Day Pal blog
Practical guides to calories, protein and everyday healthy eating, built on public-health sources and written to be used, not admired.
Nutrition
Most adults need about 2 to 3 litres of drinks a day, and food supplies the rest. Here is what the well-known 2.7 and 3.7 litre figures actually count, which drinks count, and how to tell you are getting enough.
Calorie tracking
For most adults, a deficit of about 500 kcal a day is a safe start, and bigger is not better. Here is how to size a deficit to your body, keep your muscle, and spot when you have cut too far.
Calorie tracking
A restaurant meal measured in a lab averages about 1,200 calories, and diners tend to guess low. Here is how to read menu calories, log a dish with no label and order without losing track.
Weight tracking
A weight loss plateau usually means your deficit has shrunk, not that your metabolism has broken. Work through these checks in order, cheapest and most likely first, before you cut more calories.
Nutrition
Most adults need 22 to 34 g of fiber a day, about 14 g for every 1,000 calories they eat, and most eat roughly half that. Here is your number, the foods that close the gap fastest and a plain day of meals that gets there.
Weight tracking
Your weight fluctuates day to day because the scale weighs food, drink and water as well as fat. Here is how big each swing is, why an overnight jump can't be fat, and how to weigh yourself so the number means something.
Calorie tracking
MyFitnessPal now owns Cal AI, and the app still runs on its own. Here is what changed, what didn’t, how Cal AI compares with MyFitnessPal and Lose It, and 5 checks to run on any photo calorie app before you pay.
Nutrition
Most adult women need about 1,600 to 2,400 calories a day and most adult men 2,000 to 3,000. Here is the table by age and activity, how to work out a number for your own body, and how to check it against real life.
Calorie tracking
You don’t need a food scale to track calories well. A US label can legally understate calories by up to 20%, and a steady estimate matters more than a precise one. Here are 6 ways to estimate portions that hold up.
Nutrition
For most adults the answer is 0.8 g per kilo of body weight a day, and more if you train, are cutting calories or are over 65. Here is how to work out your number and hit it without overthinking.