what to do anymore im currently at 53kg and i feel so sad and desperate..

My coach told me ime experiencing metabolic damange and need to reverse diet to fix that before phasing in and out of cutting periods

Can people who don’t weight train increase by 50-100 per week, or is that considered too fast?

Any advice about the insatiable hunger that comes during the reverse? No matter what I eat I feel like my stomach is still empty. How long can one typically expect the hunger hormones to regulate again?

I lost weight my reverse i was 180 lowest my cut with 1,850 calories and doing 45 min cardio everyday. Now i’m 175 eating 3,200 calories and 10 mins cardio everyday everyone is different

How long should you reverse diet tho? I’ve been cutting for a year and some months now I’ve lost around 130 pounds I’m currently around 235-240 and I want to be about 190-200 but I been stuck at 240 for so many months now and it’s annoying I really wanna break through it but I don’t know how. I’ve been consuming roughly 1600-1800 calories and I do a lot of cardio I get 10000 steps mostly everyday. I have a feeling my metabolism is really bad I need a boost.

This is super helpful. Any idea/experience how long it takes for weight gain to stabilise after starting reverse dieting? Specifically, the weight gain and fluctuations from increased carbs and increased training stimulus?

Really good video but you never really explained how to actually speed up your metabolism again after a cut, you said to go up in calories but what if you go up in calories and you start gaining weight indefinitely because your deficit becomes your new maintenance? How do you fix that

I started a reverse diet and I like the process but unfortunately increasing carbs definitely made me look fatter.. water definitely going in love handles for me

I've been under eating at 1300-1400 for a year and finally learned about reverse dieting. I've been at 2000 caskets for about 2.5 months. How long do you think I need to stay there before I can start cutting? I'm about 70lbs overweight so I do need to cut eventually.

What if you aren’t purposefully cutting? Would this process still work?

I was eating 1500 calories and immediately jumped to 1800 in one shot. I ate 1800 over the course of one month and at the end of the month I gained 3lbs. Whether its 3lbs of fat or 3lbs of scale weight I do not know. My strength got better in the gym. But since I gained weight does it mean 1800 is my maintenance now? Should I continue to raise it up to 1900, 2000, 2100p etc. Or stop at 1800 since I gained some weight? This is what confuses me about maintenance. How do you know youve reached your maintenance is it by gaining weight that you know youve reached maintenance?

Does storing water in body causes bloating

Can i go right on my kcal in which I was in meatenence after stupid diet witch takes about 2 months and not gaining too much fat just my normal weight at that time ?(I lose weight witch I don’t want to 😥)

Does this aggressive initial approach still apply if you have been adapted and severely underweight for over 10 years (such as in anorexia)? It makes sense that the body will respond favorably if it has been through an acute phase of 'semi-starvation' (such as a few months of strict dieting) by quickly recovering from metabolic adaptation/damage and minimizing fat gain, but if it has been the body's 'normal' to be on very low calories and severely underweight for years, will this rapid approach not result in greater fat gains initially and hence a slower approach may be better? I'd be keen to know your thoughts Cody on whether rapid reverse dieting initially might be beneficial or not in anorexia recovery to minimize fat gain and maximize physiological recovery.

Thank you so much for your explanation.. If possible can u help me out .. i lost so much kg by aggressive dieting.. all parts of my body is small except.. belly love handles ..thighs (mid section) .and my metabolism is very slow and I'm on a plateau.. will reverse dieting help me loose that mid section fat .. if i combine reverse diet with resistance training... Sorry if my English is very bad ... Hope u reply

I started gaining weight after 800kcal keto detox which was for 8 days (got yo-yo effect, and extra 3kg..) and few years of restriction. Now I am eating 1700kcal (I am 23yo, 175cm, 61kg) but still not losing any weight. Should i reverse to 2000-2200kcal to start losing weight? Also can you do IF 16:8 with reverse dieting?

I suppose you can gain muscle in a reverse diet then?

How long does it take for the insane hunger to go away?

Dont jump your calories like he said your going to put on a shit ton of fat

I'm In The Beginning Of Trying Out A Reverse Diet That Is Nearly Double My Maintenance Calories 😅 We'll See If Metabolism Saves My 30.5" Waist At 4000 Calories Per Day

I'm confused it was suggested to me to look into reverse dieting because since my recovery from anorexia have not been able to lose a single pound after gaining more weight than what I wanted to gain. At first I thought reverse dieting sounded perfect. But now I'm confused why would you work so hard to lose all that weight just to do a reverse diet to gain it all back? I thought the point of reverse dieting was to restore metabolism adaptation which in the long run would help you lose? I maintain on 1000 calories a day I've experimented over months and months span of time I finally found the calories that I maintain at that's with strength training six times a week, and it's been about a year since I recovered but I was eating next to nothing black coffee diet soda for days in a row I would never eat off a plate nothing was ever the size of a meal if I ate it all. When I recovered I just went all in in drastically up to my calories quit doing cardio and started drink training and counting macros what happened was I gained 55 lb 20 lb over the goal weight that I had. So there's no way to restore your metabolism without becoming drastically overweight? I even put on quite a bit of muscle. So what if I eat my calorie maintenance until that eventually adjusts will it eventually become a calorie deficient and then I can up it a little bit and do it again? 🤦🤷

ok good i have a question: should i cut or reverse diet after 3 months dieting 1900 kcal day? i'm a male tall 5,67 weight 189,60 lbs at 17 percent body fat..i'd love to get down 13-15 body fat..sometimes i'm feeling very resticted,tired,craving things,sleeping not always well...diet worked out so far and still working.. i started out with 21 BF now i am 17 BF it was a very slow process cause the weight still pretty much the same all diet period but the fat goes down and body composition is changing... what do you think?

