Reverse Diet Calorie Calculator

About this calculator

Reverse dieting is a structured approach to gradually raising calorie intake after a period of dieting, increasing calories by a small fixed amount (commonly 50-100 calories) on a set schedule (often weekly) rather than jumping straight back to maintenance calories all at once, calculated simply as target calories = current calories + (weekly increase × number of weeks).

The approach is widely used by physique and strength athletes coming off a prolonged calorie deficit — such as after competition prep — as a way to restore metabolic rate and hormone levels (including leptin and thyroid hormones, which tend to downregulate during extended dieting) while minimizing the rapid fat regain that often follows an abrupt return to higher calories. Coaches also use gradual reverse dieting to help clients build a more sustainable maintenance level rather than swinging between aggressive cuts and unstructured 'off-season' eating.

This calculator takes your current daily calories, your planned weekly increase, and the number of weeks in your reverse diet, then returns your target calories at the end of the plan, so you can map out a gradual, structured return to maintenance.