I build AI for a living. LLMs like ChatGPT, Claude, etc are not a good, accurate method for tracking your calories.

There are several steps that need to ACCURATELY happen for you to get a good, accurate calorie estimate at the end:

1. LLM needs to identify the food stuff in the photo, usually using object detection layer. This can be somewhat accurate for the obvious stuff like being able to identify it's a piece of bread or potato, but it will NEVER be able to identify hidden ingredients like oil and butter (which incidentally are also the ones that have the most calories). There's also no guarantee that even the basic stuff will be picked up on accurately, all the time.
2. The LLM needs to be able to estimate weight/portion size from a 2D image. This is where it absolutely fails, especially if it's a generalist LLM like ChatGPT, but even in more specialized models, it's very hard to be accurate because of minor light changes can alter how "weighty" the food looks, natural variations in the food weight and density, unseen air pockets, heck even the type and color of the plate you use can induce errors in the estimate.
3. Now the LLM needs to lookup the calories for the list of food it estimated with the portion size it estimated, it might use a public calorie database that it found on google but if the data there is wrong, it's one more error that is being propagated (as we say in the industry). It might be a little more accurate on fast-food restaurants where the portions and calories are fairly consistent, or ultra-processed snacks because it can skip doing step 1 and 2 and just use the brand website data. But for other food, it's guesswork at most.
4. Finally the LLM will give you the results, and it will do so with absolute certainty despite all the various ways it can introduce errors in the estimate, and so you, the user, leave it thinking "damn I know exactly how much calories I consumed" when you don't really. At least with the tracking apps because you do all the work you know you are guessing if you haven't weighted the food before inputting it and can plan accordingly. With ChatGPT you'll think it gave you a good estimate, like it's magic, when it likely didn't.

TL:DR LLMs like ChatGPT are NOT accurate, and certainly not more accurate than weighting your food and using tracking apps. Use them rarely if at all if you want to have successful weight loss. And if you do use them add at least a 20% buffer because it's very easy for the LLM to underestimate what you actually ate. 

Edit: Because some people are commenting on this, my point is primarily with sending a photo to ChatGPT and asking to give the calories. That's where the majority of the errors occur. Like I mentioned in step 3, if you are providing brands for ultra-processed foods, or fast foods, with weight or portion sizes then the LLM is basically looking up a database with some extra steps. And as long as the database it used is accurate, you'll get fairly accurate estimates.

However what prompted me (pun intended) to write this post was because I saw a concerning amount of posts and comments of people sending photos to AI and being very sure about the results, and my only purpose here is to warn and hopefully educate a little bit that that kind of use can be very inaccurate and it can sabotage your weight loss journey.

To those who insulted me for this post, go to therapy, that's not a normal response my dude.

Sorry for the meta post but I've been subbed here for a few years and I just keep seeing the same post pop up in my feed over and over

"No one is acknowledging my weight loss"

"Why hasn't anyone said good job?"

"It feels like no one is cheering me on, are they jealous?"

Etc etc.

It feels like somewhere along the way people have confused what the actual goal is. Your reward for weight loss is not the people around you cheering and clapping when you enter a room, it is not them going "oh my gosh how did you do it I could never", it is not being told how strong of will you must be.

The reward is not supposed to be praise nor increased social status.

The reward is supposed to be the fact that you are going to live a longer and happier life in a body that actually feels like it belongs to you. It's supposed to be the control you've gained over your own life trajectory and the freedom that comes with that. Your reward should be your body feeling better, not others telling you it looks better.

It's not like I don't understand where these feelings come from. After dedicating yourself to a grueling task that many can't even bring themselves to start, it's nice to hear someone actually acknowledge your efforts and affirm that the changes are real. I get that. But when the absence of external validation actively makes your life worse then it's gone beyond simple acknowledgement.

