Reverse Dieting Calculator
This reverse dieting calculator is built for post-cut transitions. Estimate your current maintenance gap, choose a conservative weekly increase, and map your return to maintenance calories without overshooting by accident.
Estimated maintenance from Mifflin-St Jeor and activity multiplier · weekly calorie bumps of 75 to 125 kcal
Clear numbers first, practical next steps after.
Every calculator is built to give you an estimate you can actually use for nutrition, training, or body-composition planning.
Longer cuts usually justify slower, more controlled calorie additions.
What the schedule is estimating
The output compares your estimated maintenance calories against your current intake and then creates a gradual ramp. It is a planning tool, not a metabolic scan.
If body weight jumps sharply in the first week, that is often glycogen, food volume, and water. Judge the plan across multiple weeks, not a single weigh-in.
When to stop increasing calories
Once body weight is roughly stable and gym performance feels normal again, you are near maintenance. That is usually the point to hold calories steady and decide whether your next phase is maintenance, recomp, or bulk.
If hunger, fatigue, or training performance were the main problems during your cut, reverse dieting is often as much about recovery and adherence as it is about scale weight.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is reverse dieting?
Reverse dieting is the controlled process of increasing calories after a prolonged deficit. The goal is to restore performance, recovery, and adherence without jumping straight into an uncontrolled surplus.
How quickly should calories go up?
It depends on how deep the deficit is and whether your weight is already stable. In many cases, 75 to 150 calories per week is conservative enough to monitor response.
Do you always need a reverse diet?
No. If your cut was short and moderate, you may be able to move straight to maintenance. Reverse dieting is more useful after long aggressive cuts with high diet fatigue.
Related Calculators
Bridge the gap between a hard cut and maintenance
Keep your daily calorie bumps, scale weight, and training performance in one place so your reverse diet is based on data instead of anxiety.