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Many people download macro tracking apps to improve their body composition or nutrition. However, folks often struggle to understand how these apps work or how to get the most out of them.
Ultimately, you’re looking for results, right?
With that in mind, this article will provide practical knowledge about macronutrients, how to track them, and – most importantly – what to look for in the best macro tracking app. We’ve structured the information into easily digestible chunks. So even if you’re just skimming, you’ll gain a better understanding of tracking macros and what a nutrition app should do.
Obviously, we at MacroFactor make one of these macro tracking apps and think ours is pretty great. However, you can use this advice regardless of your macro tracking app.
What are macronutrients?
It’s likely you know more about macronutrients than you realize. You’ve probably heard the shorthand “macros,” or maybe even “IIFYM” (If It Fits Your Macros). Perhaps you already know about fat and protein or have noticed “low-carb” on food labels at the store.
To quickly explain macronutrients, let’s use this simple analogy: think of food as the body’s battery or like fuel in an engine. Our food has various chemical structures and substances known as macronutrients, which provide energy as calories. Each macronutrient supports our body’s health and activities. These macronutrients, or “macros,” include carbohydrates, fats, and proteins.
Carbohydrates
Carbohydrates play many roles in our health and provide energy, especially during physical activity. They are categorized into starches and sugars and are commonly called simple and complex carbohydrates. There are also further distinctions into dietary fibers.
Each of these carbohydrate types serves different functions and carbohydrate-rich foods have varying quantities of vitamins and nutrients. For instance, simple carbohydrates provide quick energy and are more rapidly metabolized by the body. Conversely, complex carbohydrates provide a slower release of energy, can lower blood glucose, and support gastrointestinal health.
Examples of carbohydrates-rich foods are fruits, vegetables, and whole grains.
Dietary fat
Dietary fats serve as energy reserves and provide physical protection for the body and organs. These fats come in various types, including saturated and unsaturated fats. From those fats, there are more subcategories of monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats.
Unsaturated fats include omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids and are known to have several health benefits. These fats have been associated with decreasing heart disease and increasing brain function. Also, low consumption of dietary fat can lead to decreased energy levels. Additionally, it can cause an increase in hunger.
Generally speaking, it is best to limit saturated fat intake and aim for a higher overall intake of unsaturated fats. Lastly, trans fats (artificial fats created through hydrogenation) should be avoided altogether.
Examples of fats include olive oil, fish oil, vegetable oils, and nuts.
Protein
Dietary proteins contain amino acids, which can be categorized into essential, conditionally essential, and non-essential. Essential amino acids must be obtained through the diet, while the body can produce non-essential amino acids. “Conditionally essential” amino acids can be synthesized by your body in most circumstances, but certain diseases and conditions may require them to be obtained from the diet. Lastly, people also categorize proteins as animal-based or plant-based proteins.
Proteins are important for muscle growth and repair during exercise. However, they also support cellular and metabolic processes, ensuring optimal healing and functionality. Therefore, regardless of protein type, focusing on getting all your essential amino acids is important.
Examples of protein-rich foods include chicken, beef, soy, and legumes.
Why should I track macros?
Now that you understand what a macro is, you might wonder why you’d want to track macronutrients. While people track macros for general health, most begin monitoring them to lose weight or gain muscle.
1. Calories come from macros, and calorie intake determines weight gain or loss.
Calories come from the macronutrients we just discussed. Proteins and carbohydrates provide about four calories per gram, while fats provide nine calories per gram (exact figures can differ, but these are the generally accepted round numbers for each macronutrient).
Since macronutrients are the fuel that powers your body, you have to consider how much (or how little) you store or ingest on a daily basis. If you think you have too much storage (excess body fat), you’ll have to create a calorie deficit in order to decrease body fat. This means you will need to ingest fewer macros and calories than you burn in a day. This is what people commonly refer to as weight loss. Though we technically like the term “fat loss” better, people understand what you mean by saying weight loss.
