Where goal pace sets the size of your deficit, your goal method controls how AlterMe gets you there — specifically, how much it asks you to eat less versus how much it asks you to move more.
The three methods
Nutrition-focused — a larger reduction to your daily calorie intake target, with a smaller increase to your movement target. The right choice if you prefer to keep your activity routine steady and adjust what you eat instead.
Balanced — roughly equal adjustments to both your intake target and your movement target. The default for most people.
Exercise-focused — a larger increase to your daily movement target, with a smaller reduction to your calorie intake target. The right choice if you prefer to keep your diet consistent and burn more through movement.
Your starting point depends on your activity level
Before any method adjustment, AlterMe sets a default based on how active you already are. The more active you are, the harder it is to create meaningful additional deficit through exercise alone — so dietary adjustment carries more weight at higher activity levels.
Activity level | Default (diet / exercise) |
Inactive | 20% / 80% |
Light | 25% / 75% |
Moderate | 30% / 70% |
Active | 35% / 65% |
Highly Active | 40% / 60% |
Each method shifts these percentages by 15% toward the side you prefer. Diet is always at least 10% and never more than 55% of your total deficit.
Here's a real life example
Take a moderately active member with a total daily deficit of 500 calories. Their default split is 30% diet / 70% exercise. Here is what each method does to their actual daily targets:
Balanced: eat 150 fewer calories than maintenance, burn 350 more through movement
Nutrition-focused: eat 225 fewer calories, burn 275 more — the food target drops noticeably, the movement bar is easier to hit
Exercise-focused: eat just 75 fewer calories, burn 425 more — the food target is barely touched, but the movement requirement is significantly higher
In practice the method choice changes which number feels like the daily challenge. The best choice is the one that fits how you actually live — someone who travels frequently and can't control restaurant meals may find exercise-focused unrealistic. Someone with a busy job who rarely hits step counts may find nutrition-focused easier to execute.
Which should you choose?
If adjusting your eating feels more manageable than adding movement, go nutrition-focused. If you would rather move more than eat less, go exercise-focused. If you have no strong preference, balanced is a reliable place to start.
Not sure which works for you? You can see the impact before committing. Go to Settings → Goal → Activity and Calorie Goals and toggle between methods — your intake target and movement target update in real time so you can see exactly what each option asks of you before saving.