How your plan is calculated
Every number in your misu plan comes from published research and public health guidance. This page walks through each step and links to the source behind it.
On this page
01Daily calories
Your resting energy comes from the Mifflin-St Jeor equation, which uses your weight, height, age and sex (if you chose Other, misu uses the midpoint of the two). It is multiplied by an activity factor between 1.3 (mostly sitting) and 1.75 (very active), the physical activity level method described by the FAO/WHO/UNU expert report, with the factors set on the conservative side.
Sources
02Losing or gaining
A pace is a fraction of your body weight per week: 0.25% (slow), 0.5% (moderate) or 0.9% (fast), and gaining is held to half of that. That is at most about one kilogram (two pounds) a week for most people, at or below the gradual pace public health guidance recommends, and it is converted to calories with the common 7,700 kcal per kilogram approximation. A loss plan never cuts more than a quarter of your maintenance calories and a gain plan never adds more than a fifth. Without a pace, loss plans sit 18% below maintenance and gain plans 12% above. Once you reach your goal weight, calories return to maintenance. No recommended target goes below 1,300 kcal or above 3,600 kcal a day; you can set your own on the Goals page.
Sources
03Protein
Protein is 1.7 g per kilogram of body weight when maintaining, inside the 1.4 to 2.0 g/kg range the International Society of Sports Nutrition recommends for active adults. It rises to 2.0 g per kilogram when losing or gaining: a review of people dieting while training found protein needs of 2.3 to 3.1 g per kilogram of fat-free mass, which works out near 2 g per kilogram of body weight for most people. When losing, it is based on your goal weight rather than your current weight (never less than three quarters of your current weight), and it never exceeds 35% of your calories.
Sources
04Fat and carbs
Fat is 27% of your calories and carbs fill the rest, with a floor of 60 g a day. The recommended split keeps protein and fat inside the acceptable macronutrient ranges published by the National Academies (protein 10 to 35% and fat 20 to 35% of calories).
Sources
05Lowest goal weight
The goal weight picker in onboarding stops at a body mass index of 18.5 for your height, the threshold the World Health Organization uses for underweight.
Sources
06Meal photos
The calories and macros misu reads from a photo are a scanned estimate, not a measurement. Weigh and log by hand when it matters.
07Not medical advice
misu is a tracking tool, not medical advice. Talk to a doctor or a registered dietitian before changing how you eat, especially if you are pregnant, under 18, or have a medical condition. Questions about the plan: contact us.