Reverse Dieting Case Study Part 1
I want to preface this by saying that the amount of time that someone needs to “reverse diet” is 100% dependent on the person. It will NOT be the same for everyone. I mean heck, this client has been in a reverse diet for over 8 months. It’s a huge pet peeve of mine when a client comes to me not eating enough food and then also not wanting to eat more food in order to actually reach their fat loss goals. I’m not going to further slash the 1000 calories that you’re eating, sorry. You might only need to reverse diet for a couple of months before you can go through a cut. That’s probably unlikely, but it could happen. I would say that most of my clients are reversing for 3+ months minimum. Most people are just not eating enough and it takes time to work calories up especially if you’re scared for me to increase things quickly.
There are also times that I will intentionally put a reverse diet on pause EVEN IF I don’t think calories are as high as they should just to preserve some mental sanity in the client. I really care about your mental health and well being, so if a mini cut is something we need to do halfway or further through a reverse diet to keep you motivated to return the reverse diet post-mini cut, then I will do that for you! Whatever makes things more doable and sustainable is the way to go for me and I will do that for my clients.
Client #1
Bethany | Reverse Diet
33 weeks so far
This client came to me eating 135P 200C 65F. Her dieting history (super important info to get from new clients) involved RP Strength templates which led to getting way too low in bodyweight, then had another coach give her a “one time macro” consultation.
She trains 4-5x per week, is a nutrition coach, and coaches fitness. She has dogs and is active throughout the day (10k step goal). She came to me wanting to improve HEALTH, which is a breath of fresh air for a nutrition coach! Wanted to focus on having enough energy, brain power, manage stressors, etc.
A lot of people think that they have to be this crazy elite athlete that trains twice per day and only focuses on fitness and nutrition to be able to focus on increasing calories, improving metabolism, and doing a “reverse diet”. WRONG. Reverse dieting isn’t only for those people. It’s for everyone. Why? Because most people have a history of dieting way too much and never giving their body time to recover. #1, it’s scientifically proven that DIETS DO NOT WORK, yet so many people still do them because they’re impatient and want quick results that don’t even last. I will never understand it.
Anywho - dieting and being in a deficit down regulates your metabolism, thyroid function, and hormones. All of those things make it harder to lose weight, btw. So you’re kinda shooting yourself in the foot by dieting for way too long and not fueling properly.
WEEK BY WEEK DATA REVIEW:
*Weight and hours in bed are the weekly averages
Week 1: 130p 215c 65f
Starting weight - 130
Hours in bed: 8:34
Week 2: 130p 225c 65f
Weight - 129
Hours in bed: 8:45
Client feedback for strength, hunger, energy, and mood were all GREAT. To me, this is a sign that it’s ok to increase calories. Usually I don’t make huge jumps unless weight drops too fast, so I usually stick with the typical 10-15g carb increase.
Week 3: 130p 235c 65f | 2 refeeds at 285c
Weight - 130.66
Hours in bed: 8:44
Weight fluctuations happen. More carbs = more water weight in the body, so don’t get upset and think you’re gaining fat. You’re not. Just fluctuation! Strength, hunger, mood, energy, stress, etc. are all great. Another good sign that I can keep increasing. I went with a bigger carb increase for this week as you’ll see in the next week below. & I added two “refeed” days in as well just for experimental purposes. Wanting to see how her body responds to it.
Week 4: 130p 250c 65f | 2 refeeds at 300c
Weight - 131.3
Hours in bed: 8:38
Another weight fluctuation. It’s ok! Starting weight was 130, so client is up 1.3#… basically you can poop and lose that much LOL. Nothing to worry about. Strength, hunger, mood, energy, stress, etc. are all great. Since I did a larger increase this week and weight is a lil higher due to fluctuation, I’m not going to do another increase. She responded well to the larger increase + the refeeds added in though!
Week 5: 130p 250c 65f | 2 refeeds at 300c
Weight - 131.7
Hours in bed: 8:26
Another weight fluctuation. It’s ok! Nothing to worry about. Strength, hunger, mood, energy, stress, etc. are all great. There were a couple days that were untracked. Even though the average weight is increased, it’s mostly due to the high weight spike she had at the beginning of the week so it threw off the average a little bit. It’s back down now. Fluctuations are fun, right? :) I do want to increase carbs a little bit more this week though since we chilled out last week with the increases.
Week 6: 130p 265c 65f | 2 refeeds at 315c
Weight - 131.3
Hours in bed: 7:52
Weight back down. Strength, mood, hunger, energy, stress, etc. are all great! Wanting to do another small carb increase.
Week 7: 130p 275c 65f | 2 refeeds at 325c
Weight - 131.3
Hours in bed: 7:54
Weight same. Strength, mood, hunger, energy, stress, etc. are all great! Wanting to do another small carb increase and add a little fats as well.
Week 8: 130p 285c 68f | 2 refeeds at 335c
Weight - 131.9
Hours in bed: 8:30
Weight up a little bit. Mostly due to a higher weight spike one day. That’s ok! That’s why we take averages here. :) Multiple things influence the daily weight fluctuations. Salt, stress, poop, water, hard training, etc. Going to increase carbs a smidge.
