Reverse + diet?? The hell? Seems like everyone is doing it these days. When I first heard about this, I was a few months pregnant back in October 2012. I kept seeing people hashtag '#reversediet' on allllll these delicious looking foods on IG. Along with "#iifym." I seriously thought, what is this new diet?? Most of the people still had great abs, strength and looked great and fit! Growing up, and especially as a women, society tries to teach you that in order to look good you need to do a lot of cardio and not eat too much, especially not a lot of protein, but instead, eat a lot of fruits and yogurts, granola, or whatever.
diet: noun
1: the kinds of food that a person, animal, or community habitually eats
2: a special course of food to which one restricts oneself, either to lose weight or for medical reasons.
When you've gone down down down… sometimes there's no where to go but reverse upwards.
Towards the end of my prep, the last 3-4 weeks, I was on about 1100-1200 calories. Sometimes I would try restricting myself to lower in hopes to get more results, and I was doing 12-13 sessions of cardio a WEEK! About 30-60 mins of fasted cardio in the AM and 30-45 of steady state or HIIT on the stair master after weight-lifting.
And guess what?
I DIDN'T LOSE WEIGHT!
I COULDN'T.
My body was tired, weak, hit a plateau, and suffering major metabolic damage. Mainly from dieting so long and hard. If you've been reading my blogs, you'd know that I dumped my first coach and he is the reason I got stuck in such a shitty situation. I signed up with him to do "offseason" before cutting for my show. He "off-seasoned" me aka supposed to be building muscle on probably 1300 calories plus cardio 6x a week. So for my cut, he went lower & increased cardio.
Metabolic damage is just like starvation mode, which are both very real things.
star•va•tion mode - noun (stär-ˈvā-shən mōd): a series of metabolic, hormonal and behavioral responses to extreme or prolonged calorie deprivation, which is common during many popular weight loss diets. Since your body can’t recognize the difference between severe dieting and starving, it responds as if you were really starving: Protective mechanisms are activated to decrease your rate of further weight loss, including reduced energy, lower physical activity and increased appetite. Your metabolism also slows down more than you’d predict for the amount of body weight lost.
Check out this simple blog > Metabolic Damage
Please visit and watch Biolayne's metabolic damage video
So anyways, back to reverse dieting. You do not need to have competed or be in a certain shape to do this. This is for those who have been on restrictive calories (macros) for a long period of time and the body has hit a plateau, and not progressing (losing body fat/gaining muscle, etc). Say you have been eating only 800-1200 calories or whatever it is for months, or years. Your body NEEDS food. Food is fuel. Your body is shutting down. There are many calculators to find out your maintenance caloric intake. Most are surprised as to how many calories they could be eating without gaining weight. So to reverse diet, for example, instead of jumping from the 1000kcal you're at to what the maintenance says, like 1800, you slowly reverse diet by adding in calories (carbs/protein/fats) every week and work your way up so your metabolism adapts and you don't put on fat weight. Note that you CAN and most likely will gain a FEW lbs. But your body composition will significantly change for the better, especially with a good training plan.
IIFYM is my favorite calculator.
You can google others and compare.
Remember, no one number is completely accurate!
I feel as women, we automatically think "weightloss" and go to those numbers, but you should think "maintenance" if you will be reverse dieting as the goal number to work your way up to. And if you can go further than that while gaining minimal weight/bodyfat then keep going. It is a slow process and takes patience, but it is SO worth it. I have seen the results and not just with the body but the MIND too. To be able to eat all your favorite foods in moderation, not gain 5lbs overnight if you want to go out to dinner, feel guilty for eating, and enjoy yourself is a big thing. Calculating macros every day is time-consuming, it can get obsessive, so find stuff what works for you… I just wanted to explain reverse dieting. I think it's a beautiful thing and no one should be eating under even 1200 calories!
I'm still trying to find what works for me now.
I am 1 week post show- and it has not been easy. My friend Stephanie, who competed last year, had gone through metabolic damage and post-show blues, had constantly reminded me that it would be hard post-show and to take it easy and reverse diet. It's common for competitors to go on binge sprees after competitions from all the restriction- which is another reason why I'm an advocate and love flexible dieting/IIFYM (see older posts).