Conversely, let’s say you think you have too little muscle storage. You’ll need to ingest more macros and calories than you burn in a day. Ideally, you’d allocate that excess intake primarily to proteins and engage in weightlifting, which can help convert these extra calories into muscle mass.
2. Macros affect the composition of the weight you lose or gain, or how you feel while losing or gaining weight.
People typically don’t want to just lose weight. They care if the weight they lose comes from muscle, water, or fat. Most people want to lose fat while losing as little muscle as possible. Or, when they want to gain weight, most want to gain it as muscle while gaining as little fat as possible.
How do you control this? Well, you can affect the ratio of muscle and fat you gain or lose by manipulating a few factors. For instance, if you focus on protein intake (one of the macronutrients) during weight loss, it helps ensure you lose less muscle during a caloric deficit. If you focus on protein intake while gaining weight (in unison with a resistance training program), it can help you gain more muscle versus fat.
Using a macro tracking app can obviously help you keep track of how many calories you are eating and which of those calories are from fat, carbohydrates, or protein.
While all of this is a simplified explanation, the point is this:
How much food you eat and how you use it determines how you hit your body goals.
If you want to lose or gain weight intentionally, you’ll need to:
- Determine the proper amounts of each macronutrient to eat daily
- Track and log your daily macro and calorie intake
- Regularly record your weight to monitor changes over time
Following these steps will enable you to make the necessary adjustments to progress toward your goals, whether it’s weight loss, maintenance (staying the same weight), or muscle gain.
How do I track macros?
You can use macro tracking apps to combat the difficulty of manual tracking. As you can imagine, doing all this by hand could be cumbersome. These apps are designed to collect nutritional data by logging and organizing the daily carbohydrates, fats, and proteins you consume. You can also log non-macronutrients like alcohol to create a more comprehensive picture of daily intake.
You can do this logging in various ways, which we will discuss below. However, the takeaway point is simple — if you eat it, you log it. How intensely or detailed you are with your logging can vary, and a good macro tracking app supplies you with options to make this as easy as possible.
Below are key features to look for in any macro tracking app you choose to use, but we are going to reference our app in the article.
What factors should I consider when using a macro tracking app?
#1 User-friendly and motivational dashboard
Upon opening a macro tracker app, your dashboard should instantly showcase your progress and provide insightful analytics into your dietary journey. The app should display data in an engaging way that encourages consistent use. Results come from consistently tracking for weeks to months, so a user-friendly and motivational dashboard that you enjoy interacting with will help ensure you keep engaging with the app long enough to see those results.
Specifically, look for features such as:
- Progress charts: Graphs and charts that show your result trends over time
- Summaries: A snapshot of your macro intake over time
- Customizable widgets: The ability to personalize your dashboard with metrics that matter most to your goals
Additionally, the navigational design should help you review your goals and manage your nutritional intake, keeping you motivated and on track with your objectives. The right app should feature a thoughtful design that lets you quickly assess your daily nutrition and make informed decisions about your goals.
#2 Accurate and extensive food database
A critical factor is the accuracy of the food database. A food database collects nutritional information about various foods, including their calorie and macronutrient content. You should choose an app with an extensive, well-researched, and vetted database that includes common foods you eat regularly. The size of a database isn’t as important as its credibility, meaning the foods you find in the app should have accurate calorie and macronutrient information.
MacroFactor prioritizes high-quality data, and also has an extensive food search database containing more than 3,000,000 verified items with both macro- and micronutrient reporting. This database helps ensure you can easily find most of the foods you eat, giving you confidence that you have accurate data to help you reach your goals and make informed decisions.
The app should also have a search function that helps you quickly find almost all your food choices. The nutritional information for each food item should be displayed in an easy-to-read format to simplify fast logging. MacroFactor’s search service is typo-tolerant, fast, backed by regionally distributed servers, and equipped with intelligence that provides better results for your queries.
