CalBud AI

How your numbers work

CalBud is a wellness tracker, not a medical device. Every target it shows is an estimate produced by a published equation applied to the details you entered. This page lists exactly which equation is used for each number, and links to the original source so you can read it yourself.

Resting metabolic rate (BMR)

The calories your body uses at rest. CalBud uses the Mifflin-St Jeor equation from your sex, age, height and weight. If you enter a body-fat percentage yourself, it switches to the Katch-McArdle equation, which works from lean body mass instead. An estimated body-fat percentage is never used for this — only a figure you supply.

  • Mifflin & St Jeor, 1990 — Mifflin MD, St Jeor ST, et al. A new predictive equation for resting energy expenditure in healthy individuals. Am J Clin Nutr. 1990;51(2):241–247.
  • Frankenfield et al., 2005 — Frankenfield D, Roth-Yousey L, Compher C. Comparison of predictive equations for resting metabolic rate in healthy nonobese and obese adults: a systematic review. J Am Diet Assoc. 2005;105(5):775–789.

Maintenance calories (TDEE)

Your resting rate multiplied by an activity factor between 1.2 (sedentary) and 1.9 (extremely active), chosen from the daily-movement and exercise answers you gave during setup. These are the standard physical activity level (PAL) bands used in international energy-requirement guidance.

  • FAO / WHO / UNU, 2001 — Human energy requirements: report of a joint FAO/WHO/UNU expert consultation — physical activity level (PAL) categories.
  • U.S. Physical Activity Guidelines — Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Your daily calorie target

Your maintenance calories plus or minus an adjustment for the goal and pace you picked — roughly 250 to 1,000 calories per day. Projected timelines use the conventional approximation that about 7,700 calories equals one kilogram (3,500 per pound) of body weight. Real-world weight change is slower and less linear than that approximation suggests, because metabolism adapts as weight changes.

  • Hall et al., Lancet 2011 — Hall KD, Sacks G, Chandramohan D, et al. Quantification of the effect of energy imbalance on bodyweight. Lancet. 2011;378(9793):826–837.

The minimum-calorie floor

CalBud will never set a daily target below 1,200 calories for women or 1,500 for men, whatever pace you choose. These are the lower bounds used in the U.S. national clinical guidance on weight management. Diets below these levels are intended to be medically supervised.

  • NIH / NHLBI — The Practical Guide: Identification, Evaluation, and Treatment of Overweight and Obesity in Adults. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, NIH.

Protein, carbs and fat

Calories are converted to grams using the Atwater factors — 4 calories per gram of protein, 4 per gram of carbohydrate, 9 per gram of fat. The default split sits inside the Acceptable Macronutrient Distribution Ranges published in the U.S. Dietary Reference Intakes; higher protein targets follow sports-nutrition guidance for people who train. You can override any split yourself.

  • FAO — food energy conversion factors — Food energy: methods of analysis and conversion factors. FAO Food and Nutrition Paper 77 (Atwater general factors).
  • Dietary Reference Intakes — Dietary Reference Intakes for Energy, Carbohydrate, Fiber, Fat, Fatty Acids, Cholesterol, Protein, and Amino Acids. National Academies Press.
  • ISSN Position Stand, 2017 — Jäger R, Kerksick CM, Campbell BI, et al. International Society of Sports Nutrition Position Stand: protein and exercise. J Int Soc Sports Nutr. 2017;14:20.

Estimated body fat

If you do not enter a body-fat percentage, CalBud can estimate one with the CUN-BAE equation from your sex, age, height and weight. It is shown as a range, not a single figure, because the equation's standard error is about ±4.7 percentage points. It is display-only: an estimated value never feeds your calorie target, and no estimate is shown under age 18, where the equation is not validated.

  • Gómez-Ambrosi et al., 2012 — Gómez-Ambrosi J, Silva C, Catalán V, et al. Clinical usefulness of a new equation for estimating body fat. Diabetes Care. 2012;35(2):383–388.

Food and barcode data

Searched and scanned foods come from public nutrition databases. Values are supplied by those databases or by the manufacturer, and CalBud does not independently verify them. Packaging and recipes change, so check the label when it matters.