My plan > Relax the Sunday after my show, no food limitations and enjoy the gorgeous day, stress free. Then, starting monday, begin my reverse diet.
*For me, I would keep my protein around 1g-1.2g body lb and then add 10-15g carbs & 1-2g fats every week, and slowly up my macros while gaining minimal weight/body fat and possibly even lose weight and lean out more since I wasn't even that lean. While upping macros, I would slowly take out cardio time as well.
1g protein = 4 calories, 1g carb = 4 calories, 1g fat = 9 calories
This is how people get calories, by adding up their macros.
Always macros > calories
Reality > Relaxed the Sunday after the show but also hit up the gym for a short back & cardio session because I had so much energy from all the carbs. I cut out my fasted cardio completely to start. Then… the whole week I was WAY over my reverse diet target macros. I ate simply because I could, whenever I wanted, because I could. I let food control me. I gave into many cravings, and felt I had majorly failed. For my show I depleted water/sodium, so the week after, water retention was a bitch- I felt HUGE. Bloated. Like the feeling being in an airplane with my body all puffy. It sucked. I stepped on the scale 5 days after and was UP 9 LBS! Huge mistake. I know most is water weight, which is slowly coming down, but that sort of thing really messes with your head.
Find me on IG @coral.suarez
xoxo
Towards the end of my prep, the last 3-4 weeks, I was on about 1100-1200 calories. Sometimes I would try restricting myself to lower in hopes to get more results, and I was doing 12-13 sessions of cardio a WEEK! About 30-60 mins of fasted cardio in the AM and 30-45 of steady state or HIIT on the stair master after weight-lifting.
And guess what?
I DIDN'T LOSE WEIGHT!
I COULDN'T.
My body was tired, weak, hit a plateau, and suffering major metabolic damage. Mainly from dieting so long and hard. If you've been reading my blogs, you'd know that I dumped my first coach and he is the reason I got stuck in such a shitty situation. I signed up with him to do "offseason" before cutting for my show. He "off-seasoned" me aka supposed to be building muscle on probably 1300 calories plus cardio 6x a week. So for my cut, he went lower & increased cardio.
Metabolic damage is just like starvation mode, which are both very real things.
star•va•tion mode - noun (stär-ˈvā-shən mōd): a series of metabolic, hormonal and behavioral responses to extreme or prolonged calorie deprivation, which is common during many popular weight loss diets. Since your body can’t recognize the difference between severe dieting and starving, it responds as if you were really starving: Protective mechanisms are activated to decrease your rate of further weight loss, including reduced energy, lower physical activity and increased appetite. Your metabolism also slows down more than you’d predict for the amount of body weight lost.
Check out this simple blog > Metabolic Damage
Please visit and watch Biolayne's metabolic damage video
So anyways, back to reverse dieting. You do not need to have competed or be in a certain shape to do this. This is for those who have been on restrictive calories (macros) for a long period of time and the body has hit a plateau, and not progressing (losing body fat/gaining muscle, etc). Say you have been eating only 800-1200 calories or whatever it is for months, or years. Your body NEEDS food. Food is fuel. Your body is shutting down. There are many calculators to find out your maintenance caloric intake. Most are surprised as to how many calories they could be eating without gaining weight. So to reverse diet, for example, instead of jumping from the 1000kcal you're at to what the maintenance says, like 1800, you slowly reverse diet by adding in calories (carbs/protein/fats) every week and work your way up so your metabolism adapts and you don't put on fat weight. Note that you CAN and most likely will gain a FEW lbs. But your body composition will significantly change for the better, especially with a good training plan.
IIFYM is my favorite calculator.
You can google others and compare.
Remember, no one number is completely accurate!
I feel as women, we automatically think "weightloss" and go to those numbers, but you should think "maintenance" if you will be reverse dieting as the goal number to work your way up to. And if you can go further than that while gaining minimal weight/bodyfat then keep going. It is a slow process and takes patience, but it is SO worth it. I have seen the results and not just with the body but the MIND too. To be able to eat all your favorite foods in moderation, not gain 5lbs overnight if you want to go out to dinner, feel guilty for eating, and enjoy yourself is a big thing. Calculating macros every day is time-consuming, it can get obsessive, so find stuff what works for you… I just wanted to explain reverse dieting. I think it's a beautiful thing and no one should be eating under even 1200 calories!