#3 Easy macro and calorie logging
Logging food is rarely the best part of anyone’s day, so the faster and more accurately you can do it, the better. Efficient logging reduces friction and makes it easier to integrate tracking into your daily routine for the weeks or months it takes to reach your goals. Choose an app that uses the most efficient logging workflow to ease the process. The goal should be to prioritize convenience, making regular tracking hassle-free..
Search: Quickly find common foods in a vetted database.
Multi-Add: Log frequently eaten foods with the correct serving size in future entries.
Scanning: Use your phone to scan the barcode or nutrition label on branded products for quick logging.
Quick Add Calories: Add calories or macro numbers without associating them with a specific food.
Custom Foods: Create and log foods not found in the database easily.
Custom Recipes: Input descriptions and preparation steps for your recipes and share them with other app users.
Any solid macro tracking app will include these options to ensure users have a quick and easy food logging experience.
#4 Options for individualized macro and calorie goals
One of the biggest barriers to success in weight management is adherence. If dietary requirements are too rigid or not flexible enough, users may struggle to stick with their diet. A high-quality macro tracker app should allow flexibility in setting goals to lose body fat, gain muscle, or maintain weight, specifying the pace at which you want to achieve these goals while providing evidence-based research to support your decisions.
With MacroFactor, you can set your preferences and needs regarding your diet while receiving guidance and quality advice on ideal, evidence-supported actions. The app supports various preferred diets, from balanced to low-fat, low-carb, or keto.
In addition to macro customization, users might need flexibility in their daily calorie allotment. On some days, you might need higher calories due to increased activity levels, or you might prefer more calories on the weekends when spending time with friends or family. MacroFactor can adjust calories to distribute them on the days you select, allowing you to tailor your weight loss, maintenance, or bulking program to fit your needs.
Individualized options for activity levels and calorie distribution ensure that your macro tracker app works with your lifestyle, helping you stay on track and achieve your goals more effectively.
#5 A dynamic energy expenditure calculator
Your body’s energy needs determine your daily macronutrient allowance. The amount of food you need is based on your total daily energy expenditure (TDEE) — essentially, the number of calories you burn daily. This includes all the variables that contribute to how your body uses energy.
Many people use TDEE figures from their wearable devices to determine how many calories they burn; however, wearable devices are prone to errors in estimating expenditure. Often, these devices report figures that are either way too high or way too low In other words, wearable devices simply are not reliable. Since we base how much we eat on our best estimates regarding total daily energy expenditure, it’s critical to have accurate calorie targets in order to reach your goals effectively.
| Component of TDEE | Description |
| Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) | ~70% of TDEE in the general population. Refers to the energy required to keep the body functioning at rest, assuming no movement or food intake (e.g., lying in bed all day). |
| Thermic Effect of Feeding (TEF) | ~10% of TDEE in the general population. Refers to the energy used for eating, digesting, metabolizing, and storing food. |
| Exercise Activity Thermogenesis (EAT) | ~5% of TDEE, depending on exercise level. Refers to the energy expended during structured, intentional exercise. |
| Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis (NEAT) | ~15% of TDEE, depending on activity level. Refers to energy used for any movement that isn’t purposeful exercise, such as walking, doing yard work, or even fidgeting. |
MacroFactor’s dynamic energy expenditure feature calculates your calorie burn based on your nutrition and weight data, adjusting to your changing metabolism. This feature updates your expenditure estimate to ensure that your calorie targets align with your goals, helping you reach them more efficiently. It prevents plateaus that can stall progress and reduce user motivation.
A dynamic energy expenditure calculator with a macro tracking app is critical for enhancing your results.
Bonus: Additional features that matter
A top-quality macro tracking app does more than just track macros; it understands the multifaceted needs of users aiming to achieve their nutrition goals. This includes, but is not limited to, features such as:
- Nutrient tracking – With the Nutrient Explorer feature in MacroFactor, you can monitor current or historical intake of both macro- and micronutrients, including water, fiber, vitamins, and electrolytes. You can even pin micronutrients to your app’s dashboard to monitor your consistency and efforts to improve your health over time.