  • CalBud regional dishes — CalBud's own catalog of home-cooked regional and international dishes (West African, East African, North African, Middle Eastern, Mediterranean, Latin American, Caribbean, South, East and Southeast Asian), per 100 g as typically served. Every value is taken from a national food composition table (FAO West African FCT 2019, Kenya Food Composition Tables 2018, Brazil's TACO, USDA FoodData Central, India's IFCT 2017, Japan's MEXT tables, Malaysia's MyFCD, Korea's KFCT) or calculated from those tables' ingredient entries for a standard recipe.
  • USDA FoodData Central — U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service.
  • Open Food Facts — Open, crowd-sourced database of packaged food products worldwide.
  • FatSecret Platform — FatSecret Platform API branded and generic food database.

AI photo and description analysis

When you photograph or describe a meal, CalBud sends it through its own secure backend to Google's Gemini models, which identify the foods and estimate portions. If Gemini is unavailable, Anthropic's Claude is used instead. These are visual estimates, not measurements — portion size in particular can be well off. Review and adjust the numbers before saving; only meals you confirm are ever recorded or written to Apple Health.

  • Google Gemini — Gemini models, used for meal identification and portion estimation.
  • Anthropic — Claude models, used as a backup when Gemini is unavailable.

Blood glucose readings

CalBud only stores and displays readings you type in yourself. It is not a glucose meter or a continuous monitor: it does not measure, diagnose, monitor, alert you, or advise on medication or insulin. The context labels shown alongside a reading follow standard reference categories. Always follow your meter's instructions and your healthcare provider's guidance.

Weekly check-ins

Once a week you can rate your mood, energy, stress, sleep and how you felt about food, each from 1 to 5, and add a note. CalBud stores exactly what you enter and shows it back to you; it does not score, screen or classify anything, and these ratings are not a validated questionnaire or a mental-health assessment. If AI personalization is on, the AI Coach reads your recent check-ins alongside your logs to write a short reflection — general wellness guidance, never a diagnosis, and never a reason to eat less. A very low mood rating shows crisis-line details as a courtesy; CalBud itself cannot provide crisis support. If you are struggling, please talk to a healthcare professional.

General nutrition guidance

Coaching messages and daily insights are generated from your own logged data and reflect general wellness principles from published dietary guidance. They are not personalised medical or dietary advice and do not account for medical conditions, medications, pregnancy, or allergies.

CalBud regional dishes

Typed food search includes CalBud's own catalog of home-cooked regional and international dishes, listed by the name people actually use for them. Each dish is stored per 100 g as typically served, with a typical serving size. These dishes appear in search as "CalBud regional".

Every value comes from a national food composition table. A dish the table lists as prepared uses that entry directly. Otherwise the value is calculated from the table's ingredient entries for a standard recipe, by weight, adjusted to the cooked weight. Each dish records the table and food code (or the recipe and its ingredient codes) it came from. A dish is accepted only if its calories agree with its protein, carbohydrate and fat (Atwater factors) to within 15%. Home recipes and portions vary, so treat these values as typical, not exact.

Cuisines covered

West African
jollof rice, waakye, banku, kenkey, fufu, egusi soup, suya, kelewele, red red
East African
ugali, sukuma wiki, pilau, githeri, injera, doro wat, shiro wat, mandazi, chapati
North African
couscous with vegetables, chicken tagine, harira, shakshuka, koshari, ful medames, msemen
Middle Eastern
hummus, falafel, shawarma, tabbouleh, fattoush, kibbeh, mansaf, kabsa, mujaddara
Mediterranean
paella, moussaka, spanakopita, gyros pita, horiatiki, tortilla española, gazpacho
Latin American
tacos al pastor, pupusas, arepas, feijoada, ceviche, lomo saltado, tamales, empanadas
Caribbean
jerk chicken, rice and peas, ackee and saltfish, curry goat, doubles, mofongo, pelau
South Asian
chicken biryani, dal, chana masala, butter chicken, masala dosa, idli, samosa, naan
East Asian
ramen, bibimbap, bulgogi, kimchi, mapo tofu, jiaozi, onigiri, okonomiyaki
Southeast Asian
pho, pad thai, nasi lemak, rendang, laksa, chicken adobo, banh mi, satay

Food composition tables

CalBud provides estimates and self-recorded check-ins for general wellness only. It is not a medical device and does not provide medical, dietary, mental-health, or clinical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Talk to a qualified healthcare professional before changing your diet, especially if you are pregnant or breastfeeding, under 18, managing a medical condition such as diabetes or heart or kidney disease, taking medication, or have a history of disordered eating.