Reverse Dieting After a Cut – Worth It or Just a Slow Bulk Transition?

[Deadpool99]

I am just about wrapping up a 8 week aggressive cut and I’m debating how to handle the transition back to maintenance or a surplus.

Initially the thought process was:
Week 1: Calculate my depleted/flat weight maintenance and shoot for 500 calorie under.
Week 2: reassess my maintenance and try to gauge closer to it
Week 3: Maintenance to slight surplus

I'm thinking of keeping the surplus in first week or two very small (100 to 250 kcals) to assess how much I gain in the beginning and then readjust my surplus.

I’ve never done a proper reverse diet before, mostly because I don’t struggle with bingeing or cravings, I’ve never gone over my calories even on vacations. (my version of bulking is eating more potatoes and protein ninja creami, kind of sad. Don't crave yummy foods since I was obese)

So I’m trying to figure out whether a structured reverse is actually worth it or if I can just move up to maintenance or a mild surplus within a couple weeks.

For context, my goal now is to start a clean bulk without unnecessary fat rebound. I’m mainly curious from a physiological and performance standpoint, does a slower reverse (e.g., 4–6 weeks) offer any tangible advantage for metabolism or training performance, or is a 1–2 week ramp to surplus just as effective if you’ve stayed consistent through the cut?

Not looking for generic advice, just trying to hear what’s worked best for others in a similar position who’ve gone through cut-to-bulk transitions during their blast.

 

[Slowww]

6-8 week reverse. Add 20-40g carbs to start. Let weight go up and water stabilize over a week. Gym performance should increase. Once your weight plateaus or performance does, add another 50g-75g carbs. After 4 weeks you can add 50-125g depending on your hunger, and metabolism, then you will likely have to stay at this diet for several weeks while your body is able to go up more, in terms of performance and scale weight.
Slow reverse offers verh good improvement in training quality. By week 6 like this I am already hitting PRs, on minimal gear. Personally I do it this way every time. I am doing it now. I ended my cut very weak, doing 180kg on hack squat, and today I already got back to 300kg after 6/7 weeks.

The carbs do a lot of work, and refilling glycogen from a depleted state will make a lot of progress. I recommend also going down to trt or cruise. Out of the starving state the body will really effectively use the food as you fill out.
You just can’t get greedy about food or gear and have to stay hungry as you add food back in, and slowly move the dial into the off season.
If you can avoid adding cheat meals, you should also do this since your body is going to try to absorb everything and hold on to it. You just want to give it enough to grow muscle and spill over minimally. Week 6-8 maybe better to do cheats if you are a big cheater. If you do moderate stuff, like a bit of sushi or a steak and baked potato ok whatever. If you binge, better not.

You don’t really need to calculate shit, just have to slowly add food and you will get into the surplus that your body can actually use without wasting it, and storing it as fat.

 

[Deadpool99]

6-8 week reverse. Add 20-40g carbs to start. Let weight go up and water stabilize over a week. Gym performance should increase. Once your weight plateaus or performance does, add another 50g-75g carbs. After 4 weeks you can add 50-125g depending on your hunger, and metabolism, then you will likely have to stay at this diet for several weeks while your body is able to go up more, in terms of performance and scale weight.
Slow reverse offers verh good improvement in training quality. By week 6 like this I am already hitting PRs, on minimal gear. Personally I do it this way every time. I am doing it now. I ended my cut very weak, doing 180kg on hack squat, and today I already got back to 300kg after 6/7 weeks.

The carbs do a lot of work, and refilling glycogen from a depleted state will make a lot of progress. I recommend also going down to trt or cruise. Out of the starving state the body will really effectively use the food as you fill out.
You just can’t get greedy about food or gear and have to stay hungry as you add food back in, and slowly move the dial into the off season.
If you can avoid adding cheat meals, you should also do this since your body is going to try to absorb everything and hold on to it. You just want to give it enough to grow muscle and spill over minimally. Week 6-8 maybe better to do cheats if you are a big cheater. If you do moderate stuff, like a bit of sushi or a steak and baked potato ok whatever. If you binge, better not.

You don’t really need to calculate shit, just have to slowly add food and you will get into the surplus that your body can actually use without wasting it, and storing it as fat.

That’s a really solid setup and a great overall template, a lot of useful information in there. You’ve clearly put some thought into balancing recovery, glycogen replenishment, and performance rebound without letting fat gain get ahead of you.

My cut was fairly short compared to what you described, so I’ll probably follow a similar framework but on a slightly condensed timeline, maybe closer to 4–6 weeks instead of the full 6–8.

The logic behind slowly titrating carbs, letting water and training stabilize, and then reassessing makes complete sense. It’s honestly one of the most practical explanations of a reverse I’ve seen written out.

Appreciate you sharing that breakdown, alot of wisdom and experience to make use of. It’s a great template for structuring the transition back to maintenance in a smarter way.

