Not only does the term Reverse Dieting not exist, the belief it does explains a huge problem in the health and fitness industry today and why so many people struggle to achieve their health and fitness goals.

I was chatting via text with a gym colleague the other day and he mentioned he was going to reverse diet. At this moment I had to play dumb because quite frankly, the term reverse dieting to me is dumb.

So, I ask him: “What is a reverse diet?”

He replies: “Like the increasing of calories when metabolism is slow to increase maintenance calories.”

At this moment I can’t help but laugh out loud.


What the internet says about reverse dieting?

If you search Google for the definition of reverse dieting you will find a definition something along the lines of:

The gradual increase of calories to boost metabolism, prevent weight gain or increase weight back to healthier levels after dieting.

After long periods of calorie restriction, your metabolism will slow down and burn fewer calories throughout the day. This is called metabolic adaption and is why it becomes harder to lose weight the longer you diet and the more weight you lose. It gets to a point where it becomes too difficult, uncomfortable, and almost impossible to eat less or do more activity, that your progress stops. The longer you’re in a deficit and the greater the deficit was, the more damage and harder and longer it will be to return to normal. With such a damaged/slowed metabolism, you are now set up for massive weight gain.

This is when and why people go on a so-called reverse diet.

So why am I laughing? Reverse dieting sounds legit?


The definition of diet

Well, first off, let’s explore what the term diet truly means.

“Your diet is anything you put into your pie hole.”

You can have a healthy diet, bad diet, vegetarian diet, vegan diet, calorie restricted diet, low carb diet, etc.

Your diet is what you eat.

So, if your diet is what you put in your mouth, wouldn’t a reverse diet be what comes out of your mouth?

*Excuse my laughter*


The false definition of diet

Our culture universally and blindly accepts a (made up and harmful) definition of the word “diet” explained as: a regimen of eating and drinking less to reduce one’s weight. This definition of “diet” implies you can go on and off the diet. Earlier though, we stated a diet is anything you consume.

The dictionary has multiple definitions and uses of the word “diet” that simply mean what one consumes whether programmed or not and only one definition that says it means to eat less to reduce weight.

But let’s be real for a moment. How many people go on a diet, eat less and don’t lose weight for unknown or known reasons? Plenty!

So, it sounds like their diet (made up definition) got sabotaged by their true diet (what they consumed)

Or

Their diet (made up definition) isn’t yielding results which then wouldn’t be a diet using the made-up definition, rather, it would just be their diet, you know the food they put in their mouth.


You are what you are because you do what you do

There’s no arguing you are the way you are because of what you eat and what you do. In order to change anything about yourself, you need to do something differently than you had before.

If you want to efficiently and effectively change, you should know exactly what you’re eating and doing so that you’ll know exactly what you can change.

If you want to efficiently and effectively change into something specific, not only do you need to know exactly what you’re eating and doing, but also be specific on exactly what you want to change into.

Then to achieve the change all you need to do is form a plan of attack based on the above information and follow the plan. Assess your results by analyzing the correlating data to your goal and make changes as necessary to yield continuous change.

But this isn’t a post about how to change, rather why reverse dieting is bogus.

So why did I mention how to change?


How the false diet definition harms health and fitness

You see, an overwhelming majority of people have no grasp on exactly what they are eating or doing. They simply go on a diet (restriction to lose weight) and restrict whatever it was they were doing before. Basically, they are restricting an unknown amount and replacing it with another lesser unknown amount and expecting results.

As stupid as that sounds, it happens way too much and it pains me that so many people do this and end up metabolically, physically and mentally damaged from doing so.

Since this definition of diet is universally accepted and an overwhelming majority of people haven’t a clue on exactly what they’re doing, the term reverse dieting was created.

It’s like it was created as an excuse that they screwed up their metabolism by being careless or too extreme and need to un-screw it up.

A reverse diet is a diet with a goal and a prescribed plan of attack to take care of an issue/achieve a goal.

But the question is, shouldn’t that be the case for any diet? Shouldn’t a diet always have a goal? A prescribed plan of attack you’re certain will work to take care of an issue or achieve a goal?

I believe the answer is yes.


So why call it reverse dieting?

Why do people feel the need to explain they are fixing their damaged metabolism by saying they’re reverse dieting?

Maybe its because they did lose the weight, got a six pack or whatever, but now they’re getting worse and they feel the need to explain themselves for prideful reasons or comfort because they don’t look like they did at their best?

Maybe it’s because they don’t want to admit they don’t know what they’re doing before, so to sound like they know what they’re doing or prevent them from looking stupid, they say they’re reverse dieting?

I don’t know, but what I do know is:

Reverse dieting doesn’t exist and is just a diet with a goal!

If you are struggling with a sub-par metabolism, or believe you have damaged your metabolism and want to solve the issue once and for all, click here.