Just like you can slow down your metabolism by dieting, you can also speed it up through a process known as “reverse dieting."
Reverse dieting is the opposite of dieting—instead of cutting calories and increasing cardio, you slowly add calories back while reducing cardio. However, the key here is slowly. You don’t just hit the buffet every day while cutting cardio out overnight. Otherwise, you’d pile on the pounds.
By gradually and strategically increasing calories over time (think eating an additional 30-80 calories daily each week), the fat gain that usually comes with overeating can be limited. Eventually, your food intake will be higher and more comfortable, and weight gain will be minimal.
So how does this work physiologically?
By putting your body in a small calorie surplus (eating slightly more calories than you burn), you can speed up metabolism. Your body will see the extra calories as a stimulus for increasing metabolic rate. The extra food tells your body that you’re not starving and prompts it to stop conserving calories, and instead to start burning through them.
Many things change physiologically in your body to prompt this:
Thyroid levels and testosterone may increase
Sympathetic nervous system activity increases to help organs burn more calories
NEAT (non-exercise activity thermogenesis – or fidgeting, pacing, and other extra movements you’re not consciously aware of) increases to burn more calories.
For more information, please check out our The Complete Guide to Reverse Dieting.