FitCel: calories from a food photo

Weighing every portion and hunting for products in long lists gets old within a week. FitCel offers a shortcut: photograph your plate, send it to the bot and get a calorie estimate. 🥗

The bot calls itself a smart assistant for nutrition and fitness, and it works in Russian.

A photo in, calories out

The principle is simple. You send a picture of food, the bot identifies the composition and calculates calories. It also does the following.

• Fitness profile. Built around your data and goals.
• Food diary. The bot keeps a record of what you ate during the day.
• Progress and recommendations. Tracks your trend and suggests what to change.

The bot has one command, /start. Everything else goes through messages and buttons. 🏋️

What it costs and what is free

The first 3 requests are free. That is enough to see if the format suits you: send different dishes and compare the estimates with what you know about the contents.

Unlimited requests come with three plans:

• 99 rubles for a month.
• 510 rubles for 6 months.
• 900 rubles for 12 months.

Per month the longest plan is cheapest: 75 rubles against 99. But buy it only after testing on the free requests. The service terms are in the offer document, referenced in the bot's description.

How far to trust numbers from a photo

The honest answer: it is an estimate, not a weighing. A camera cannot see how much oil went into the pan, how much sugar is in a sauce or what hides under a layer of cheese. For soups and porridge the error is usually bigger than for separate items.

For better results, shoot in good light from above so the whole dish is visible. If accuracy matters, for instance on a doctor-prescribed diet, keep kitchen scales at hand and check against them. ⚖️

Building a day around the diary

1. Fill in the profile so recommendations rest on your goal.
2. Send a photo right before eating, while the plate is untouched.
3. Do not skip snacks: they carry the hidden calories.
4. At the end of the day, compare the totals with how full you feel.
5. Once a week, review progress and change one habit.

When not to rely on an app alone

The bot gives general nutrition advice, not medical orders. With diabetes, an eating disorder, pregnancy or other special conditions, plan your diet with a doctor or dietitian.

Also, strict calorie counting does not suit everyone. If it makes you anxious, stop. 💚

News and updates

The project runs its own news channel, listed in the bot's description. It is a handy way to follow changes while you decide whether a subscription is worth it.