With Autopilot, MacrosFirst sets your calorie and macro targets for you and updates them at every weekly check-in. You don't enter any numbers yourself. Instead, you answer a few questions about how you like to eat and train, and Autopilot turns your answers into targets for each day of the week. This article walks through each setting, shows how they combine into your daily targets, and explains what changes each week. Not sure Autopilot is right for you? See Nutrition Plans: Autopilot, Copilot, and Manual.
To create an Autopilot plan, tap the Plan tab, tap New Plan, and choose Autopilot.
To change your settings later, tap Edit Plan on the Plan tab.
When you finish, you'll see Your personalized plan is ready! with your estimated expenditure, your average daily calorie target, your protein target, and your diet type, each with a short explanation of where it came from.
Autopilot works in three steps. First, it sets your average daily calorie target from your expenditure and your goal rate. Next, it sets your protein based on your body weight and personal preferences. Finally, it splits the calories left over between carbs and fat according to your diet style, and spreads your calories across the week the way you chose. Each setting below controls one of those steps.
How much protein do you want in your plan? Protein comes first because it's the macro that matters most for keeping and building muscle, and it helps you stay full. Every option is within the range the International Society of Sports Nutrition recommends for active people.
Low: about 0.7 g per lb of body weight. The lower end of the recommended range, best for comfort or a lower appetite.
Moderate: about 0.8 g per lb. Right in the middle of the range.
High: about 1.0 g per lb. More protein to support fullness, recovery, or performance.
Extra high: about 1.2 g per lb. The highest we recommend, and great for a strength or muscle-building focus.
MacrosFirst then fine-tunes that number with two of your other answers. Your answer to What's your exercise type? (None, Lifting, Cardio, or Both) adds a little protein if you train: the most if you do both lifting and cardio, a bit less for lifting alone, and the least for cardio alone. A 2018 analysis of 49 resistance training studies found that eating more protein helps people gain more muscle and strength from their training. And if your goal is to lose weight, MacrosFirst adds a little more to help protect your muscle while you're in a deficit.
Your protein target is the same every day of the week, and it's based on your trend weight, so it adjusts as your weight changes.
What's your preferred diet? Once your protein is set, your diet style decides how the rest of your calories are split between carbs and fat.
Balanced: a standard ratio with no strong bias, about 60% carbs and 40% fat.
Low fat: fat is reduced to prioritize carbs, about 80% carbs and 20% fat.
Low carb: carbs are reduced to prioritize fat, about 40% carbs and 60% fat.
Keto: carbs are kept very low, 50 g or less per day, to support a high-fat, moderate-protein intake.
To keep every plan healthy, MacrosFirst always keeps fat at 20 g or more per day, and carbs at 50 g or more on every diet except keto.
How would you like to distribute calories throughout the week?
Distribute evenly: the same calorie target every day.
Shift calories: choose which days get higher targets, like training days, social events, or days you just need more fuel. Those days get 15% more than your daily average, and the other days come down a little to make room, so your weekly total stays the same.
Your protein stays the same on high days. The extra calories go to carbs and fat, following your diet style. Shifting lets you plan for the days you actually eat more, while still getting a fully auto-updating plan.
At every weekly check-in, Autopilot re-measures your expenditure from your latest food logs and weigh-ins, applies your goal rate to your current weight, and rebuilds your targets from the same settings. Your protein follows your trend weight, your diet style and high days stay the same, and only the numbers move. For example, if your check-in lowered your average target by 100 calories a day, each day would come down by about 100, almost all of it from carbs and fat.
Your settings stay the same unless you change them with Edit Plan. If your goal changes, use Edit Goal or New Goal, which take you through plan setup again. See Setting Your Weight Goal.
Autopilot does the math, but it learns from the data you give it. These articles cover the rest:
"What happens at my weekly check-in?" Your Weekly Check-In
"How much do I need to log for my targets to keep updating?" What Data MacrosFirst Needs
"Want more control over each day's calories and macros?" Copilot Plan Settings
"Why does my calorie target look off?" Troubleshooting
What happens at my weekly check-in? Your settings are the starting point, and your weekly check-in is where Autopilot keeps them working as your body changes: Your Weekly Check-In.