If i eat like in a extreme calorie défice but just in a maximum of 1 month and then do a reverse diet I gain weight? I have that question because idk if it is to long for my metabolism to slow down a lot

When you reach the number of kcals you want how long should you eat that amount before cutting

i've been in a reverse diet for a few weeks now (from less than 1200 to 1800), however i started it before i saw this video so i didnt do it the way you described it, but i still didnt gain any weight. but last week i was on a one day trip and ate ~200 calories over my maintenance calories (maintenance: 2100) and ever since then, idk if im just bloated (which i didn't know you can be bloated for over a week) or gained body fat (which is also unlikely) but my stomach is way bigger than before the trip (maybe the trip wasnt the trigger), all my body measurements are bigger and i gained 2kg on the scale (nothing in my routine changed other than the fact that i workout 4 times a week now and not 5). I cant get rid of that stomach fat and idk what to do. can anyone help me understand why this is and what i need to do now????

No one has answered my question but when you reverse diet and add in cals (for fats/carbs), do you slowly lower protein to 1G/LB of body weight?

I really need some advice, I’ve been eating in calorie deficit 1700 kcal for almost 2 years(maintenance 2200) and have lost fat and build muscle. But I’m still not satisfied and still want lower body fat percentage. I did a 1500 kcal cut last month and lost more body fat than I have done staying on 1700 kcal daily. I feel like 1500 kcal is really low, cause I felt hungry and tired almost every day. This month I’m back to 1700 kcal, feel more satisfied, but the weight don’t come off as I would like. What should I do now? My body have been used to eating 1700 kcal for so long. It’s like 1700 kcal is my maintenance, should I really go lower now that my body is used to 1700? Or would a reverse diet help my metabolism in any way, or should I still think in a calorie deficit? I don’t want to lose muscle. I really appreciate any advice.

I am extremely active I don’t eat that much bc I’m a picky either some even consider me a vegan or vegetarian and I am not ...I stay up to 3hrs at the gym yet I am stuck on a plateau I can’t seem to go down and I bloat with a few sips of water how do I know if this is what I need

This is a good informative video. So I’ve been stuck at 125-127 for a while. When i started my journey i was 200 lbs.(5’0) So i went to a personal trainer and they suggested a reverse diet. They think my metabolism is basically shot. And to be honest i was roughly eating 1200 calories maybe less sometimes. Their thought was to go into a reverse diet and then once i get to that 2000 calories with limited weight gain or fat gain i should say and more muscle then they would drop me into a deficit to lose the remaining 10-15 lbs i wanted to. However you’re saying this is not for fat loss, may i have your thoughts on this? Also rn idk i feel like I’m gaining fat back i don’t know if this is a good approach for me as someone who has had a bad relationship with food my whole life.

how long would you recommend staying on your final callories?

I got a question after reverse dieting and reaching my goal calorie of 2500 do I go back to defiect to lose fat loss?

Ok I have a question, bare with me, I started dieting two years ago. Started at 250 got down to 145 the first year. The next year I pretty much binged and restricted to maintain. Now deciding to be done with that. Started a new journey to get to 135 & be happy with my weight finally. Have lost 4 pounds in two weeks off of 1200kcal.( I have always dieted at 1200) Don’t plan to go longer than a month at this rate…. Should my reverse be slow? Because I have no idea what my maintenance is or should be.. I weight train 5x a week sorry for the long response lol

So do you have to experience the negative hormonal changes when loose weight?

i excessively fasted, and while my metabolism is normal (somehow), i feel starved 24/7, and i can only guess the fasting caused some kind of perceived starvation, which happened about 3-4 lbs ago. I have been maintaining around 26.5% body fat for months and the hunger has persisted. I have no fullness, no satiety after high fiber, high protein meals. I also never binge so i never get relief. Im hoping to use reverse dieting to intentionally put some fat back on, maybe 3-5 lbs, get my hormones sorted, and then diet down to continue progress, but lose about 1/2 lb per week or every other week. I hope to reduce my set point without my fat cells noticing; is it achievable by dieting slowly?

it's not "thermodynamics". It's bio chemistry...

Can you explain what happens if i diet for a 2 weeks in the middle of reverse diet?

Last time I bumped up calories rapidly I gained weight back

So i have been eating between 1700 and 2000 for a long time, my maintenance appears to be 3300, doesn't that seem like a high jump? i'm still not really getting that much leaner and theres no progress at all anymore so i kinda feel like i have no other choice

do you add cal to your daily calories or weekly calories

I love the concept of reverse dieting but there's always one thing that confuses me. Do you add × amount of calories everyday for a week or for the entire week? E.g *Adding 50cal everyday to 1500cal diet* Monday-1550 Tuesday-1550 Wednesday-1550 Thursday-1550 Friday-1550 Saturday-1550 Sunday-1550 OR *Dividing 50cal by 7 days a week on a 1500cal diet in order for it to add up to 50cal* Monday-1507 Tuesday-1507 Thursday-1507 Friday-1507 Saturday-1507 Sunday-1507 Can anybody help me please?

So how much calories do i add and how long do i wait till im adapted.

7:00 but why? Why not start slowly? Like 100 extra calories every 2-3 weeks?

Is it true that if you were to go 3500 calories above weekly average that you would gain a pound in fat ? (I understand the extra water weight etc you explained)Thanks for the video it was very helpful 👍

I don’t understand this can you make another video where you use little words 😂😂😂