Your goal changes the answer
Maintenance means eating around the amount your body uses. Fat loss starts below that estimate. Building muscle often starts slightly above it. The direction is simple; the exact number becomes clearer after you track real meals and a real body-weight trend.
| Your goal | Starting direction | What to watch |
|---|---|---|
| Lose fat | Below estimated maintenance | Multi-week weight trend |
| Maintain | Around estimated maintenance | Stable average weight |
| Build muscle | Near or above maintenance | Strength and weight trend |
| Learn your intake | Log before changing | Your current average |
Give the estimate enough context
Height, weight, age, sex, and activity help estimate how much energy you use. Your goal tells the estimate which direction to move. Your preferences tell the app whether the result needs to fit a training schedule, a slower pace, or simple maintenance.
Be honest about normal activity. A desk job plus three workouts is different from a physical job plus daily training. Better inputs create a better starting point.
Let two weeks beat one formula
Every starting number is an estimate. Your own log and body-weight trend are the feedback loop. Track ordinary days, weigh under reasonably consistent conditions if you use a scale, and compare weekly averages instead of reacting to one morning.
Save the target, then make meals fit
Once the starting target looks reasonable, save it. Each meal estimate can then show how the day is adding up without asking you to calculate the remaining calories yourself.
Calories answer “how much.” Your macro split answers how protein, carbohydrates, and fat fit inside that total.