Macros that adapt to your weigh-ins automatically

Rolling weigh-in averages + automatic macro adjustment

Daily scale weight is noisy — water, glycogen, sodium, sleep, and stress all move it ±2 lb without any real change in body composition. MuscleBuddy fixes this by computing a 7-day rolling average and comparing it against the previous 7-day average to derive a trend rate in kg or lb per week.

That trend rate is then matched against the goal rate you (or your coach) configured for the current phase. If you set a cut at -1 lb/week and the rolling trend shows -0.3 lb/week, the engine drops calories by a configurable increment — defaulted to 100 kcal — on the next check-in. If the trend is too fast (e.g., -2 lb/week on a slow-cut phase), calories go up.

The thresholds, the increment, and the priority macro (carbs first, then fat) are all stored in `AdjustmentConfig` — nothing is hardcoded. A coach can set the trigger band wider for clients who need more leash, or tighter for prep work where every week counts. The engine runs as a pure function, so the same inputs always produce the same outputs.

Reverse diet, carb cycling, and contest prep modes

One size doesn't fit every phase. MuscleBuddy ships three specialized nutrition modes alongside the default linear cut/bulk/maintain logic.

**Reverse diet** ramps calories up in small weekly steps after a long deficit, designed to restore metabolic rate and hormonal markers without rapid fat regain. The engine computes the step size from your current intake and target maintenance, and adjusts the cadence based on weight stability — if you start gaining too fast, the next step shrinks.

**Carb cycling** assigns high, medium, and low carb days across the week — typically aligned with training hard, training light, and rest days. Protein stays constant; fat fills the remainder of the target. The split ratios and the day mapping are configurable per user.

**Contest prep** is a multi-phase periodization mode: it sequences a long deficit, peak week protocols, and a structured rebound. It's intended for physique-sport athletes working with a coach, and the coach approval workflow gates every phase transition.

Food KB + restaurant integration via Nutritionix

Logging food shouldn't be a chore. MuscleBuddy ships an internal Food KB curated for accurate macros — single ingredients, common cooked dishes, and a growing list of branded items. For anything not in the catalog, Pro users get a Nutritionix-backed search that pulls branded grocery items and restaurant menu items with verified nutrition data, so you can log a Chipotle bowl or a Starbucks oat-milk latte without typing macros by hand.

Every entry stores macros (protein, carbs, fat, fiber) plus optional micros where the source provides them. Recipes are first-class: build a meal from base ingredients once, save it, and log it as a single unit forever after — the engine remembers serving size, scales correctly when you eat half a portion, and never double-counts an ingredient. Meal plans can be generated from your daily macro targets and an inventory of foods you actually like, so the suggestion list is realistic instead of a generic spreadsheet of chicken and broccoli.

The whole logging UI is offline-first — log a meal at the gym or on a flight, and it syncs back to the server when you reconnect via Dexie-backed IndexedDB. No lost entries, no awkward retries, no "you must be online to log food."

Explainable adjustments — every change has a reason

When your calories drop 100 kcal on a Monday morning, you should know why. MuscleBuddy attaches a plain-English reason to every macro change: which weeks were compared, what the trend rate worked out to, what target rate the engine compared against, and what the new targets are. The reasoning is stored alongside the adjustment, so you can scroll through your history months later and still understand why each step happened.

A typical reason reads: "Rolling 7-day average is 178.4 lb, down 0.3 lb/week from last week — below your -1.0 lb/week target. Reducing carbs by 25 g (-100 kcal). Protein and fat unchanged." No mystery, no "the AI thinks you should eat less." The numbers are reproducible — drop the same weigh-ins and config into the engine and you'll get the same recommendation every time.

Coaches see the same reason in their dashboard before the change applies, and can override or modify the suggestion via the per-client `CoachConfig`. Every decision the engine makes is auditable, replayable, and reversible — because it's deterministic logic, not an opaque model. If you want to know whether a different trigger band would have produced different recommendations over the last three months, the engine can replay history against the new config and show you.

Frequently asked

Do I need to log every meal for the auto-adjustment to work?

You need weigh-ins more than food logs for the trend to be accurate. The engine uses your rolling weight average — food logging helps you hit the prescribed targets, but the adjustment logic runs off scale data.

How often does the engine adjust my macros?

On a fixed cadence — typically weekly, aligned with your check-in. It will not change targets mid-week. The cadence is configurable per coach-client relationship.

Does MuscleBuddy support metric and imperial units?

Yes. Pick kg or lb in your profile; the engine converts internally and shows everything in your chosen unit.

Can my coach override an automatic adjustment?

Yes. Coaches see every proposed change in their dashboard and can approve, modify, or skip it. The per-client `CoachConfig` also lets them disable auto-adjustment entirely for clients on manual programming.

What if I want to track micronutrients or fiber?

Fiber is tracked by default. Other micros are stored when the source includes them — USDA-backed entries usually do, branded items vary. The dashboard shows daily micro totals and flags major shortfalls.