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Reverse Dieting Calculator

Plan a week-by-week calorie schedule that steps your daily calories up from a diet level to maintenance.

What this tool does

Plan a week-by-week calorie schedule that steps your daily calories up from a diet level to maintenance. You fill in these fields: Current diet calories, Maintenance calories to reach, and Increase each week. It shows weeks to reach maintenance, total calories to add, increase each week, and increase in the final week, plus a table (week by week) and a line chart (daily calories by week).

Inputs

  • Current diet calories (kcal per day): A number. Accepts 500 to 8,000.
  • Maintenance calories to reach (kcal per day): A number. Accepts 500 to 8,000. The daily intake you want to end at. It must be higher than your current diet calories.
  • Increase each week (kcal per day): A number. Greater than 0, up to 1,000. How many calories per day you add at the start of every week.

How to use

  1. Enter the current diet calories in kcal per day.
  2. Enter the maintenance calories to reach in kcal per day.
  3. Enter the increase each week in kcal per day.
  4. Read the result: weeks to reach maintenance, total calories to add, increase each week, and increase in the final week, plus a table (week by week) and a line chart (daily calories by week). It appears once every required field has a valid value.

Worked examples

Example 1. Inputs:

  • Current diet calories: 1,500 kcal per day
  • Maintenance calories to reach: 2,200 kcal per day
  • Increase each week: 75 kcal per day

Results:

  • Weeks to reach maintenance: 10 weeks
  • Total calories to add: 700 kcal per day
  • Increase each week: 75 kcal per day
  • Increase in the final week: 25 kcal per day
  • Week by week, row 1 of 10: Week 1; Daily calories 1,575; Calories for the week 11,025; Compared with maintenance -625
  • Week by week, row 2 of 10: Week 2; Daily calories 1,650; Calories for the week 11,550; Compared with maintenance -550
  • Week by week, row 3 of 10: Week 3; Daily calories 1,725; Calories for the week 12,075; Compared with maintenance -475

How this is worked out: Gap = 2200 - 1500 = 700. 700 / 75 = 9.33, so the climb needs 10 weeks. Week 1 = 1500 + 75 = 1575, and 1575 * 7 = 11025 calories for the week, 625 below maintenance. Week 9 = 1500 + 675 = 2175. Week 10 would be 2250, which is capped at 2200. The final step is 2200 - 2175 = 25.

Example 2. Inputs:

  • Current diet calories: 1,200 kcal per day
  • Maintenance calories to reach: 2,400 kcal per day
  • Increase each week: 250 kcal per day

Results:

  • Weeks to reach maintenance: 5 weeks
  • Total calories to add: 1,200 kcal per day
  • Increase each week: 250 kcal per day
  • Increase in the final week: 200 kcal per day
  • Week by week, row 1 of 5: Week 1; Daily calories 1,450; Calories for the week 10,150; Compared with maintenance -950
  • Week by week, row 2 of 5: Week 2; Daily calories 1,700; Calories for the week 11,900; Compared with maintenance -700
  • Week by week, row 3 of 5: Week 3; Daily calories 1,950; Calories for the week 13,650; Compared with maintenance -450

How this is worked out: Gap = 1200 and 1200 / 250 = 4.8, so 5 weeks. Weeks 1 to 4 = 1450, 1700, 1950, 2200. Week 5 would be 2450, capped at 2400. The final step is 2400 - 2200 = 200.

Example 3. Inputs:

  • Current diet calories: 1,000 kcal per day
  • Maintenance calories to reach: 6,200 kcal per day
  • Increase each week: 10 kcal per day

Results:

  • Weeks to reach maintenance: 520 weeks
  • Total calories to add: 5,200 kcal per day
  • Increase each week: 10 kcal per day
  • Increase in the final week: 10 kcal per day
  • Week by week, row 1 of 520: Week 1; Daily calories 1,010; Calories for the week 7,070; Compared with maintenance -5,190
  • Week by week, row 2 of 520: Week 2; Daily calories 1,020; Calories for the week 7,140; Compared with maintenance -5,180
  • Week by week, row 3 of 520: Week 3; Daily calories 1,030; Calories for the week 7,210; Compared with maintenance -5,170

How this is worked out: The longest schedule allowed. Gap = 6200 - 1000 = 5200 and 5200 / 10 = 520 weeks exactly. Week 1 = 1010, week 520 = 1000 + 5200 = 6200, and 6200 * 7 = 43400. The final step is a full 10.

Example 4. Inputs:

  • Current diet calories: 1,650 kcal per day
  • Maintenance calories to reach: 2,000 kcal per day
  • Increase each week: 500 kcal per day

Results:

  • Weeks to reach maintenance: 1 weeks
  • Total calories to add: 350 kcal per day
  • Increase each week: 500 kcal per day
  • Increase in the final week: 350 kcal per day
  • Week by week, row 1 of 1: Week 1; Daily calories 2,000; Calories for the week 14,000; Compared with maintenance 0

How this is worked out: Gap = 350, smaller than the 500 step, so one week is enough: 1650 + 500 = 2150 is capped at 2000. 2000 * 7 = 14000. The only step is 2000 - 1650 = 350.

Limitations

  • It is a fixed-step schedule. It does not adjust for changes in weight, activity or appetite as you go.
  • It does not predict weight change, metabolic response or body composition.
  • Schedules longer than 520 weeks are refused.

FAQs

Q: How is the schedule worked out?
A: Each week adds the weekly increase to the week before, starting from your current diet calories, until the total reaches your maintenance calories. The final week is capped at maintenance, so the last step can be smaller than the others.
Q: Does the calculator estimate my maintenance calories?
A: No. You enter the maintenance level you want to reach. It does not work it out from your age, weight or activity.
Q: Why does the final increase differ from the weekly increase?
A: When the gap is not an exact multiple of the weekly increase, the last week only adds what is left to reach maintenance.
Q: Is there a right weekly increase?
A: The calculator does not say. It shows how long a schedule takes for the step you choose. Ask a doctor or dietitian what step suits you.

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