Your nutrition plan is where everything comes together. MacrosFirst measures your expenditure, your goal and rate decide how far above or below it to eat, and your nutrition plan turns that into the calorie, protein, carb, and fat targets you see in your Journal each day. For the big picture, see How MacrosFirst Sets Your Targets.
When you create your nutrition plan, you can choose how much you want MacrosFirst to automate for you. There are three plan types, from fully hands-off to fully hands-on. This article explains how each one works, how each responds when your body changes, and how to pick the right one for you.
With Autopilot, MacrosFirst sets both your calories and your macros. You answer a few questions about your preferences, like your diet style, how much protein you want, and whether you'd like higher-calorie days for training or weekends, and MacrosFirst builds your targets around them.
At every weekly check-in, Autopilot updates your expenditure from your latest food logs and weigh-ins, recalculates your calories for your goal, and rebuilds your macros from the same preferences. Your protein stays tied to your body weight, and your diet style stays the same from week to week. You just keep logging.
Autopilot is our recommended plan, and you'll see it marked Recommended when you choose a plan type. Pick it if you want to focus on logging and let MacrosFirst fully manage your targets. See Autopilot Plan Settings.
Copilot splits the work. MacrosFirst sets your weekly calorie budget from your expenditure and your goal, and you decide how it's shaped: how your calories are spread across the days of the week, with day-level control over your protein, carbs, and fat targets. You can also lock days you want to keep exactly as they are, so their calories don't change from week to week, like a set refeed day or a day you always eat out.
At every weekly check-in, your new weekly total runs through your own settings. Locked days stay exactly as you set them, the change is shared equally across your unlocked days, and your protein and carb-to-fat settings carry over. Your plan keeps its shape, and only the calories move.
Pick Copilot if you want the accuracy of a calorie target that updates every week, but you have specific preferences for your days or macros, like a set protein target or a bigger Saturday. See Copilot Plan Settings.
With Manual, you enter your own calorie and macro targets for each day of the week, and they stay exactly as you set them until you change them. Manual plans are free.
Pick Manual if you're following targets from a coach or dietitian, or you simply prefer full control. Just keep in mind that your needs change as your weight does, so a Manual plan relies on you to watch your progress and adjust your targets yourself. On the free plan, MacrosFirst offers to recalculate your targets every 10 lb (5 kg) of change toward your goal, using population averages at your new weight. See Manual Plan Settings and Plan Updates on the Free Plan.
The real difference between the plans shows up over time. Say you've been losing steadily, and at this week's check-in MacrosFirst finds you're burning a little less than before, so your calorie target needs to come down by about 150 calories a day, or 1,050 for the week.
On Autopilot, each day comes down by about 150 calories. Your protein stays tied to your body weight, and carbs and fat absorb the change according to your diet style.
On Copilot, say you've locked Saturday. Saturday stays exactly as it is, and the 1,050 calories are shared across the other six days, so each one comes down by about 175. Your protein and carb-to-fat settings stay the same on every day.
On Manual, nothing changes until you change it. That's exactly what you want if your coach is adjusting your targets. Otherwise, your targets slowly drift out of step with your body, and your progress can slow.
If you're not sure, start with Autopilot. It's the most hands-off, and it puts everything MacrosFirst learns about you to work. Choose Copilot if you like that idea but want a say in how your week and macros are shaped. Choose Manual if someone else sets your numbers, you want complete control, or you're not ready to try Plus.
You can switch plan types at any time. Your food logs, weigh-ins, and expenditure carry over from plan to plan, so trying one doesn't lock you in. If you haven't tried Plus yet, you can start a free trial to use Autopilot or Copilot.
To change your current plan's settings, tap the Plan tab, then Edit Plan.
To switch to a different plan type, tap New Plan on the Plan tab and choose Autopilot, Copilot, or Manual.
Starting a New Goal or using Edit Goal also takes you through plan setup, so your plan always matches your goal. See Setting Your Weight Goal.
Your new targets apply to your Journal starting today. Past days keep the targets they had at the time, so your historic targets are never overwritten.
Each plan type has its own article covering every setting in detail. If you have a specific question, these will answer it:
"What do Autopilot's diet, protein, and calorie options do?" Autopilot Plan Settings
"How do I shape my week and lock days?" Copilot Plan Settings
"How do I enter and copy my own targets?" Manual Plan Settings
"What happens at my weekly check-in?" Your Weekly Check-In
"What happens to my plan if I cancel Plus?" Downgrading from Plus to Free
How do I make Autopilot my own? Autopilot is the plan we recommend for most people, and a few quick choices about your diet style, protein, and how your calories are spread across the week make it fit the way you eat: Autopilot Plan Settings.
