Numbers with context.

FORM uses versioned, testable calculations. It keeps measurements, generic-food estimates and experimental recommendations distinct. Version: form-science-1.0.0; references checked 8 October 2026.

A starting point for energy

Mifflin-St Jeor estimates resting energy as 10 × kg + 6.25 × cm − 5 × age + 5 for the male formula. At 18, 70 kg and 178 cm, that is 1,727.5 kcal/day. It is not maintenance, and the original adult study started at age 19. Your chosen starting intake is 2,800 kcal.

Mifflin et al., 1990

Food labels and recipe yields

Protein and carbs contribute approximately 4 kcal/g, fat 9 kcal/g. Label energy can differ because of rounding and fibre conventions. Missing nutrient values remain unknown. Logging snapshots nutrition so later edits preserve history.

Recipe nutrients are summed from ingredients with matching raw/cooked states. Yield changes portion density, not all nutrient totals. Draining or discarded cooking fat can affect the approximation. Fresh toppings are included in the total mass and nutrition. Seed foods are editable estimates, with no unverified micronutrients or invented prices.

Trends need time

Raw weights and the mean of available samples in a trailing 7-day window are shown together. Regression trends need at least four measurements over seven days. Gross outliers beyond 3 kg from the window median and flagged disruptions are excluded from adaptive regression but remain in the raw record.

Adjustments require 21 complete intake days with food entries, 14 representative weights over at least 20 days, a consistent overlapping multiweek direction, and a 14-day wait after target edits. More than three outlying or disrupted weights suppress recommendations. FORM suggests at most 100 kcal per adjustment and waits for you to accept.

Maintenance estimates use a rough 7,700 kcal/kg energy equivalent. The ±300 kcal band is a heuristic, not a statistical confidence interval or a precise tissue model. Water, sodium, glycogen, creatine, illness and logging errors can distort it. No guaranteed muscle gain or physique date is predicted.

Protein, fibre and variety

The user-selected 145 g protein minimum and 30–38 g fibre target are flexible planning values. The practical 1.6–2.2 g/kg protein range reflects hypertrophy literature; daily total matters more than perfect timing. Build fibre gradually.

Jäger et al., 2017 · Morton et al., 2018 · Stokes et al., 2018

Micronutrients: coverage first

Reference set: NIH ODS / NASEM DRI, male 14–18, version 1. Displayed references apply to the seeded 18-year-old male. Edited age or sex suppresses applicability. Coverage counts known logged items; missing data never establishes adequacy. Selected-period totals are not compared against one day’s reference.

NIH ODS vitamin and mineral fact sheets · NASEM sodium/potassium DRI, 2019 · WHO healthy diet

Salmon is generally lower in mercury; tuna differs by species. Canned light tuna and albacore are not equivalent. FDA/EPA fish advice explains these distinctions; its population-specific serving limits are not a personal adult prescription.

Privacy and interpretation

The public app saves records in your browser; local SQLite mode saves on your PC. No paid API, external AI, shared personal log or exercise-energy estimate is required. Backups include photos and measurements, so keep them private. Missing days remain gaps. Correlation is not causation, and photographs cannot establish an exact body-fat percentage.