Week 9: 130p 295c 68f | 2 refeeds at 345c
Weight - No weigh ins this week
Hours in bed: 8:32
No weigh ins, that’s fine! You don’t always need your weigh in to know if things are going well! Sleep looks good though. Stress, energy, mood, hunger.. all good! Client is getting married and wants to do a VERY short mini cut for the wedding. 2 weeks only. We’ve reversed her up very well and I’m happy with her intake, therefore a few weeks at a small deficit should not be an issue!
Week 10: 130p 250c 55f
Weight - 130.3
Hours in bed: No data this week
No rhyme or reason why I chose this macro split for her deficit, but I wanted to be “semi aggressive” rather than just doing a 10g carb drop or what not. Wanted to be a little bit more aggressive to see what kind of progress we can make. Good to note as well that any initial quick loss will be some water weight and glycogen loss. Not going to change macros this week!
Week 11: 130p 250c 55f
Weight - 129.85
Hours in bed: 7:39
Low weigh in! Making progress on the cut so far. She’s pretty hungry and not enjoying it LOL. Understandable. She has a very healthy mindset about everything though. Cutting is HARD. That’s why you have to really know your “why” behind it or else it’ll be very difficult to be consistent and stick to it. Mini cut is over though.. back to reverse dieting!
Week 12: 130p 300c 65f
Weight - 131.7
Hours in bed: 7:39
Had a higher weight spike from post-wedding. Totally normal. This is why the average weigh in is higher for this week. All feedback is great otherwise! Going to increase things a little bit.
Week 13: 130p 315c 65f | 2 refeeds at 365c
Weight - 130.4
Hours in bed: 8:49
Great sleep improvement. Down in weight! Responding very well to the carb increase clearly. Good feedback all around! Not going to increase anything this week. No rhyme or reason why. Just don’t want to yet.
Week 14: 130p 315c 65f | 2 refeeds at 365c
Weight - 130.6
Hours in bed: 7:49
Alcohol: 4
Slight increase in weight. Not a big deal. Good feedback for the most part.. moderate stress. Going to start listing how much alcohol is consumed as well as another metric for data. No macro changes.
Week 15: 130p 315c 65f | 2 refeeds at 365c
Weight - 131.8
Hours in bed: 8:47
Alcohol: 2
Little weight fluctuation going on. All other feedback looks good! Stress low, hunger and energy are moderate. Because of the weight fluctuation, I’m not going to make any changes. Just because weight is higher doesn’t mean she’s gaining body mass. So many people are quick to slash calories or feel bad at this point and think they’re not making progress. First off, the goal in reverse dieting is NOT weight loss. You’re in the minority if you hyper-respond to a reverse diet. Some people have to gain weight. Some people will maintain. But keep in mind that even if you maintain, you will still have fluctuations like this client is having!
Week 16: 130p 315c 65f | 2 refeeds at 365c
Weight - 131.8
Hours in bed: 8:11
Alcohol: 2
Weight same. High energy, moderate hunger, low stress. All around pretty good feedback. Making a small carb increase and small fat increase.
Week 17: 130p 325c 68f | 2 refeeds at 375c
Weight - 131.9
Hours in bed: 8:20
Alcohol: 2
Weight only up on average slightly. Also this client is only weighing once per week this past week, so there could be some lighter weigh ins during the week that would make the average lighter, but since she’s only weighing once per week, we don’t have the rest of that data. That’s ok, though! No macro changes this week.
Week 18: 130p 325c 68f | 2 refeeds at 375c
Weight - 130.6
Hours in bed: 8:31
Alcohol: 1
Moderate stress, moderate hunger, moderate energy. Good feedback. Good sleep! Wanting to make another increase because weight dropped.. body is responding well.
Week 19: 130p 335c 70f | 2 refeeds at 385c
Weight - 131.9
Hours in bed: 7:56
Alcohol: 2
Moderate stress, hunger, and energy. Overall good feedback. She’s feeling good, performing really well. Setting PRs in the gym. Not really much else to comment on. Not going to make any macro changes this week.
Week 20: 130p 335c 70f | 2 refeeds at 385c
Weight - 131
Hours in bed: 8:38
Alcohol: 2
Moderate hunger and energy. Low stress. All great feedback! Weight dropped a little. Usually it’ll increase (sometimes) when I increase carbs because increased carbs = increased water weight! For every 1g carb you ingest, it comes along with 2-3g of water. Soooo do the math lol. No macro changes.
Week 21: 130p 335c 70f | 2 refeeds at 385c
Weight - 132
Hours in bed: 8:10
Alcohol: 2
Only had one weigh in this week. Probably would have been lower on avg if she had more data but that’s ok. We don’t “need” that data if client doesn’t want to do daily weigh ins every week. Same feedback as last week. No macro changes yet.
Week 22: 130p 335c 70f | 2 refeeds at 385c
Weight - 130.2
Hours in bed: 8:00
Alcohol: 1
Weight is down! See why you shouldn’t get annoyed with the scale? It will fluctuate! Now that weight is back down though, I do want to try increasing things again.