- Nutrition coach – In addition to designing a custom macro program that fits your goals and preferences, the app also checks in with your weekly (just like a nutrition coach would) to suggest changes to your nutrition targets and keep you on track toward your weight gain, weight loss, or weight maintenance goal.
- Science-based sustainability – The app uses the latest nutrition and behavior change science to maximize the likelihood that you’ll achieve your goals and be able to maintain (or build upon) your results. You want a macro tracking app that flexibly adapts to your goals and lifestyle, and helps you avoid any unnecessary stress, anxiety, or feelings of shame and guilt.
How to get started with a macro tracking app like MacroFactor
We’ve outlined why you should use a macro tracking app and what features make for an optimal one. Now, let’s dive into how to use your macro tracking app. This guide will assume you’re using MacroFactor. While some aspects may be similar in other apps, this information is tailored to how our app works because we believe these features are vital for meeting your goals.
Setting up your profile
The first step is to set up your profile and input your personal information. This information is important because it should determine how your individual body metrics and activity will begin your app journey.
Age, height, and weight: These variables significantly determine your basal metabolic rate. Understanding this science helps you comprehend how your age, height, or weight can influence the calories you burn.
Your weight goal: It might seem obvious, but we need to know what you want to achieve with your macro tracking app. Are you looking to lose weight, gain muscle, or maintain your current weight? Your goals will directly influence how the app responds and guides you.
Activity level: Your daily activity level is another important factor in determining your energy needs. The app will ask whether you participate in cardio or weight training, and how much you think you move in a day. The app considers activity when calculating your initial estimate of total daily energy expenditure.
From these initial stats, the MacroFactor app can estimate your intake needs based on your goals. However, the true power of the app lies in its ability to adapt over time. It continuously adjusts to your needs using the dynamic energy expenditure calculator, refining its estimates as it learns more about your nutrition habits and metabolism.
Determining your macro goals and adjusting settings accordingly
After determining your energy needs, our macro tracking app, MacroFactor, establishes your specific macro goals by guiding you through a series of choices to select your program style. When setting up your macro program, you have three options: Coached, Collaborative, and Manual. Each of these programs offers different options for customizing your diet plan, including the type of diet you prefer, how aggressively you want to lose or gain weight, and how much protein you need daily.
For example, people who do serious weightlifting need to eat more protein than folks who just go on an occasional jog. If you’re a non-lifter, 1.2-1.8 g/kg/day of protein is usually plenty. If you’re a lifter, 1.6-2.2 g/kg/day is a good range, but you might aim even higher if you’re very lean and in a caloric deficit.
These numbers are just basic estimates; better and more individualized forecasts (such as those used by MacroFactor) directly account for your body size, composition, energy balance, and exercise habits.
Tracking macro intake and logging meals
Once the program has set your macro targets, you’ll track your macros and food intake. The app will add the macro and calorie tracker information to your daily log to keep it accurate. That means logging your food takes just a few seconds. You can log your food in multiple ways, such as:
- Search – Typically, you will enter what you eat into a search box, and the app does the heavy lifting for you.
- Barcode – MacroFactor has a barcode scanner built into the app. You can scan branded products’ barcodes and pull up the information without typing in the search term.
- Manual entry – The app has an extensive food database, but you can enter the data yourself if necessary by creating a Custom Food or using the Quick Add feature. The best practice is to do a search first. If the data isn’t in the database, you can manually input it for future use.
- Label scanner – The MacroFactor label scanner allows you to input nutritional information effortlessly. The scanner can register calorie, macronutrient, and micronutrient details without you having to input them manually. It will work with both U.S. and international labels.
- AI assistance – You can speak or type out a description of your meal, and AI will interpret the ingredients and log the macro information for you.
