Reverse diet calculator.
Coming off a cut and want to add calories back without piling on fat? Enter where your intake is now, your maintenance target, and how fast you want to climb - and this reverse diet calculator builds your full week-by-week schedule up to maintenance, with the number of weeks and a protein floor to protect your muscle.
What you eat now, at the end of your cut.
Not sure? Estimate it with the maintenance calorie calculator.
Used only for your protein floor reminder.
Weeks to reach maintenance
8 weeks
1,500 to 2,100 kcal at +75/wk
Protein floor
hold this every week
116g/day
Your week-by-week schedule
Each step adds the weekly increase until you hit maintenance. Track your weekly weight - if it climbs fast, hold a week or ease the step.
the short answer
A reverse diet calculator builds a schedule: weeks = (maintenance calories - current calories) / weekly increase, then each week adds that increment to last week's intake until you reach maintenance. With a +75 kcal default (range 50-150), climbing from 1,500 to 2,100 calories takes about 8 weeks. Keep protein at a floor of roughly 0.7-1 g per pound of bodyweight the entire way to protect muscle.
What reverse dieting is and how the schedule is built.
Reverse dieting is the practice of slowly adding calories back after a fat-loss phase instead of jumping straight to maintenance. After a long cut, your intake is low and your body has adapted - so a gradual climb lets your weight settle, restores energy and training capacity, and limits how much fat comes back. The whole thing is a simple, structured ramp from where you are now up to your maintenance number.
This calculator builds that ramp in three steps. First it finds the gap between your current intake and maintenance. Then it divides that gap by your weekly increase to get the number of weeks. Finally it lays out each week, adding the weekly step to the previous week's calories until you arrive at maintenance:
week 1 = current + increase
week n = previous week + increase (capped at maintenance)
default increase = +75 kcal/wk · range 50-150
Alongside the schedule, the tool shows a protein floor - about 0.7 to 1 gram per pound of bodyweight (1.6 to 2.2 g per kg) - because protein is the one macro you keep steady while carbs and fats rise. Smaller weekly steps (50 kcal) are gentler and best after a long or aggressive diet; larger steps (150 kcal) get you to maintenance faster. Whatever you pick, your weekly weigh-ins are the real guide - the formula is just the starting plan.
How coaches use a reverse diet.
Coaches reach for a reverse diet at the end of a client's cut, or during a planned diet break, to bring intake back to maintenance without the rebound that comes from a sudden jump. You estimate maintenance, set a weekly increase based on how long and how hard they dieted, then walk the calories up one step at a time - watching the weekly weight trend and holding or easing the step whenever the scale moves faster than expected.
The friction is running this for a full client list and updating each schedule as real check-ins come in. A coaching platform stores each client's targets, lets you push the next week's calorie and protein numbers straight into their plan, and keeps the protein floor locked while carbs and fats climb - so you spend your time reading the trend and adjusting, not rebuilding spreadsheets one client at a time.
Walk every client up to maintenance - without the spreadsheet.
Coachway lets you set calorie and protein targets for each client, build their meals from 1,100+ recipes with a meal planner, and step those numbers up week by week as their check-ins come in - all inside a branded client app. It is the operating system for online fitness and nutrition coaches, so a reverse diet is a few taps instead of a manual rebuild.
See how Coachway worksReverse diet calculator FAQ.
What is a reverse diet calculator?
A reverse diet calculator builds a week-by-week schedule that slowly adds calories back from your current intake until you reach maintenance. You enter your current daily calories, your estimated maintenance calories, and a weekly increase (typically +75 kcal). It returns the number of weeks the climb takes and the calorie target for each week, plus a protein floor reminder to hold onto muscle.
How fast should I reverse diet?
Most coaches add 50 to 150 calories per week, with +75 kcal a common default. A smaller weekly step (50 kcal) is more cautious and minimizes fat gain; a larger step (150 kcal) gets you to maintenance faster but allows a little more to stick. The right pace depends on how long and how aggressively you dieted - the longer the cut, the slower and gentler the reverse usually is.
How long does a reverse diet take?
It depends on the gap between your current intake and maintenance, divided by your weekly increase. For example, climbing from 1,500 to 2,100 calories at +75 kcal per week is a 600-calorie gap over 8 weeks. A wider gap or a smaller weekly step means more weeks. This calculator computes the exact number of weeks and lays out the full schedule for you.
Will I gain weight on a reverse diet?
A small amount of weight gain is normal and expected - some is water and glycogen as carbs go back up, and a little may be fat. The point of a slow, structured reverse is to add calories gradually so your weight climbs slightly while you recover your metabolism and capacity, rather than rebounding fast. Keep protein high and stay active to bias any gain toward muscle, not fat.
How much protein should I eat while reverse dieting?
Keep protein high throughout - roughly 0.7 to 1 gram per pound of bodyweight (about 1.6 to 2.2 g per kg). Protein is the one macro you should not cut while adding calories, because it protects the muscle you held onto through the diet. This calculator shows a protein floor in grams based on your bodyweight so you can keep it steady while carbs and fats climb week to week.
Do I need to know my maintenance calories first?
Yes - the reverse diet calculator needs a maintenance target to climb toward. If you do not know it, estimate it with our TDEE or maintenance calorie calculator first, then come back. Maintenance is a moving target, so treat it as a best estimate: track your weekly weight as you reverse, and if it climbs faster than expected, ease the weekly increase or hold a week.
This calculator is general information, not medical or nutrition advice. Calorie needs vary by individual - if you have a medical condition, are pregnant, or have a history of disordered eating, talk to a qualified professional before changing your intake.
Keep going: estimate your target first with the maintenance calorie calculator, or plan the cut that comes before with the calorie deficit calculator. For the full picture, read our guide to reverse dieting and metabolic adaptation for coaches.
More free calculators
See all free tools ->TDEE Calculator
Total daily energy expenditure, plus cut, maintain and bulk targets.
Open calculator ->Calorie Deficit Calculator
Your deficit, target intake, and a realistic date to hit your goal.
Open calculator ->Maintenance Calorie Calculator
The calories that keep your weight steady - your starting line.
Open calculator ->BMR Calculator
Basal metabolic rate from the Mifflin-St Jeor equation.
Open calculator ->Macro Calculator
Protein, carb and fat targets in grams for your goal.
Open calculator ->Protein Calculator
How much protein to eat per day, by bodyweight and goal.
Open calculator ->See what Coachway can do for your coaching business
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