Tracker

[Olivia_Bilocca]

For those of you who track, which app is your favourite and why? I am currently using the Keto Diet app, and whilst somehow it helps I’m not super happy with it. Would welcome tried and tested suggestions from more seasoned keto-ers

[rustyk61]

I use the UA

[Jasna_Nicolson]

I use Lifesum. Prescription is a bit expensive but it comes with pre set macro goals including Keto, recognises lots of bar codes, recipe and meal suggestions and I like the look and feel.

[kbird]

I’ve used MyFitnessPal since 2014.
Pros:

• The premium version allows you to set macros in grams (and adjust whichever ones you want to match activity level - for example, hold carbs and protein constant and increase fat on a very active day)
• They have a huge database of foods
• You can scan labels
• The app is really easy to use: when you select a food, it will offer quick-select suggestions of other foods you normally eat with the one you just selected.
• It’s easy to copy a whole meal from day to day or even save meals for quick entry
• You can create recipes for things you make regularly
• You can pair it with activity trackers and apps (find this helpful so I don’t under-eat)
• It has a social feed so you can cheer on your friends who are also on the platform
• You can create custom measurements to track, such as glucose and ketones and it will produce nice little graphs over time

Cons:

• The database is user sourced and a lot of entries are incomplete or incorrect. I’ve even found scanned label info to be incorrect. They’ve implemented a verification system, and users can correct entries and verify their accuracy. Verified entries are flagged, making it easier to select a food from a list of entries. It still could be cleaned up more.
• The nutrient profiles are often lacking: they don’t have a category for B-12 or magnesium, for example, and many of the user-supplied entries are lacking potassium or vitamin entries. (I suspect many users only care about calories, so they don’t enter nutrients)
• A lot of their educational posts are irritating. But they’re easy to ignore, unless you suffer from SWOTI
• Their default settings for daily fat goals are junk, but you can customize them even without a premium account.

I’ve also used FitDay
They do much more robust nutrient tracking. I haven’t been on there lately, so I can’t really speak to the ease of use. When I was on it before, it didn’t have some of the ease-of-use features that make MFP appealing.

[Shortstuff]

Most people use My fitness pal I think. I did too when I was tracking.

[FatMan]

I use cronometer.com which has both an online interface and smart phone app. I can set my macro goals, specify to track net carbs, create custom foods and metrics and provides flexible reports. I can print out information to take to my doctor.

About the only thing I don’t like is that the smart phone app does not work when I have no network access.

Best Regards,
Richard

[kbird]

Thanks for this!

I checked out Cronometer and have used it for several days. I like it!

It has the nutritional depth of Fitday with (mostly) the ease of use of MFP. The ability to choose your degree of keto is a nice touch. I wish it copied meals from day to day instead of the whole day, but I can live with that. The recipe creator is much easier to use than MFP’s. I have already had to add 4 items that weren’t in the database, but it was easy enough. Linking with activity trackers was a little wonky, but I think I figured that out. The paid version is cheaper than MPF or Fitday premium.

The presentation of deep nutritional info is reason enough to switch from MFP to Cronometer.

[FatMan]

Hi Keri,

I use the premium, I don’t remember how much it was but it is trivial compared to how much I was paying for prescription medications before I started keto. With premium, you can define more categories including meals and then you can copy meals instead of just days.

I love your avatar.

Keto for Life,
Richard

[barefootbob]

Thanks Richard, I hadn’t heard much about this one except seeing your posts. I may have to check it out. I tried the Atkins app and did not like it at all.
So far the best thing that’s worked for me has been pen and paper but that gets old fast.

[FatMan]

You are most welcome Bob.

I also very much like that there is a web interface to the same data with a robust ability to create and print reports. Before I go for a doctors visit, I just open the laptop, create and print a report, and I have that in hand when I am having a chat with the doc.

Downside - if there is no connection to data then the app is useless.

Keto for Life,
Richard

[kbird]

I upgraded yesterday to the premium. It’s definitely worth it. Meal categories is really important to be able to organize and sort a day of food intake. I also like the nutrient balance ratios.

Here are premium prices for the ones I’m familiar with:
Cronometer is $34.95/year
MFP is $49.99/year
Fitday is $65.88/year

I’ve only had a free Fitday account, so I can’t speak to the value of premium, but it’s the most expensive one. MFP allows tighter control of macros in grams and some custom stuff. I had a premium account in 2015, but let it laps because I had stopped logging for a while.

[Robert_Johnson]

I don’t have a favorite, not yet anyway. I have been using ‘Sugar Sense’ for about a month. It has its problems. Most notably its about an non-intuitive as can be. You want to input some data, ok go ahead. How? Well that’s up to you to figure out. What to touch and what order. Data fields aren’t highlighted in anyway. And often what works in one field won’t work in another. But after a few weeks of messing with it I got the two previous months worth of data manual entered into it from the two BG meters I use.

Why I’m still using it? Well, I like graphs. I’m a visual person. I like to see what is what and how it relates to everything else. This for example…

Or this

[djw414]

I am also using the Keto Diet app and have been satisfied with it until yesterday. I scanned langostino lobster tails I bought from Costco and none of the data from the label matched. It was way overdone and that made me think that other food products I’ve scanned could have been wrong, too. Also, I scanned Simple Truth organic cream cheese and it came up as salami. What?? Yes, I should have been verifying the data all along and the only reason I did not is because it has been working for me for the past three weeks. I lost 6# my first week on Keto, 3# the second week, and this week, I gained 0.7#. Yes, I freaked out, but I also indulged in a few adult beverages that likely contributed to this gain. Anyway, the other feature I do not like about the Keto Diet app is that it does not allow you to change measurements. For example, I use Sweet Leaf organic sweetener and when I scan that product, the default measurement is 1/2 packet. I am not going to use 1/2 packet. I am going to use a whole packet or possibly two packets. So, instead of being able to select from the 1/2 packet field, I can only modify the quantity field. A bit frustrating, but hey it keeps my math skills sharp, I guess. I think it is time to find a new Keto tracking app that is a bit more reliable.

[djw414]

Thank you for the information on Cronometer. I signed up for it today because the other app I had was not as reliable as I anticipated. I enjoy all of the features of Cronometer. Still learning it, but scanned foods earlier this evening and they were accurate.

[Capnbob]

I have used LoseIt for a few years and like it. Very much like MFP but with fewer annoying ads for UnderArmor. Premium is only $30-40 a year (frequent sales) and the app is good for macro goals, has a vast (if sometimes suspect) database, can download your data to excel/access and has an active inbuilt community that is not as good as this one but has a vast array of always changing challenges (exercise and nutrition) that you can join with leaderboards for the competitive.