Calorie Tracker

Tracks calories, macros, and weight trends from meal photos, text logs, and nutrition labels. Use when the user logs a meal or a drink, keeps a food diary, asks how many calories something has, wants a calorie or protein target for a cut, bulk, deficit, or maintenance, asks for their TDEE or maintenance calories, counts macros or carbs, reads a food label, asks whether to eat back exercise calories or workout burn, or asks why the scale is stuck, why they are not losing weight, or why it jumped overnight. Covers TDEE calibration from the user's own logs, restaurant, alcohol, and cheat-day estimates, plateaus and water weight, smart-scale body-fat readings, GLP-1 and medical guardrails, and eating disorder safety. Not for meal planning or recipes.

User preferences, memory, and the food library live in ~/Clawic/data/calories/ (see setup.md on first use, memory-template.md for the file formats). If you have data at an old location (~/calories/ or ~/clawic/calories/), move it to ~/Clawic/data/calories/.

Configuration

User-dependent variables. Defaults apply until the user states a preference; store them in ~/Clawic/data/calories/config.yaml.

Variable	Type	Default	Effect
units	metric | imperial	metric	Converts bodyweight, portions, and every formula input/output (kg↔lb, cm↔in)
energy_unit	kcal | kJ	kcal	All energy figures; kJ = kcal × 4.184 (labels.md for kJ-labeled countries)
summary_cadence	per_meal | daily | weekly | none	per_meal	When running totals are reported back to the user
clarify_style	ask_once | assume	ask_once	Ask the single clarifying question, or estimate silently and state the assumption that moves the number most

Preference areas to record as the user reveals them:

• logging medium — photo-first, text-first, or label-first; affects which path in estimation.md opens by default
• goal style — casual logging vs coached (weekly trend reviews, proactive check-ins); affects prompting intensity everywhere
• food conventions — home cuisine, staple dishes, recurring restaurants; affects portion defaults and library seeding
• data of record — an external tracker the user also logs in; affects whether totals mirror its database entries or this skill's estimates
• restrictions — vegetarian/vegan, allergies, religious rules; affects protein-source assumptions and meal defaults
• weigh-in ritual — scale owned or not, daily vs 3-4×/week tolerance, cycle-aligned comparisons; affects the protocol and averaging in trend.md

When To Use

• User logs a meal by photo, text, or label and wants a calorie/macro estimate
• User wants a calorie or protein target for a cut, bulk, or maintenance, or asks to count macros
• User reports scale readings and wants the trend read — stalls, overnight jumps, first-week drops
• User asks how accurate an estimate is, how to read a label, or whether to eat back exercise calories
• Not for meal planning or recipes (that is dietitian / meal-planner territory)
• Mode: act-as tracker for logging and math; advise-only for targets; any Red Flags hit suspends both

Quick Reference

Situation	Play
Meal photo	Itemize, size against plate/utensils, add hidden calories, output a range → estimation.md
Vague text log ("had pasta")	Portion defaults + at most one clarifying question (per clarify_style) → estimation.md
Packaged food	One label photo, extract, audit the serving size, save to library → labels.md
Repeat meal	Library match, confirm "same as last time?", skip re-estimation
Restaurant, delivery, buffet, or bar night	Published data for chains; +20-30% over homemade for the rest → restaurants.md
Wants a target (cut/bulk/maintain/macros)	Mifflin-St Jeor × activity, sized per rule 3, floors per rule 4 → targets.md
14+ days of logs exist	Measured TDEE replaces the formula (rule 5) → calibration.md
Scale stalled 2+ weeks	Stall protocol — confirm, audit, recalibrate, then adjust → trend.md
Weight jumped overnight	Water, not fat: sodium, carbs, training, cycle, travel → trend.md
Smart scale says body fat changed	BIA tracks hydration — monthly same-condition averages only → trend.md
User is 65+, BMI 30+, very lean, or in menopause	Formula and protein adjustments → targets.md
On GLP-1s, insulin, or weight-moving meds	Track against clinician numbers, protect protein → safety.md
"Should I eat back my workout?"	≤50% of reported burn, never on top of an active multiplier → exercise.md
Cut finished, or "I'm done dieting"	Transition to maintenance, band watching, recomp → maintenance.md
Any Red Flags signal	Suspend all protocols → Red Flags table, response scripts in safety.md
Anything else	Log it with a range, save to memory, zero commentary on whether the number is good or bad

Depth on demand: estimation.md portions, hidden calories, recipes · labels.md label reading · restaurants.md eating out and alcohol · targets.md formulas and macros · calibration.md measured TDEE · trend.md scale readings and plateaus · exercise.md activity calories · maintenance.md phase changes · safety.md escalation depth.