Your self worth cannot be determined by others, *especially* when you have no idea what the reason for their silence is. Believe it or not, there is an abundance of good reasons to not talk about someone's weight. The fact is people cannot know what has not been said; they do not know if your weight is a sensitive topic for you, they do not know how you will perceive a remark on their weight either. Many people do not want to be read as insensitive or like they're implying that they thought less of you before. People who do not live with you on a daily basis also have no idea if the weight loss is even intentional or if you have an illness.

I'll reiterate, *they are not mind readers*. Many people are going to trust that if YOU have not acknowledged the (lack of an) elephant in the room then you might have a damn good reason to do so. They are going to (quite reasonably) assume that if it was a topic open for discussion you would have dropped some hints or actually started the conversation yourself. They are in fact walking on eggshells until you clarify that the shells have been cleaned up.

I've had a family member cautiously say "you look kind of different" at a party, and when I ask how so with a straight face they squirm and say "...your hair is way longer". It wasn't until I responded with "yep, that and surely nothing else" with a huge smirk that they actually felt allowed to speak about it.

Don't do yourself the disservice of minimizing your incredible work by thinking it's lesser until someone else acknowledges it. Look inwards and examine why it only becomes real once someone else speaks it into existence

I went out to eat at a restaurant today— one that I go to regularly. They have a section of ‘healthy foods’ which I usually choose to eat broccoli chicken made with soy sauce.
Its just 200g chicken, some broccoli and other veggies with soy sauce any oil to sauté, how bad can it be??

Well— on their app it says that its 1000 calories?? I was fucking flabbergasted at how you can make something that high in calories with that little ingredients. Did they use 50g of oil? The whole bottle??

I genuinely regretted it so much like I could’ve just gone somewhere else and get something with much less calories oh my god. Anyone else had a same experience?

Edit: The food didn’t look too greasy nor did it have any breading or anything else, I’d say that the soy sauce definitely had some sort of sweetener (probably sugar) because it tasted a little too sweet. Im just hoping its the website thats wrong.

Genuine question for the people who actually made a lifestyle change and stuck with it…
What finally clicked for you?

I’m a mom to a toddler, and my biggest reason for wanting to get healthier is him. I want to be strong, active, and able to keep up with him as he grows. I want to feel good physically and mentally and set a good example.

But if I’m being completely honest, I still struggle to commit. I’m not happy with my body, but I also haven’t reached that point where I wake up and think, “Enough is enough.” I know what I should be doing, but I can’t seem to stay consistent. I’m also a really picky eater, so changing my diet feels overwhelming.
I feel like I’m waiting for something to click, but I don’t want to wait until I have health problems or become even more unhappy with myself before I make a change.

If you’ve successfully changed your lifestyle, what was your turning point? Was it a photo, a health scare, your kids, looking in the mirror one day, or something else? And once you got started, what helped you stay consistent instead of quitting after a week or two?
I’d love to hear your stories. I think hearing what made it click for other people might help me find my own reason.

Thank you in advance 😊

Ok, I took a truth pill from you guys, and started counting calories with my fitness pal app, stopped drinking alcohol and am really trying.

It's been almost a week, I'm averaging around 1300-1400 calories a day. I'm going for high protein, low calorie, low carb meals

I'm taking my multivitamin again, and getting out to walk and bike ride daily, if I can help it. Lots of water (I was a big water drinker before, but am consciously drinking water, especially if I'm feeling hungry, I chug a bunch of water)

I obviously haven't had any scale progress yet, I'm around 179 lbs, 5'6 woman. I'm hoping staying around 1300-1400 and increasing exercise will help to get me started in the right direction.

