Coached — the default
The app calculates everything from your data and goal, weekly check-ins propose adjustments, and the safety rails (calorie floors, fat minimums, deficit caps) are all active. Setup creates every plan in coached mode; if you're not sure which mode you want, it's this one.
Collaborative — shared control
The calculator still produces your targets and check-ins still run, but you take over the shape of the week: each day's share of the weekly calories is yours to set, and the standard safeguards are relaxed to let genuinely custom structures through. It's built for people with a plan of their own who still want the adaptive engine underneath.
Manual — your numbers, period
You type calories, protein, carbs, and fat directly, and the app tracks against them faithfully. The calculator steps aside entirely — and with it everything that depends on it: no weekly check-ins, no diet breaks, no weekly budget. The editor sanity-checks that your macros and calories roughly agree, but the decisions are all yours. It's the mode for following a coach's prescription or an approach the calculator doesn't model.
Switching
Change modes any time by editing your plan — each mode's wizard shows exactly the steps that apply to it. Switching out of Manual brings the calculator (and check-ins) back; switching into it freezes your current numbers until you edit them.