The numbers in CaloBee are estimates to help you plan meals. They are not medical advice and do not replace a doctor or dietitian. Check with a doctor before changing your diet, especially if you are pregnant or breastfeeding, under 18, managing a medical condition (for example diabetes, kidney or heart disease) or have a history of eating disorders.
This page explains how CaloBee calculates every health number it shows and which published sources each calculation follows. Links open the original source.
1. Resting energy (BMR)
Your basal metabolic rate is the energy your body uses at rest. CaloBee uses the Mifflin-St Jeor equation, with weight in kg, height in cm and age in years:
- Men: 10 × weight + 6.25 × height − 5 × age + 5
- Women: 10 × weight + 6.25 × height − 5 × age − 161
- Other or not stated: the average of the two results
Source: Mifflin MD, St Jeor ST, Hill LA, Scott BJ, Daugherty SA, Koh YO. A new predictive equation for resting energy expenditure in healthy individuals. Am J Clin Nutr. 1990;51(2):241–247. doi:10.1093/ajcn/51.2.241 · PubMed 2305711
2. Daily energy use (TDEE)
Your total daily energy expenditure is your BMR multiplied by an activity factor for the activity level you choose:
- Sedentary: × 1.2
- Moderate: × 1.375
- Active: × 1.55
- Athlete: × 1.725
When you connect Apple Health or Health Connect, CaloBee counts your activity from what your device measured instead of the chosen level: BMR × 1.2 plus the active energy your device recorded, so activity is never counted twice.
Source: Medscape, Mifflin-St Jeor Equation calculator, activity factors 1.2 to 1.9. Medscape calculator
3. Calorie target and weight change pace
Your daily calorie target is your TDEE adjusted for the pace you pick: target = TDEE + (pace in kg per week × 7,700 ÷ 7). A negative pace gives a deficit for weight loss, a positive pace a surplus for weight gain, zero keeps your weight.
- 7,700 kcal per kg of body weight is the metric form of the classic 3,500 kcal per pound estimate. It is an approximation: real weight change slows over time as the body adapts.
- The target never goes below 1,200 kcal per day. CaloBee lowers the pace instead.
- CaloBee warns you when the pace is 0.75 kg per week or faster. Guidelines recommend losing about 0.5 to 1 kg (1 to 2 pounds) per week.
Sources:
- Wishnofsky M. Caloric equivalents of gained or lost weight. Am J Clin Nutr. 1958;6(5):542–546. doi:10.1093/ajcn/6.5.542 · PubMed 13594881
- Hall KD, Sacks G, Chandramohan D, et al. Quantification of the effect of energy imbalance on bodyweight. Lancet. 2011;378(9793):826–837. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(11)60812-X · Full text (PMC3880593)
- National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NIH). The Practical Guide: Identification, Evaluation, and Treatment of Overweight and Obesity in Adults. NIH Publication No. 00-4084, 2000 (1,000 to 1,200 kcal per day for most women, 1,200 to 1,600 for men; a deficit of 500 to 1,000 kcal per day; 1 to 2 pounds per week). NHLBI Practical Guide (PDF)
- U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Losing Weight. CDC: Losing Weight
4. Protein, carbohydrate and fat
CaloBee splits your calorie target into 30% protein, 45% carbohydrate and 25% fat, then turns calories into grams with 4 kcal per gram of protein, 4 kcal per gram of carbohydrate and 9 kcal per gram of fat. All three shares sit inside the ranges recommended for adults: protein 10 to 35%, carbohydrate 45 to 65% and fat 20 to 35% of energy.
