Guides
The science behind the numbers Neato uses — how many calories you burn, how much protein you need, how fast fat can go and muscle can come, what a healthy body-fat level is, and why the scale lies. Each guide explains the research, cites the paper, and shows how the app applies it.
How many calories do you burn at rest? The equation behind your targetMost of the calories you burn in a day are burned doing nothing. Here is how that number is estimated, how wrong the estimate can be, and why Neato treats it as a starting point rather than a fact.September 15, 2026 · 4 min readHow much protein do you need? What the meta-analyses sayProtein is the one macro with a hard floor. Here is where the 0.8 gram per pound target comes from, what the research actually found, and why the number is tied to the body you are building rather than the one you have.September 15, 2026 · 4 min readHow fast can you lose fat without losing muscle?There is a speed limit on fat loss, and it is set by muscle, not willpower. Here is where Neato's 0.75 percent a week ceiling and its calorie floors come from, and why the app pushes you toward the fast end of safe rather than the slow one.September 15, 2026 · 4 min readWhy the scale jumps around, and how to read it anywayYou did everything right and the scale went up three pounds. Here is what actually moved, why the people who weigh daily lose more anyway, and how the app tells a trend from a Tuesday.September 15, 2026 · 4 min readHow fast can you build muscle, and how much is possible without drugs?Muscle comes slowly, and there is a ceiling on how much a body can carry without drugs. Here is the study that found it, what it means for a realistic goal, and why gaining faster mostly means gaining fat.September 15, 2026 · 4 min readWhat is a healthy body fat percentage? Ranges by age and sexBody fat has a healthy band, not a single number, and it moves with age and sex. Here is where the bands come from, what sits below them, and how Neato turns them into a goal you can actually reach.September 15, 2026 · 4 min readMove calories vs. workout calories: what your watch is really countingYour daily burn has three parts: resting, everyday movement, and workouts. Here is what each one is, why the everyday part is bigger and more variable than the gym, and how Neato keeps a walk from being counted twice.September 15, 2026 · 4 min readRestaurant calories: how far off the menu is, and how far off you areThe menu says 650. The plate is 900. You guessed 500. Here is what the studies measured, why the errors all run the same direction, and how a photo does better than a guess.September 15, 2026 · 4 min readWhy writing down what you eat works, and why memory doesn'tKeeping a food record is the single behavior most consistently linked to losing weight, and the reason is not discipline. It is that unrecorded intake is invisible even to honest people. Here is the research.September 15, 2026 · 4 min readYour waist measurement: how to take it and what it predictsA tape measure around your middle tells you more about your health than the scale does. Here is the evidence for the 'half your height' rule, how a waist becomes a body-fat estimate, and how to measure it the way the studies did.September 15, 2026 · 4 min readHow much exercise do you need? The guidelines and what they're based onThe official guidelines are more modest than the fitness world suggests and better supported by evidence. Here is what they say, what the research behind them found, and how Neato turns them into a daily ask.September 15, 2026 · 3 min readSleep and appetite: why short nights make the diet harderTwo short nights can add 300 calories to the next day without you noticing, and a week of them changes what you lose. Here is the research, and why a diet that ignores sleep fights its own hormones.September 15, 2026 · 3 min readWhy weight loss slows down: the 3,500-calorie rule and what replaced itThe arithmetic says a pound a week forever. Your body says otherwise. Here is the research on why every diet slows, how much of the slowdown is expected, and how Neato keeps the target honest as you shrink.September 15, 2026 · 4 min readMacros for a cut and a bulk: how the split is set and why carbs move firstOnce the calories are set, three numbers divide them. Here is how Neato sets protein, fat and carbs, where each rule comes from, and why the carb number is the one that moves when the plan changes.September 15, 2026 · 4 min readHow calorie counting from a photo works, and how accurate it isA photo of your plate becomes a calorie count in a few seconds. Here is what the model is actually doing, what the research says about how close photo methods get, and the situations where you should trust the number less.September 15, 2026 · 4 min read
Neato’s guides are general wellness information built from the published research cited above. They are not a diagnosis, treatment, or medical advice, and they don’t know your history. For decisions about your health, talk to your doctor.