Eat more to lose weight: this might seem paradoxical, but yet. This is the principle of the reverse diet. But what is this method that is all the rage on the internet and in particular on social networks?
In practice, it involves increasing the calories you consume every day to give a boost to your metabolism and encourage it to burn more. A principle that goes completely against what we have always read and heard. Please note that to lose weight, you need to eat less. Originally, the reverse diet concerned high-level athletes who could thus increase their muscle mass. But it can concern all candidates for weight loss, and in particular, all those who have tried numerous diets.
“We will gain a little weight at the beginning, you don’t have to worry about it”
« A by increasing dietary restrictions with more or less drastic diets, the metabolism slows down. So we burn fewer and fewer calories. And we have difficulty losing weight. Sometimes we don’t lose any at all even though we eat very little! “, indicates Marie-Laure André, dietitian nutritionist.
As surprising as it may seem, repeated diets are in fact not the best solutions for losing weight. One of their perverse effects being the famous “yoyo” phenomenon. That is to say the consequence of alternating periods of draconian restrictions, followed by overconsumption of fatty and sugary foods. By going from one extreme to the other we regain the weight we had before the diet, and sometimes much more. By multiplying these periods over years, we end up losing nothing at all. And even worse to have a complicated relationship with food.
« By adopting the reverse diet, we will gain a little weight at the beginning, you should not worry about it, it’s normal…but in the long term, you will lose it again, especially if you combine this method with an increase of his physical activity. In this case, all the conditions are met to lose pounds and restart your metabolism », Explains the specialist.
First, you need to assess your energy costs.
In practice, how to proceed? Be careful, you have to like calculations. First we evaluate our energy expenditure. We take stock of our diet. How many calories do we consume per day. Then, we analyze our weekly physical activity: are we totally sedentary, or on the contrary, are we used to moving regularly?
Many applications offer to calculate the number of calories lost or ingested according to your lifestyle. Use them to find out these numbers. And little by little, try to adjust them. Then, gradually increase the daily calorie count of your meals.
Example: if you consume 1800 calories per day increase to 1900 calories the first week, then to 2000. You will probably gain a little weight. Unless you burn double the calories by exercising physically. Remember that physical activity is not necessarily sport. It’s moving: walking, vacuuming, gardening, walking your dog, etc.
What do I eat to increase calories?
To increase the amount of calories, choose foods with a high content of vitamins and minerals (fruits, vegetables, dairy products, cereals, etc.) rather than pleasure foods with empty calories such as sweets, biscuits or chocolates. The reverse diet requires a lot of calculations and adaptations depending on the results. Which means that it may be wise to consult a professional to set up the protocol adapted to your lifestyle and habits. Dietitians or nutritionists will be able to provide you with essential information on your metabolism, and determine the most effective program for you.
Thanks to Marie-Laure André, dietitian nutritionistThe 7 laws of thinness(Leduc editions).
Source: www.topsante.com
