THE POST-DIET BODY FAT OVERSHOOT EFFECT: SOMETHING YOU NEED TO AVOID AFTER YOUR FAT LOSS PHASE ————————————————————— Body fat overshooting describes a process than can occur after dieting where you regain more fat after finishing the diet than you lost during it. – This process can often be a consequence of chronic yo-yo dieting or improper post-diet practices. – In many podcasts and posts I’ve done, I’ve spoken about the metabolic adaptations or adaptive thermogenesis that occur as a result of dieting. – I’ve also pointed out that after finishing a diet and having sustained these metabolic adaptions your metabolic rate and total daily energy expenditure both substantially drop which leaves you more susceptible to regain fat especially if you don’t have an effective exit strategy in place for after your fat loss phase ends. – When we diet and lose body fat, we essentially decrease and shrink the size of our fat cells. This leaves our fat cells in a state where they’re predisposed to regain the energy aka fat that they’ve lost dieting as they’re in a depleted state. – When you finish a diet, the calories that once were your maintenance calories are now a surplus level of caloric intake due to adaptive thermogenesis so if you go right from dieting into overeating and enjoying cheat meals as many do, your body stores the excess calories in adipose tissue which refills your previously shrunken fat cells. – This is what we see happen with many competitors post-show and with many dieters after they finish their fat loss phase. They’ll be in their leanest condition to date but only a few days to weeks of being off the diet and they’ve regained all the fat they’ve lost. – I myself have known competitors and dieters who have gained between 20-30 lbs within weeks of finishing their prep or diet which is more than they lost over the course of a 12-16 week fat loss phase. – This is why it’s so important to have an exit strategy when you finish a diet such as a strategically planned reverse diet to help you transition out of a diet without accruing unnecessary fat mass and losing the results you worked so hard for.
