Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR)
Definition:
The number of calories your body burns at rest to maintain essential functions like breathing, circulation, and cell repair.
How Hoot Uses It:
Hoot calculates your BMR using the Mifflin-St Jeor equation as the foundation for your calorie plan.
Why It Matters:
Knowing your BMR helps Hoot personalize your daily calorie target—so your plan fits your unique metabolism instead of using generic numbers.
Mifflin-St Jeor Equation
Definition:
A clinically validated formula used to estimate BMR based on weight, height, age, and gender. Considered the gold standard for modern nutrition planning.
How Hoot Uses It:
Every Hoot calorie plan starts here. The app plugs your data into this equation, then adjusts the result for your activity level and goals.
Why It Matters:
It ensures your calorie target is grounded in science—not guesswork—so your plan is accurate, safe, and individualized.
Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE)
Definition:
An estimate of how many calories you burn in a day, including movement, exercise, and your BMR.
How Hoot Uses It:
Hoot multiplies your BMR by one of four activity levels—Sedentary, Lightly Active, Active, or Very Active—to calculate your TDEE.
Why It Matters:
Your TDEE represents your maintenance calories—the baseline for setting a safe calorie deficit or surplus depending on your goal.
Calorie Deficit
Definition:
When you consume fewer calories than your body burns, prompting it to use stored energy (fat) for fuel.
How Hoot Uses It:
Hoot applies a deficit of about 250–1,000 calories per day depending on your goal pace (slow, balanced, or faster).
Why It Matters:
It’s the science behind fat loss—but Hoot makes it sustainable by keeping deficits moderate and safe, never extreme.
Macros (Macronutrients)
Definition:
The three main nutrient groups that provide calories: protein, fat, and carbohydrates.
How Hoot Uses It:
Hoot automatically calculates your macro targets based on your calorie goal:
Protein: ~0.8 g per pound of body weight
Fat: ~30 % of total calories (with safe minimums)
Carbs: Remaining calories
Why It Matters:
Balanced macros keep you full, energized, and nourished while you work toward your goals.
Protein Target
Definition:
Your daily recommended protein intake to maintain or build lean muscle.
How Hoot Uses It:
Set at ~0.8 g per pound of body weight by default, adjustable up to 1 g/lb for users with higher activity or muscle-building goals.
Why It Matters:
Protein preserves muscle, improves satiety, and helps your body burn fat more efficiently.
Fat Target
Definition:
Your daily recommended fat intake, essential for hormones, vitamin absorption, and energy.
How Hoot Uses It:
Set at roughly 30 % of your daily calories, with built-in minimums of 40 g/day for men and 30 g/day for women.
Why It Matters:
Keeps your hormones and metabolism healthy while supporting long-term energy.
Carbohydrate Target
Definition:
Your daily recommended intake of carbohydrates—the body’s main energy source.
How Hoot Uses It:
Hoot assigns carbs the remaining calories after protein and fat are set, ensuring at least 130 g/day for brain and muscle function.
Why It Matters:
Carbs fuel your focus, workouts, and recovery. Hoot helps you balance them with protein and fat for stable energy.
Fiber
Definition:
A type of carbohydrate that supports digestion, fullness, and blood-sugar control.
How Hoot Uses It:
Default goal: 14 g per 1,000 calories consumed. Hoot tracks this as an optional target.
Why It Matters:
Meeting your fiber goal helps regulate appetite and improve gut health—two key parts of long-term success.
Saturated Fat
Definition:
A type of dietary fat that should be limited to under 10 % of total daily calories for heart health.
How Hoot Uses It:
Hoot monitors saturated fat as part of your Nutrition Score, encouraging healthier swaps when levels are high.
Why It Matters:
Helps you make small, smart improvements that benefit long-term cardiovascular health.
Added Sugar
Definition:
Sugar that’s added to foods or drinks during processing, not naturally occurring (like in fruit).
How Hoot Uses It:
Hoot flags added sugar in your Nutrition Score and insights, suggesting ways to cut back if intake is high.
Why It Matters:
Lower added sugar improves energy stability and supports healthier eating habits.
Sodium
Definition:
An essential mineral that helps regulate fluid balance and nerve function, but too much can raise blood pressure.
How Hoot Uses It:
Default daily limit: 2,300 mg. High-sodium meals are noted in your Nutrition Score insights.
Why It Matters:
Helps you stay mindful of hidden salt in processed foods and maintain heart health.
Nutrition Score (Hoot Feature)
Definition:
A 1–100 score that reflects the overall nutritional quality of your meal or food choice.
