Tips & Tricks Archives - Cronometer Blog

How to Use the Barcode Scanner

Sam Francis — Thu, 01 Aug 2024 22:13:49 +0000

Tracking food on Cronometer has never been faster or easier than with the Barcode Scanner – and yes, this feature is available to all users, completely free of charge.

From the mobile app, simply scan the food’s barcode to find a match within our database. If the food doesn’t already exist, easily create a Custom Food by snapping a few pictures. This makes it super convenient to get all the nutritional info you need, helping you stay on top of your diet with minimal effort.

How to Use the Barcode Scanner

Our Barcode Scanner is only available on our mobile app, so from your device, tap on the + at the bottom of the screen, then tap ‘Scan Food’. The camera will open and you scan the barcode automatically (if you cannot scan the barcode, you can manually enter the barcode number by tapping on Type Barcode at the bottom of the screen).

Once the barcode has been scanned, and the food is found in our database, users will be directed to the food listing where they can enter the serving size and add the food to the Diary.

No Match? No Problem

The magic of the Barcode Scanner really begins when a barcode can’t be matched to a food in our database. If you scan a barcode and nothing registers, don’t stress as Cronometer always has you covered with the ability to quickly create a Custom Food.

After an unsuccessful barcode scan tap ‘Create New’ on the prompt. Next, take photos of the nutrition label and front of the packaging. Cronometer will wave it’s magic wand and automatically populate the nutrition information, you’ll just need to fill in a few additional details.

Just like that, you have a new Custom Food which can be added to your Diary right away. To learn more about Custom Foods visit our User Manual.

NEW & IMPROVED AUTOFILL

We’ve recently improved this process with better autofill technology and added support to read international nutrition labels.

Submitting for Review

While your new Custom Food can be added to your Diary right away, you’ll also have the option to submit it to our curation team for review so it can be uploaded to the Cronometer Database (CRDB).

Once our curation team has reviewed the new food, it will be added to our public Cronometer Database. We take this extra step to ensure the food you search for on Cronometer is as accurate as possible. The more new foods our users scan, the bigger our database becomes, while still remaining accurate.

And that’s it! With Cronometer’s Barcode Scanner, tracking your nutrition has never been simpler. Whether you find what you need in our extensive database or create a new Custom Food, the process is designed to be quick and easy, helping you stay focused on your health goals without the hassle.

So next time you’re logging a meal, just scan and go—Cronometer will handle the rest. Happy tracking!

The post How to Use the Barcode Scanner appeared first on Cronometer Blog.

Tips & Tricks: Searching For A Food

Eliisa — Thu, 16 May 2024 20:54:31 +0000

Tips & Tricks: Searching For A Food

If you’re having trouble finding the right foods or want to learn how to log food more efficiently, then you’ve come to the right place! There is so much functionality in our food search that you have yet to discover.

Read on for time-saving food search tips!

Getting To The Food Search

First things first, let’s get you to the food search menu.

On mobile, tap the + button > Add Food.

On web, click Diary > + Food

Searching For Food

Once you’ve opened the food search menu, a list of your recently logged foods will appear. Tap on the orange sort button (shown as ‘Most Recent’ in the screenshot above) to change how these entries are sorted.

If you don’t see what you want in those selections, there are two options to search for a food:

Text-based Search

To use our text-based search, which we recommend to get the most accurate and comprehensive data, simply start typing!

Barcode Scanner

If you’re on the mobile app and looking for a branded food that has a nutrition label and a barcode, using our Barcode Scanner is the easiest way to find what you’re looking for.

Tap the icon to the right of the text box and hover your camera over the barcode of the item.

If the item is in our database, it will pull up the food entry and you can easily add that to your Diary.

If the food isn’t in our database, you can quickly create a Custom Food by taking two photos – one of the product and one of the nutrition label. The app will read the nutrition label and automatically create a Custom Food for you. You can add this Custom Food entry to your Diary right away and will have the option to submit it to our curation queue, which will be verified for accuracy before getting added to the public database.

Multi-Add

Our multi-add functionality allows you to search and add multiple food entries at once, speeding up your food logging process.

On mobile, tap the orange icon within the text search bar. Toggle on ‘Enable Multi-Add’.

Then, you can continue to search for multiple food entries, check the boxes and they will all be added to your Diary in one fell swoop.

You can even create your own Custom Recipe from these selections.

Customize How Food Entries Are Sorted

You can choose how your food entries are sorted within the food search. Choose from:

A to Z
Z to A
Most Frequent
Most Recent

On mobile, tap the orange icon and text to change or tap the icon to bring up the full list of options.

On web, tap the orange icon within the text search bar.

Using The Food Search Filters

You can use filters to hone in on specific search results, allowing you to find foods faster.

On mobile, tap the orange icon within the text search bar.

On web, click the icon within the text search bar.

