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The sources behind Strive’s numbers

Last updated November 10, 2026

The Strive app works out calorie, protein, workout and heart rate numbers for you. This page lists where each one comes from, with a link to the study or guideline.

These numbers are general fitness information, not medical advice. Check with a doctor before starting a new diet or training program, especially if you have a health condition. See the Strive app terms.

Daily calories

Strive estimates the calories you burn at rest with the Mifflin-St Jeor equation, from your sex, age, height and weight, then multiplies by a factor for how active your day is outside the gym. Workouts are counted on top, on the day they happen.

  1. A new predictive equation for resting energy expenditure in healthy individuals. Mifflin MD, St Jeor ST, Hill LA, Scott BJ, Daugherty SA, Koh YO. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 1990.
  2. Dietary Reference Intakes for Energy. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, 2023.

Losing or gaining weight

To change your weight, Strive moves your daily calories by about 500 for each pound a week you pick, and suggests a moderate pace. It never sets a target below 1,200 calories a day for women or 1,500 for men.

  1. Clinical Guidelines on the Identification, Evaluation, and Treatment of Overweight and Obesity in Adults. National Institutes of Health, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, 1998.

Protein, carbs and fat

Protein is set at about 1 gram per pound of body weight (2.2 g per kg), the upper end of the range these reviews support for people who lift. Fat is set at 25% of calories, inside the 20–35% range in the Dietary Guidelines, and carbs make up the rest. You can change any of them in Food › Targets.

  1. A systematic review, meta-analysis and meta-regression of the effect of protein supplementation on resistance training-induced gains in muscle mass and strength in healthy adults. Morton RW, et al. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 2018.
  2. International Society of Sports Nutrition Position Stand: protein and exercise. Jäger R, et al. Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, 2017.
  3. Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2020–2025. U.S. Department of Agriculture and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2020.

Vitamins, minerals and water

Fiber, sodium, potassium, calcium, iron and the other nutrients Food tracks are measured against the FDA's adult Daily Values. Your water goal is one you set yourself; the National Academies' report is the reference for how much adults typically need.

  1. Daily Value on the Nutrition and Supplement Facts Labels. U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
  2. Dietary Reference Intakes for Water, Potassium, Sodium, Chloride, and Sulfate. Institute of Medicine, National Academies Press, 2005.

Food data

Calories and nutrients for foods you search or scan come from these databases. Numbers read from a photo are estimates, and you can edit every one.

  1. FoodData Central. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service.
  2. Open Food Facts. Open Food Facts contributors, Open Database License.

Weekly sets per muscle

The Gym tab counts your hard sets for each muscle over the last 7 days against a target of about 10 a week, with up to 20 as the top of the range.

  1. Dose-response relationship between weekly resistance training volume and increases in muscle mass: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Schoenfeld BJ, Ogborn D, Krieger JW. Journal of Sports Sciences, 2017.

Heart rate zones and cardio

Strive estimates your maximum heart rate as 208 − 0.7 × your age and sets each cardio stage's zone as a share of it. The 4×4 workout (four 4-minute hard efforts at 85–95% of max) follows the interval study below.

  1. Age-predicted maximal heart rate revisited. Tanaka H, Monahan KD, Seals DR. Journal of the American College of Cardiology, 2001.
  2. Aerobic high-intensity intervals improve VO2max more than moderate training. Helgerud J, et al. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 2007.
  3. Association of Cardiorespiratory Fitness With Long-term Mortality Among Adults Undergoing Exercise Treadmill Testing. Mandsager K, et al. JAMA Network Open, 2018.

Questions

Email support@usestrive.app, or use the contact form.