MuscleTiger research notes
How the numbers in MuscleTiger are chosen
A series on the research behind a fitness app: what the evidence supports, what we simplified, and what we still do not know. Each note cites its sources and says where a number is our own choice.
1Forecasting weight loss honestly: why the 3,500-calorie rule fails and why your scale liesWhere the 3,500 kcal rule comes from, why it overestimates weight loss, how much of what the scale shows is not fat, and what that means for a forecast you can trust.
2How a daily calorie target should be set: what is supported, what is conventionThe decisions behind a calorie goal: resting energy, activity, pace of loss, safety floors, energy availability, protein, fat and carbohydrate. What the evidence supports and what we chose ourselves.
3Split or full body? What the meta-analyses sayEveryone has an opinion on split against full-body training. Pooled studies say that when weekly sets per muscle are equal, the difference is small. What volume, frequency and the direct comparison show, and what is left to choose.
4Estimating real energy expenditure from weight and food logs
5Strength progress: what a single lift can and cannot tell you
6Training load and readiness: what is supported and what is hype
7Sleep and the links between trackers: correlation without overclaiming
8We audited our own app against the research: what we fixed