I Gained More Insights Than I Expected from Using Food-Tracking Apps

I strive to maintain a healthy diet and fitness routine. However, as a mother of three, it can be challenging to recall what I’ve eaten on any given day, or even how much water I’ve consumed.

Fortunately, a new wave of food-tracking applications—often utilizing computer vision and artificial intelligence—has emerged to help me fill in those memory gaps and guide me toward a healthier lifestyle. I tried several food tracker apps, including BitePal, Hoot, Lose It!, and MyFitnessPal, to gain insight into my daily meals. Additionally, I consulted nutrition experts to learn about the insights these apps offer and their potential limitations.

The primary advantage of food tracker apps is that they enhance our awareness and accountability regarding our eating habits, according to Meridan Zerner, a registered dietitian based in Dallas, Texas. “We’re busy people, right? Let me take a moment to reflect and be intentional about my food choices,” Zerner explains. “Oh wow, I didn’t consume any fiber today, or I didn’t get enough iron. Alright, let me adjust my approach for tomorrow based on this valuable feedback.”

Zerner points out that this kind of guidance is effective in raising awareness, as people often underestimate their food consumption by 20 to 50 percent.

Tracking Time

To begin, most of the apps prompted me to input my basic information: current weight, height, and food intake goals. Each app I explored claimed to assist me in losing weight, maintaining my current weight, or even gaining weight, depending on my objectives.

Some of the apps required a subscription for essential features like food logging, with annual fees around $35. Others allowed me to log my meals for free; however, advanced services like nutrient tracking or detailed coaching advice necessitated a subscription, with fees reaching up to $80 per year.

The apps asked for my basic physical metrics, and some even inquired about my habits, activity level, dietary preferences (vegan versus omnivore), and sleep quality. After entering this information, each app computed the estimated calories I require daily.

While I was eager to receive this information, I was startled by the variance in calorie recommendations across apps based on my height and weight, making it difficult to determine my actual daily caloric needs.

“All of these apps rely on equations to make calorie and energy recommendations,” Zerner explains. These equations may not account for individual variations such as hormones, bone structure, and genetics, she adds.

“This is one of the benefits of consulting with a registered, licensed dietitian,” she states. “We can perform a resting metabolic rate test to determine your exact burn rate. Sometimes it aligns with the predicted equation, and sometimes it doesn’t.”

Throughout the day, I logged the types and quantities of food I consumed at each meal or snack, and each app calculated the calories consumed, detailing my protein and fiber intake, total calories for the day, and how many calories remained to reach my goal weight.

A few of the apps utilized AI analysis through the phone’s camera; I could photograph my meal, and it would estimate the calorie count per dish. While this feature seemed convenient, the estimates varied significantly from app to app. For instance, one app estimated a Mediterranean bowl at around 1,000 calories, while another gave a much higher count, prompting me to verify the ingredients and adjust the estimates myself.