Day ratings, which appear in the Diary view as emojis, exist to provide feedback on how close you are your health goals. These ratings are generated by an algorithm that considers a variety of different factors: your health goals, your dietary preferences, your nutrition settings, if you are getting the right proportions of macro and micronutrients, and if you are close to achieving your calorie goal for the day.

 

The number in the center of the circle represents your calorie goal for the day, and it continually adjusts as you track food (and exercise, if exercise calories are included). As you enter in your meals for the day, your calories are counted and labeled as "eaten." The center circle subtracts the number of calories from your tracked foods. 

 

If you have connected a partner device to your account, or you are manually tracking your exercise, you will see the total number of calories you've burned to the right of the circle, labeled "burned." These calories will be added back to your total number of calories to eat for the day, unless you have deactivated this in the settings. 

 

When you enter your food for each meal, Lifesum will let you know if your calorie intake is more, less, or if you are on track for the recommendations that specific meal. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner all have static recommended calorie ranges. However, the recommended calories for your snack fluctuates depending on how calorie-dense your other meals are. For example, if you are tracking under your calorie goals for your three main meals of the day, the number of calories you can consume for a snack will increase. When you add up what you had for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and what was allotted for your snack, that will equal the total of the center of the circle. 

 

There are a few reasons as to why you might get a low day rating if you have high meal ratings. Your daily rating takes into account the total of all meals during the day and how your food choices were compared to your goal. Your calorie intake could be lower than the recommendation, or your nutrient distribution can be off track. For a deeper understanding of your day rating, click "see more" to get a comprehensive nutritional overview for your day. 

 

Additionally, your dietary preferences may also be a factor. For example, if you are on a Ketogenic plan and you exceed your carbohydrate limit and have a lower fat intake, this will negatively affect your day rating. A Keto diet reduces carbs and increases fat consumption, so having high levels of carbs and low levels of fats are not in line with your health goals. 

 

Day ratings are not averages of your meal ratings, so it is natural to have some variation between the two. Your meal rating is determined by how close you are to your goals for the meal, while a day rating considers how close you are to your goals for the day. You can still achieve a good day rating if you have a low rated meal if you end up getting closer to your goals by the end of the day. 

 

Tap the meal rating card to find out how you are tracking in regards to calories, macronutrients, and micronutrients. When you tap "Nutrition Distribution," you can see if you are having healthy levels of protein, carbs, and fab. To get more information on your energy balance, tap "Calories" to see how close you are to hitting your calorie goal. 

 

The detail view shows you all of the factors the algorithm considers when it rates your meal. All of them can cause a higher or lower rating.

 

Macronutrients: You can see information about your protein, fat, and carbohydrate intake and goals by tapping "Nutrient Distribution." Depending on which diet you are on, you will have a recommended amount for each one. Some diets show minimum or maximum limits for a macronutrient, while in other diets there is an ideal range for all three.

 

Calories: Information about how you are doing on calories is accessible by tapping "Calories." The range for the day is on the left and how you are tracking against your goal is on the right.

 

Added Sugar: Lower levels of added sugar will result in a more favorable rating, while higher levels of added sugar will negatively impact your rating.

Fiber: Higher fiber levels will result in a more favorable rating, while lower levels of fiber will negatively impact your rating. 

Sodium: Lower sodium levels will result in a more favorable rating, while higher sodium levels will negatively impact your rating. 

Unsaturated fat: Higher levels of unsaturated fats will result in a more favorable rating, while lower levels of unsaturated fat will negatively impact your rating.

Saturated fat: Lower saturated fat levels will result in a more favorable rating, while higher saturated fat levels will negatively impact your rating. 

 

To learn how to improve your rating, look in the detail view of your day rating to see how you are tracking. If you are off track, consider different foods that would help you create a better balance of macro and micronutrients. 

 

Yes! All ratings are calculated based on your diet preference, nutrition settings, and calorie needs to help you achieve your health goals.

 

Firstly, you want to make sure you are on the right plan for your goals and dietary preferences. If you need help finding a plan that works for you, tap "Plans," and we can help you find one that may be a better fit. 

 

If you are happy with your plan but are still having difficulty achieving your goals, you might need to make some adjustments in your diet. Consider adding foods into your diet that have more of the nutrients you are lacking. 

 

Remember, we are all individuals and there is no diet that suits everyone. Therefore, some people find it helpful to change their macronutrient settings based on their preferences. To change your macro distribution, go to your Profile --> Adjust macronutrients. 

 

Meal ratings are not direct averages of the food you consume during your meal. They are generated holistically, considering how the food you eat during your meals compares with your health goals, your dietary preferences, your nutrition settings, if you are getting the right proportions of macro and micronutrients, and if you are close to achieving your calorie goal for the meal.

 

However, eating a lot of high-rated foods and a small amount of low-rated foods will most likely help you achieve a higher rating for your meal. It also works the opposite way; eating a lot of low-rated foods and a small amount of high-rated foods will most likely give you a lower rating for your meal.

 

Like meal ratings, day ratings are not direct averages of the meals you consume throughout your day. They are generated holistically, considering how the food you eat throughout your day compares with your health goals, your dietary preferences, your nutrition settings, if you are getting the right proportions of macro and micronutrients, and if you are close to achieving your calorie goal for the day.

 

However, having more high-rated meals and fewer low-rated meals will be more likely to provide you with a higher rating for your day. It also works the opposite way; eating more low-rated meals and fewer high-rated meals will more likely give you a lower rating for your day.

 

Further reading
Lifesum's default settings are based on recommendations by the World Health Organization. Read more here: https://www.who.int/en/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/healthy-diet