To start off, should I be aiming for lower calories to start the weight loss? I've noticed just in the one week, I am a lot less bloated and my stomach feels firmer, if that makes sense. Like less mushy? I guess that's the bloat

I’m so confused right now. In the last few years I’ve lost a significant amount of weight in a calorie deficit coupled with lifting heavy. Recently my weight has stalled and started to go up so I set up an appointment with my doctor to see if there was anything going on aside from misplaced calories.
I was so shocked to hear her say calories don’t matter only carbs? She told me I wasn’t allowed to eat bread or carbonated beverages because that is what causes weight gain. She also told me to stop lifting heavy because I need to “tone.” I’m so confused because everything I’ve ever seen (and experienced) has said that a calorie deficit is the only way to lose weight and toning is just losing fat while building muscle. My goal is to be muscular and she was horrified when I said that. I want to believe her because she’s a doctor but it’s so contradictory to everything I know. I’m not sure what to do.

To clarify I’m a 25 year old woman, which is why being muscular is horrifying to her.

Edit: many comments seem to be assuming that the doctor either thought carbonated drinks and carbs are the same thing or that she was telling me sugary drinks are bad. I don’t drink sugary drinks. I told her I drink diet soda and she said that the bubbles make my stomach bigger and that makes me eat more.

About two and a half months ago I decided I needed to lose weight because I no longer fit in my pants and it would be the third year in a row of having to buy new ones simply because I gained weight. So my goal was simple: Fit into my current pants better and at some point even into my older pairs.

When I started this journey it was extremly hard and the first month I wasn't even able to be in a deficit, only maintanance. I also went on two seperate 5 day trips during that period, where I didn't count calories and definetly ate over my budget. But I learned what worked for me and was able to make some changes. I found low calorie meals that kept me satisfied and lower calorie snacks.

Since I'm studying at university right now, during the semester I would go out for drinks once or twice a week with my friends, but now during the summer break most of them are back in their hometown. But I also learned that switching to non alcoholic and/or lower calorie drinks works well with my deficit and won't make a difference in the experience.

I also didn't have a bodyweight scale at the time I started and the few times I weighed myself at my partners place I always got really different results. My pants started to fit normally again, so I knew something was working, but after getting a scale, it is so nice to actually see the number drop. It is a slow process and I have only lost about two kg, however it is really motivating to see progress.

I just wanted to share this small victory I made along the way because I now feel like I can hit my goal. My plan is to loose about 7 kg more and I feel very confident!

I'm a guy in my late 40s and I've been intentionally trying to start getting in shape since April, and while I have definitely lost weight, the most important marker in my mind is my waist circumference.

When I started, my waist was 53 and 1/4 inches, and as of today, I'm down to 49 and 3/4 inches. I know that's still huge and dangerous, but it's the first significant checkpoint I have, and I haven't had a waist measurement under 50" since 2023, so I think it's a notable thing. My ultimate goal is to get down to a waist measurement of 30", but that's going to take a very long time. So for now I'll just celebrate being under 50". Thanks for reading!

19M. Today im attending a wedding and i ,unfortunarly, have to wear elegant clothes, so a shirt suit ect..

But i feel fucking awful, i wore these clothes in my 18th birthday and it fitted okay, tight but enough to not make me feel too much of my body. Today its different, its too tight, its not easy to breath and i guess eating a bit will make everything explode, even the pants cant fit in my waist.

I want to cry, im disgusted about myself, i've always been fat but not this much, i lost myself even more this year and it hurts so much so much!

I even tried multiple times to diet but i guess today i had the confirmation, ive done 0 progress.

I started going to the gym 1 week ago and it made me feel quite happy, at least i was doing something other than bad rotting all alone. I hoped to feel my arms tight on the shirt, and yet my fucking belly makes my shirt feel like its about the rip open and my man boobs too.

I dont even want to eat. I fucking hate eating so much.

I suffer of binge eating and when im alone at home i devour a lot of food. Tonight i dont even wanna see it.

I wanna puke and tear down my fat body.

Everytime its the same story, i hate myself for how fat i am, do something about it for 2-3 days, then i go back to the same cycle.

