Resources
Curated · caveats includedThings worth your attention if you use the calculators here. Three rules govern what appears on this page:
- Useful, not merely popular. Audience size is not a criterion.
- Criticism is stated, not hidden. Where a source is widely followed but has drawn credible pushback for outrunning its evidence, that note appears alongside the recommendation. An evidence-based site should not launder reputations by omission.
- Affiliate links are labelled inline — on the item itself, not in a footer. Nothing on this page is required to use any calculator here.
Tracking & data
Software worth the time it takes to set up. All have usable free tiers.
Cronometer
The most accurate free food database, with verified entries from lab analyses rather than crowd-sourced guesses. Tracks 80+ micronutrients, not just macros — which is the gap most trackers leave.
MacroFactor
Back-calculates your actual TDEE from logged weight and intake over time, instead of relying on a formula. Built by the Stronger by Science team. Paid, no free tier beyond a trial.
Strong
Simple, fast lift logging with plate maths and rest timers. Free tier covers most people.
Renaissance Periodization RP Hypertrophy
Volume-landmark-based programming from Mike Israetel and colleagues. Opinionated, evidence-informed, and unusually explicit about its reasoning.
Primary sources & databases
Where the claims actually come from. Go here before trusting a summary — including ours.
PubMed
The index for biomedical literature. Every numbered citation in our articles links here or to the publisher.
Examine.com
Independent, sells no supplements, and grades evidence strength honestly — including verdicts of "probably does nothing". The rare supplement resource with no incentive to overstate.
Stronger by Science
Greg Nuckols and colleagues write the most statistically careful training content available for free. Their meta-analyses are frequently better than the ones they critique.
NIH Office of Dietary Supplements
Government fact sheets on every vitamin and mineral, with RDAs, upper limits, and interactions. Dry, authoritative, and free of marketing.
USDA FoodData Central
The reference database underlying most nutrition apps. Useful when you want to check what a tracker is telling you.
People worth following
Signal-to-noise is the only criterion. Where someone is popular but has drawn credible criticism, that is noted — an evidence-based site should not launder reputations.
Dr. Rhonda Patrick — FoundMyFitness
PhD in biomedical science. Goes deep on micronutrients, omega-3s, sauna and cold exposure, and reliably links the underlying papers. Long-form and technical rather than tip-driven.
Jeff Nippard
Natural bodybuilder with a biochemistry background. Cites studies on screen, updates positions when evidence changes, and is unusually willing to say a popular technique does not work.
Dr. Mike Israetel — Renaissance Periodization
PhD in sport physiology. Best available free explanation of volume landmarks, fatigue management and periodisation. Delivery is combative; the underlying reasoning is sound.
Dr. Layne Norton — BioLayne
PhD in nutritional sciences. Particularly good at dismantling diet claims that outrun their evidence, including popular ones.
Dr. Andrew Huberman — Huberman Lab
Stanford neuroscientist with an enormous audience and genuinely useful episodes on sleep, light exposure and circadian rhythm.
Read critically: Read critically. Huberman has drawn substantive criticism from other scientists for presenting preliminary or mechanistic findings as settled protocols, and for supplement recommendations that outrun the human evidence. Useful as a starting point for topics, not as a final citation — check the underlying studies before acting on a protocol.
Dr. Peter Attia
Physician focused on healthspan, lipidology and metabolic disease. Detailed and clinically grounded.
Read critically: Heavily oriented toward aggressive testing and intervention that may not be warranted, or affordable, for most people. Much of the best material is behind a paid membership.
Equipment
Contains affiliate linksOnly things that make measurement or consistency easier. Nothing here is required to use any calculator on this site.
Digital kitchen scale (0.1 g)
The single highest-return purchase for anyone tracking intake. Portion estimates are wrong by a wide margin; a scale removes the guesswork.
Flexible tape measure
Needed for the body fat estimator. A retracting tape with a tension button improves repeatability.
Body fat calipers
Only worth it if you will measure consistently. Accuracy depends far more on technique than on the caliper itself.
Suggest a resource
If something belongs here, or something listed no longer deserves to be, open an issue on GitHub. Removals are as welcome as additions.