Filter By Category

Use the categories to filter into more specific search results. Categories available include:

All
Favorites: scroll down to learn how to add food entries into this category.
Common Foods: This will show results from our highest quality nutrition databases and will typically have the most nutrition information available for a particular food.
Supplements
Brands: This will show store-bought, brand name products.
Restaurants: This will show foods from restaurants that are included in our database.
Custom: This will show your Custom Foods, Custom Meals and Custom Recipes that you’ve created in your Cronometer account. It will also show any Custom Foods, Meals or Recipes that have been shared with you by other users.

Filter By Database

The letters that show up on the right-hand side of a food entry indicates which database it is coming from. You’ll typically see the following:

USDA
NCCDB
CRDB
Custom

Food entries from our lab-analyzed databases like the USDA and NCCDB will have the most accurate nutrition data. If accuracy is a priority for you, use this filter to only show results from our lab-analyzed databases. You can learn more about our data sources and how to get the most accurate data here.

Adding Your Food Entry

Once you have found the food you are looking for, select it from the list. You can then change the serving size, quantity and the group it will be added to in your Diary.

By upgrading to Cronometer Gold, you can also choose to add and change the Timestamp.

In this section you can also see the full nutritional breakdown of the food. Scroll down to see calorie, macronutrient and vitamins and mineral content of this food.

We will list the data source and the number of nutrients included in this food entry, so you can quickly assess the accuracy of this entry.

For example, on the entry below, you’ll see the data source as NCCDB and it has 82 listed nutrients, which is a nice, full nutrient profile.

When Better Alternatives Exist

We’re now using AI to automatically ensure you can access better, more accurate data.

If a user submitted, branded product or restaurant food has a similar food entry in one of our lab-analyzed databases, we will cross reference and automatically add the nutrients that the entry is missing. You’ll see that this is the case when there are two data sources listed and a magic wand icon appears with the listed nutrients.

Adding A Food To Favorites

Mark your frequently eaten foods as favourites to find them easily later on.

On mobile, you can tap on the star beside the name of the food or tap the icon in the top right hand side, then ‘Add to Favorites’.

On web, click the star beside the name of the food.

Then, use the favorites category filter to see all of your favorite foods in one place.

The post Tips & Tricks: Searching For A Food appeared first on Cronometer Blog.

7 Tips For Getting The Most Accurate Nutrition Data

admin — Fri, 24 Nov 2023 16:17:00 +0000

At Cronometer, we pride ourselves in having the best, most comprehensive nutrition information that an app can give. Our app is a powerful tool for tracking your nutrition in great detail. However, with great power comes great responsibility.

Nutrition science and nutrition data is a messy business, and in order to get the most out of Cronometer, it does require a bit more education on the nuances and complications around tracking diets. This article provides a guide through some of these issues and tips for how to deal with them.

A Note On Cronometer's Data

When you search for a food in Cronometer, it’s good to know that your search results will be coming from three main sources:

Lab-Analyzed: We have a large database of common whole foods that have been analyzed in great detail. Foods coming from lab-analyzed sources will be non-branded, generic listings (like Almonds, Raw) and they will be marked as USDA, NCCDB, NUTTAB.

User Submitted Foods: We have a growing database of foods which is populated by user submitted food entries. To ensure accuracy, each of these entries are checked by a staff member before being made readily available to the rest of our users. That being said, foods coming from these sources will typically be limited to the number of nutrients listed on the nutrition label when in reality, more nutrients are present. These foods will be marked as CRDB.

Branded Products & Restaurant Foods: We also rely on several databases of popular branded foods and chain restaurant foods. Foods coming from these sources will typically be limited to the number of nutrients listed on the nutrition label when in reality, more nutrients are present. These foods will be marked as UPC or Nutritionix.

For more information on our data sources, click here.

Tips For Maximizing Your Data

Check The Source

When searching for a food, check the ‘source’ column.

USDA, NCCDB, CNF, NUTTAB, CoFID, NEVO, IFCDB are all of our lab-analyzed sources which will have the most detailed nutrition information.
CRDB, UPC, Nutritionix will typically be less detailed nutrition information with data being sources from the foods nutrition label.

Hot tip: tap over to the ‘Common’ category or use the filter button when searching for a food to only show results from specified data sources.

Check The Nutrient Count

Tap into any food entry to quickly check the number of listed nutrients. If a food has 50 or less listed nutrients, chances are the data is coming strictly from the nutrition label and isn’t a comprehensive look at all of it’s nutrients.

When Better Alternatives Exist

We’re now using AI to automatically ensure you can access better, more accurate data.

If a User Submitted, Branded Product or Restaurant Food has a similar food entry in one of our lab-analyzed databases, we will cross reference and automatically add the nutrients that the entry is missing. You’ll see that this is the case when there are two data sources listed and a magic wand icon appears with the listed nutrients.