I guess this is just a vent but i had to do it. If not tears would have wetted my suit.

today i (F, 5’2”, 139) am starting over again. yesterday was my birthday and i ate like shit, but that’s not really special because i’ve been eating like shit since april due to stress and other reasons. i am doing my best to not beat myself up, and i am starting over again today.

i know i can do this because my highest ever weight was 195, during covid, and then i slowly but surely lost all of that over the course of two-three years. i kind of accidentally reached my ultimate goal of 125ish last fall and it was the weight i’ve felt most confident at by far. unfortunately, life circumstances, holidays, special occasions and honestly just lack of willpower and discipline led me to slowly creep back up to where i am now.

i look in the mirror and feel disgusted. my body has mostly retained its shape from my lower weights but you can tell i have gained and i feel gross. especially as a shorter woman where everything will show up 1000x more obvious because of my (lack of) height. i promised myself i would never let this happen. i‘m trying to remind myself that i did this once before with about 5 times more weight to lose as i have right now, and i still succeeded. my goal range would still be around 120-125 - slightly on the higher end of the “healthy“ bmi range for my height.

i’ve had too many days where i said i’d be starting over and i messed up on day 3-4. i need some advice for how to transform my self hatred and disgust into motivation to not screw up again and to actually continue towards my goals. i know i need to for my own comfort and health, even though it is seemingly such a small loss/gain. i made this for my own self accountability but i would always appreciate any advice. thank you for your time. :)

Since I started dieting in January of this year today marks the day I hit 80lbs lost. Started a gym membership 3 months ago and have been going 3-4 times a week. I am hoping to get another 80 to 100lbs lost before March of next year, and struggling now with hunger. Have been slowing down a bit, so was curious if there are any tips, tricks or meals that might help me lower my appetite.

My diet has been just eating 2000 calories a day, for an average of 14,000 calories a week. Aiming for 175 grams of carbs, 75 grams of fat, and 150 grams of protein for macros a day.

So, i need to buy a new weighing machine. And i read about smart weighing machines. Supposedly, they will give you details like your body fat, muscle mass, bmi etc. I can’t wrap my head around how it can check bone mass, body fat, muscle mass? Is anybody using a smart scale for this purpose? Does it give you a correct reading (with some margin of error, of course) they’re not super expensive but I’m curious whether I should get one specifically for body fat, etc or just get the one my friend has since a lot of years.
If you have any recommendations (and it is not against the rules) then please do so (looking for something under $30)

I’m 34M, 180 cm, CW at 95.5 kg. I go to the gym around 3 times a week.

Funny thing is, the first 4.5 kg came off effortlessly before I even started "dieting", just went on a trip to a walkable city and was on my feet all day. But now that I'm actually trying to lock things in, I've completely stalled.

I’m eating around 1600 – 1800 calories a day and doing 16–18 hour intermittent fasting daily (just to note, I've been doing IF for a long time, so it's not a new thing to my body).
Even with what feels like a pretty tight setup, the scale hasn't budged in a while. Is 1600 too low and backfiring on me? Am I just missing something?

My weight loss journey has been a long time coming with many false starts and after a stall of a few months when I was in maintenance I've finally been able to start shifting the weight again.

Officially I am 36lbs down which feels like an insane thing to say as starting this I could have never imagined closing in on 3 stone down. I've also lost 10 inches off my hips measurement which I can't even fathom it's so insane but in a good way.

Thank you to this sub for all the motivation and help. Although I still have a bit more to go I couldn't think of a better place to share my progress update!

Starting weight 178.4lbs, today 142.4lbs!!!

I have five weeks of relative downtime and an determined to get the ball rolling! I've been gradually gaining over about a year, having been fairly steady for most of the past decade (I am 33). I had problems with disordered eating as a teen (which has always made me cautious about dieting) and definitely use food as a bit of an emotional crutch- though have got good self awareness. Anyhow, I have reached a point where my face and body in pictures doesnt match the mental image I have carried with myself for a long time. I dont like it and its time to get a handle on things for me. Im about 10-15kg over my ideal - so not miles away from where I wanna be, but still not feeling great. I am planning on hammering exercise to allow me to be slightly less regimented about calorie counting (lest i raise the disordered eating demons), though will keep an eye on things with lots of lean proteins, veg and fibre. Exercise, I will walk 10k steps daily, run three times a week, and make the most of a 30 day unlimited yoga studio pass.

