Building an Al food tracker and currently tackling Apple Health integration. How do you prefer your „active calories" to be handled?

Reddit r/artificial / 5/1/2026

💬 OpinionDeveloper Stack & InfrastructureTools & Practical Usage

Key Points

  • The author is nearing the beta launch of an AI-powered calorie tracker that breaks photos into individual ingredients and is focused on getting Apple Health integration right.
  • They want the app’s calorie and macro targets to be dynamic—adjusting future meal goals based on logged activities like a 500 kcal run.
  • The core question is whether fitness apps should rely strictly on baseline metabolic rate (BMR) or automatically incorporate “earned” active calories from an Apple Watch into the daily budget.
  • The author is also working on “macro overflow” logic, such as carrying surplus calories over to the weekend, and is seeking feedback from people who track daily.

Hey everyone,

I'm currently in the final stretch of developing my Al calorie tracker (the one that breaks down photos into individual ingredients). One thing I'm obsessed with getting right before the beta launch in 2 weeks is the Apple Health integration.

Most apps just show you a static number. I want mine to be dynamic. If you go for a 500kcal run, the app should know and adjust your macro targets for the next meal.

My question to the fitness-tech crowd: Do you prefer apps that strictly stick to your base metabolic rate (BMR), or do you want the 'earned' calories from your Apple Watch to be automatically added to your budget? I've seen strong opinions on both sides.

I'm also fine-tuning the macro-overflow logic (e.g., saving surplus calories for the weekend). Would love to hear some thoughts from people who actually track daily.

submitted by /u/jonas1363611
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