MacroCalc

[jutobash]

MacroCalc

Presentation: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1tkZ9UAhfkb0tGCaozEW2kMekBNfNqP6GnZhxsFvx3hI/edit#slide=id.g210fa1924a1_0_0

Abstract

This document proposes an application which can calculate the nutrient breakdown of any recipe. Users can give the application a recipe with ingredients and their amounts which will then be converted to its nutrient breakdown per serving based on values from an existing database. Additionally meals can be saved and modified and compared to each other. User meals can be logged and
compared against a preset macronutrient limit to help users reach their goals.

Conceptual Design

The project will be an application with a search tool for selecting ingredients as well as an entry field to submit full recipes. Depending on the selected ingredients a visual demonstration will display the nutrient amounts compared against your personal daily limit. This project will use the R programming language (specifically the Shiny package) and python. The Shiny package is for constructing interactive web applications from R with easy to understand graphics such (bar graphs, charts, etc. Python will be used to create and store user profiles or allow sign-ins through other methods as this is not available through R. Code from the open source will need to be moved and reformatted so that a proper menu and tabs can be created rather than having all the information on one page.

Proof of Concept

https://github.com/yihanwu/Nutrient_Calculator This GitHub user created a nutrient calculator which breaks down the nutrient values of specific ingredients. Additionally, users are able to manually combine several ingredients together and view their total breakdown. This creator uses the same language and package I plan to use. My program will use this base functionality along with the features I specified to create a personal nutrition planning tool.

Background

MacroCalc will function as a nutrition planning web application. It will allow users to upload recipes or individual ingredients and in return receive a detailed nutrient breakdown. These meals can be saved modified and compared to each other. A user’s meals will be compared against their preset macronutrient goals. The application will be fully functional on and offline and allows for customization and conversion in terms of amounts.

This is similar to paid closed-source nutrition tools that already exist such as Noom or MyFitnessPal. Unlike these tools however, MacroCalc will have a focus on offline usability, quantity customization, and simple design to help users have greater freedom and accessibility in achieving their personal nutrition goals.

Required Resources

To complete this project, I will need to find a large database of ingredients and their nutrient values I can use as a base data source in addition to personal ingredients that a user may add. These are publicly available on government funded resource pages. In terms of software resources, I will just need RStudio to make use of the R programming language and an installation of the Shiny package. No specific hardware resource will be needed other than a device that can utilize RStudio.

[anthonyjromann]

I think this is a great idea! Allowing people to find out the macronutrients of their own recipes seems like an interesting idea to me. A lot of services that provide a similar macronutrient calculator all seem to require payment to use it. By making this open source, I think it would be very beneficial for those who may not have the money for more expensive alternatives

I have never used R before but would be interested to learn more about it for this project. I do have a book on R that I have yet to open up but I think that I would be able to help with some of the data mining as I have done it before in python. Overall, I am willing to help with whatever section is necessary for this project and would love to learn more about R.

[gevdram]

I love the concept of being healthy and eating healthy. For a while I was using myFitnessPal which does similar stuff but they got rid of a lot of features in the free version, along with other companies doing the same thing. It would be cool to have a free version and to be able to work on some of the features of it. I have never programmed in R before and that may be the biggest challenge. Haven't searched around for other proof of concepts but they may be some in a different language.

[alishahidd]

I really like this project idea. I used to love using myFitnessPal, but the app just is not the same as it used to be. All the useful features are now behind a paywall. Usually I dont mind paying for software, but sometimes it can be unaffordable. Given our backgrounds in CS, it would be lovely to create a product that we would use ourselves and make available to the rest of the world as well.

Lately I've been more considerate as to the food I put in my body, as well as consistently going to the gym. I think I would be a perfect fit for a user persona, and thus be able to provide expertise on what users similar to me would want from a product. I would love to help with the overall user experience or anything else that is necessary.

[SSunnydev]

Hey jutobash, I really like the project, you laid out a lot of the foundation and ideas for making a really incredible and impactful application. I've worked with R around half a year ago while I was doing a Coursera certificate, admittedly I've forgotten a bit but R is really good when it comes to working with data. I'm also taking Data Visualization, and certain visualizations for communicating ideas (bars, graphs, etc) are taught in it. I think I could help with the visualizing for one.

I can relate so much to the project because I want to be really fit in the future and be more high energy, plus MyFitnessPal removed a lot of the free features.