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The Bocco Blog

Practical, honest guides to counting calories, tracking macros, and losing weight without the struggle.

Start here How to count calories: a beginner's guide that actually sticks → The four-step loop everything else on this blog builds on.
Explainer

How much protein per meal? The range research actually supports

The "30g absorption limit" isn't quite right. The real range is 20–40g per meal — and here's what actually happens to protein above it.

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Explainer

BMR vs TDEE vs maintenance calories: what's the difference?

BMR is what you burn at rest. TDEE adds your activity on top. Maintenance calories is just another name for TDEE. Here's how the three actually differ — and which one you eat at.

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Explainer

How much protein per pound of body weight (and per kg): cutting vs maintaining

Cutting: 1.6–2.2 g/kg (0.7–1 g/lb) of goal weight. Maintaining: 1.4–2.0 g/kg (0.65–0.9 g/lb). The evidence behind each number, and when to use goal weight, not current.

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How to

How to start counting calories: your first week, step by step

No diet changes yet — exactly what to do days 1 through 7 to build the logging habit that actually determines whether it sticks.

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Explainer

How many calories are in a gram of protein?

1 gram of protein is 4 calories, same as carbs. Fat is 9. The official math (FDA + USDA sourced), with real food examples.

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Info

Intermittent Fasting and Calorie Counting: Do You Need Both?

Fasting sets when you eat, not how much. Here's why calories still decide the outcome — and the lightest way to track them inside your window.

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Info

Weight loss plateau: why it happens (and what actually works)

The scale stopped moving even though nothing changed. Here's the real reason, and the specific steps that get it moving again.

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Reference

Calories in common foods: a quick-reference guide

A practical calorie table for everyday foods, plus why the same food never has exactly one true number.

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Info

Reverse dieting: what it actually is (and how to do it)

Raising calories 50–100 kcal a week after a diet, not "eating whatever again" — what the metabolic-adaptation science actually supports.

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How to

How to read a nutrition label (without the confusion)

Serving size, % Daily Value, added sugars — the label decoded in plain English, with the one number that matters most days.

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Nutrition

High-protein, low-calorie foods: the real list

The foods that give you the most protein per calorie — chicken breast to lentils — ranked, with real numbers and a worked example plate.

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Comparison

Bocco vs Yazio: an honest comparison

Yazio's AI photo scanner, barcode reader, and fasting tracker all sit behind a paid Pro plan. Here's how it compares to Bocco's photo-first approach.

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Comparison

Bocco vs MyFitnessPal: an honest comparison

MyFitnessPal has the biggest food database around — and a free tier that now caps you at 5 entries a day. Here's how it compares to snapping a photo.

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Explainer

What are maintenance calories, and how do you find yours?

The exact BMR + activity-multiplier formula behind TDEE, a worked example, and why the number is a starting point, not gospel.

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Weight loss

How much protein to lose weight: the actual number

The real gram-per-pound range for cutting calories without losing muscle, a worked example, and why more isn't always better.

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Explainer

How many calories should you eat to lose weight?

FDA and CDC benchmarks plus two worked examples to find a daily calorie target that actually fits your body.

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How to

How to lose weight without exercise

Why diet does most of the work, how to build a deficit without a gym plan, and where movement still helps.

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How to

How to track calories when you're eating out

Menu calorie labels, where hidden calories actually come from, and order strategies that don't ruin the meal.

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Beginner guide

How to count calories: a beginner's guide that actually sticks

The simple 4-step loop — target, log, review, adjust — plus what the research says actually predicts success.

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Comparison

Best AI calorie counter app: how to actually pick one

There's no single "best" — an evaluation framework backed by two peer-reviewed studies, plus quick picks by what you actually need.

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Weight loss

Calorie deficit to lose weight: how to get the number right

How to calculate your deficit, how big it should be, and why "3,500 calories = 1 pound" isn't quite right.

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How to

How to track macros, step by step

Set your calories, pick a split, convert to grams, and log it without a spreadsheet — with a worked example day.

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How to

How to count calories from a photo

How photo-based calorie counting actually works, 5 tips for a photo that scans accurately, and what to do when it still gets it wrong.

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Comparison

Cal AI alternatives: 5 apps worth trying in 2026

An honest look at MyFitnessPal, Cronometer, Lose It!, MacroFactor, and Bocco — and who each one actually fits.

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Explainer

How accurate is AI calorie counting, really?

What two peer-reviewed studies actually found — where AI photo calorie counters are close, where they miss, and why "good enough" still works.

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Comparison

Bocco vs Cal AI: an honest comparison

Same photo-scan trick — the honest difference is that Bocco is small, independent, and actually listens to its users.

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How to

How to count calories without weighing your food

You don't need a food scale. Four reliable ways to estimate portions — your hand, everyday objects, labels, and a photo.

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