- Recipe – You can even input your favorite recipes into the app. That way, you can easily pull them up and record the macro information into your daily log when you cook at home.
Analyzing data and monitoring your progress
Once you’re in the rhythm of tracking your macros (the macronutrients in your diet, such as carbohydrates, proteins, and fats), it’s important to monitor your progress and observe changes over time. This tracking should not only motivate you to stay on course but also enable you to make necessary adjustments to your strategy.
MacroFactor offers multiple ways for you to track your progress.
Weight trend: This feature helps you understand how your weight changes over time, filtering out the noise from daily fluctuations. This tool focuses on meaningful weight changes, distinguishing them from temporary shifts due to factors like water retention or gastrointestinal changes. Each time you log a weigh-in, MacroFactor analyzes this new data in the context of your historical scale weight to determine your Trend Weight Estimate. This estimate smooths out daily variances to give you a clearer view of the significant weight changes that either progress you toward or divert you from your physique goals.
Body metrics: The app features a comprehensive suite of tools for tracking body metrics and progress photos. You can track up to three photo views (front, side, and back) and 21 body measurements, including waist and bicep sizes. You can toggle any measurement on or off to customize your tracking experience based on what matters most.
Habit tracker: The habits section on MacroFactor’s dashboard displays your consistency with nutrition, weight, period (if you have period tracking enabled), and body measurement tracking over the past month. By tapping on this widget, you can access a detailed view of your logging habits over time, helping you to stay accountable and observe trends that may influence your goals.
Congratulations if you’ve made it this far! You know everything needed to have a successful experience with a macro tracking app. But before you go, we’d like to offer a few more tips to amplify your experience.
3 tips for maximizing your results with macro tracking
#1 Mastering the macro tracking part
The most crucial tip for using any macro tracking app effectively is to master the actual tracking process. Many people find logging their meals and consistently using an app tedious. However, if you can establish a solid routine of using the app regularly and becoming proficient at tracking, you’ll significantly enhance your goal achievement. Being diligent with your tracking will put you ahead of the curve and help you see better results faster.
#2 Review your progress and target recommendations
If you aim for weight loss or muscle gain, remember it’s a dynamic and continuous process. Each day, you consume calories through various meals and food choices. Likewise, your weight fluctuates daily. Over time, these days collectively paint a picture of your progress. An excellent macro tracking app uses this data to guide whether you need to eat less or more to meet your goals. Remember, weight loss is a math game. You must consume fewer calories than your body burns to lose weight and more calories than your body burns to gain weight.
With MacroFactor, the app automates these adjustments through weekly check-ins. Each week, it updates your calorie and macronutrient targets to align you with your goals. All you need to do is consistently enter your weight and nutrition data daily, and the app’s intelligent algorithms will take care of the rest. However, you’ve got to be attentive and apply what it tells you to get the best outcome.
#3 Use all the features of your nutrition app
MacroFactor has done a pretty good job of anticipating what users need to advance to the next level of success. We’ve invested substantial time in developing a range of features to simplify the process for you. Beyond enhancing food logging with barcode and nutrition label scanners, the food logger and timeline are highly customizable. You can optimize it for speed, alter the display settings of your macros, and even choose right or left alignment for better readability.
Additionally, you can track dietary fiber, specific amino acids, vitamins, and caffeine intake. You also have the option to customize your phone’s home and lock screen widgets to display the nutritional information that matters most to you. At the risk of sounding like a late-night commercial, that’s still not all.
The point is, these features aren’t just there to look great (though it is a very attractive app); they serve a purpose to help you fully leverage all these capabilities to become more comfortable with and proficient in using the app. We genuinely believe that if you use this app consistently, you will see success.
We hope this article has helped explain what a macro tracking app should be. If you’re new to learning about MacroFactor, we highly recommend taking advantage of the seven-day free trial. MacroFactor is available for both Android and iOS devices. Find it today at Google Play or the Apple App Store.
