Surely they don't grow back at all, you strip the big leafs and the little ones grow bigger to make up for it and when you strip at day 21 the sugar leaf then grows bigger than it would of to make up for it again leaving a much more leafy end product than would of been originally?
Ive only done it a few times and its not my method of growing, but I have seen lots of people do it with success , but does always seem a more leafy product in the end.
Anyway to your original question , I can see some merit in the idea , stretch happens mostly in dark period and uses stored energy from the light period so if you strip hard you reduce your plants ability to store as much energy , different tactic but same theory as a long dark period pre 12/12.
Keep us posted on how it works out, maybe treat one plant differently to see if you can show the difference .