How Hoot Uses It:
Calculated automatically after every log. Hoot’s AI gives bonus points for protein, fiber, and whole foods, and subtracts for excess sugar, salt, or ultra-processing.
Why It Matters:
Gives instant feedback so you can learn what’s working—without guilt or guesswork.
Smart Weight Target (Hoot Feature)
Definition:
A personalized calorie and macro plan built from your profile—age, height, weight, activity, and goal pace—using the Mifflin-St Jeor framework.
How Hoot Uses It:
Updates automatically when you change your goals or activity level.
Why It Matters:
Ensures your targets evolve with you, keeping your progress realistic and healthy over time.
Calorie Target (Hoot Feature)
Definition:
The total number of calories Hoot recommends you eat each day to reach your goal.
How Hoot Uses It:
Calculated from your BMR × activity level, minus a safe calorie deficit.
Why It Matters:
Gives you a clear, daily goal that balances structure with flexibility—no more guessing.
Nutrition Insights (Hoot Feature)
Definition:
Short, evidence-based feedback attached to each food log (e.g., “Add more fiber for a better score”).
How Hoot Uses It:
Appears after every AI analysis to help you understand why a meal scored the way it did.
Why It Matters:
Turns logging into learning, helping you improve meals over time without stress.
Streak (Hoot Feature)
Definition:
The number of consecutive days you’ve logged at least one meal in Hoot.
How Hoot Uses It:
Displayed prominently in your dashboard and progress view to motivate consistent tracking.
Why It Matters:
Reinforces daily awareness—the strongest predictor of long-term success.
Hydration Target (Hoot Feature)
Definition:
Your daily water-intake goal.
How Hoot Uses It:
You can log water manually or set reminders. Default target: 8 cups (≈ 2 L) per day.
Why It Matters:
Proper hydration supports energy, digestion, and accurate weight tracking.
AI-Powered Logging (Hoot Feature)
Definition:
Hoot’s ability to recognize meals from text, photos, voice, barcodes, or food labels.
How Hoot Uses It:
Instantly analyzes calories, macros, and Nutrition Score using verified databases and AI vision models.
Why It Matters:
Saves time and removes friction—logging a meal takes seconds, not minutes.
Behavioral Science
Definition:
The study of how people form habits and make decisions.
How Hoot Uses It:
Hoot integrates habit-formation psychology—like streaks, gentle nudges, and progress visualization—to keep users consistent.
Why It Matters:
Helps you stay motivated through small, positive reinforcement instead of guilt.
GLP-1 (Glucagon-Like Peptide-1)
Definition:
A hormone (and class of weight-loss medications like Ozempic or Wegovy) that affects appetite and digestion.
How Hoot Uses It:
Hoot supports users on GLP-1 medications by tracking protein, hydration, and fiber to prevent muscle loss and nutrient gaps.
Why It Matters:
Ensures balance and nutrition while managing appetite changes from GLP-1 use.
Minimum Calorie Thresholds
Definition:
The lowest safe calorie intake recommended for healthy adults.
How Hoot Uses It:
Hoot automatically prevents calorie targets from dropping below 1,200 cal/day for women and 1,500 cal/day for men.
Why It Matters:
Protects your energy, nutrition, and long-term results.
AI Transparency
Definition:
The practice of showing users how AI generates or interprets results.
How Hoot Uses It:
Hoot displays “assumptions” after each log—like portion size or cooking method—so you know how each estimate was made.
Why It Matters:
Builds trust and helps you fine-tune accuracy over time.
Assumptions (Hoot Feature)
Definition: The details Hoot’s AI provides to explain how we interpreted your food log—like estimated portions, ingredients, or cooking methods.
How Hoot Uses It: After each meal is analyzed, Hoot lists its assumptions (e.g., “1 cup cooked rice,” “grilled chicken breast,” “1 tsp olive oil”) so you can review and edit them for accuracy.
Why It Matters: Transparency helps you understand how calories and macros were calculated—and improves accuracy over time as you correct or confirm Hoot’s assumptions.
Quick Adjust (Hoot Feature)
Definition: A simple tool that lets you manually change calorie or macro values on any log without re-entering the full meal.
How Hoot Uses It: Tap Quick Adjust on a logged meal to easily increase or decrease calories, protein, carbs, or fat. Changes instantly update your daily totals and dashboard.
Why It Matters: Makes Hoot flexible for real life—so you can stay consistent even when portion sizes or meal details don’t match perfectly.