Build a week-by-week calorie increase schedule to move from a dieted-down intake back to maintenance while minimising fat regain.
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| Week | Calories | Protein | Carbs | Fat |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1,700 | 160g | 107g | 36g |
| 2 | 1,800 | 160g | 119g | 40g |
| 3 | 1,900 | 160g | 130g | 44g |
| 4 | 2,000 | 160g | 141g | 48g |
| 5 | 2,100 | 160g | 152g | 51g |
| 6 | 2,200 | 160g | 164g | 55g |
| 7 | 2,300 | 160g | 175g | 59g |
| 🏁 8 | 2,400 | 160g | 186g | 63g |
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Health & Nutrition
Reverse dieting is the practice of gradually increasing calorie intake after a period of sustained restriction, with the goal of restoring metabolic rate and reducing fat regain during the transition back to maintenance. The structured weekly increases are designed to give the body time to upregulate energy expenditure before a large calorie surplus develops.
After a prolonged calorie deficit, resting metabolic rate often falls below the level predicted by body composition alone — a phenomenon sometimes called adaptive thermogenesis or metabolic adaptation. Rapidly returning to pre-diet maintenance calories may produce a larger-than-expected calorie surplus before metabolic rate recovers, leading to faster fat regain than a gradual approach. Increments of 50–150 kcal per week give the body time to adjust.
Typical reverse diet protocols use 50–100 kcal/week increments for conservative approaches and 100–200 kcal/week for faster timelines. The appropriate rate depends on how long the deficit lasted, how large the deficit was, and individual tolerance for scale weight fluctuation. Slower protocols minimise fat gain but extend the timeline; faster protocols get calories up sooner at the cost of a slightly higher initial scale response.
Frequently asked questions
Some scale weight increase is normal during a reverse diet, but much of it is glycogen and water rather than fat. Controlled research is limited, but anecdotal evidence and theoretical modelling suggest that a slow, structured reverse diet produces less fat gain than abruptly returning to unrestricted eating after a prolonged deficit.
Once you reach estimated maintenance, you can stay there for a period to allow full metabolic recovery before beginning another deficit, or transition to a muscle-building phase with a small surplus. Spending 4–8 weeks at or slightly above maintenance before cutting again is a common practice in physique sport periodisation.
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