How the coach handles hard moments

1. It is an AI, and it says so

The coach tells you it is an AI before your first message, and the top of every coach screen says “AI coach · not a person.” It never says it is Charlie, a person, or a doctor, dietitian, therapist or any other licensed professional. Ask it, and it says it is an AI.

2. What it watches for

Before any AI sees your message, our own server checks it against fixed rules for signs of:

• distress, hopelessness, self-harm or suicide;
• disordered eating, like making yourself sick after eating, starving yourself, punishing yourself with food, or asking to eat under 1,000 calories a day;
• a dangerous substance or amount, like DNP, insulin or diuretics used to change your body or make weight, someone else’s prescription medication, or a very large dose of caffeine.

If the AI itself recognises one of these in a message the rules missed, the same response applies.

3. What it says

For distress or disordered eating, the coach answers with care and points you to people who can help. If you’re in the US, it gives you the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. This is its wording for distress (the eating one says the same things):

I'm glad you said it here. You don't have to carry that on your own. If you're in the US you can call or text 988 any time, day or night, and talk to a real person. Telling a doctor or someone you trust helps too.

If the AI’s reply leaves out 988, our server adds it before you see the reply. For a dangerous substance or amount, it says first:

Don't. That can kill you. If you already took it, call Poison Control (1-800-222-1222) or 911 now.

For medication that isn’t prescribed to you, it says first:

Don't take medication that isn't prescribed to you. Someone else's prescription can hurt you, even at the dose on their label. If you've already taken it and feel unwell, call Poison Control (1-800-222-1222) or 911 now.

For your own prescription, it says:

Keep taking it exactly as it's prescribed. For timing with food, caffeine or a pre-workout, ask your doctor or pharmacist.

If you are in danger right now, call 911. The coach is not an emergency service and it cannot call anyone for you.

4. What it never does in that moment

• No selling. No word about Charlie’s coaching, no booking card and no call. For three days after one of these messages, the app shows no coaching card at all, even if you ask.
• No false promises. It never says Charlie or anyone else is on the way or will get back to you. Nobody is notified by the coach, so it never says otherwise.
• No advice. No diagnosis, no medication, no plan for an eating problem. Food for a health condition, a pregnancy or a medication is for a doctor or a registered dietitian.
• Never eat less. After you tell it about restricting or making up for food, it never tells you to eat less, skip a meal or pay back a big day. If the AI writes a line like that, our server removes it and adds: “One big day doesn't need paying back: eat at your normal target tomorrow.”

5. Safety limits on what it logs

The app won’t log more than 256 oz of water or 2,000 mg of caffeine in a day, from the coach or by hand, and it warns you once caffeine passes 1,000 mg. When you log or plan 800 mg or more in a day, the coach tells you not to have more caffeine that day, and it never calls more than about 400 mg a day safe for a healthy adult (the FDA’s general guide). The coach never splits a refused amount into smaller logs.

6. Under 18

New Debut is for adults 18 and over. If you tell the coach you’re under 18, it says so once and then helps with the basics only. It gives no calorie-cutting targets or deficit numbers (“While you're still growing, eat regular meals with enough food, and talk to a parent or your doctor about how much is right for you.”), and questions about medication go to a doctor or a parent. You won’t be offered Charlie’s coaching, a call or a prize, and you won’t be ranked on a leaderboard. Charlie gets a one-line email so he knows; it doesn’t include what you wrote. If you tell the coach you’re under 13, your account and its data are deleted.

7. What we keep

We count how many times the coach gave a crisis response, so we can report on it. That count holds no message content. Your coach thread stays in your account, encrypted, until you clear it or delete your account.

8. Its limits

Automated checks can miss things, and the coach gives general fitness and nutrition information, not medical or mental health care. If something here doesn’t match what the coach did, tell us at charlieplourde.va@gmail.com.