Guides

Each guide answers one question first, then shows the working and the sources behind every number.

• Calorie calculator: maintenance, target and macros

  A free online calorie calculator: maintenance from the Mifflin-St Jeor equation, a cut or bulk target and your macros, with the source of every number.

• How to count calories on a cut

  How to count calories on a cut: maintenance from Mifflin-St Jeor, a deficit for 0.5-1% bodyweight a week, macros, and how to adjust from your scale trend.

• How to calculate calories for bulking

  How to calculate calories for bulking: maintenance from a formula, a 5-20% surplus by training age, a gain of 0.25-0.5% bodyweight a week, then macros.

• How much protein on a cut?

  How much protein on a cut: 2.3-3.1 g per kg of lean mass for lean lifters in a deficit, a table by bodyweight, a formula, meal split and food examples.

• How do you count protein, fats and carbs?

  How to count protein, fats and carbs: kcal per gram, the order to set your macros, how to read a food label and weigh food raw or cooked, with an example.

• How does photo calorie counting work?

  How photo calorie counting works: how an app recognises food, estimates the portion, where the estimate goes wrong and what to fix before you log it.

• How to choose a calorie counting app if you lift

  How to choose a calorie counting app if you lift: 8 criteria, a one-week test, and CalXd, Yazio and MyFitnessPal measured against the same checklist.

• CalXd vs Yazio: which app fits you?

  CalXd vs Yazio: ways to log meals, food database, AI photo logging, targets, platforms, languages and App Store prices. Yazio facts checked October 2026.

• CalXd vs MyFitnessPal: which app fits you?

  CalXd vs MyFitnessPal: ways to log, food database, Meal Scan, targets, platforms, languages and App Store prices. MyFitnessPal facts checked October 2026.