Caf CoachMeal planning
Plan Your Dining Hall Day in Two Minutes
The worst time to decide what to eat is when you are hungry and standing in front of eight stations. A quick plan before you go makes the whole day easier, and it doesn't have to take long.
What does planning with Caf Coach look like?
- Open the app. Your dining hall and your macro goals are already saved from setup.
- Generate your plan. Tap Generate Meal Plan. Caf Coach reads today's menu and picks real items, with servings, for each meal, aimed at your calories and macros.
- Look it over. You see each item and the totals for the day.
- Change what you don't like. Tap the X next to a food to swap it, or use Reshuffle to rebuild a single meal with different foods.
- Go eat. Check off what you eat as you go. The logging guide covers every way to log.
What is the Plan Score?
The Plan Score is a grade out of 100 for your day: up to 40 points for macro accuracy, 35 for variety (different foods and stations), and 25 for balance (every meal built and no single item dominating). Tap the grade to see the breakdown. It grades the plan, not you, and you can ignore it if you just want to eat.
Can the plan build itself?
Yes. Autopilot builds your plan automatically each morning, so it is ready when you open the app. You can turn it on in the app's settings.
What if I add extra food?
If you add something that wasn't in the plan, Caf Coach rebuilds the rest of that meal so the whole meal stays on target. It skips this when the meal is already within about 100 calories of its goal.
Why plan ahead at all?
- Fewer decisions. Making the choice once, calmly, beats making it nine times in a rush.
- Better balance. When you can see the whole day, it is easier to notice that you are low on protein or heavy on fat before it happens.
- Less waste. You are more likely to take what you will eat.
Plans are suggestions. You know your appetite, your schedule, and your body better than any app does.
Common questions
Is the plan the same every day?
No. It is built from each day's menu, so it changes as the menu does.
Can I change a plan after it is generated?
Yes. Tap the X next to a food to swap it, or Reshuffle a single meal to rebuild it with different foods.
Try it yourself
Caf Coach is free to use. See how Caf Coach works or read the full walkthrough.
Sources
- U.S. Department of Agriculture and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2020-2025.
How this guide was written: this guide was drafted with AI writing tools and edited by Fletcher Stobaugh and Simon Bertolino, co-founders of Caf Coach. It is general information, not medical or dietary advice. Questions or corrections: hello@cafcoach.org.