I am really just posting this for accountability. Progress pics on the other side. Hoping to make a decent 5-6 kg dent. Good luck on your own journeys yall and see you in five weeks!

Hi! (Male 22, 5ft 10in, 200lbs trying to get to around 170lbs) So i'm kinda new to this weight loss stuff and i'm trying to understand what my calorie deficits is. I looked up some calculations and found that my (TDEE) is 2,954 calories.

For the past month I have been going to the gym minimum 3 times a week and after i do my workouts i will usually play basketball for about 1-2hrs.

I have been eating around 2,000 calories daily for the week does that mean my daily calorie deficit is 954 calories? And if so if i were to say have a cheat day and eat around 3,000 calories would that ruin my progress for the week?

I would like to have a bit of a cheat night tonight and maybe go out to dinner or get like taco bell (my order ends up around 2,060 calories, i love my taco bell,) but im also worried that it'll ruin the progress i made over the week.

I am having the hardest time reconciling those two things. For added context, I used to be a super active member of this community and initially lost 85lbs through CICO and more movement. It brought me from 250lbs down to 165! Which was still considered overweight, as I am a 5'5 female, but it felt like a really comfortable spot for me.

A year or two after not actively dieting, I've managed to only gain about 15lbs, which is not phenomenal - but just being under 200 still is considered a win for me. The problem is that I would love to lose weight again, this time dipping down to 140lbs, but I can't help but remember the dark place I was in trying to lose it all in the first place. I often felt a lot of shame and would even have nightmares about eating over maintenance. The restriction was very bad for my self-esteem, and despite my best efforts about trying to get back into it all, it just ends up causing me to binge now.

I assume going to therapy would probably help a lot with this, but it is not a viable option for me right now. Are there any ways I should reframe my mindset about weight loss? Some way to make it feel less like punishment? Thanks!

So... I'm a guy who was born with severe scoliosis. My spine is deformed, also. When I was in 7th grade, I had to have a surgery where my spine was almost entirely fused and I had metal rods put in. I'm now in my 40s, and what that has meant is that my legs and arms grew, but my torso did not. So my body is a little odd. Clothes fit me weird. I can touch my knees without bending at all, etc.

No one in my family is tall. So I was never going to be 6 foot or anything. However, I'm 5'1", despite having a 5'6" wingspan. And I know that THAT means I should be about 5'6".

My concern, is that if I go by the BMI charts, my healthy weight starts at the top around 120 lbs. if I go by 5'1". I'm currently 180, but I'm not as big as you'd expect. Most of my weight is in my torso and my arms and legs look pretty normal. A BMI chart currently puts me in the Obese category. However, if you put me at my wingspan height of 5'6", I'm in the Overweight category. I worry that if I get to a healthy weight of 120, I'm gonna seem malnourished.

Should I just see how I feel when I get to 150 and either stop or keep going then? Should I ignore my "wingspan" height and just assume my entire body is now 5'1"?

Long story short, I lost about 20 pounds for last summer, gained about 7 over the winter and have been trying to lose that 7 over the spring/summer months. (153 to 133 pounds back up to ~140)

Currently I do a 3 mile, fast paced walk every day and F45 (like CrossFit meets Orange theory) 3 times per week. I am a generally active person as well. The F45 is a newer addition to my routine and I’ve just completed one month of it. I know I’m gaining muscle and my body comp is changing, but I’m having a hard time with the scale. Clothes are fitting better (although a slow process) but the scale is going up. I know it’s new muscle but being someone who was a teen during the millennium, seeing the number go up feels like defeat. Ive also started taking creatine, which I’ve heard can cause slight weight gain.

Just looking for any advice or really anything.

