From calorie tracking to macro counting, tracking apps are changing the way people diet. There are many different approaches to dieting, one of the most popular methods is macro counting. This consists of setting a dietary “budget” for calories, carbohydrates, fats, and protein to remain within. On paper, that works great. However, there’s no denying that it involves a lot of micromanagement, numbers, and math. Is there any way to make it easier?

Enter technology. Nowadays, there’s an app for virtually everything, and dieting is no exception. In fact, there is no shortage of different tracking apps that all fulfill the same general purposes. Your app of choice will come down to personal preference, but my personal recommendation is Macro Sync. As long as the app works for you, though, that’s all that matters. 

So, let’s take a bit of a dive into tracking apps, how they can help you meet your goals, and how they aren’t necessarily a perfect solution.

How Tracking Apps Help You Lose Weight

Advantages of Tracking Apps

1. Convenience

This is arguably the biggest advantage that tracking apps provide. Most folks aren’t going to want to crunch numbers by hand every time they eat something. Unless you’re unusually focused or a wizard with spreadsheets, it simply isn’t feasible. Tracking is already intensive enough as it is. 

Instead, apps do all the heavy lifting for you. You simply enter a food item, its calories and macros, and the serving size, and the app will auto-scale things accordingly. It then logs it into your totals. No fuss, no muss.

2. Accountability

This may seem a bit redundant, given that tracking macros is supposed to keep you accountable in the first place. However, apps tend to take that a couple of steps further. 

First, you need to plan out your days to an extent to hit your totals by the end of them. You don’t have to have everything planned out to the gram, but most folks quickly find that winging it seldom ends things within their goals. Pre-planning and preparation are huge parts of retraining habits, and apps help with just that.

Additionally, the simple fact that you can see your numbers at all times helps keep them in mind. It can be all too easy to justify “oh, this little treat here” or “just one candy bar.” When you have a caloric budget in mind, you tend to think about those choices a little harder. This is particularly true when you look at said candy bar and realize it would comprise almost a fifth of your total allotted calories. Humans tend to operate on an “out of sight, out of mind” habit, which these apps help counter.

3. Food Libraries

One of the most powerful features of a tracking app is storing previous foods to be reused.  Rather than having to type in or enter a food or ingredient each time, you can simply pull it right back up again. You can also construct recipes, save them, and use them over and over as needed. Virtually all foods have their nutritional facts listed right on the label, and for those that don’t, you can use official sources such as the USDA’s website to look up the values yourself.

Aside from manually entering foods, most apps also have a built-in database of food entries that you can work with.  This expedites the process even further, adding an additional layer of convenience to the process. This function, however, is tempered with a bit of a caveat. More on that later.

Limitations of Tracking Apps

Alas, nothing is perfect. When using these apps, there are a couple of things to account for when diving in.

1. Learning Curve

Like any new system, it takes a little while to familiarize yourself with the app itself. This extends far beyond just the user interface. It takes practice to wrap your head around logging food, entering the values, and planning out the entire day. Recipes are also notorious for being difficult to wrap one’s head around at first. This can lead to user frustration and burnout.

The best advice I can give for this is to simply keep with it, even through the difficulty. It’s kind of like learning a new language or how to use a new computer. The more you immerse yourself in it and force yourself to use it, the more second nature it becomes. You learn more shortcuts, tips and tricks, and such, and the going gets a lot less rough.I’ll also point out that if you’re struggling with a given part of the app, chances are you’re far from the only one. There are many helpful guides and tutorials for navigating the more common functions of these apps. A bit of searching on Google or YouTube can give quite a wealth of information. For example, Macro Sync has an extensive set of FAQs and tutorials readily available here.

2. Accuracy

Tracking apps are simply tools, and as such are subject to user error. Simply put, the app is only going to be as accurate as the data that it’s fed. Simple enough, right? You just have to double-check your numbers as you punch things in. Unfortunately, it’s not entirely that simple. Most folks are going to want to use the app’s built-in databases for food entries, and that’s where the trouble begins.

All those database entries must come from somewhere, and it’s rarely from the app developers themselves. Instead, they come from the users of the app themselves. So, while you can police your own custom entries, anytime you pull from the app’s database of premade entries, you’re trusting that another person filled things out correctly. I can tell you firsthand that that is usually far from the case. 

The most bulletproof way to combat this is to only use entries you’ve made yourself, i.e. making your own little custom library. It’s a bit more work, but it guarantees that any time you use an entry, it’ll be on point. If you do insist on using pre-made entries, though, at least make sure to double-check that the numbers line up with what’s on the box.

Conclusion

Tracking apps are another potential tool in the bag for dieters. While they may not be for everyone, when used correctly, they can make the whole process a whole lot easier. Many of them are free, so why not give it a shot?