Reverse dieting is one of the most significant trends currently sweeping the fitness world. You hear claims that it can "boost metabolism," allow you to "eat more calories in the future," and even let you "continue to lose weight while eating more."

These claims sound fantastic—often too good to be true. And in many cases, they are.

Here is an evidence-based breakdown of what reverse dieting is, what the science actually says, and when a staggered increase in calories is helpful.
**What is Reverse Dieting?**
Reverse dieting is the process of gradually increasing your calorie intake after a prolonged, successful diet phase. The standard approach involves a slow, strategic increase—typically around **100 calories per week**—until you reach your new, post-diet maintenance calorie level.
The concept originated in the competitive **bodybuilding and physique athlete** community as a way to manage the drastic post-competition "bounce back" (rapid weight regain) that often occurs after dieting down to extremely low body fat levels (e.g., 2-3% for men, 5-7% for women).

Debunking the Three Core Claims

Proponents of reverse dieting often use smart-sounding terminology to make three questionable claims:

Claim 1: Reverse Dieting will Boost Your Metabolism.

The Reality: Metabolism naturally increases when you increase food intake, but this isn't a "boost" created by the reverse diet process itself. Any increase in metabolic rate is due to natural physiological processes:

Increased Thermic Effect of Food (TEF): It takes energy to break down and process food. The more food you consume, the more energy your body expends in the process.
Increased Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis (NEAT): With more energy available from food, you naturally have a greater desire to move (step counts, fidgeting).
Muscle Building: Once you return to a maintenance calorie level (a calorie surplus may even be needed), you can start to build muscle mass, which is more metabolically active and requires more energy to sustain at rest.

Just returning to your new maintenance calories (recalculating for your lighter frame) will achieve all of these increases without the prolonged suffering of a slow calorie climb.

Claim 2: You'll be Able to Diet on More Calories in the Future.

The Reality: This is factually incorrect. Once you lose weight, you are a lighter human being, and it takes less energy to sustain your lighter frame. You will have a lower maintenance calorie requirement than when you started your diet.

The only way to genuinely gain weight while still maintaining a lighter body is to build a significant amount of muscle mass, as muscle is more metabolically active. However, gaining significant muscle mass would naturally involve gaining weight, making the claim logically flawed for individuals with a lighter frame.

Claim 3: You Can Continue to Lose Weight While Reverse Dieting.

The Reality: Yes, you can. But this is because you are still in an energy deficit as you gradually increase your calories back toward maintenance. By definition, you are still on a diet. There is no need to delay the process of returning to maintenance and enjoying normal eating habits.

The Truth About "Adaptive Thermogenesis"

The term adaptive thermogenesis is often used in this discussion. It is a real process where the body downregulates metabolic function as a product of prolonged dieting. This is due to:

Lighter Frame: A smaller body requires less energy at rest.
Reduced Movement (NEAT): Less energy intake leads to less non-exercise movement.
Muscle Loss: Significant weight loss often involves a loss of muscle mass, which in turn further lowers the metabolic rate.

Reverse dieting, through its slow calorie increase, does not change any of these factors. Simply returning to your new, calculated maintenance energy level is a much better way to address these down-regulations without unnecessarily prolonging the diet phase.

When a Staggered Increase is Actually Sensible.

While the metabolic claims of reverse dieting are a myth, there is one area where a staggered increase in calories can be a smart approach: psychological management.

If you have been on a diet for a sustained period (e.g., 16 weeks or more) and have lost a significant amount of weight, you may be mentally stressed and anxious about any perceived weight gain.

When you begin to eat more:

You will store more water, as carbohydrates require water for storage and utilisation.
You will store more glycogen.

This immediate physiological weight gain can cause significant anxiety.

For this reason, a staggered increase in food intake can be a simple and sensible way to manage the psychological impact of increasing food intake and relearning sensible, non-restrictive eating habits.

Instead of the promoted 100 calories per week, a more manageable and realistic approach would be to increase by 250 calories every two weeks or so. This approach allows you to learn how to manage your habits and lifestyle around eating more whole foods and increasing meal volume sensibly, without the mental stress of a sudden increase.