Be Careful Using The Barcode Scanner

One of the greatest features of Cronometer that can help you log food faster is our Barcode Scanner – and yes, it’s free!

If you enjoy the convenience of using the barcode scanner, it’s good to keep in mind that the majority of results will be coming from the second data source mentioned above. Meaning, you might not be getting credit for some of the nutrients you’re eating because it wasn’t listed on the nutrition label.

So, if you’re trying to leverage Cronometer for accurate micronutrient tracking, you might want to avoid using the barcode scanner and look for food entries with full nutrient profiles (70+ listed nutrients) from the NCCDB, USDA or NUTTAB.

For example, let’s say you ate some brazil nuts which are a great source of selenium. Scanning the package with the Barcode Scanner will bring up Trader Joe’s Brazil Nuts, which contains 17 listed nutrients. As opposed to a generic Brazil Nuts, Unsalted entry from the NCCDB, which has data for 76 different nutrients.

Weigh It Out

If you want the most accuracy, we recommend using a kitchen scale to weigh your ingredients with a kitchen scale. In Cronometer, most food entries have different serving sizes available to choose from, but some can be subjective, especially for certain types of foods.

For example, if you were adding ‘1 cup of raw baby spinach’, this can vary person to person. One may loosely pack the leaves into a cup, and another may stuff them in tightly. Both have 1 cup of baby spinach, but the actual amounts can be completely different.

Remove the ambiguity here by weighing the food and entering the actual gram weight. This is less of an issue for food types that are more uniform like liquids or powders (my cup of flour should be the same as yours).

Try To Stick To Whole Foods

This suggestion might sound a little cheeky, but if you truly care about optimizing your nutrition and improving your health, try to prepare your own food from quality whole-food ingredients. If you eat whole foods, you’ll be logging the best data as a side effect!

Understand The Limitations

Nutrition data can be messy, even for high-quality data sources. Exact amounts of nutrients can vary significantly from sample to sample. One apple’s nutrient profile can be significantly different from another, even if it’s picked from the same tree.

The nutrition information provided will be derived from the average of several different lab tests of the food.

Don’t get too caught up in the exact amounts down to the microgram. These are meant to be accurate numbers but not precision truths.

In Summary

If you’re only paying attention to your macros (calories, carbs, protein, fat) then feel free to take a step back and be less discerning, but if you care about the finer details like your micronutrient intake, amino acids, and other nutrient breakdowns:

Pay attention to the sources
Use the ‘Common’ category selection as much as possible
Weigh your ingredients with a kitchen scale
Be careful when using the barcode scanner
Eat & log whole foods

The post 7 Tips For Getting The Most Accurate Nutrition Data appeared first on Cronometer Blog.

Tips & Tricks: 9 Ways To Log Food Faster

Emily Wright — Fri, 14 Jul 2023 17:31:57 +0000

How To Log Food Fast

“It’s too time consuming to log my food.”

Yes – we know! It’s a lot of work, especially at the beginning of your Cronometer journey. We get this one all the time from users and while we think that the time spent logging your food is well worth the knowledge you gain from it, we do have a few tricks up our sleeve which will help you speed up the process.

Home Screen Quick Add

If you’re using the mobile app, it’s easy to reduce the amount of taps it takes to add a food. From the home screen of your phone, long-tap on the Cronometer icon which will bring up a quick actions menu. Tap Add Food, and you’ll get brought directly to the food search panel.

Barcode Scanner

A fan-favourite Cronometer feature is our Barcode Scanner. Don’t worry, it’s free! Simply scan the barcode of the food you’ve eaten and it will bring up the entry of that food in our database.

If the food isn’t already in our database, we’ll ask you to take a photo of the nutrition label and the packaging and the app will auto-fill the nutrition details and create a Custom Food in your account. This allows you to add the food to your Diary right away but it will also submit the item into our queue to be checked by a staff member before being added to the public database.

Access the Barcode Scanner (only available on the mobile app) in a few different ways:

Tap the + button on the main menu, select ‘Scan Food’.
Use the home screen quick actions menu mentioned above.
From the food search panel, tap the barcode icon in the top right corner.

Copy & Paste

Copy & paste is a functionality you can use in several ways across the app to save time while logging your food. Copy a single entry by swiping right on the food and tapping the ⋮ icon. Copy an entire day by tapping the ⋮ in the top right hand corner of your Diary. You can also copy the contents of an entire Diary Group by swiping right on the Diary Group header.

Get a full breakdown of the many ways to use copy & paste on mobile or on web.

Custom Meals

If you’re not already using our Custom Meal feature, now is the time to start! Meals allow you to group several foods together so you can quickly add multiple foods in just a few taps.

