Skip to main content

Nutrient goals and calorie needs

A client's nutrient goal is what every analysis and report compares intake against. It is step 2 of the client wizard, and you can return to it at any time.

Start from a template​

  1. On the Nutrient Goal step, click Select Goal. The nutrient goal template search opens.
  2. Choose a Data Source, Axxya Systems for the built-in dietary reference goals or My Data for templates you created.
  3. Search by name and select a template.

The heading above the table reads Nutrient Goal Selected with the template's name, and the table fills in with that template's values. From here the values belong to the client: edit any of them without affecting the template.

Click Clear to empty the goal and start again. Select Defined items only to hide the nutrients that have no value.

Calculate calorie needs​

The energy row of the table carries two extra controls:

  1. Choose a Formula:
    • Harris-Benedict formula
    • Revised Harris Benedict formula
    • Mifflin-St Jeor Equation
  2. For the Harris-Benedict formula, choose an Activity Level. The options add a percentage on top of the basal figure: 20% Sedentary, 30% Very light, 40% Moderately heavy, 50% Heavy, 75% Very heavy, and 100% Exceptional.

The calculated value is written into the energy row.

These controls need a complete client

The formula list stays disabled until the client has a date of birth, a gender, a height, and a current weight. Fill those in on the client header at the top of the screen first.

The activity level applies to adults. For a client under 18 the calorie figure comes from the average energy allowance for their age and gender instead, and the activity list stays disabled.

Split calories across macronutrients​

The Protein, Total Carbohydrate, and Fat Total rows each have a percentage slider. Move a slider to set the share of total calories that nutrient should supply, and the gram target is calculated for you. The three shares are checked against each other, so you are warned if they do not add up to 100 percent. If you have not set a split at all, nothing is checked and no warning appears.

You can also type a gram target directly into a row, and the percentage is worked back out from it.

If you change the calorie target after setting a split, by choosing a different formula or a different activity level, the gram targets are recalculated to the new calorie figure and the split you set is kept. So a goal set to 20/50/30 is still 20/50/30 afterwards, with larger or smaller gram targets behind it.

Nutrient goal templates​

If you use the same goal repeatedly, save it as a template instead of rebuilding it per client. Click Nutrient Goal Templates in the sidebar to create, edit, duplicate, and delete your own templates. A template carries a name, an age range, a gender, and a value for each nutrient, so you can keep one per population you work with.

Duplicating an Axxya Systems template is the quickest way to start: the copy lands under My Data, where you can edit it freely.

Click Continue to save the goal and move to the next step.