How will FitLegit help me reach my goals?
FitLegit will help you set up an initial diet, then we will track your progress over time and your diet will adapt and update based on your results. We will also provide tips and recommendations on changes you can make to keep your diet on track and help you to achieve your fitness goals!
What does FitLegit do differently?
FitLegit is the first and only fitness app that adapts to be unique for each individual user. Most fitness apps create diet plans that assume that all people of a certain height and weight are the same, but we find that is certainly not the case! Our diet plans adapt based on YOUR results to create a diet plan that is tailored to you and your body.
How does FitLegit adapt to be personalized to you?
Data is the core of FitLegit, which is why we call it "Data Driven Dieting". Specifically, data about your diet and your results. We analyze the data that you give us to create a personalized diet plan that matches your unique body and your goals.
What data do I need to give FitLegit?
Users can log three types of data in FitLegit:
  1. The simplest, and most important, data FitLegit collects is your weight each day. We use this information to determine your daily net calories and we track your progress to keep you on track towards your goals. This is the baseline data FitLegit needs to perform any analysis, and we recommend logging it every day for the most accurate results.
  2. Next up is your daily caloric intake. We highly recommend logging this, as we can use it combined with your weight data to determine how many calories you actually burn in a day and we use that information to adapt and personalize your diet plan for you! This information is needed to create a truly personalized diet plan.
  3. The last type of data FitLegit collects is caloric expenditure estimates from a fitness tracking device or app (something like a FitBit). This data is totally optional and is for the true fitness or data junkies out there. We use this information combined with your weight and caloric intake data to determine how accurate your fitness tracking device or app is, and then provide you with a correction factor for your device that you can apply to your fitness tracker's estimates. That way, you can alter your caloric intake based on how active you are on each individual day.
Do I have to count calories to use FitLegit?
Nope! One of the best things about FitLegit is that it’s a great tool for anyone from the casual dieter, just trying to shed a few pounds and eat better, to the hardcore, calorie counting, fitness junkie. The only thing you need to do to use FitLegit is weigh yourself and log your weight most days. In this mode, FitLegit will track your progress and let you know if you’re on track, and provide helpful tips about foods to cut and exercises to try if you start to lose your way. If you decide, somewhere down the line, that you’d like to start counting calories, you can start logging them at any time and FitLegit will do the rest.
How do we calculate your daily net calories?
This is the most important number in dieting and the most important number in our calculations. It's all about how many calories you eat vs how many calories you burn. This calculation uses your weight data and begins with the assumption that each pound of body weight is equal to about 3500 calories. Using this assumption, we analyze how your weight changes over time to determine what your net calories were over that time period. For instance, if you lost 1 pound in a week, your net calories per day over that period will be -500 net calories per day.
(-1 Pound = -3500 calories/7 days = -500 calories per day).
What about water weight? Doesn't that make my weight jump around too much for this method to work?
Water weight is asbolutely an issue, but we've thought long and hard about that! We apply some smoothing techniques to your data to help drown out water weight fluctuations. This is part of why we recommend you weigh yourself every day, so that we can accurately smooth the data and provide you with the most accurate analysis possible. We do recommend that people stay very well hydrated as your body is less likely to go through cycles of holding and releasing water if you are always properly hydrated. There are also other ways you can help reduce water weight fluctuations, see the "How should I weigh myself?" section for more
How do we calculate your calories burned in a day?
This calculation begins with the net calories calculation, and then combines that analysis with your caloric intake data to determine how many calories you actually burn in an average day, rather than guessing based on some generic factors like most apps. This calculation requires both weight data and caloric intake data and we highly recommend providing us with both to get the most accurate analysis and the most personalized diet possible.
How do we calculate a fitness tracker correction factor?
This final calculation uses the results from the calories burned calculation, and compares them with the estimated caloric expenditure data from your fitness tracking device or app. We transform this information into a single correction factor that you can apply to your fitness tracking device's output and know how many calories you've burned at any given moment in any given day. This calculation requires weight, caloric intake, and fitness tracker data. This works best with something like a FitBit that is constantly monitoring you, but can also be used with work out or fitness tracking apps that provide you with estimates of how many calories you burn in a day based on how many exercises or steps you log.
How accurate is FitLegit?
The methods we use are extremely accurate and, we think, the only practical way to determine how many calories you actually burn in a day. However, to put it simply, FitLegit is as accurate as the data you put into it, and it gets more and more accurate with more data. Your results may be a little "jumpy" in the first few days, but should smooth out after about 4-5 days of data logging. The real key to accuracy in FitLegit is the same as the key to any successful diet, consistency! Try to be as consistent as possible with your data logging and we will provide you with the analysis and the plan to keep you on track towards your goals. The worst thing for FitLegit's accuracy is the all too common trap of not logging "bad" days where we gain some weight back or over eat. This is valuable information that we can use to keep you on track, so try to avoid this as much as possible.
Do I need to log my weight/calories/fitness tracker every single day for it to work?