If you’re always eating the same thing for breakfast (two eggs, toast and three coffees) or taking the same supplement cocktail every day, create a meal containing those items. That way, you’ll just need to add the Custom Meal to your Diary instead of each individual item.

Once a Custom Meal has been added to your Diary, you can use the ‘explode meal’ feature to create individual entries for each food so you can edit the measurements or delete items separately.

Learn how to leverage the Custom Meal feature here.

Set Repeat Items (Gold Feature)

By upgrading to Gold, you’ll get access to several features that will make tracking your nutrition faster and easier – you’ll no longer be interrupted by advertising, you can create recipes in a flash with our Recipe Importer and you’ll gain access to be able to schedule your foods, meals and recipes on repeat.

This feature cuts down a ton of time if you consistently consume the same foods since you can add all of your repeating items in just one click.

Multi-Add

If you’re adding multiple foods at once, you can save a little time by using the ‘Multi-Add’ functionality. When searching for a food on the mobile app, tap on the orange filter icon in the right hand side of the search bar. Toggle on ‘Enable Multi-Add’ and start your food search. Tap on the orange box to select an item and search for your next foods. You’ll be able to review before adding all of the items to your Diary or creating a Custom Recipe with your selection.

Quick Add From Diary Group

Diary Groups allow you to categorize your food entries. Most of our users will use breakfast, lunch and dinner but we applaud any creativity here.

Diary Groups also come with some little-known functionality including the quick add menu. On mobile, tap the + on the left side of the Diary Group label, which will bring up a menu allowing you to add food, exercise, a biometric, note or scan a barcode.

You can even customize the menu for each Diary Group in More > Diary Settings > Group Quick Add Preferences.

Dictate On iOS

If you use Cronometer on an iPhone, enable dictation and you’ll be able to talk instead of type during the food search process. Enabling dictation will allow you to speak anywhere there’s a text field so if you prefer to speak rather than type, this can be a handy tool.

While in the food search panel, tap the search bar and press on the microphone icon in the bottom right corner of the keyboard. Then just say the food you’re looking for and Apple will type it into the search bar for you.

Quick Add From Custom Foods & Recipes Page

On mobile, if you find yourself on your Custom Foods or Custom Recipes page (Foods > Custom Foods or Foods > Custom Recipes), swipe right on any item in the list to bring up an option to add that item to your Diary.

Well, there you have it. We hope that you learned at least one thing from these quick-adding tips. Put them into practice to help make logging your food in Cronometer an easier, breezier process.

Want to learn more Crono hacks? Here are some more tips & tricks.

The post Tips & Tricks: 9 Ways To Log Food Faster appeared first on Cronometer Blog.

Easing The Transition: MyFitnessPal to Cronometer

Emily Wright — Tue, 30 Aug 2022 19:25:47 +0000

Easing The Transition: MyFitnessPal To Cronometer

We’ve done the research and our user survey results have indicated that as much as 64% of Cronometer users try or use the highest ranking nutrition tracking app, MyFitnessPal, before coming over to us. Several people, including our staff, refer to Cronometer as the app that you graduate to if you’re serious about your nutrition.

From chatting to our users, though, we know that making the transition can be a bit overwhelming. Although we have a cleaner database, we provide you a lot more information and we’re here to help you dissect it from the lens of a previous MyFitnessPal user!

1. Dial In Your Settings

Whether you’re on the web or mobile app, the sign up process for Cronometer will take you through similar questions as MyFitnessPal’s. We ask for some personal details so that we can set your energy (calorie) targets based on your weight goal. Many of our users, however, will want to set a custom energy target.

Here’s how to do that on the web app or on the mobile app.

You can also change your macro targets based on a ratio, fixed values or you can use our keto calculator. Here’s how to do that on the web app or on the mobile app.

2. Food Search

Our food search functionality is a bit different to MyFitnessPal’s for a few reasons. First of all, our food entries are pulled from lab-analyzed databases such as the NCCDB or the USDA or are verified by a staff member. So, you may notice that the food database is a lot cleaner.

Some users, however, have trouble finding our food search filters on the mobile app. There is a little filter button in the top right hand corner which will allow you to sort your food search results by most recent, most frequent or alphabetically.

On this same screen, you can also enable the multi-add function or filter the results by the database.

3. Creating Recipes

Similar to MyFitnessPal, you can create Custom Recipes in Cronometer but many users seem to have trouble finding that functionality. Here’s how to do that on the web app or on the mobile app.

We see some users asking to see individual ingredients from a recipe in their diary. You can achieve this by swiping right on the mobile app or right clicking on the web app on the recipe and clicking ‘explode recipe’.

4. Creating A Custom Food

Our database might appear small, but it’s actually mighty and that’s because we don’t have duplicates of the same foods. This can save you valuable time while searching for the right item to add to your diary.

