Whether a surplus phase is necessary or not has nothing to do with how lean you are, rather how long you have been in a deficit for and how low you have had to drop your calories to achieve the weight-loss to date you have. Could a surplus stage be necessary even if you don't yet look the way you desire? Yes. Is a reverse diet something only competitors need to worry about? No. In this podcast I talk with Monica about the inevitable cost of a lengthy calorie deficit and all she wish she had known before damaging her metabolism to the extent she has.