Are Calorie Tracking Apps Really That Useful?

Have you ever heard the phrase “what gets measured gets managed”? When it comes to fat loss and nutrition, I definitely believe this to be true.

In fact, research suggests that calorie tracking is one of the most impactful strategies for weight management and body composition change. The study reviewed was about using a commercial macro tracking app to determine if consistently tracking calories leads to losses of bodyweight.

The emergence of calorie tracking apps has revolutionized the entire dieting process. Empowering people to self-monitor during their fat loss journeys.

But whether you use an app or pen and paper, tracking your nutrition is vital to successful weight loss or body composition change. It’s one fact that I, myself am not so proud of. If I’m not keeping track, I find myself slowly but surely gaining bodyfat over time.

Not tracking just makes it that much easier to reach for the candy basket or my kids sweets as I walk past them. When I track and am aware of intake it makes it that much easier to be able to say “no, that’s not in the plan”, and move on without second thought. When I track, I have a solid number that I know I need to hit, and I know exactly what I need to do to hit those numbers.

And when I do…  low and behold, my weight does exactly what I want it to. So, for me, the habit of simply tracking my total daily calories and macros each day is a pillar to my success. It’s a very simple choice for me.

• Track Macros = meet my fat loss goals (or maintain by body composition if that’s my goal).
• Don’t Track Macros = gain body fat over time. 

The study reviewed was the first weight loss intervention to examine consistency in self-monitoring via a commercial mobile app. As such, this research addresses an important gap given the potential for commercial apps to deliver portable, free, and engaging self-monitoring tools for weight loss with instantaneous tailored feedback.

This study didn’t compare trackers vs. non- trackers and their likelihood of succeeding on their weight loss goals. Rather, everyone in the study was told to track their calories and bodyweight. What the researchers then did was determine which subjects were consistent with their tracking behaviors and which ones were not.

Who did this study look at?

100 participants (mostly female but a few males were also included in the study) who were overweight or obese (BMI ranging from 25 to 45). Their average age was 43 years old, and average bodyweight was about 200 pounds (90 kgs). To be considered for inclusion, the subjects had to own an iPhone or Android smartphone and have access to a bathroom scale.

In the month prior to the baseline visit, it was reported that a little over half of the participants had never tracked their diet before, while 20% tracked their diet at least once per week. One-fifth (20%) of the subjects indicated they had the MyFitnessPal app already downloaded on their phone prior to the study.

The researchers divided the subjects into 3 different groups, but their main goal was to emphasize how consistently each subject tracked their calories and body weight, regardless of the group they were randomly assigned to. From this perspective, there were two groups of subjects based on how much they tracked:

• CONSISTENT Trackers
• INCONSISTENT Trackers

Participants in all arms were instructed to track via MyFitnessPal, a once free commercial smartphone app. The researchers set a goal of a 5% loss of initial bodyweight for each subject by the end of the 12-week study. This was accomplished by setting individualized goals for each subject related to weekly body weight loss and diet changes (presumably by consuming fewer calories daily).

The important thing to focus on with this study is that regardless of what group the subjects were initially randomized into, the researchers were primarily concerned with how consistent or inconsistent the subjects were in tracking diet and bodyweight). If they tracked at least 6 days per week 75% of the time, they were considered 'CONSISTENT TRACKERS'. If they failed to track at this level of consistency, they were considered 'INCONSISTENT TRACKERS'.

So, what results did they see?

In the first week, nearly 70% of the subjects were able to consistently track their calories and body weight each day for at least 6 days per week). By week 4, fewer than half of participants were consistently tracking. Things got progressively worse. By week 8, about one-third of the subjects were consistently tracking, and by the end of the study (week 12), only about one-fifth (20 total subjects) were consistently tracking.

This is really interesting! We have to remember the type of subjects included in this study. The subjects were sedentary with overweight or obesity. These were not serious fitness enthusiasts or competitive bodybuilders (who generally do not struggle with consistency in their tracking and self- monitoring behaviors).

But ‘general population’ individuals or individuals that are new to fitness, what I believe this data is telling us is that these types of individuals lose their motivation to stay on task. As their adherence starts to dwindle, so does their ability to lose body weight.

