Voima

How we work out your targets

Voima suggests daily targets for calories, protein, carbs, fat and fibre from your About you answers. Here’s exactly how, and the research behind each number.

Your own numbers win

These are starting points, not a prescription. If you know your own numbers — from a dietitian, sports nutritionist, coach or your own tracking — put them in. Your own targets always win.

In the app: Settings → Daily targets → Change.

Calories: what you burn

If you’ve connected Apple Health and it has at least 7 full days of active and resting calories from the last 14, Voima uses your real average daily burn. Otherwise it works out your resting burn with the Mifflin-St Jeor formula (from your sex, age, height and weight) and multiplies it by your activity level: 1.2 not very active, 1.375 lightly active, 1.55 active, 1.725 very active, or 1.9 extra active.

Calories: your goal

Lose fat: 500 kcal a day less than you burn, but never below 1,500 kcal for men or 1,200 kcal for women, never below 1.1 times your resting burn, and never more than you burn. Maintain: the same as you burn. Build muscle: 250 kcal a day more, a small surplus that limits fat gain. The total is rounded to the nearest 50.

Protein

2 g per kg of body weight a day, whatever your goal: people who lift need it whether they’re losing fat, maintaining or building. Research finds the benefit for muscle levels off at around 1.6 g per kg, and possibly up to about 2.2 g, and higher protein helps keep muscle while you eat less. If your BMI is over 30 and you’ve set a goal weight, Voima uses your goal weight instead.

Fat

25% of your calories (fat has 9 kcal per gram). That’s inside the 20–35% range recommended for adults.

Carbs

The rest of your calories, after protein (4 kcal per gram) and fat. So carbs are what change most between goals.

Fibre

14 g for every 1,000 kcal, and never less than 25 g a day. UK advice is 30 g a day for adults.

Kept up to date

Automatic targets are worked out again when you log a new weight, connect Apple Health, and at most once a day when you open Voima. If you type your own numbers, Voima keeps them until you tap Recalculate.

Voima is a fitness and nutrition tracking tool, not a medical device, and doesn’t give medical advice.

Sources

  1. Where Voima’s resting-burn formula comes from.

    Mifflin MD, St Jeor ST, Hill LA, et al. A new predictive equation for resting energy expenditure in healthy individuals. Am J Clin Nutr. 1990;51(2):241–247.

  2. A systematic review: Mifflin-St Jeor was the most accurate of the common formulas.

    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.

  3. 49 trials: protein’s benefit for muscle levels off around 1.6 g per kg a day, possibly up to about 2.2 g.

    Morton RW, Murphy KT, McKellar SR, et al. A systematic review, meta-analysis and meta-regression of the effect of protein supplementation on resistance training-induced gains in muscle mass and strength in healthy adults. Br J Sports Med. 2018;52(6):376–384.

  4. Sports nutrition experts recommend 1.4–2.0 g per kg a day for people who exercise.

    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.

  5. Higher protein helps keep muscle while you eat less to lose fat.

    Helms ER, Zinn C, Rowlands DS, Brown SR. A systematic review of dietary protein during caloric restriction in resistance trained lean athletes: a case for higher intakes. Int J Sport Nutr Exerc Metab. 2014;24(2):127–138.

  6. When building muscle, a modest calorie surplus limits fat gain.

    Iraki J, Fitschen P, Espinar S, Helms E. Nutrition recommendations for bodybuilders in the off-season: a narrative review. Sports. 2019;7(7):154.

  7. Recommends that adults get 20–35% of their calories from fat.

    Institute of Medicine. Dietary Reference Intakes for Energy, Carbohydrate, Fiber, Fat, Fatty Acids, Cholesterol, Protein, and Amino Acids. Washington, DC: National Academies Press; 2005.

  8. Recommends 14 g of fibre for every 1,000 kcal.

    U.S. Department of Agriculture and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2020–2025. 9th edition. 2020.

  9. UK advice: adults should aim for 30 g of fibre a day.

    Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition (SACN). Carbohydrates and Health. London: TSO; 2015.