From Food Prison to Food Freedom: Reverse Dieting

In a world that incessantly equates thinness with beauty and even wellness, as a young woman I found myself trapped in a relentless cycle of calorie restriction, and spent hours doing cardio to try to shrink my body. An endeavor all too common amongst women - of all ages.

You might be one of those women, right now. Are you falling prisoner to food “rules” like “no carbs” or find yourself opting for “sugar-free” “calorie free” and “low fat options” to feel more in control?

These tempting “sugar free” or “calorie free” options might seem like the perfect way to be able to enjoy your life guilt free, but unfortunately they come with consequences, more specifically around your gut health - which ultimately controls your hormones, and your body's ability to burn fat.

Now that I have been working in the industry for over a decade, I’ve realized that we don't all fit into the same box, and that women may fall on either side of the spectrum, under-eating and restricting, or over-eating and binging. Or somewhere in the middle! Obsessed with counting calories and eating “clean foods' ' - something that now has a clinical name - orthorexia.

The reasons for our behavior around food vary, and are influenced throughout our lives by our relationships, environment, beliefs and probably heavily by social media.

And it isn’t just women that tend to restrict their calories - men also fall into this trap, but more often unintentionally and more from a lack of awareness and busy work schedule, but can also be from a body image perspective.

Your metabolism isn’t broken

For some time, I thought that I had “thyroid issues” and a “slow metabolism”. I was clinically diagnosed with hypothyroidism - constant fatigue, mood swings, and being sick every other week. I was forced to seek a healthier more sustainable approach on my fitness journey.

The truth is your body does down regulate your thyroid hormone, as a survival mechanism to prevent you from starving to death quickly. It slows down your metabolic rate to preserve fat and preserve fuel. But your metabolism is not broken - its actually working great! And Doing exactly what it is supposed to do.

One of the biggest complaints I hear from my clients is that they are “exhausted” and struggling with stubborn body fat. What that tells me, is that they are likely either malnourished from eating crap, or simply undereating.

Why we rebound weight gain

The biggest mistake people make when they realize “holy shit this diet isn’t working, I’m so burnt out”, is that they say fuck the diet and they just eat whatever they feel like.

After long term calorie restriction your hunger and satiety hormones are messed up - making it easier to binge eat or overeat and not recognize when you are full. Not to mention your thyroid hormones are down-regulated making you more likely to store calories as fat instead of using them for fuel. This fuck it approach almost always ends up with rebound weight gain - and then you’re back where you are started - or worse, heavier, and end up convincing yourself its time to do another diet again. Back to the low calorie, fat free, sugar free, no carb diet. Enter the chapter of yo-yo dieting.

The connection between the gut and the thyroid

One of the most profound lessons from my own journey has taught me, is the intrinsic connection between caloric restriction and the thyroid hormone, T3. This hormone, crucial for maintaining a healthy metabolic rate and ensuring optimal gut health, had been significantly impacted during my period of self-imposed food restriction.

As I studied more about the connection between the gut, and our hormones, I learned that the lower levels of T3 in my body were not just slowing down my metabolism but were severely impacting my gut health.

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Chronic dieting, long term calorie restriction and under-eating compromise the gut lining, leaving you more susceptible to “leaky gut” or hyper permeability.⁣Hyper permeability increases inflammation, Which decreases the conversion of our thyroid hormones and increases insulin resistance and our stress hormone cortisol, makes it even more difficult to lose weight.

A healthy, functioning gut is at the epicenter of overall well-being, and for YEARS I tried to “heal my gut” from antibiotic overuse, not realizing that a critical component of gut health is healthy thyroid function - which means eating enough food! something I had neglected for years.

The reverse diet

I want to share the process of reverse dieting with you, so that if you are stuck in vicious cycle of calorie restriction, that you too can break free from food prison, and have your health happiness AND eat real food. Many of my clients actually get LEANER during their reverse, as their thyroid hormone start to increase again. ⁣

• I reverse diet my clients by 50-100 calories a week.

• We get 2-3 weigh ins a week, as well as progress photos to carefully monitor progress.⁣

• Slow and steady, increasing food and with it your metabolism.

• Keep foods clean, organic and incorporate gut supportive foods like bone broth and slow cooked meats

Reflecting on the years spent in the clutches of chronic undereating, I can now clearly see the toll it took on my body. The compromised immune system, hormonal imbalances, and a gradual decline in muscle mass were just the tip of the iceberg. I realized that by restricting my calorie intake, I was not only depriving myself of joy but also undermining my own health in a significant way.

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A reverse diet done well, should minimize increases in body fat, but may still have an effect on total mass (which can be a combination of water and muscle), so it’s important to set realistic expectations and understand that for very gram of carb your body stores you store 3-4g of water. ⁣ When you start eating more food not only will you build muscle more quickly you’ll also store more as fuel. ⁣

Unfortunately women are taught to weigh themselves and relate the number on the scale with their “size”, associating a smaller number with being healthier and happier. Over the past 10 years I have gained 35lbs, 10 of that in the last 3 years! And I am the leanest and strongest and most confident I have ever been - im living proof that there is no correlation, or inverse relationship between a lower number on the scale and an increased sense of confidence or wellbeing.

It took me a long time to be comfortable eating more food, and I would often felt guilty for eating even an adequate amount of calories. But when your calories get too low… the only way out is up. I'm actually reverse dieting after a cut this summer! In the last 5 weeks my coach has increased my food from 1600 calories up to 2300 calories with only 1lb difference on the scale.⁣

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If you've been through a similar journey or are currently struggling with fatigue, stubborn body fat, and stuck eating low calories, feel free to reach out!