Sources:
- Institute of Medicine. Dietary Reference Intakes for Energy, Carbohydrate, Fiber, Fat, Fatty Acids, Cholesterol, Protein, and Amino Acids (Macronutrients). Washington, DC: The National Academies Press; 2005 (Acceptable Macronutrient Distribution Ranges). doi:10.17226/10490
- MSD Manual Professional Edition. Overview of Nutrition (energy per gram of protein, carbohydrate and fat). MSD Manual: Overview of Nutrition
5. Learned daily energy use (adaptive budget)
After at least 14 days of logged meals and two or more weight entries, CaloBee estimates how much energy you really use: learned TDEE = average daily calories logged − (weight change in kg × 7,700 ÷ number of days). This is CaloBee's own estimate, based on the energy balance principle. It is only as good as your logging, and CaloBee shows how confident it is.
Source: Hall KD, Sacks G, Chandramohan D, et al. Quantification of the effect of energy imbalance on bodyweight. Lancet. 2011;378(9793):826–837. Full text (PMC3880593)
6. Body measurements (BMI and InBody)
Body composition numbers (weight, muscle, body fat, BMI) come from the InBody printout you photograph: CaloBee reads them, it does not measure them. BMI is weight in kg divided by height in metres squared. For adults, a BMI under 18.5 is underweight, 18.5 to 24.9 normal, 25 to 29.9 overweight and 30 or more obesity. Some Asian populations use lower cut-offs, so ask your doctor what applies to you.
Sources:
- World Health Organization. Obesity and overweight (fact sheet). WHO: Obesity and overweight
- MSD Manual Professional Edition. Overview of Nutrition (body mass index). MSD Manual: Overview of Nutrition
7. Food estimates from photos, labels and barcodes
- Meal photos: calories and nutrients are estimated by AI from the photo. Portions and hidden ingredients can make the estimate differ from the real value; you can correct any item.
- Nutrition labels: values are read from the label you photograph.
- Barcodes: product data comes from Open Food Facts, an open food database.
- Dishes suggested from CaloBee's food catalogue: nutrition is computed from the recipe (grams of each ingredient) and the USDA FoodData Central food composition tables; each dish is reviewed by a person before it is suggested.
Source: Open Food Facts. Open Food Facts · U.S. Department of Agriculture, FoodData Central. FoodData Central
8. Advice from Bee
Bee's replies and suggestions are written by AI from your goals and logs and the calculations above. They are general information, not a diagnosis or treatment plan. Ask a doctor or dietitian before acting on anything about a medical condition.
9. Meal grade (A, B, C)
Each meal gets a score from 0 to 100 from its own numbers and your targets, not from the AI's opinion. The score starts at 70 and each rule adds or subtracts points; A is 80 or more, B 60 or more, below 60 is C. Next to the grade, CaloBee shows up to three reasons that weighed most. A rule whose number is missing (for example sodium the analysis could not estimate) is skipped, never guessed.
- Energy against the meal's share: a main meal's share is your daily calorie target (section 3) divided by the meals a day you chose (a snack counts as half a main meal). From 50% to 110% of the share: +5. Above 110%: −8; above 130%: −15 ("heavy"); above 160%: −25 ("very heavy").
- Protein: reaching the meal's share of your daily protein target (section 4): +10; reaching 60% of it: +5; less, in a meal of 300 kcal or more: −5.
- Fibre: WHO recommends at least 25 g a day for adults; reaching the meal's share: +8, half of it: +4.
- Vegetables and fruit: at least one portion: +5 (WHO: at least 400 g a day).
- Sodium: against WHO's limit of under 2,000 mg a day; from 40%: −6, from 60%: −12, from 100%: −20 ("salty").
- Sugar: WHO recommends free sugars below 10% of energy; above 10% of the meal's energy: −6, above 20%: −12 ("sugary").
- Fried or processed: −6 each ("greasy").
Source: World Health Organization (WHO). Sodium reduction (fact sheet). WHO: Sodium reduction Source: World Health Organization (WHO). Guideline: Sugars intake for adults and children (2015). WHO: Sugars intake Source: World Health Organization (WHO). Carbohydrate intake for adults and children: WHO guideline (2023). WHO: Carbohydrate intake Source: World Health Organization (WHO). Healthy diet (fact sheet). WHO: Healthy diet