Week 23: 130p 350c 70f | 2 refeeds at 400c
Weight - 131.6
Hours in bed: 8:21
Alcohol: 3
Moderate stress, hunger, and energy. Weight up a tad, bu that’s ok! Just water weight and fluctuations going on. Nothing to worry about. She’s crushing it! Keep in mind this client started at 130# and eating 200c and 65g. We’ve now added 150g carbs to her diet DAILY and 5g fat. Only with a “gain” of 1.6#… pretty impressive. No changes this week.
Week 24: 130p 350c 70f | 2 refeeds at 400c
Weight - 132.2
Hours in bed: 8:37
Alcohol: 4
Moderate stress and hunger. Good energy. Weight up a little. Probably hormonal. A few days were untracked this week which can also contribute to the higher weigh ins. Still going to do a SMALL increase this week.
Week 25: 130p 355c 73f | 2 refeeds at 405c
Weight - No weigh ins
Hours in bed: 8:18
Alcohol: 4
Moderate hunger and energy, low stress. DIdn’t track for majority of the week due to Christmas! No macro changes.
Week 26: 130p 355c 73f | 2 refeeds at 405c
Weight - No weigh ins
Hours in bed: 8:10
Alcohol: 2
Low stress, moderate hunger, moderate energy. Was sick a few days during the week so didn’t track. No macro changes.
Week 27: 130p 355c 73f | 2 refeeds at 405c
Weight - 131.8
Hours in bed: 8:37
Alcohol: 3
Moderate stress, hunger, and energy. Good feedback. Killing it in the gym and in life in general. :) Had two days of not tracking this week due to travel! Small increase this week.
Week 28: 130p 365c 75f | 2 refeeds at 415c
Weight - No weigh ins
Hours in bed: 8:17
Alcohol: 3
High energy, moderate stress and hunger. Great feedback. No macro changes.
Week 29: 130p 365c 75f | 2 refeeds at 415c
Weight - No weigh ins
Hours in bed: 8:05
Alcohol: 1
High energy, moderate stress and hunger. Great feedback. Nothing concerning to report. Crushing it in the gym. Doing great things in her business. Overall awesome! No macro changes.
Week 30: 130p 365c 75f | 2 refeeds at 415c
Weight - 132.3
Hours in bed: 8:39
Alcohol: 2
Only one weigh in this week. Moderate stress, hunger, and energy. Nothing crazy to report. She still feels awesome. :) Small macro changes.
Week 31: 130p 370c 78f | 2 refeeds at 420c
Weight - No weigh ins
Hours in bed: 8:09
Alcohol: 1
Had a competition this week. She crushed it! High energy, moderate stress and hunger. No changes.
Week 32: 130p 375c 78f | 2 refeeds at 425c
Weight - No weigh ins
Hours in bed: 7:42
Alcohol: 4
Moderate stress, hunger, and energy. Nothing crazy to report. She’s focusing on health so she’s not hyper focused on anything else, however she keeps improving in her performance and her business, so that’s worth noting. <3 Small increase.
Week 33: 130p 375c 78f | 2 refeeds at 425c
Weight - No weigh ins
Hours in bed: 8:27
Alcohol: 1
Moderate stress, hunger, and energy. Feedback is great all around. No increase! This is the current up to date progress of this client. I’d assume she’s still probably within that 130-132 range… therefore we’ve increased her macros from 130p 215c 65f to 130p 375c 78f with 2 refeeds at 425g carbs. This is an AMAZING improvement in metabolic capacity and in my case study, this client is the one that maintains and hasn’t gained anything yet. The moment that we reach her “caloric ceiling” is when she’ll start to actually gain weight and then at that point, she’ll be in a surplus for her body. I currently do plan on increasing her food even more as her appetite allows, and then whenever she feels the need to do a cut or a mini cut, it should be fair game because we clearly have enough calories to work with and she’s in a great place metabolically and hormonally.
Testimonial
"I am a firm believer that all coaches should have their very own coach. I am a Nutrition Coaching for a living, so I do this for others and it's a breath of fresh air having someone else do it for you. it also helps that Ashleigh and I get along wonderfully, she knows my body and she knows her sh*t. ;) I came to Ashleigh chasing health because I was coming from RP Templates which starved me and then a one-tome macro protocol and knew I stayed there for too long. I came to her eating 1,925 calories and I am currently eating 2,700 calories. WHAT IS UPPPPP. Scale hasn't really changed (3lbs fluctuations) which is totally cool because I am chasing health and to put myself in a really good spot to cut when I am ready. More carbs (200G then to 376G now) has directly translated over to me PR'ing every single lift in the gym, energy is solid, sleep is ON POINT and guys, I am crushing some serious food. It was a little challenging and scary at first because this is the most food I've ever given my body, but my body NEEDED it and has adapted really well. Ashleigh gave me affirmations and guidance every step of the way. I am eating more than most of the boys (thanks boo) and it's pretty awesome. My fear of carbs is completely gone. I am mentally in a really good place and I am thankful for Ashleigh, as a coach and as a friend. Love having her by my side. #TeamCocoaBunnies. "
This client will also be going through a cut after the Open is over, so I’m excited to see her progress during that!