 

[professionaldyel]

For example sake you finished your cut at 1700 calories

Week 1 1800 rest days 2000 training days 2300 one high day per week

Week 2 1900 rest days 2100 training days 2300 one high day per week

week 3 2000 rest days 2300 training days 2500 one high day per week

body composition improving while eating and weighing more = progress.

 

[IndividualMan]

alot of wisdom and experience

good to see people listening to @Slowww , he is someone who not only knows of the path but truly walked the walk.

 

[Deadpool99]

good to see people listening to @Slowww , he is someone who not only knows of the path but truly walked the walk.

Fr, inspires me alot.

 

[IndividualMan]

I completely rethought my approach to drugs after reading his logs, plus he told me I can take trestolone and not transform into a pajama pant wearing, broccoli haired twig with bloating issues.

 

[BigDadd7]

I like to do maintenance for 4-6 weeks. Adjust to the new carbs, water weight, and glucose. After that, I figure out my new TDEE and make adjustments according to my goals.

 

[Slowww]

I completely rethought my approach to drugs after reading his logs, plus he told me I can take trestolone and not transform into a pajama pant wearing, broccoli haired twig with bloating issues.

Dont hate on the pajama pants bro, cut or bulk as long as it’s not leg day those things are damn comfy. Wear them to work if you like, everyone will know youre a science based lifter and you can talk about your lat pull-down variation using kegel flaps and how blue tooth cable curls grew your biceps by .002 inches

 

[Turkeybuilder]

I’m in a similar situation, my cut is coming to an end I have just a little over two weeks left on my 12 week aggressive cut, 195lb > 169lb currently, hoping to end at 165. I plan on finding my new maintenence calories and holding there for 3 weeks or so then start a test blast back to 175/180.

 

[Nunya]

6-8 week reverse. Add 20-40g carbs to start. Let weight go up and water stabilize over a week. Gym performance should increase. Once your weight plateaus or performance does, add another 50g-75g carbs. After 4 weeks you can add 50-125g depending on your hunger, and metabolism, then you will likely have to stay at this diet for several weeks while your body is able to go up more, in terms of performance and scale weight.
Slow reverse offers verh good improvement in training quality. By week 6 like this I am already hitting PRs, on minimal gear. Personally I do it this way every time. I am doing it now. I ended my cut very weak, doing 180kg on hack squat, and today I already got back to 300kg after 6/7 weeks.

The carbs do a lot of work, and refilling glycogen from a depleted state will make a lot of progress. I recommend also going down to trt or cruise. Out of the starving state the body will really effectively use the food as you fill out.
You just can’t get greedy about food or gear and have to stay hungry as you add food back in, and slowly move the dial into the off season.
If you can avoid adding cheat meals, you should also do this since your body is going to try to absorb everything and hold on to it. You just want to give it enough to grow muscle and spill over minimally. Week 6-8 maybe better to do cheats if you are a big cheater. If you do moderate stuff, like a bit of sushi or a steak and baked potato ok whatever. If you binge, better not.

You don’t really need to calculate shit, just have to slowly add food and you will get into the surplus that your body can actually use without wasting it, and storing it as fat.

This is timely info, much appreciated

 

[ve79]

6-8 week reverse. Add 20-40g carbs to start. Let weight go up and water stabilize over a week. Gym performance should increase. Once your weight plateaus or performance does, add another 50g-75g carbs. After 4 weeks you can add 50-125g depending on your hunger, and metabolism, then you will likely have to stay at this diet for several weeks while your body is able to go up more, in terms of performance and scale weight.
Slow reverse offers verh good improvement in training quality. By week 6 like this I am already hitting PRs, on minimal gear. Personally I do it this way every time. I am doing it now. I ended my cut very weak, doing 180kg on hack squat, and today I already got back to 300kg after 6/7 weeks.

The carbs do a lot of work, and refilling glycogen from a depleted state will make a lot of progress. I recommend also going down to trt or cruise. Out of the starving state the body will really effectively use the food as you fill out.
You just can’t get greedy about food or gear and have to stay hungry as you add food back in, and slowly move the dial into the off season.
If you can avoid adding cheat meals, you should also do this since your body is going to try to absorb everything and hold on to it. You just want to give it enough to grow muscle and spill over minimally. Week 6-8 maybe better to do cheats if you are a big cheater. If you do moderate stuff, like a bit of sushi or a steak and baked potato ok whatever. If you binge, better not.

You don’t really need to calculate shit, just have to slowly add food and you will get into the surplus that your body can actually use without wasting it, and storing it as fat.

Off season or bulking is always harder for me than cutting. Trying not spill over and not get chubby . It gets to be very monogamous to eat on point everyday all year. Off season I get up to 30lb heavier but . When I cut it takes a little bit longer for me to get very lean but it just works for me.

 

[Slowww]

Off season or bulking is always harder for me than cutting. Trying not spill over and not get chubby . It gets to be very monogamous to eat on point everyday all year. Off season I get up to 30lb heavier but . When I cut it takes a little bit longer for me to get very lean but it just works for me.

