
Reverse dieting involves gradually increasing your calorie intake over a period of several weeks or months. The aim is to increase your metabolic rate, allowing you to eat more food without gaining fat. The number of calories you add to your diet each week depends on your baseline, which is the number of calories you're currently consuming to maintain your weight. Typically, you would increase your daily calorie intake by 50 to 150 calories per week.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| How many calories to add | 50-150 calories per week |
| How long to add calories for | 4-10 weeks or until you reach your target |
| How to know when to stop | When you reach a daily calorie intake where you're not losing or gaining weight |
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What You'll Learn
- Reverse dieting involves tracking your calorie intake and weight while adding a few calories each week
- You can increase your daily calorie intake by 50 to 150 calories per week
- Reverse dieting can boost metabolism and help your body burn more through non-exercise activity thermogenesis (NEAT)
- After you're finished dieting, estimate your maintenance calorie needs by multiplying your body weight by 14 to 16 calories per day
- Reverse dieting may normalise levels of circulating hormones, such as leptin, which regulates appetite and body weight

Reverse dieting involves tracking your calorie intake and weight while adding a few calories each week
For example, if you are eating 1,500 calories a day for weight loss, you would increase this to 1,600 calories a day for one week. You would then track your weight to see if there is any change. If you are still losing weight, you would increase your calorie intake to 1,700 calories a day for the next week. This process would continue until you reach a daily calorie intake where you are not losing or gaining weight.
Reverse dieting is said to increase metabolic rate, allowing you to eat more food without gaining fat. It may also normalise levels of circulating hormones, such as leptin, which regulates appetite and body weight.
To estimate your maintenance calorie needs, you can multiply your body weight by 14 to 16 calories per day (14 if you are lightly active, and 16 if you are quite active).
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You can increase your daily calorie intake by 50 to 150 calories per week
Reverse dieting involves gradually increasing your calorie intake over several weeks or months. This is done by adding 50 to 150 calories to your daily diet each week. The exact amount you increase your calorie intake by will depend on your current calorie intake and how active you are.
For example, if you are eating 1,500 calories a day to lose weight, you would increase this to 1,600 calories a day for one week. If you are still losing weight, you would then increase your calorie intake to 1,700 calories a day for the next week. You would continue to do this until you reach a daily calorie intake where you are no longer losing or gaining weight.
It is important to track your weight and calorie intake during this process to ensure that you are increasing your calorie intake at a healthy rate. You can estimate your maintenance calorie needs by multiplying your body weight by 14 to 16 calories per day (14 if you are lightly active, and 16 if you are quite active).
Proponents of reverse dieting claim that it increases metabolic rate, allowing you to eat more food without gaining fat. However, it is important to note that reverse dieting is unnecessary and possibly counterproductive.
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Reverse dieting can boost metabolism and help your body burn more through non-exercise activity thermogenesis (NEAT)
Reverse dieting involves increasing your calorie intake by 50 to 150 calories per week above your baseline, which is the number of calories you're currently consuming to maintain your weight. This can be done over the course of several weeks or months, and it's important to track your weight to see if there are any changes.
The idea is that by gradually increasing your calorie intake, you can boost your metabolic rate and increase your body's ability to burn more through non-exercise activity thermogenesis (NEAT). This includes everyday actions like walking, talking, and fidgeting.
For example, if you're currently eating 1,500 calories a day for weight loss, you would increase to 1,600 calories a day for one week. If you're still losing weight, you would then increase to 1,700 calories a day for the next week, and so on.
This process continues until you reach a daily calorie intake where you're not losing or gaining weight. At this point, you know how many calories to eat daily to maintain your current weight.
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After you're finished dieting, estimate your maintenance calorie needs by multiplying your body weight by 14 to 16 calories per day
Reverse dieting involves gradually increasing your calorie intake over several weeks or months, usually by adding 50 to 100 calories to your daily intake per week. The process is complete when you reach a daily calorie intake where you are no longer losing or gaining weight.
After you're finished dieting, you can estimate your maintenance calorie needs by multiplying your body weight by 14 to 16 calories per day. If you're lightly active, you should multiply by 14; if you're quite active, multiply by 16. Adjust your meal plan until you're eating roughly this amount every day.
For example, if you weigh 150 pounds and are lightly active, you would multiply 150 by 14, which equals 2,100 calories per day. If you're quite active, you would multiply 150 by 16, which equals 2,400 calories per day.
It's important to track your calorie intake and weight during reverse dieting. For instance, if you're eating 1,500 calories a day for weight loss, you would increase to 1,600 calories a day for one week. If you're still losing weight, increase to 1,700 calories a day for the next week. Continue this process until you find the number of calories that allows you to maintain your weight.
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Reverse dieting may normalise levels of circulating hormones, such as leptin, which regulates appetite and body weight
Reverse dieting involves increasing your calorie intake by 50 to 150 calories per week, above your baseline, which is the number of calories you're currently consuming to maintain your weight. This period can last 4 to 10 weeks, or until you reach your target, pre-diet intake.
The aim is to reach a daily calorie intake where you're not losing or gaining weight. Once you get to this point, your reverse diet is done, and you'll know how many calories to eat daily to maintain your current weight.
Additionally, increasing your calorie intake may boost metabolism and help your body burn more calories through non-exercise activity thermogenesis (NEAT), which includes everyday actions like walking, talking, and fidgeting. This means that, with reverse dieting, you may be able to increase your calorie intake without gaining weight, as your body becomes more efficient at burning calories.
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Frequently asked questions
It is recommended that you add 50 to 150 calories to your daily intake each week.
Reverse dieting usually lasts 4-10 weeks, or until you reach your target, pre-diet intake.
Your reverse diet is done when you reach a daily calorie intake where you are no longer losing or gaining weight.











