A lot of our foods are from North America, but we’re rounding out entries from other countries; the more labels that are submitted from other destinations means that our database is growing rapidly – we’re entering thousands of verified foods every week!

If something isn’t available, you can easily add it as a Custom Food (mobile / web app) and you’ll have access to it right away, after our curation team checks it, it will be available to the public.

5. The Barcode Scanner

Heck yes – we have a barcode scanner and it’s available in the free account, along with all of these other features.

Using the barcode scanner (only available on mobile) is a breeze. Quickly scan the barcode to match the product to the correct item in our database. If it doesn’t already exist as an entry, take a photo of the nutrition label and we’ll wave a magic wand, creating a Custom Food so you can add it to your diary in a few clicks!

6. KCal Are The Same As Calories

Alongside all of your metrics, you’ll see the term kcal instead of calories. Yes, they are the same thing!

7. Quick Add Calories

We’ve noticed a lot of users transitioning from MyFitnessPal looking to simply add the calories or the macros of a food without entering in all the details. We’re suckers for nutrition information but can appreciate you might only be eating something once or you’re logging on the run and for that we created our “Quick Add” entries.

If you’re looking to add only the calories of the meal type in “Quick Add, Calories” into the search bar and enter in the numbers of calories consumed. For a little bit more detail for you macronutrients you can also search “Quick Add, Protein”, “Quick Add, Fat” or “Quick Add, Carbohydrate”.

7. The Community

Many of our users come over from MyFitnessPal and mention that they miss the access to their community – the encouragement and support that they can get from being able to speak to others in their situation. We totally understand!

While it may not be nearly as large, we do have an active community of users on Reddit and Facebook and we’re always here to support you if you want to chat. Reach out to us on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube or Twitter.

So, there you have it – all of the common hiccups that users will typically see when making the switch to Cronometer from MyFitnessPal. We’re so happy to have you and hope that we can continue to be an integral part of your health and wellness journey for years to come!

If you have any additional questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to reach out to our customer support team.

The post Easing The Transition: MyFitnessPal to Cronometer appeared first on Cronometer Blog.

How To: Track Water In Cronometer

Emily Wright — Wed, 10 Aug 2022 23:34:27 +0000

All About Water

One of our most frequently asked questions is “How do I track water in my Cronometer account?”. Well, we’re here to guide you through it and answer any other burning questions you might have. So read along to learn about the all-mighty H2O!

How To Track Water In Cronometer

To track water in Cronometer go to your Diary and from the Water Widget tap the + or – to add or remove water entries. You can also adjust your Water Settings from the Diary widget to change settings such as units, water tracking goals or container sizes to match your favourite water glass to make tracking even easier.

Users on iPhone’s can also add a home screen widget by long tapping the home screen, scrolling down to Cronometer and swiping until you find the Water Tracking widget. This makes Water Tracking a breeze throughout the day.

How Much Water Do I Actually Need?

The recommendations are 15.5 cups (3.7 L) per day for men and 11.5 cups (2.7 L) per day for women. If you’re sweating a lot during a work out, though, you should try to replace the same amount of fluids that you’ve lost in addition to the general guidelines for water intake. It’s a balance though, there are also risks associated with overhydration.

Total water includes drinking water, water content in beverages, and water that is part of food. We get 20-30% of our daily needs from foods and the rest comes from drinks. It doesn’t all have to be water, though. Coffee, tea and other beverages all count.

Be careful with sugary drinks because although they do contain water, they also add calories without much additional nutrition value.

Want to know how much water you’re actually consuming? Make sure that you’re performing text-based searches for your whole foods and choosing generic listings from the NCCDB database; these will list the water totals in all foods. Also, be sure to do the same when adding water you drank to your Diary – more often than not, branded products don’t include water on the nutrition label so even if you’re drinking straight water (like Dasani) it won’t be included in your total.

Why Is It Important?

Staying hydrated is critical for your body’s performance. Nearly all of your body’s major systems depend on water to function and survive. It helps to regulate body temperature, protects your organs, carries nutrients and oxygen to your cells, flushes out waste in the kidneys, helps dissolve minerals and nutrients so your body can access them and so much more!

Another part of staying hydrated is keeping your electrolytes in check. Want to know more about electrolytes? Read this blog.

The post How To: Track Water In Cronometer appeared first on Cronometer Blog.

Tips & Tricks: For The Gold User

Emily Wright — Wed, 02 Feb 2022 18:31:52 +0000

Upgrading to our Gold subscription will provide access to tons of cool extras – but you already know that, don’t you? If you’ve taken the leap and decided to upgrade, here are our top tips and tricks for users on our premium subscription, Cronometer Gold!

Schedule Items On Repeat

Being a Gold subscriber has many perks, but this top notch tip might be the best time saver! With our Repeat Item feature, you can schedule your foods, meals and recipes to repeat and add them to your Diary in just one tap.