Yeah that makes sense. Muscle building is definitely more nuanced than cutting. For cut you just reduce cals, increase cardio, and manage appetite/catsbolism, simple.if it takes longer it’s fine too, just lose less muscle, give digestive system and body a break so probably good anyways
For off season you need to monitor digestion, insulin resistance, training performance, recovery, how you spread out training volume, making sure your work capacity is ok and minimize fat gain while maximizing growth. Way more things to balance

 

[IndividualMan]

It gets to be very monogamous to eat on point everyday all year.

me when I have to stay on diet AND only have 1 sexual partner in any given period of my life.

 

[eery]

That sounds like a decent approach.

I usually get back to an estimated maintenance, maybe a few hundred calories below to be on the safe side and taking activity levels and cardio and stuff like that into account.

 

[malfeasance]

6-8 week reverse. Add 20-40g carbs to start. Let weight go up and water stabilize over a week. Gym performance should increase. Once your weight plateaus or performance does, add another 50g-75g carbs. After 4 weeks you can add 50-125g depending on your hunger, and metabolism, then you will likely have to stay at this diet for several weeks while your body is able to go up more, in terms of performance and scale weight.
Slow reverse offers verh good improvement in training quality. By week 6 like this I am already hitting PRs, on minimal gear. Personally I do it this way every time. I am doing it now. I ended my cut very weak, doing 180kg on hack squat, and today I already got back to 300kg after 6/7 weeks.

The carbs do a lot of work, and refilling glycogen from a depleted state will make a lot of progress. I recommend also going down to trt or cruise. Out of the starving state the body will really effectively use the food as you fill out.
You just can’t get greedy about food or gear and have to stay hungry as you add food back in, and slowly move the dial into the off season.
If you can avoid adding cheat meals, you should also do this since your body is going to try to absorb everything and hold on to it. You just want to give it enough to grow muscle and spill over minimally. Week 6-8 maybe better to do cheats if you are a big cheater. If you do moderate stuff, like a bit of sushi or a steak and baked potato ok whatever. If you binge, better not.

You don’t really need to calculate shit, just have to slowly add food and you will get into the surplus that your body can actually use without wasting it, and storing it as fat.

That’s a really solid setup and a great overall template, a lot of useful information in there. You’ve clearly put some thought into balancing recovery, glycogen replenishment, and performance rebound without letting fat gain get ahead of you.

My cut was fairly short compared to what you described, so I’ll probably follow a similar framework but on a slightly condensed timeline, maybe closer to 4–6 weeks instead of the full 6–8.

The logic behind slowly titrating carbs, letting water and training stabilize, and then reassessing makes complete sense. It’s honestly one of the most practical explanations of a reverse I’ve seen written out.

Appreciate you sharing that breakdown, alot of wisdom and experience to make use of. It’s a great template for structuring the transition back to maintenance in a smarter way.

Notice the slow changes Slowww recommends, sort of what I was telling you to do with your cut to do it properly.

Go check out his log and see how lean his physique is at his new personal record highest bodyweight ever.

Make small changes that keep you going in the correct direction, not wild swings in calories in short 6-8 week sprints.

 

[Deadpool99]

Notice the slow changes Slowww recommends, sort of what I was telling you to do with your cut to do it properly.

Go check out his log and see how lean his physique is at his new personal record highest bodyweight ever.

Make small changes that keep you going in the correct direction, not wild swings in calories in short 6-8 week sprints.

my cut is aggressive however rn mid reverse diet taking the same approach as him and also throughout my long bulk. Adding in carbs slowly.

I preferred to go fast in a cut as burning fat can be expedited very quickly, although I did take the doses a bit higher than I should but thankfully got out of the other side with minimal to no damage. However to reverse diet and bulk, slow and controlled is always better, there is only so much you can gain in a week and I am taking my time transitioning into a bulk.

I read his entire log and the log of Mac11wildcat u referenced. And took some inspiration and changed my training to make it more optimal and looking at their mistakes/fixes they had to try and avoid.

Again I rly do appreciate you looking out for me @malfeasance

 

[ThunderBear989]

@Slowww has a great insight for you, keeping it clean would also be in your favor. Unless you’re going for athletic performance this is a good approach.

 

[Deadpool99]

@Slowww has a great insight for you, keeping it clean would also be in your favor. Unless you’re going for athletic performance this is a good approach.

Agree, clean foods is never an issue for me. I always eat clean. I don’t get full neither on a bulk or cut, so I result to high volume clean foods 24/7.

Just started making these humongous low calorie soups. Great volume and also easiest way to add some clean carbs without any fats.

 

[Turkeybuilder]

I’ve been trying to reverse diet for the last week. I ended my cut eating 1400-1500 calories (5’7, 27 years old, 165lb, prob 15-16% BF? Hard to tell) and I tried to start the reverse diet at 1800 calories and yesterday I even ate 2500 calories because I was at an event and I woke up 163lb this morning. I might have a hard time putting some weight back on. Lowered my reta dose to 4mg

Gonna need to figure this shit out lol