Welcome to your complete guide for Goal Tracking in Atom Fitness. This guide covers everything from initial setup to understanding how the app automatically adjusts your nutrition targets based on your progress.
Getting Started
Setting Your Goal
When you first open Atom Fitness, you'll be guided through setting up your fitness goal. The app supports three primary goal types:
- Weight Loss — Reduce body weight while preserving muscle mass
- Weight Gain — Build muscle and increase overall mass
- Maintenance — Maintain your current weight while recomping
Your Starting Point
The app calculates your initial targets based on several factors:
- Current weight and height
- Age and biological sex
- Activity level (sedentary to very active)
- Training frequency
- Your goal and target timeline
Weekly Check-Ins
Check-ins are the heart of the Goal Tracking system. Every week, you'll log your current weight, and the app analyzes your progress to determine if adjustments are needed.
When to Check In
- Check in once per week, ideally on the same day
- Weigh yourself in the morning, after using the bathroom
- Be consistent with conditions (same time, same clothing)
- Don't skip weeks — the algorithm works best with consistent data
What Happens During Check-In
When you submit your weight, the app:
- Compares your actual weight change to your expected change
- Calculates your adherence score (how well you hit your targets)
- Determines if your macros need adjustment
- Applies any necessary changes automatically
Macro Adjustments
The app automatically adjusts your daily calorie and macro targets based on your progress. Here's how it works:
| Scenario | Action |
|---|---|
| Losing weight too fast | Increase calories by 50-150 |
| Losing weight too slow | Decrease calories by 50-150 |
| Gaining weight too fast | Decrease calories by 50-100 |
| Gaining weight too slow | Increase calories by 50-150 |
| On track | No changes (or minor refinements) |
Safety Features
Calorie Floors
The app enforces minimum calorie thresholds to protect your health:
- Women: Never below 1,200 calories/day
- Men: Never below 1,500 calories/day
- These floors can be adjusted by healthcare providers
Weight Validation
The app flags unusual weight changes for review:
- Single-week changes exceeding 2% of body weight
- Patterns suggesting water retention or measurement error
- You can override flags if you believe the reading is accurate
Adherence Tracking
Your adherence score reflects how closely you hit your targets:
- 90-100% — Excellent. Full trust in weight data for adjustments
- 70-89% — Good. Adjustments consider partial adherence
- 50-69% — Moderate. Smaller adjustments recommended
- Below 50% — Focus on hitting targets before expecting changes
Plan Insights
After a few check-ins, access Plan Insights for deeper analytics about your metabolism and progress. Find it in your plan card on the Goals tab, or in the More tab.
What You'll See
| Card | Information |
|---|---|
| Your Metabolism | Estimated TDEE, trend over time, reliability score |
| Plan Adjustments | Last adjustment details and full history |
| Your Consistency | Check-in streak, logging %, protein adherence % |
Metabolic Trend Status
- Still Learning — Less than 3 check-ins; building your metabolic profile
- Adapting — 3-5 check-ins or high variance; responding to your progress
- Stable — 6+ check-ins with consistent data; your metabolism is well understood
Best Practices
- Check in weekly at the same time and conditions
- Log all food, even estimates — partial data is better than none
- Trust the process — give adjustments 2-3 weeks to show results
- Don't manually override macros unless you have a specific reason
- Use the notes feature to track how you feel, energy levels, etc.