Swipe right and tap ⋮ on mobile or right-click on web on any food, meal or recipe entry in your Diary and select ‘Repeat’ to set up a recurring food.

Keep An Eye On Your Nutrition Scores

Tip number two for Gold users, it’s time to take a look at your Nutrition Scores! These give you a personalized score based on how well you’re hitting certain targets including your vitamin and mineral intake specific for certain functions. Choose to highlight eight options including bone health, electrolytes, immune support and antioxidants. You can find these under More > Targets > Nutrition Scores on mobile and More > Display on web.

Leverage Custom Biometrics & Custom Charts

We do have a very wide array of biometrics you can choose from in the basic database but as a Gold user, it’s time to think outside the box!

Have you ever wondered how your stress levels correlate with your hunger? Or how sugar intake affects your energy levels? Create a Custom Biometric for stress, energy and hunger to start keeping track!

Pro Tip

Using Custom Charts, you can plot your Custom Biometrics against each other or against any nutrient or Nutrition Score to identify a correlation.

Navigate to Discover > Charts and click the ⋮ on mobile, or Trends > Charts on web and select 'Manage Charts'. There, you can set up any charts you'd like to see, but here's some inspo if you don't know where to start.

Import Your Favourite Recipes In Three Clicks

One of arguably the greatest Gold features to hit Cronometer is the Recipe Importer! You can copy & paste a URL (or manually copy and paste the text from the recipe) and the app will work its magic. The Recipe Importer automatically finds all of the ingredients, their measurements and creates your own Custom Recipe.

Schedule Different Macro Targets

The Macro Scheduler feature was a long-awaited addition to our app. Thanks to this feature, you can now create different templates for your macro targets and schedule them for different days of the week.

Want to aim to eat more protein on the days you’re working out? Schedule it in! Want to give yourself a ‘cheat day’ on Sundays with a bigger calorie allowance? Schedule it in!

Create Meal Or Recipe From Selection

Another little known trick for Gold users is the ‘create meal/recipe from selection’ functionality. From your Diary screen, click the three dot menu, select ‘multi-select’, select all of the ingredients you want in your Custom Meal or Custom Recipe, click the three dot menu again and select ‘create meal/recipe from selection’.

The post Tips & Tricks: For The Gold User appeared first on Cronometer Blog.

Tips & Tricks: For The Advanced Cronometer User

Emily Wright — Wed, 26 Jan 2022 20:34:14 +0000

Way to go! If you’re landing on this page, we’re making the assumption that you’ve made it past our basics and level up tips and tricks and you’re ready to graduate to a master user. If that’s the case, you’re in the right place. Below we’ll show you some high level tricks to get you one step closer to hacking your health!

The ⋮ Menu

On both the mobile and the web app the ⋮ menu on your diary screen can unlock loads of additional functionality. Try the multi-select option on the mobile app to select an entire meal and ‘copy to today’. Or use the ‘mark day complete’ function for easier analysis of your vitamin and mineral intake later on.

Negative Serving Sizes

Did you know that on the web app you can log negative servings of food in your diary? This functionality comes in extra handy when you’ve eaten something like a burger without the bun. Log the NCCDB entry for a burger with your fixin’s then log a negative serving for the bun.

Changing Cooked Weight

If you’re among one of our many users who treats their kitchen scale like the goddess of truth and accuracy, then this function is for you! There is a functionality within the app that allows you to change the weight of a recipe after it’s been cooked. This helps account for water loss during the cooking process.

When creating a recipe, click on the ‘set cooked recipe weight’ button on mobile or ‘Advanced Info’ on web and plug in the final weight of your recipe for the utmost accuracy in your data!

Leverage Your Biometrics

If you want to really step up your Cronometer game, start tracking biometrics such as blood glucose, body temperature, stool & sleep. Some of the devices we sync with will even feed this information into your account automatically. Try a Withings Smart Scale or an Oura Ring.

Use our charts feature to keep track of any trends that can be identified in your behaviour. One of our staff members, Karen likes to track when she gets migraines and plots it against other nutrients (like caffeine or magnesium) to see if there are any patterns.

Pro Tip

By upgrading to our Gold Subscription, you'll be able to create your own Custom Biometrics and see Custom Charts, plotting this data against any data points, across any time period.

Home Screen Widgets & Quick Actions

With home screen and lock screen widgets, you can quickly glance at Cronometer data without needing to open the app. Choose from Energy Consumed, Energy Remaining or (for Gold subscribers) Fasting widgets. Learn how on iOS or Android.

Also from the home screen of your phone, you can long-tap on the Cronometer icon and it will bring up quick actions where you can easily select Add Food, Add Exercise, Add Biometric or Scan Barcode.

The post Tips & Tricks: For The Advanced Cronometer User appeared first on Cronometer Blog.

