Free Reverse Dieting Calculator

Create Your Personal Plan to Get Out of Chronic Calorie Restriction

By: Jeremy Fox, CNC, CPTUpdated: July 19, 2023

Do you want to try reverse dieting, but don’t know where to start? Then the Reverse Dieting Calculator is for you.

All you have to do is answer a few questions and you’ll get a plan to get back to your ideal energy balance.

reverse dieting calculator

I strongly recommend that you take a moment to read through the information below before submitting your answers in the reverse dieting calculator. This will help you to better understand how it works.

Why Use the Reverse Dieting Calculator?

If you’ve been restricting your calorie intake for a long time, reverse dieting may be a helpful tool to repair the damage it’s caused.

By eating too little for too long, your body may think it’s in a constant state of low energy, which can negatively impact your metabolism. This can lead to a loss of lean mass and a decrease in the number of calories you burn.

This is why most calorie-cutting diets eventually reach a plateau where weight loss stops. And if you then suddenly increase your calorie intake back to previous levels, you may regain any weight lost.

Fortunately, reverse dieting can help undo metabolic damage due to calorie restriction by gradually increasing calorie intake over time.

Reverse Dieting Calculator Metabolic Confusion

The idea behind reverse dieting is based on the concept of metabolic adaptation. Essentially, your metabolism is capable of adjusting to changes in energy input and output.

When you reduce your calorie intake, your metabolism slows down, but when you strategically increase your calorie intake, your metabolism speeds up. The key is to make gradual adjustments to give your metabolism time to adapt without unwanted changes in body composition.

Reverse dieting is also beneficial for building a healthy metabolism, especially after a crash diet. The ultimate goal of reverse dieting is to eat as many calories as you burn, which is also known as your maintenance calories or calorie balance.

By the end of the plan, your body will burn more calories and you will feel more energized. This sets you up for a sustainable diet that can help with fat loss and/or muscle gain.

reverse dieting calculator

How the Reverse Dieting Calculator Works

Every one of the questions in the reverse dieting calculator is designed to hone in on how many calories you burn each day. From there, it helps you find out how many calories you should eat.

1. Finds Your Ideal Energy Balance

Finding your ideal energy balance is simply a matter of calories in vs calories out. Where “calories in” is the number of calories you eat. And “calories out” is the number of calories you burn.

When calories in = calories out, you are in a state of energy balance. That means your body isn’t breaking down or building up. And it’s ideal for maintaining your metabolism and your weight.

Most of the calories you burn each day come from your metabolism or base metabolic rate (BMR). And your BMR is dictated by your lean body mass. That’s why the first section of the reverse dieting calculator is all about your body composition.

In addition, you obviously burn some calories through physical activity. Some of that is your normal activities at work or school. Plus, any additional exercise you do. So the second section of the reverse dieting calculator focuses on your activity level.

When we add your physical activity to your BMR, we get your total daily energy expenditure (TDEE). This is the number of calories you need to eat to be in an energy balance.

More importantly, it’s the finish line for your reverse diet. Now that we know the destination, it’s time to talk about the starting line.

reverse dieting calculator energy balance

In this example, the person burns 2,400 calories per day through their metabolic rate and activity. Therefore, their maintenance calorie target is also 2,400 calories per day.

2. Establishes Your Starting Point

The start of your reverse diet depends on how many calories you’re currently eating. If you don’t know how many calories you eat daily that’s ok. Just track your calories for a few days and take the average.

Now there are a few possible scenarios based on your current calorie intake.

Calorie Intake Below BMR

In this scenario, your calorie intake is less than your base metabolic rate. This is a dangerous place to be because it will damage your metabolism.

Basically, when you don’t eat enough, your body slows down your metabolic rate by breaking down lean muscle tissue. So you might be losing weight, but it’s the wrong kind! Not to mention, it’s not sustainable.

Therefore, when you’re in this situation, the best thing you can do is immediately bump up your calories to match your BMR. Each week after that, you can increase your daily calorie intake by 100-200 as part of your reverse diet ramp-up.

Reverse Dieting Calculator 1

Figure 1: What a reverse diet looks like when starting from severe calorie restriction. Note: your reverse diet may vary depending on your situation.

Calorie Intake More Than BMR, Less Than TDEE

In this scenario, your calorie intake is more than your BMR but less than your TDEE. That means you’re eating fewer calories than you burn, also called a calorie deficit.

While you are not in any immediate danger of damaging your metabolism, some metabolic adaptation does occur even with moderate calorie restriction. So if you bump up your calories too quickly, you will likely gain back the fat you worked so hard to lose.

When this is the case, you can begin increasing your daily calorie intake by 100-200 each week until you reach an energy balance.

Reverse Dieting Calculator 2

Figure 2: What a reverse diet looks like when starting from moderate calorie restriction. Note: your reverse diet may vary depending on your situation.

Calorie Intake Equal To Or More Than TDEE

In this scenario, your calorie intake is at or above your TDEE. That means you’re already in energy balance, or you might even be in a calorie surplus.

Either way, you don’t need to use reverse dieting in this case. Instead, you can jump right into fat loss, recomposition, lean bulking, or muscle gain.

Reverse Dieting Calculator 3

Figure 3: If your calorie intake is already at or above your TDEE, your metabolism is ready to take on your next fitness goal.

3. Creates Your Path to a Healthy Metabolism

Once you reach the reverse dieting calculator results page, you will receive clear instructions on the number of calories you need to consume during the process. This will serve as your guide in restoring a damaged metabolism to its optimal state, making it a healthy and efficient machine!

Try the Reverse Dieting Calculator

To find out if reverse dieting is right for you and get your reverse dieting plan, head back to the top of the page or click the link below.

Reverse Dieting Calculator

Reverse Dieting Guide

I hope this page has given you all the necessary information to start your reverse diet program. However, if you have any further inquiries or if you are still confused about the details, you can refer to my reverse dieting guide.

It contains answers to frequently asked questions and insights from my personal reverse diet experiment to help you better understand what to expect.

Click Here For Reverse Dieting FAQ & More!

Reverse Dieting Calculator Guide

More Dieting Tips

Even if you decide reverse dieting isn’t right for you right now, I think you’ll find more valuable nutrition information on my site. So here are some articles I’ve handpicked for you.

Bulk vs Cut – How to Choose The Right Fitness Goal

How to Get Shredded: 11 Secrets of the Pros

5 Awesome Benefits of Carb Cycling

How Metabolic Confusion Helps You Lose Weight

3 Powerful Calorie Deficit Tweaks to Low More Weight

Or feel free to browse my other fitness-related content below, including articles on nutrition, supplements, workouts, and bodybuilding news.

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