How to Quick-Add Macros in Any Food Tracking App

If you’re tracking what you consume, many products are simple sufficient: You either look for what it is (for instance, 4 ounces of chicken breast), scan a barcode, or pick an item name from the app’s search. What if you’re consuming something that isn’t in the database, however, however you do have a nutrition label right in front of you? Here’s a hack that can make this simple.

Some apps (like MyFitnessPal’s premium variation) let you “fast include” the calories, carbohydrates, protein, and fat without going through all the problem of developing a custom-made food. If your app does not support that, attempt this rather.

Create 3 custom-made foods called “carbohydrates,” “protein,” and “fats.” The specific instructions will differ from app to app, however you wish to do something like this:

1. Create a brand-new customized food.
2. Name it “carbohydrates.”
3. Call the serving type a “gram.”
4. Enter its info as 4 calories, 1 gram of carbohydrates, and leave whatever else as a no.
5. Repeat the procedure for protein (4 calories) and fats (9 calories).

If you wish to get back at more granular, you can develop an entry for “fiber” as 2 calories per gram (if you do this, keep in mind to include net carbohydrates with your routine “carbohydrates” entry and fiber with the “fiber” entry). Alcohol is 7 calories per gram if you want to include that, however alcohols normally do not have calorie labels that would work with this technique.

We discovered this suggestion on the MacroFactor subreddit, considering that MacroFactor is a more recent app that does not have a quick-add function. It works with any app; the screenshots above reveal what it looks like in Cronometer. (That stated, Cronometer has “fast include carbohydrates” as an already-existing food in its database, and it works precisely the exact same method– so you do not even need to develop the entries yourself.)

Some apps have a quick-add function however conceal it behind the premium membership (MyFitnessPal lets you quick-add calories in the totally free variation however needs premium to quick-add macros). Offer it a shot if you’re utilizing any app that does not otherwise have a quick-add function.