Cronometer Frequently Asked Questions

Eliisa — Wed, 19 Jan 2022 18:15:06 +0000

Sometimes Cronometer might surprise you – either the way the app functions or when you see the nutrition information on a food that you think must be wrong. We’re here to set the record straight with answers to some of our most frequently asked questions.

How do I track water?
Why does it say coffee has carbs?
Why don’t my macro calories add up?
Why doesn’t this product contain a nutrient I know should be listed?
What’s the difference between DV and RDA?
How can I change my initial start weight?
How can I edit or delete an entry?
Why doesn’t my energy summary reflect my custom macro target?
What are kcals?

How Do I Track Water?

To track water in Cronometer, go to your Diary and use the Water Widget and tap the + or – to add or remove water entries. You can also customize your Water Settings in the Diary widget. iPhone users can add a home screen widget to make staying hydrated effortless throughout the day. To learn more visit our Water Tracking blog here.

Why Does It Say Coffee Has Carbs?

We get asked this one a lot.

If you look closely, we report coffee as having some fiber, which is classified under total carbohydrates.

Some small particles from the beans make it through the brewing/filtering process and end up in the coffee and these particles contain a substantial amount of fiber.

Why Don't My Macro Calories Add Up?

The calories and the macronutrient values will be a bit off because each food is different in the actual amount of energy (calories) it contains.

What we mean here is that you were probably taught the rule that carbs and protein are 4 kcals per gram, and fat is 9 kcals per gram.

They are not. They are close but there is better data on some foods and we use that in the calculations for the macronutrients.

For example, some carbs are 3.8, 4.1, 4.3 kcals per gram etc. Same is true for protein and fats. That is why there will be a discrepancy, when our data is more accurate than the 4-4-9 crude estimation – which means you really can count on us for giving you the best nutrition information.

Why Doesn't This Branded Product Contain A Nutrient I Know Should Be Listed?

Branded products oftentimes do not list full nutrient profiles on their nutrition labels. Since we do not analyze foods for their data here at Cronometer we cannot fill in the blanks or know what the values are for nutrients not listed on the label.

The best way to get the most nutrition information is to use our most comprehensive database – the NCCDB. By performing text-based searches when adding foods, most whole foods can be found from the NCCDB which lists many, many more vitamins and minerals in their nutrient profiles.

We suggest taking a look at this blog as it should help you navigate Cronometer to it’s fullest capabilities to enable you to obtain more accurate information on both macro and micronutrients.

What's The Difference Between Daily Value (DV) And Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA)?

To determine your targets, Cronometer uses the Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA). This is the amount of a certain nutrient you should be getting each day based on your age and gender.

On food packaging, the nutrition label shows the % Daily Value (DV). This represents how much of a nutrient the food product provides relative to a total daily diet. For example, if a label has 50% DV for calcium, that means that it has 500 mg of calcium per serving, because the % DV for calcium is 1,000 mg per day. The % DVs are used for nutrition labeling purposes only, and are different from the personalized targets used in Cronometer.

You can learn more about % DVs here and your RDAs here.

How Can I Change My Initial Start Weight?

Your initial start weight will be logged as a biometric on the first day of your Cronometer journey. In order to change that, navigate back to the first day in the calendar and edit the number in the entry.

In the mobile app you can navigate to your previous days and change by following the instructions below:

1. Tap Today at the top to bring up the calendar
2. Navigate between the months using the arrows
3. Tap the day which contains your original weight entry on the calendar and select OK
4. Tap on the weight entry you would like to amend and change the value
5. Click Save

Alternatively, you can delete the entry by swiping left on the entry and tapping the bin, or swiping all the way to the left for a quick-delete.

On the web version, navigate to your previous days by using the calendar on the right hand side. You can then click on the weight entry to change it, or type over the original weight entry.

How Can I Edit Or Delete An Entry?

If you’ve added a food, biometric or exercise that needs to be changed, you can edit the entry on the mobile app by tapping on it, make your changes and tap save. Delete by swiping left on the entry in your Diary.

On web, right click on the entry to edit or delete. If you just need to edit the serving size, you can click on it and edit directly without leaving the diary screen.

Why Doesn't My Energy Summary Reflect My Custom Macronutrient Target?

Setting your targets using a custom energy target only applies it to the Macronutrients section. It does not apply this setting to your energy summary calculation.

The Energy Summary shows your Energy Balance = Consumed – Burned +/- Weight Goal. You can learn more in our user manual on how to customize your Energy Burn settings.

If you would like to use your own values calculated elsewhere, that’s ok too! To view your custom fixed energy target instead, swipe the top banner in the diary to the second page. These target bars will show your fixed values. You can learn more about setting custom energy targets in our user manual.

What Are KCals?

Where ever you see a number mentioning a kcal in Cronometer, this just means calories. 1 kcal is equal to 1 calorie.

