Docs/Features/Quick Log

Quick Log

One-tap meal logging with AI predictions. After calibrating 7+ meals, log your meals in under 2 seconds.

Week 3+: Ultra-Fast Logging

After calibrating 7+ meal types (3 weigh-ins each), Quick Log appears automatically. The system predicts your most likely meals based on time, day, eating history, and pantry inventory. 90% of the time, your meal is in the top predictions—just tap it.

How Quick Log Works

1. Eligibility Check

Quick Log appears when you have more than 7 calibrated meals. A calibrated meal is one where you've recorded at least 3 weigh-ins, allowing the system to learn your Gaussian portion distribution (mean ± standard deviation).

Example: If you've weighed "Chicken breast" 3 times (195g, 210g, 200g), the system learns your portion = 202g ± 8g. That's a calibrated meal.

2. Prediction Engine

The system uses a 6-feature scoring algorithm to predict your 5 most likely meals. Each feature is weighted by importance:

  • Time of day (25%): Oatmeal at 8 AM, curry at 1 PM, shepherd's pie at 7 PM
  • Frequency (20%): Meals you eat most often overall
  • Expiry urgency (20%): Prioritizes meals with ingredients nearing expiration
  • Recency (15%): Recent eating history in the past 7 days
  • Calorie target alignment (10%): Meals that fit your remaining daily budget
  • Uncertainty reduction (10%): Meals with well-calibrated Gaussian distributions

The scoring model continuously adapts to your eating patterns and learns from corrections.

3. Display Ordering

Quick Log shows 5 meal predictions, optimized for thumb biomechanics. The highest-ranked prediction is positioned for easiest single-handed access.

The ordering is algorithmically determined based on prediction score and ergonomic thumb reach patterns on mobile screens.

The Quick Log Interface

Meal Prediction Cards

Each card has two interactive sections:

White Left Section (85% of card)
  • Tap to log instantly: Records meal with your calibrated portion (e.g., 202g ± 8g)
  • No confirmation required: One tap and you're done
  • Toast notification: "Meal logged: [Meal Name]" appears for 3 seconds
Orange Right Section (15% of card)
  • Tap to expand details: See full nutrition breakdown
  • Shows: Calories, protein, carbs, fat, item count
  • Source badge: Pantry (purple), Restaurant (orange), or Other (gray)

Card Information

Each card displays:

  • Meal name: "Butter Chicken & Rice", "Shepherd's Pie", etc.
  • Source type: Pantry (home-cooked), Restaurant, or Other
  • Source name: Restaurant name or "Your Kitchen"
  • Item count: Number of ingredients/items in the meal
  • Nutrition preview: Estimated calories for your calibrated portion
  • Best Match indicator: Shows on the highest-ranked prediction

Calibration Progress Tracking

Calibration Achievement Notifications

When you log a meal that needs more calibration, Quick Log shows a progress toast:

  • "2 weigh-ins to go! Weigh next time for best accuracy"
  • "1 weigh-in to go! Almost there"
  • "Calibrated! This meal will now appear in Quick Log predictions"

Bottom Action Buttons

"Search Meals" Button

Opens the full meal database search. Use this when your meal isn't in the Quick Log predictions (happens ~10% of the time). You can search across 50K+ recipes and 100K+ alternative names.

"New Meal" Button

Opens the full meal logging flow with Entry and Barcode Scan modes. Use this for novel meals that need weighing or when logging restaurant meals.

The Speed Advantage

2 Seconds Average Per Meal

Here's how the math works out in Week 3+:

  • 90% of meals: Quick Log tap (1 second)
  • 9% of meals: Quick search (10 seconds)
  • 1% of meals: Novel item weighing (30 seconds)

Weighted average: (90% × 1s) + (9% × 10s) + (1% × 30s) = 2 seconds per meal

Weekly Time Savings

Traditional Apps:

15-23 minutes per day = 1.75-2.7 hours per week (Harvey et al. 2019)
Endless scrolling, manual searches, never improves

Eatomate Quick Log:

2 seconds per meal × 28 meals/week = 56 seconds per week
One-tap logging, gets smarter over time

Common Questions

How does Quick Log know my portion sizes?

During calibration (Weeks 1-2), you weighed each meal type 3 times. The system learned your Gaussian portion distribution (mean ± std dev). When you tap a Quick Log prediction, it automatically applies your calibrated portion—no weighing needed.

What if my portion size varies?

That's expected! The Gaussian model accounts for natural portion variation (σ). Over time, reconciliation uses mass conservation to correct estimates to ground truth when pantry items expire.

Can I still weigh meals after calibration?

Yes! Tap "New Meal" instead of using Quick Log, then use the Entry mode to weigh your meal. Each new weigh-in refines your Gaussian model for even better accuracy.

What if Quick Log predicts the wrong meal?

No problem! Just tap "Search Meals" or "New Meal" to log the correct meal. The prediction engine learns from your corrections and improves over time.

Next Steps

Last updated: March 2026