In continuum to my previous topic regarding thermic conversions, I’d like to address the recommended approach to dieting (either down or up, respectively- leaning out or bulking) in a reverse dieting protocol.
Adipose (fat) tissue balance in our bodies may react differently in terms of rate of mitigation (undergoing atrophy from lipolytic expenditure), but it will not vary greatly, since it responds directly with leptin, which responds secondarily with testosterone/GH secretions. A person who loses fat fast vs a person who loses fat slowly- both on either side of the somatotype scale- will have a rate gap of only 2.5% (Expectancy). That means a “fat” guy will lose fat (Repeat: fat, not weight) in a rate slower than circa 2.5% than that of the “scrawny” guy.
Where am I going with this? Well, reverse dieting wishes to A. perserve the most FFM through slowly changing thermodynamic shifts during hormonal anabolism scarcity whenever at a deficit, and B. to make use of the lipolytic energy stores at all times while keeping to optimal performance which brings us back to A.
Reverse dieting is a great tool to doing so if done properly.
I’ll give you an example to understand the process better;
A person has just now built a meal plan consisting of:
200 grams protein = 800kcal
350 grams carbs = 1400kcal
50 grams fat = 450kcal
First, we convert these kcals to their true thermic contribution (kcal to bakcal):
200 grams protein = 560bakcal
350 grams carbs = 1330bakcal
50 grams fat = 441bakcal
Second, we enclose a definitive time span to continuously eat at this caloric value every day, regardless of activities or rest. A solid recommendation from me is 7-10 days. Let’s assume 10 days in this particular.
Each 10 days, we will recursively drop a fixed *percentile* off the caloric value. Repeat, recursively. That means the constant changes every calculation. Here goes:
bakcal of caloric value: 560+1330+441 = 2331bakcal
10 days have gone by. This is where I recommend those who lose body weight quickly (“ecto/meso-morphs”) to drop 5%, and those who don’t (“endomorphs”) to drop 2.5%.
Assuming we’re the fatties of the group (no hate, yours truly is a genetically gifted fatty..): 2331*0.975 = 2272.7 ~ 2273
We now drop by 58kcal. Since we already converted the entire caloric value, to find to true value, we’ll revert back from bakcal to kcal depends on which macro we’d like to drop.
Decided to drop these 58kcals from carbs? 58/0.95= 61kcal -> 61/4 = 15.2 ~ 15 grams of carbs gone. 58kcals from protein? 58/0.7 = 83/4 = 20.7 ~ 21 grams of protein gone. Choose whichever, it’ll give you the same deficient result.
Another 10 days have gone. We now use the new constant which is 2273. 2273*0.975 = 2216. We now drop by 56.8 ~ 57 kcals.
“Are you kidding me? I’m dropping only by 58kcal in 10 days, and just about the same amount 10 days later? What’s the big idea?”
The big idea is that lipolytic shifts are extremely chronic and slow. They react slowly to thermic shifts and should be handled accordingly. A harsher deficit will surely lose more fat but also a great deal more of FFM, which keeps the same rate of fat loss (proportional % to entire body weight and respectively, to FFM) the same if not worse for the harsher deficit dieter.
Also, keep in mind that losing ~60bacakl is losing nearly 100kcal of the food you’re eating, and that 100kcal over the span of 10 days is 1000kcal total deficit. That seems to be a good enough reason to go slow.
Lastly, I can assure you that if you pick the “tedious” 10 day cycle of reduction, you will have a solid 6 months of reverse dieting to the lowest of body fat levels. If you choose 7 days, it will take you 4.5-5 months. It all depends on your goal and the timeframe.
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