The post Cronometer Frequently Asked Questions appeared first on Cronometer Blog.

Tips & Tricks: Level Up With The Cronometer App

Emily Wright — Wed, 05 Jan 2022 20:42:33 +0000

Congratulations! You’re continuing with your Cronometer journey past the basic first steps and for that, not only are we grateful, but your body will thank you.

If you’ve landed on this page, we’re making the assumption that you’ve already read our Tips & Tricks – Getting Started blog, you’ve logged your first food, created your first recipe and are ready to level up past the basic functionality of the Cronometer mobile or web app.

Below are a few tips & tricks to help you with getting the most of our your Cronometer account:

Leverage Your Nutrition Report

Many of our users chose Cronometer because they want the most detailed, accurate information they can get! There are a couple ways to scroll through these granular details on your vitamin and mineral intake – the Daily Report or the Nutrition Report.

Aptly named, the Daily Report gives you the details for that particular day. In the mobile app, you can find this by clicking on any slide of the top header bar on your Diary screen and click ‘Daily Report’ on the pop up. On web, you can just scroll down on the Diary screen to see the day’s intake.

The Nutrition Report will give you a broader scope, averaging your vitamin and mineral intake over the last seven days. On the web app, click Trends > Nutrition Report. On the mobile app, navigate to Discover > Report to see the full breakdown.

Pro Tip

Want to see your Nutrition Report over a longer period of time? Upgrading to our Gold Subscription gives you the ability to see the breakdown over the last month, year or using custom dates.

Click Or Hover To Learn More

Not sure what Folate is or how to get more of it into your diet? Cronometer provides details on each nutrient right in the app!

On the mobile version, from pretty much anywhere in the app, click on the vitamin, mineral or nutrient in question. For the purpose of this demonstration, let’s say click on ‘Folate’ from your Daily Report. This will bring up a screen which allows you to edit your daily target, see your top sources, read an explanation of its function in your body and identify the best sources.

On the web app, simply hover your mouse on the name of the vitamin, mineral or nutrient in question to see the same information.

Use The Barcode Scanner

A fan favourite feature in the Cronometer mobile app is our Barcode Scanner. For the best data, we always encourage our users to log entries from the NCCDB or USDA sources, but we also know that this isn’t always an option.

The Barcode Scanner is a fast, easy (and free!) way to find what you’re looking for. This feature is only available in the mobile app and can be accessed by clicking the + on the Diary screen. Select ‘Scan Food’ and hold up the barcode to your phone camera. Cronometer will scan the barcode and search for the item in the database. Our database is rather comprehensive, so if you’re logging something from a popular brand in the USA, chances are it will be in there!

If the item is not in the database, Cronometer will prompt you to take a photo of the packaging and the nutrition label (and will use AI to scan and interpret said label) in order to submit to review from our team. Every entry that is available in the database has been checked over for accuracy and verified by a staff member.

Pro Tip

Even if the food you're trying to log isn't in our database, you can still log it in your Diary that day! Navigate through the steps provided, click save and Cronometer will add this as a Custom Food in your account.

Next Level Recipes

If you’re comfortable creating your own Custom Recipes, it’s time to explode! Well, that escalated quickly didn’t it? Here’s how to use Custom Recipes at a higher level.

Always eating the same thing for breakfast? Create a recipe containing your two, three or four coffees (we’re not judging), supplements, eggs and bacon that you eat every morning. This makes it so you can add it all in one click!

You can also ‘explode a recipe’ by swiping right on mobile or right clicking on web, click ‘explode recipe’ and each ingredient of the recipe will be separated into their own diary entry.

Pro Tip

Want to make creating recipes even easier? Upgrade to our Gold Subscription, which gives you access to our Recipe Importer. Paste a URL from any recipe site and Cronometer will automatically pull in the ingredients and their measurements!

Personalize Your + Menu

When you tap that orange + button on the bottom of the app, it brings up several options like Add Food, Scan Food, Add Note and more.

Long tap on any of these icons in the menu until they start to wiggle. This will allow you to move the icons around or delete them so you can personalize the menu to better suit your needs.

Customize Your Diary Groups

Our Diary Groups separate your meals into their own sections. The most popular being breakfast, lunch, dinner but we applaud when our users get creative! You have up to eight Diary Groups to use so take advantage and add supplements, exercise, snacks or more.

Pro Tip

Click on the green + symbol beside the Diary Group for the quick add menu. You can customize which options show for each Diary Group in More > Diary Settings > Quick Add Group Preferences.

Next Up...

Tips & Tricks

Tips & Tricks: For The Advanced Cronometer User

Way to go! If you’re landing on this page, we’re making the assumption that you’ve made it past our basics and level up tips and

The post Tips & Tricks: Level Up With The Cronometer App appeared first on Cronometer Blog.