Does anyone have experience with reverse dieting?

[aztecprincesse]

I am 41, 5'7" 133lbs and around 21% bf. I have a habit of being low carb, low calorie for long periods of time and I am now trying to reverse diet myself out of this cycle. I have managed to increase my calories to about 1600/day with about 130gr of carbs. It has taken me some time to get to this point...I started at under 1100/day and about 50-75gr carbs.

My bodyfat has increased and I am trying very hard not to freak out about it...concentrating mostly on strength and muscle gains at the gym. I do crossfit 4 times per week (either crossfit or strict lifting at the gym depending...but it's 4 times). I also play ball hockey 1-2 per week.
I have noticed considerable improvements in everything - so yay!

But I have also gone from about 17%bf to my current 21%.

I weigh and log pretty much everything I eat, so I know almost exactly what my intake is. I also see a nutritionist to help me along (she doesn't have many patients like me who are trying to eat more).

I guess I am just looking for encouragement lol! I am trying so hard not to revert back to my chronic dieting patterns.

Any tips? Ideas? Input? I'd love to hear them!

 

[semper03]

Check this forum out and maybe it will help you.

http://iifym.com/forum/threads/243-Reverse-dieting

 

[caligirl85]

I am 41, 5'7" 133lbs and around 21% bf. I have a habit of being low carb, low calorie for long periods of time and I am now trying to reverse diet myself out of this cycle. I have managed to increase my calories to about 1600/day with about 130gr of carbs. It has taken me some time to get to this point...I started at under 1100/day and about 50-75gr carbs.

My bodyfat has increased and I am trying very hard not to freak out about it...concentrating mostly on strength and muscle gains at the gym. I do crossfit 4 times per week (either crossfit or strict lifting at the gym depending...but it's 4 times). I also play ball hockey 1-2 per week.
I have noticed considerable improvements in everything - so yay!

But I have also gone from about 17%bf to my current 21%.

I weigh and log pretty much everything I eat, so I know almost exactly what my intake is. I also see a nutritionist to help me along (she doesn't have many patients like me who are trying to eat more).

I guess I am just looking for encouragement lol! I am trying so hard not to revert back to my chronic dieting patterns.

Any tips? Ideas? Input? I'd love to hear them!

Welcome to EF

A couple thoughts for ya....how accurate is your bf measurement? Most methods aren't super accurate and that can really serve to mess up our thinking, especially if we are already struggling with some body image issues.

The second thing I would advise is to take it slow. You've probably done some metabolic damage if you've been eating that low for long periods. If you can even increase 50 calories a week or even every two weeks and slowly get back up to where you want to be, that's ok. It gives your body time to adjust and avoids a lot of extra fat gain. Your body will adjust and will eventually start working more efficiently but it takes time. You can go to Layne Norton's website too. He's got some great videos and articles on reversing metabolic damage.

Good luck!

 

[aztecprincesse]

Hi Caligirl,

It's true that my BF measurement isn't taken by the most accurate of devices. It's a bioimpedance analysis, which is not terribly accurate. I do use it as a baseline to see what is trending...in the sense that if I am analyzed at 19%bf one month and then 21% bf the next month, I am probably adding fat (even if the exact percentage is off). I have tried to find a bodpod in my area but there are none.

I have been adding weight quite quickly...my contest weight in May was about 117lbs and now I am at 135lbs. Some of that is muscle...I am quite sure. My deadlift, squat, bench press etc... have all improved significantly. I also got my period back after about 8 months.

I looked at IIFYM dicussion boards as per sempers response. I had been to their web site and used their calculator to help me before but didn't know they had boards! Watched some of the videos at biolayne too.

Thanks for all your help!