Depending on the setting you choose, calories will be increased by around 30 – 75 per week as long as your weight gain is within the acceptable range defined by your setting.
The more aggressive the reverse diet setting, the faster your weekly calories will increase and the greater your risk of gaining weight. Each setting also carries a maximum allowable weekly weight gain limit, ranging from 0.5% of total body weight per week on the conservative setting to 1% on the aggressive setting. If you exceed this, the system will hold your macros steady to try and prevent additional weight gain.
Most people either maintain or gain a little bit of weight during a reverse diet but can increase their metabolic rate significantly. As long as too much weight isn’t gained in the process (think more than 5-10 lbs), they will be at a better starting point mentally and physiologically to diet in the future, which may result in a more successful fat loss phase. In some rare cases, people have even lost weight throughout the reverse diet. This goes to show that the way our bodies respond to reverse dieting is unique to each individual.
One thing you’ll notice as calories climb higher is that you’ll need to get creative in figuring out how to eat enough to hit the macros. If you’ve been a “forever dieter” most of your life and are used to eating low-fat, sugar-free foods, you’ll probably need to switch to the regular versions of these just to hit your numbers!
To learn how to maximize your success on a reverse diet and minimize weight gain, click HERE.