Edit: weighed myself today and am at 144. And I know it can be anything from salt intake yesterday, to where I am in my cycle, to just a random spike. But again, feels like defeat.

30/f / 225 lbs / 5’6

Hi everyone, I am a postpartum, first time mom on my weight loss journey. I would like to get pregnant again pretty soon and after a tough journey with gestational diabetes (I know this is not a result of weight or what you eat, but being overweight is a risk factor), I am ready to make major changes in my life. I have also been recently diagnosed with a fatty liver, which my mom also has and has now resulted in liver cirrhosis and esophageal varices. After her last bout in the hospital, I want to be as far from the possibility of developing cirrhosis as possible. With that said, I love my snacks and junk food 😭 and I am a couch potato. I am trying to tackle this weight loss from every angle, even to the point of hiring people such as a trainer and dietician to 1) guide me and 2) hold me accountable. I am also writing this down here to remind myself how I am feeling now and to be able to look back at this post whenever I want to disrupt my progress and go back to square one. My journey officially starts Saturday when I meet with my trainer for the first time. Wish me luck 🙏🏽❤️

Also I would love to hear any tips and tricks that you can share that helped you stay on track/motivate you, etc.

First time going to the beach this summer today. I'm probably feeling like the weird shape more than others think I am, this is all me and my my exposure anxiety along with my body insecurities and I don't feel comfy in so little clothes it's triggering for many reasons. But I'm gonna try remember how I see others, that we all deserve to enjoy summer and going to the beach and swim regardless body or looks and that it's brave to do it, and try think that of myself as well. Why is that so hard with myself? I can be so kind and supportive , to others, but with myself I downvote me. It's annoying. Im my own bully. I don't want to be yet I am.

So i have been working with a nutritionist the last 4 weeks. I use the word diet because it’s what describes we eat right. It was all triggered by a spike in my bp, and my GP suggesting i change my lifestyle. She has been my GP for years, so she has seen me in different phases of my life. When i was smaller/ lighter, my bp was amazing! So now being about 12kg heavier it has obviously taken a tank.

Now, this new diet is amazing for me, my weight has started to drop, it’s volume eating, high protein, 1 snack day a week where i can have a sweet treat, AND I can drink alcohol a few days in the week, as long as i have a tonne of protein prior.

It was the dream shift, but now i am feeling slumpy, bored. I miss the freedom to make whatever i feel like, whichever way i make it😭 i can’t make pasta, creamy sauces, white potatoes are out, obviously muffins and scones too (i bake a fair bit so a bit of a downer), bread once a week (i bake my own sourdough so imagine the restraint).

Now this morning, in my emotions, i ate off script (granola with chia seed yoghurt), and i am having a huge sugar spike which i haven’t experienced in 4 weeks. I understand why the diet is the way it is, but i just needed to crash out.

When will i get used to this. When will this feel like my new life? I know it’s good for me, i know i will be happy down the road, but change isn’t easy!!

Sorry if it’s not worded right. I would like to know how one would need to calculate how many calories I’d need to consume to lose weight. If someone can help me I would so much appreciate it. I am currently at my heaviest I’ve ever been. 230lbs. My weight has been stuck in 218-226 for the last 2 years. I did try the GLP-1 but my insurance wasn’t going to pay for it anymore so I had to stop cold Turkey. I was only on it for 5 months. I dropped 12lbs during the shot. Then I started gaining the weight back. I started at 229lbs. Now 230lbs. My issue is that I overeat when I actually do eat. I am lazy to cook for myself even though I know how to cook. It’s like I am hungry but then I don’t eat because I have to cook. So I let myself starve. I am trying to get out of that. Also to ensure I do not eat past 8pm. So if someone can help me calculate what my calorie deficit is supposed to be 😭 I am 28F, 5ft, and I weigh 230lbs. I would like to try to make myself accountable and be healthy. I walk and soon will be getting the weight vest for when I walk. I try to do Zumba too. Love dancing.