How FoodAI sets your goals

Your daily calories and macros come from four things you told us: your body, how active your days are, how often you train, and how fast you want to change. Here is the exact maths the app uses.

BMRyour body at rest

× activityyour normal day

+ workoutsyour training

± paceyour goal

1Your body at rest (BMR)

Your Basal Metabolic Rate is the energy your body uses to keep you alive at rest: breathing, circulation, keeping warm. FoodAI uses the Mifflin-St Jeor equation, the one most dietitians use today.

MenBMR = 10 × weight (kg) + 6.25 × height (cm) − 5 × age + 5

WomenBMR = 10 × weight (kg) + 6.25 × height (cm) − 5 × age − 161

2Your normal day

We multiply your BMR by how active your everyday life is, not counting workouts (those come next, so nothing is counted twice).

Activity level	Looks like	Multiplier
Sedentary	Mostly sitting, desk job	× 1.2
Lightly active	On your feet some of the day	× 1.3
Moderately active	Walking a lot, active job	× 1.4
Active	Physical job or lots of walking	× 1.5
Very active	Hard physical work all day	× 1.6

3Your workouts

Training is added on top, from how often and how long you train. We use a realistic average intensity for gym sessions (4.5 MET) and only count the energy above rest, then spread it over the week.

Workout kcal per day = 3.5 × weight (kg) × hours per week ÷ 7

4Your goal and pace

To lose weight we subtract a daily deficit, to gain we add a surplus, and to maintain we change nothing. The goal never goes below 1,200 kcal a day.

Pace		Change
Chill	Easy to keep up	250 kcal / day
Steady	The default	500 kcal / day
Intense	Faster, harder to sustain	750 kcal / day

5Your macros

Protein and fat are set from your body weight, and carbs fill the rest of your calories.

Macro	Rule	Limits
Protein	2.2 g per kg when losing (using your target weight if it is lower), 2.0 g otherwise	max 40% of kcal
Fat	0.8 g per kg	20 to 35% of kcal
Carbs	Everything that is left	min 15% of kcal

★A worked example

A 30-year-old man, 80 kg, 180 cm, lightly active, training 4 × 60 minutes a week, losing weight at a steady pace towards 75 kg.

BMR · 10×80 + 6.25×180 − 5×30 + 51,780 kcal

× Lightly active (1.3)2,314 kcal

+ 4 × 60 min workouts (≈ 160 / day)2,474 kcal

− Steady pace (lose)− 500 kcal

Daily calorie goal1,974 kcal

Protein · 2.2 g × 75 kg (target weight)165 g

Fat · 0.8 g × 75 kg60 g

Carbs · what is left194 g

6Different days, different targets

You can set different targets for specific weekdays (carb cycling, training days). Everywhere FoodAI talks about your goal "per day", in Analytics or Settings, it uses the average of your real daily targets across the week, so a high-carb Saturday and a low-carb Tuesday both count. Training days can also raise that day's target automatically.

7Remaining today

The number on your ring is simple: today's goal − what you have logged. If you enable "Workout calories" in Settings, active calories from Apple Health are added back.

Sources

Mifflin MD, St Jeor ST et al. A new predictive equation for resting energy expenditure in healthy individuals. Am J Clin Nutr, 1990.
Ainsworth BE et al. Compendium of Physical Activities (MET values).
Jäger R et al. International Society of Sports Nutrition Position Stand: protein and exercise. J Int Soc Sports Nutr, 2017.
Institute of Medicine. Acceptable Macronutrient Distribution Ranges (fat 20 to 35% of energy).

FoodAI gives general nutrition guidance, not medical advice. If you are pregnant, under 18, or managing a medical condition, talk to a doctor or registered dietitian before changing your diet.