How To Boost Your Metabolism – Eat More & Burn Fat

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Have you ever wished, “It would be so nice to eat that slice of cake and still be able to burn some stubborn fat”? Well, I certainly have and I never knew I could boost my metabolism as an adult.

It sounds like only something a fairy godmother would be able to grant. But in reality, it can be a reality. Yes, I am serious!

You can improve your metabolism like when you were younger. I know it sounds too good to be true. But it is possible with a little work and dedication.

I’m about to share with you my secret for upping my caloric metabolism from 1600-1800 calories a day to a whopping 2600-3000 calories a day.

The Secret to Boosting Your Metabolism

I will get right to the point. It really isn’t a secret, but the way to boost your metabolism is to eat more.

That is right. I said what I said.

“But Meredith, if I eat more I will gain fat!”

Well, you can gain fat if you eat more in excess and don’t have the proper nutrition and training knowledge.

However, if you use a slow and methodical approach, you can increase your caloric needs without the risk of gaining excess fat.

How Do You Methodically Eat More?

Boosting your metabolism should be simple. You slowly add more food into your diet so your body adjusts to the greater increase in calories without adding on excess fat.

However, I know that sounds a little too stupid simple.

Here is where I come in touting the concept of a reverse diet. You can read more about the details in the post I linked.

At a high level, a reverse diet is pretty much what it sounds like. A strategic program to reverse traditional dieting techniques and increase your caloric intake to improve your body’s ability to metabolize more food.

How Do You Do A Reverse Diet?

In theory, you slowly increase your calories over a few weeks if not months. You want to give your body time to make an adjustment to how it metabolizes nutrients.

Everybody is different and there is no one size fits all answer on how to do this.

If you are interested and not comfortable with trying it on your own you are not alone. I used a health coach to guide me and I learned so much. Here are some of my tips on how to find a personal trainer or health coach to help you determine the right fit.

But in a nutshell, this is how you do a reverse diet:

1. Determine your caloric intake now. Take a week or two to track your food intake. Don’t make any adjustments yet. Just note your food trends.
2. Through research or with a coach, determine how to increase your calories. Typical recommendations are to up your daily caloric requirements by 50-100 calories on a weekly or bi-weekly basis.
3. Couple your reverse diet with a consistent exercise routine. Your body will adjust to the increase in calories, but you want to make sure you are maintaining a steady movement routine so your body can maximize those additional calories.
4. Notice how your body responds. If it is having normal weight fluctuations and you don’t seem to be gaining large amounts of weight (and I’m talking 5-10+ swings) a week then your body is responding well.
5. Keep a record of your measurements and any other pertinent biofeedback that could help you see trends. Remember I said, “How to Burn Fat and Eat More”? Well, I said fat explicitly because there is a chance you could gain some weight. Don’t be alarmed. Most likely you are gaining weight because you are growing muscles and retaining more food in your body. If your measurements are roughly the same, you have probably been experiencing a body recomposition and that is fantastic.
6. Keep up the good work until you get to your maintenance phase. I will talk about it more below.

There you have it. These are the most high-level steps to reverse diet and boost your metabolism.

I do suggest learning more about the specifics of how to do a reverse diet and be successful. Luckily I discuss it in this post The Reverse Diet Trinity.

How Do You Know When To Stop?

This part can be tricky.

You can’t keep adding food forever and at some point you may start experiencing diminishing returns.

But rest assured you don’t have to worry about that too much.

At a high level, you can stop when you:

• Don’t want to eat anymore or are too full most of the time
• Are seeing more weight gain than normal (i.e. large trends up, not the usual 1-3lbs fluctuations but rather increases by 5-10lbs)
• Are happy with where you are at

It doesn’t have to be complicated but it is helpful to be aware of your body and know when you have reached your maintenance mode.

Is This Right For You?

So this all sounds amazing I know. It truly is. We need to stop believing the lies we have been told from our diet culture that you need to eat less and less.

There is a difference between eating enough for your body and overeating.

Likely if you have stubborn fat you cannot lose and have been dieting forever, you are in the former camp and could benefit from more calories.

It’s amazing what our bodies can do for us when we properly fuel them. Once I started eating more I physically and mentally got stronger, slept better, was not obsessed with food, and I leaned up while putting on muscle.

Keep in mind that this isn’t for everyone. Read here to learn the 15 fundamentals of a reverse diet that you need to know before you start. It will help you decide if this is the right choice for you.

Where Can You Learn More About Reverse Dieting?

The concept of a reverse diet isn’t new. It is common in the body-building world and can often have other names like “metabolic adaptation” or “the diet after the diet.”

Keep in mind that it hasn’t been as scientifically studied as other programs such as intermittent fasting. But that’s okay. Everyone will have their own opinion and with time you will see more studies popping up.

My goal is to inform you of how it works and what you need to know about it. Many reputable professionals in this space are big advocates of this concept and have seen much success with themselves and their clients.

With a quick Google search, you can find tons of information on what a reverse diet is and how to do one. I know how overwhelming that can be so I have a collection of posts about the topic here so you can have an all-in-one reference for your reverse dieting questions.

I personally had a lot of success and am always eager to share my learnings and experience to help others decide if it is the right decision for them.

Got a question or have experience doing a reverse diet? Comment below and I’d love to hear it!