Weight-Loss Planner
Plan your fat loss, calorie by calorie.
Plan by rate, date, or budget. Adaptive-thermogenesis trajectory (not the broken 3,500 kcal rule). Muscle-loss risk score. Auto-scheduled diet breaks for long cuts. Reverse-diet plan so you don't rebound.
Drives the protein recommendation and muscle-loss risk score.
Daily calorie target
Maintenance 2,372 kcal · 701 kcal deficit
Rate classification
Sweet spotEvidence-based 0.5–1% — best fat-loss to muscle-preservation ratio
Muscle-loss risk
Severe · 100/100Protein target
170 g/day (2 g/kg) — preserves muscle in deficit
Training
Add 2–3 resistance sessions/week — non-negotiable
Adaptive trajectory
Adaptation modeled in
Solid line: realistic — RMR drops 2.5%/week of cutting (Trexler 2014). Dashed line: the naïve "7,700 kcal = 1 kg" prediction. The gap is why most cuts stall around weeks 6–8. Green bands mark recommended diet-break weeks.
Diet-break schedule
Cut is longer than 12 weeks. Schedule 1 diet break of 10-14 days at maintenance (2,372 kcal) at weeks 8, 16, 24...
Diet breaks restore leptin, T3/T4 and testosterone; lower cortisol; reset adherence. MATADOR (2018) showed intermittent dieters lost 50% more fat with half the metabolic drop vs continuous cutters. Keep protein at 1.6-2.2 g/kg through the break.
After you hit goal — reverse diet
Add roughly +117 kcal/day each week for 6 weeksto step back up to your new maintenance (2,372 kcal).
Post-cut RMR adapts down ~121 kcal/day on average. Adding calories gradually rebuilds spontaneous NEAT and restores thyroid/leptin without rebound fat gain. Weigh in weekly — if scale rises > 3 kg above goal for 2 weeks, drop 200 kcal for 2 weeks.
The number is the easy part.
Now you have a calorie target, a protein floor, a trajectory, and a diet-break schedule. The real work is meals you'll actually eat, training that protects muscle, and adjusting as the scale moves.
How it works
Maintenance (TDEE) is computed from your stats × the two-axis activity model (steps + sessions × intensity), with a 5% adaptation pre-discount applied (RippedBody pattern — accounts for real metabolic adaptation during a cut).
Tri-modal planning: by Rate (% bodyweight/week slider) solves for the date · by Date (weeks input) solves for the calorie target · by Budget (daily kcal input) solves for the date. All three converge to the same energy-balance equation.
Adaptive trajectory: RMR drops ~2.5%/week of cutting (Trexler 2014, Müller 2016), so the straight-line "7,700 kcal = 1 kg" math overpredicts loss by week 8. The chart shows both lines so you can see why most cuts stall around week 6–8.
Diet break auto-scheduled at week 8, 16, 24 for cuts longer than 12 weeks (MATADOR 2018 — intermittent dieters lost 50% more fat with half the metabolic drop). Reverse-diet ramp at the end (+75–125 kcal/wk × 4–8 weeks) restores NEAT without rebound.
Frequently asked questions
Why doesn't the trajectory follow the 3,500-kcal rule?
Because the 3,500-kcal rule overpromises by 2-3× in the long term (Hall 2011, Lancet). As you lose weight, RMR drops more than weight loss alone predicts (adaptive thermogenesis), NEAT collapses 300-600 kcal/day in deficit, and water retention masks fat loss in 2-4 week windows. The solid curve in the trajectory chart shows realistic loss; the dashed line shows the naïve prediction. The gap is why most cuts stall.
What's a safe rate of weight loss?
0.5-1% of body weight per week is the evidence-based sweet spot. Conservative (<0.5%) is indefinitely sustainable. Aggressive (1-1.5%) is viable in short blocks with high protein + resistance training. Dangerous (>1.5%) causes muscle loss, hormonal disruption, and ~75% regain at 5 years (NWCR data). The Rate Classification card shows where your chosen pace lands.
What is the muscle-loss risk score?
A composite 0-100 score blending your weekly rate, deficit size, training status, and whether you're below the calorie floor (1,200 women / 1,500 men). Low (<25) means a conservative cut with lifting; Severe (>75) means you're at high risk of losing muscle alongside fat. Protein 1.6-2.2 g/kg + 2-3 lifting sessions/week is the standard prescription regardless of score.
Why does the tool schedule diet breaks for long cuts?
MATADOR (Byrne 2018, Int J Obes) ran a 16-week study where intermittent dieters (2 weeks cut, 2 weeks maintain) lost 50% more fat with half the metabolic drop vs continuous cutters. Mechanism: refeeding partially restores leptin, T3/T4, testosterone, and lowers cortisol. For cuts >12 weeks the tool inserts 10-14 day maintenance breaks every 8 weeks. Keep protein steady through the break.
What's the reverse diet at the end?
Post-cut RMR is adapted ~121 kcal/day below the predicted maintenance (current evidence). Jumping straight to maintenance often causes 1-2 kg of rebound water + glycogen, which spooks people into another cut. Adding +75-125 kcal/day each week for 4-8 weeks lets NEAT, thyroid and leptin recalibrate gradually. The Reverse Diet card sequences this for you.
How accurate is the 12-week prediction?
The trajectory is an estimate using current best-evidence models — Hall-style adaptive thermogenesis applied to a 7,700-kcal/kg energy-balance baseline. Your actual loss will differ by ±15% within 4 weeks based on logging accuracy, NEAT drift, and individual variance. Weigh in daily, track the 7-day average, and recalibrate every 4-6 weeks or after any 3+ kg change.
Why does the planner refuse very aggressive rates?
Above 1.5% bodyweight per week the math forces a deficit so large it either drops below the 1,200/1,500 kcal floor (cite NIH minimum safety) or implies a deficit > 25% of TDEE (where NEAT suppression and adaptive thermogenesis dominate). The red banner appears in those zones. If you genuinely need fast loss for medical reasons, work with a doctor — not a free calculator.