I'm still trying to find what works for me now.
I am 1 week post show- and it has not been easy. My friend Stephanie, who competed last year, had gone through metabolic damage and post-show blues, had constantly reminded me that it would be hard post-show and to take it easy and reverse diet. It's common for competitors to go on binge sprees after competitions from all the restriction- which is another reason why I'm an advocate and love flexible dieting/IIFYM (see older posts).
My plan > Relax the Sunday after my show, no food limitations and enjoy the gorgeous day, stress free. Then, starting monday, begin my reverse diet.
*For me, I would keep my protein around 1g-1.2g body lb and then add 10-15g carbs & 1-2g fats every week, and slowly up my macros while gaining minimal weight/body fat and possibly even lose weight and lean out more since I wasn't even that lean. While upping macros, I would slowly take out cardio time as well.
1g protein = 4 calories, 1g carb = 4 calories, 1g fat = 9 calories
This is how people get calories, by adding up their macros.
Always macros > calories
Reality > Relaxed the Sunday after the show but also hit up the gym for a short back & cardio session because I had so much energy from all the carbs. I cut out my fasted cardio completely to start. Then… the whole week I was WAY over my reverse diet target macros. I ate simply because I could, whenever I wanted, because I could. I let food control me. I gave into many cravings, and felt I had majorly failed. For my show I depleted water/sodium, so the week after, water retention was a bitch- I felt HUGE. Bloated. Like the feeling being in an airplane with my body all puffy. It sucked. I stepped on the scale 5 days after and was UP 9 LBS! Huge mistake. I know most is water weight, which is slowly coming down, but that sort of thing really messes with your head.
As you can see, within a week I went from abs to no abs. From solid to fluffy. I do feel more "filled out," happier and healthier, STRONGER, but still unsure and confused. I'm trying to find my happy medium. I beat myself up a bit about my reverse dieting failure. I don't want to get in the mind-set of "I deserve to eat all this shit food because I dieted and was deprived for so long." Because I shouldn't be eating that much crap. It's not the healthy lifestyle I'm going for.
My New Plan > Get back to my reverse dieting plan, but change my macros a bit higher to a more realistic goal that I can hit. Eat bigger meals & less frequently. I've always had it in my head to "eat every 2-3 hours, small meals." But for me, it's unsatisfying, leading me to want to snack through each meal. Whenever I've gone out and had a big meal, I'm satisfied for like 4 hours! So, I will be having bigger meals and I really think that will help out with feeling satisfied. Also, going back to having more meals with volume. I will still be doing it the flexible dieting way, with no food groups off limits.
I will make my come-back… again. It's just been all in my head and I can beat and over-come this. I do not want to get into a binge eating habit. This is it. Enough.
Things I will remind myself of:
1. food will always be there & this is not the only or last chance I can eat this
2. moderation. you can have a little, not the entire pack of cookies
3. you don't want all your handwork out the window
4. take it day by day- it's ok if you slip up
5. you want to be healthy, body, mind and soul
6. eventually your macros will be high again
7. slow and steady wins the race
I know people with a healthy relationship with food thinks this kind of stuff is crazy. It is a bit crazy to have an obsession with food, but it happens to a lot of people. I won't be stepping on the scale for another few weeks. I will continue to lift heavy, hit some PRs, and work on building muscle. Deadlifts, deadlifts and some more deadlifts! Heavy squats, pull-ups and less super-setting with light weight and just work on over-all strength.
I have been contemplating a show in late October, but I don't think it'll give me enough time to improve and build. I mostly want to to redeem myself from my last show. But the right way would be to do a long improvement season (20 weeks) then make a slow cut (20 weeks) into my season to compete next year! April-June are many shows and I want to look my absolute BEST. I think I will also be coaching myself! I'm excited about that. I will definitely be posting more to hold myself accountable.
Here is to new goals- confidence, consistency, strength and self-love.
xoxo
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