Reverse Dieting

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ldy_78
ldy_78 Posts: 61
in Health and Weight Loss
Does anyone have any feedback about reverse dieting? I've been giving it a shot for the past month. I started out at a pretty steep deficit (I was cleansing), and since then have been incrementally upping my intake weekly. It's hard though! I'm so afraid that it will stall my progress or, worse, make me gain the wrong kind of weight. I've been eating pretty clean though and doing my best to stick to my macros. Thus far, after three weeks I've only seen positive results. If I get to my TDEE allowance it's - gulp - almost 1700 cals per day! Which is way more than I've been eating. I'm 5'3" and fluctuate between 109-113. I don't want to go upwards of 115. Anybody have any info on this? Thanks :)

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  • richtala
    richtala Posts: 10
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    Ive had positive feedback on reverse dieting, and from what I've read so far you on right on track. If you reach 1700 calories and continue to gain weight then your maintenance is lower and just adjust accordingly. The TDEE calculators are estimations, however they give you a good ballpark number to work around. Keep an eye on the scale and once you reach 1700 calories watch your weight for 1-2 weeks, if by then it doesn't change, your'e good.

    Also if you were eating in a steep deficit your metabolism is going to be slower, so the estimation for your TDEE at 1700 might be a little high.
  • thegreatcanook
    thegreatcanook Posts: 2,419 Member
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    Ya, I fried my metabolism by having too great of a deficit for too long. Spent a year trying to lose the same 10 lbs over and over again. It took another 4 months to get back to a healthy calorie level to rev up my metabolism. I'm doing great now!
  • slk_5555
    slk_5555 Posts: 177 Member
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    I was eating at 1200 cals for a long time - weight just yoyoing. I slowly increased up to 1600 and not only am I losing weight, but I have far more energy and feel so much better.
  • ldy_78
    ldy_78 Posts: 61
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    thanks, everyone. Yes, I think that a TDEE of 1700 is too high for my height as well. I'm not an expert, but feel that 1400 might be a better number for maintenance. The hard part is that I'd like to stay on the lean end of my BMI because of my fitness industry job, which requires staying lean. There is so much conflicting info out there though - some say that if you aren't losing while restricting then you are grossly underestimating your intake. Even if that were the case, I eat so little right now that even two hundred more unaccounted calories still leaves me at a deficit. On the other hand, I hear lots of success stories from people who up their cals and macros with amazing results. Statistics on MFP don't show the details of the groups in which the numbers represent. Meaning, stats on extreme deficits are generally talking about overweight people, of which I am not one. I'd like to see stats on intake and macronutrient requirements for those in a healthy BMI range who want to lean out and lower their fat percentages.
  • richtala
    richtala Posts: 10
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    You know you are not going to gain a significant amount of weight trying to figure out your maintenance calories. Like say for example 1600 is the sweet spot for you, but for 2 weeks you've been eating around 1700. The weight gain is going to be so minimal and once you see that you can lower your calories. Don't be afraid to experiment now, reverse dieting is the best time to figure out your own body and exactly what it needs rather than what a some TDEE calculator spits at you.

    Also if you want to stay lean and I'm assuming maintain some muscles, you have to eat.

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