Core Rules

1. Estimates are ranges, never single numbers. Single foods run ±10-15%, mixed dishes ±25-40%, restaurant meals +20-30% vs homemade. "350-450" is honest; "412" is theater.
2. Round against the goal's failure mode. Weight loss rounds intake UP 10-15%, muscle gain rounds DOWN 10-15%, maintenance takes the midpoint — estimation bias should oppose the direction the user would fail in.
3. Targets come from a formula, not vibes. BMR (Mifflin-St Jeor): 10×kg + 6.25×cm − 5×age, +5 men / −161 women. TDEE = BMR × activity (1.2 sedentary, 1.375 light, 1.55 moderate, 1.725 heavy). Deficit 300-500 kcal/day, or sized to lose 0.5-1.0% bodyweight/week (worked example in targets.md).
4. Hard floors: 1200 kcal/day (women) / 1500 (men) — never set or endorse targets below them without clinician oversight. Repeated logs below floor trigger the Red Flags table, not encouragement.
5. After 14+ days of consistent logs, measured TDEE beats any formula: TDEE = mean daily intake − (weekly weight change in kg × 7700 ÷ 7), weight change signed (loss = negative). Losing 0.4 kg/week on 2200 kcal → 2200 − (−440) = ~2640. Formulas carry ±10% per-person error; the user's own data does not (calibration.md).
6. Judge 7-day rolling averages, never day-to-day readings. Daily weight swings 1-2 kg on water and glycogen alone (each gram of glycogen binds ~3 g water — trend.md for the full variance table).
7. Protein is the second number that matters: 1.6-2.2 g/kg bodyweight during a deficit (Morton meta-analysis); below that the deficit eats muscle, not just fat. Sedentary maintenance can run at the 0.8 g/kg RDA — except 65+ and BMI 30+, adjusted in targets.md.
8. Screen before tracking. Run the Red Flags table on first contact and on every concerning signal. A calorie tracker in the wrong hands is a harm amplifier.

Everyday Anchors

The numbers needed on almost every log. Canonical here; reference, don't restate.

Item	Energy
Cooking oil, 1 tbsp / 15 ml	~120 kcal — invisible in photos, the #1 undercount
Butter, 1 tbsp	~100 kcal
Sugar, 1 tbsp	~48 kcal
Beer, 330-355 ml	~140-150 kcal
Wine, 150 ml glass	~120-150 kcal
Spirits, 44 ml shot	~100 kcal before mixers
Latte, medium, whole milk	150-250 kcal
Pizza slice, chain medium	250-350 kcal
Egg, large	~70-75 kcal
Mayonnaise, 1 tbsp	~90-100 kcal — the sandwich's hidden half
Protein powder, 1 scoop (~30 g)	~110-120 kcal, ~24 g protein
Per gram	protein 4 · carbs 4 · fat 9 · alcohol 7 kcal (Atwater) — use to audit any total

Red Flags

Signal (observable)	Suspicion	Action
Logs below floor (1200 W / 1500 M) on 3+ days in a week	Unsupervised over-restriction	Pause targets, state the floor and why, suggest clinician review
Guilt or shame language, panic over imprecise entries, logging every gram	Disordered eating pattern	Stop tracking entirely; share an eating-disorder helpline: ANAD 1-888-375-7767 (US) / BEAT 0808 801 0677 (UK)
Skipping meals then large uncontrolled eating, or exercise framed as punishment for food	Binge-restrict cycle	Stop tracking, no calorie feedback, route to clinician (safety.md scripts)
Mentions pregnancy or breastfeeding	Deficit unsafe for fetus/infant	Decline deficit tracking; neutral logging only if their clinician approved it
Diabetes on insulin, kidney disease, thyroid or metabolism-affecting meds (incl. GLP-1 agonists)	Targets require medical coordination	Track only against clinician-set numbers, never self-derived ones (safety.md)
Under 18, or stated stats give BMI under 18.5	Growth needs / underweight	Decline deficit tracking, route to clinician or pediatrician
Losing more than 1.5 kg/week for 2+ weeks	Gallstone and muscle-loss risk	Recommend raising intake; clinician if it continues

Anything in this table suspends every protocol above: route to a clinician. Response wording and condition-specific depth in safety.md.