FitLegit is only as accurate as the data you give it, but we understand that few people have the time, resources, or desire to track these things every single day! Our data analysis algorithms were designed with this in mind, so missing some days here and there is perfectly fine and won't drastically impact your results, but we do recommend being as consistent as possible. We are working on ways to make this easier by integrating with other apps and adding features. If you have any suggestions for this, please reach out and let us know!
Is FitLegit only for people trying to lose weight?
Definitely not. FitLegit is an amazing tool for gaining weight in a controlled way to make sure that you’re gaining the kind of weight you want and not the kind you don’t. It is also great for people who are looking to simply maintain their current weight as FitLegit will let you know when you’re starting to drift and automatically try to get you back on track.
How should I weigh myself?
The best way to weigh yourself is in the morning, right after you wake up and use the bathroom, and before you eat or drink anything. If this isn't possible, try to weigh yourself around the same time every day with a similar amount of fluids and food in your body. We recommend using a digital scale that goes out to 1 decimal place. Using a wifi enabled scale may make this process a bit easier. We are currently working on integrating with wifi scales so that the process is seamless, right from your scale to FitLegit. If you would like us to integrate with your wifi scale or other weight tracking app, reach out and let us know!
How should I record my calories in a day?
We highly recommend logging all of your food each day using the FitLegit nutrition database which is available in "Meals and Food" from the Dashboard, and then make sure to complete your day once you have logged everything! You can be far more accurate if you are eating and measuring whole food items prepared at home. However, this is not always possible, so take advantage of our database of meals to search for generic versions of recipes or meals you might have while out to eat with friends or at work. If you cannot find a food or meal, please help FitLegit grow by creating it! Anything created by you will be reviewed for accuracy and then made available to other FitLegit users.

If logging individual foods isn't for you or you have a calorie tracking app you prefer already, you can simply log your calories directly on the Dashboard. Try using the meal recommendations to set up a manageable diet plan!
How should I record fitness tracker data?
This one is the easiest! Just record the data from your device or app. The only thing to keep in mind is that your device or app should provide estimates of how many calories you burn over an entire day, not just during a few exercises. Our policy on making things simpler and seamless applies here as well, so if you use a device or app you would like us to integrate with, reach out and let us know!
What does the fitness tracker correction factor do and how do I use it?
When it comes to fitness devices or apps, we believe that they are very consistent but not extremely accurate. So for one individual they may consistently over estimate how many calories you burn, but for others they may consistently under estimate. So we provide you with a correction factor for your fitness tracking device that makes it be both consistent AND accurate for YOU specifically. To use it, you simply multiply the estimate from your device by the factor we provide, and that's all there is to it!
How do we calculate your target net calories?
This calculation is based on your goals. If you're maintaining your weight, it's simple, your target net calories should be 0 to stay the same weight. If you're looking to gain, we default to +500 net calories per day, as we believe this is the pace that promotes the best lean mass growth without adding excess fat. For the weight losers of FitLegit, we calculate your optimal deficit based on a formula from a study on weight loss. The short version of this study is that the human body is capable of burning about 25 calories worth of fat per day for each pound of fat on their body, and anything beyond that is likely to result in muscle loss. So we use your body fat percentage (either estimated, see below for how we estimate, or one you provide us with) and your current weight to determine how much fat you have on your body and plug that into the formula to come up with your optimal caloric deficit that will burn the most fat without wasting muscle.

However, in all of these cases, we know that people may have different goals or want to take things faster or slower, and far be it from us to stop you. You can edit the pace of your diet in the Diet Progress section of the Dashboard by clicking the pencil icon.
How do we estimate your body fat percentage?
The estimate we provide is from a formula that uses gender, height, weight and age as its factors. This estimate is used ONLY to help determine your optimal net calories if you are losing weight. If you are using the optimal net calories number, the difference between our body fat estimate and your actual body fat percentage will not have a huge impact on your recommended net calories for most people. It is worth noting that the study that produced this formula was based on untrained individuals, so it is inaccurate for people with athletic training. Those individuals should get their body fat measured and enter their results into their profile if they would like to use a more accurate measurement.
How does Legit Track set your target calories?
Legit Track is only available if FitLegit has enough data to calculate your average calories burned in a day. To set your target calories, Legit Track starts with your target net calories per day, either the number we provide or the one you set, and then it adds that to your calculated caloric expenditure in a day. This produces your target calories.
How do we set the default macronutrient profile?
The macro nutrient profile we recommend is one that we feels promotes the best lean muscle to fat ratio, while making your diet manageable. However, macronutrient profiles should be mostly based on your preferences and goals, so we encourage members to personalize their macronutrient profiles by clicking the pencil icon in the Plan Your Day section of the Dashboard.
How do we initially estimate your calories burned in a day?
This is from a simple formula based on your height, age, weight, gender and general activity level. This number is meant to just be an initial estimate to get you started and is thrown out once you provide us with data to calculate your true calories burned.