You need to have an ALL-OUT ASSAULT ON ADHERENCE! You need to have strategies and plans in place to help adhere to the diet and as this study indicates, be consistent with tracking progress!

Failure to monitor bodyweight and caloric intake was responsible for a lack of weight loss success. As the subjects began to lose the discipline to track their progress (both body weight and nutrition), their ability to lose body weight also decreased.

Bodyweight changes were directly related to the subjects’ ability to consistently track their progress. Those subjects who met the criteria for ‘Consistent Trackers’ lost significantly more bodyweight than those who were ‘Inconsistent Trackers’. Specifically, consistent trackers lost nearly 10 pounds (-4.4 kgs) while inconsistent trackers lost about 4 pounds (-1.9 kgs).

At the beginning of the study, the researchers set a goal of a 5% loss of initial bodyweight for each subject by the end of the 12-week study. How did the subjects do with this goal? Not surprisingly, it was directly related to how consistent they were with tracking their nutrition and bodyweight each day.

The subjects who were not able to meet this goal of a 5% reduction in bodyweight were overwhelmingly categorized as ‘Inconsistent Trackers’. In contrast, the subjects who were able to meet the loss of 5% bodyweight goal were overwhelmingly categorized as ‘Consistent Trackers’.

In response to this outcome, the researchers made this statement in the discussion section of the paper: “...we suspect that continuing to engage in dietary self-monitoring until a short-term weight loss goal is met (e.g., 5% of initial weight) will promote better outcomes, because individuals will remain highly aware of how their eating behaviors impact their weight...”

The main takeaway that I get from reading this study is this: The more consistently you track (calories and bodyweight), the more successful you’ll be in achieving your body weight loss goals.

As a personal trainer and nutrition coach I absolutely use macro trackers with clients! I love this study because I believe the coaching process along with the use of macro trackers are very important for adherence and consistency.

I believe there are many ways to use macro trackers. It's a great tool for developing a healthy relationship with food (for those who do not have eating disorders), building awareness around intake, and educating clients about lifestyle changes that will help them achieve their goals.

However, not everyone I work with is ready to start tracking all of these aspects of their lives. Some people have minimal experience with tracking food or counting calories/macros. Throwing all of the complexity of a tracking app or google spreadsheet at them from the start would probably be frustrating and overwhelming.

For these people, I like to start with a more habits-based approach to improving their nutrition. Chances are, incorporating a few well-intentioned behavior changes will be enough to start changing their diet, health, and body composition for the better.That might be as simple as getting them to eat a palm-sized portion of lean protein 3-4 times a day, eating 3-5 different color shades of vegetables each day, and limiting themselves to 1 alcoholic beverage or full sugar soft drink each day. I'll give them a habit tracker in which they will evaluate themselves in terms of how well they adhered to the new habits and reflect on what they can do to improve their adherence going forward. Eventually, as their habits stack up and their food intuition improves, I'll introduce the aspect of tracking in an app to help them reach the next level in their fitness efforts.

My main objective when using a macro tracker such as MyFitnessPal is to teach clients about their individual needs based on their current lifestyle and help them find foods, they love that will help them achieve their goals and consistently track their progress over time.

Whether you're a beginner or advanced client, using a tracker can help build confidence & self-trust. My 1st step in using a tracker like the 1stPhorm App or MyFitnessPal is to zero out calories and macros and have clients start with what I refer to as a “Priming Phase”. A 2-week period of tracking their current nutrition, as it has been up to the point we start working together. This gives us a baseline of where they're starting and creates a discussion around areas of opportunity. Low hanging fruit if you will.

Making mistakes is an incredible learning experience and a crucial part of the coaching process. A macro tracker is a visual aid, that allows us to track mistakes and develop solutions. This awareness builds confidence and helps the client stay on track.

The last thing I want clients to do is feel like they must track forever. That would be an unrealistic expectation.

Once clients have tracked consistently and achieved their goals, I will pull the trackers out and have them practice, practice, practice. If they develop additional goals along the way, we can revisit the macro tracker to fine tune their habits.

Macro trackers are valuable tools to help empower clients to learn, grow, and level up.