Traps

Trap	Why it fails	Do instead
Treating nutrition labels as exact	US labeling tolerance allows ~20% deviation	Keep a 10-20% margin; labels are the best single source, not ground truth (labels.md)
Crediting wearable exercise burns at face value	Wrist devices overestimate energy expenditure by ~27% or more (Shcherbina, Stanford)	Eat back at most 50% of any reported burn (exercise.md)
Counting exercise twice	An active TDEE multiplier already contains the workouts	Multiplier or eat-back — one accounting, never both (exercise.md)
Logging the wrong dry/cooked basis	Dry rice ~360 kcal/100 g vs cooked ~130 — a 2.7× error	Match the database entry's basis to what was weighed (estimation.md)
Cutting intake at the first stall	Water retention and logging drift mask real progress for 1-2 weeks	Run the stall protocol: confirm, audit, recalibrate, then adjust (trend.md)
Escalating precision (gram-weighing everything)	Inputs carry 15-40% error, so gram precision is fake accuracy and an obsession on-ramp	Ranges plus library reuse; precision only where it is cheap (labels)
Moralizing foods as good/bad or clean/dirty	Drives hiding, guilt, and binge-restrict cycles	Neutral logging; context ("high for its satiety") over judgment
Ignoring liquids and cooking fat	Oil, lattes, and alcohol (Everyday Anchors) are the biggest silent gap	Prompt once per savory or restaurant log for drinks and cooking method
Trusting recipe-site per-serving numbers	"Serves 4" is the author's guess, not a measurement	Recompute from ingredients ÷ actual servings (estimation.md)
Skipping the log after a blowout day	One unlogged day becomes an abandoned week (the "what the hell" cascade)	Log a rough range, close the day, move on (restaurants.md)

Output Gates

Before sending any tracking reply, check:

• Is every estimate a range with context adjustments applied, not a lone exact number?
• Does any target I state clear the 1200/1500 floor and derive from formula or measured TDEE?
• Am I citing a 7-day average for any trend claim, not two scale readings?
• Did I ask (at most once, per clarify_style) about cooking fat and drinks on this savory or restaurant log?
• Is exercise counted exactly once — multiplier or eat-back, not both?
• Is my reply free of praise or criticism of the day's total, and free of good/bad food labels?

Where Experts Disagree

• Eat back exercise calories or not. Both accountings are valid: activity-inclusive multiplier and ignore workouts, or sedentary multiplier plus ≤50% eat-back. The only wrong answer is mixing them (exercise.md).
• Daily vs weekly budgets. Banking calories for social days is sound arithmetic over a 7-day window; the boundary is users with restrict-binge tendencies, where banking becomes a restriction script — for them, flat daily targets.
• Gram weighing vs hand portions. Weighing for short physique-driven phases and calibration weeks; hand portions for long-horizon adherence. Precision beyond input error (rule 1) is spent, not earned.
• Straight to maintenance vs reverse dieting after a cut. Evidence strongly favors neither; default is straight to calculated maintenance, reverse only for post-show athletes or users anxious about regain (maintenance.md).

Related Skills

More Clawic skills, get them at https://clawic.com/skills/calories (install if the user confirms):

• dietitian — turning targets into actual meal plans and timing
• nutrition — micronutrients and full dietary tracking beyond calories and macros
• gym — the training side of a recomposition, surplus, or cut
• fasting — eating windows and fast tracking when the user time-restricts

Feedback

• If useful, star it: https://clawic.com/skills/calories
• Latest version: https://clawic.com/skills/calories

Part of Clawic, the verified skill library. Get this skill: https://clawic.com/skills/calories.