Embarking on a ketogenic diet can be a transformative journey, but it also presents unique challenges. The cornerstone of keto success lies in adhering to the macronutrient rule: consuming a diet high in fats, moderate in protein, and very low in carbohydrates. This specific ratio helps maintain low blood sugar and insulin levels, which in turn triggers fatty acid oxidation and ketone production in the liver. However, consistently hitting your macro targets and meeting your nutritional needs can be difficult, especially when starting out. Fortunately, technology offers a helping hand in the form of keto apps. These apps provide tools and resources to simplify the process, track progress, and stay accountable.
The Role of Keto Apps
A keto app can be a valuable asset for anyone following a ketogenic diet. These apps provide assistance, encouragement, and planning tools, especially during the initial stages. They can help you:
- Track Macros: Monitor your intake of fats, proteins, and carbohydrates to ensure you stay within the desired ratios for ketosis.
- Stay Accountable: Keep a record of your food intake, weight loss, and other metrics to stay motivated and on track.
- Try Different Fasting Regimens: Track intermittent fasting times and eating windows.
- Connect With Others: Join communities and forums to share experiences and find support.
- Learn New Keto Recipes: Access a vast library of keto-friendly recipes to diversify your meals.
Key Features of Keto Apps
When searching for the best keto app, consider the following features:
- Macro Tracking: The ability to accurately track your macronutrient intake is essential. Look for apps that allow you to set personalized macro goals and monitor your progress.
- Food Database: A comprehensive food database with accurate nutritional information is crucial for logging your meals. Many apps include barcode scanners for easy entry.
- Recipe Library: Access to a variety of keto-friendly recipes can help you discover new meal ideas and stay inspired.
- Progress Tracking: Monitor your weight loss, ketone levels, and other relevant metrics to track your progress and make adjustments as needed.
- Integration with Other Apps and Devices: Some apps can sync with fitness trackers, ketone monitors, and other health apps for a more holistic view of your health.
Top Keto Apps to Consider
In your search for the best keto app, you may try one, two, or ten keto apps. Here's a look at some of the top contenders:
1. Carb Manager
Carb Manager is a comprehensive app designed to simplify low-carb eating. It counts net and total carbs and offers unlimited free barcode scanning and net carb tracking. The app allows you to keep a daily log of nutrition and fitness, use the calculator to set your net macros and weight loss goals, and get detailed nutrition information about your logged data when you need it. You can also visualize your macros every day to stay on track. Carb Manager is always free to download and use. For the ultimate Low Carb and Keto macro tracker, try CM Premium! • Diabetes tracker: Track blood glucose (blood sugar), ketones, and insulin for meals.
Read also: Fueling Athletic Performance in Track
2. Keto.app
Keto.app is designed to help you achieve your keto goals by helping you personalize your macro goals and get suggestions to hit your daily targets. You can track meals with the barcode scanner, create grocery lists, and sort logged data by macro count so you know exactly where you stand. Next, you log your daily foods (using the Keto.app database or the Keto.app barcode scanner) to see if you’re hitting the previously-entered goals. Net carbs, by the way, is just grams carbs minus grams fiber in any given food. Some of the best features on Keto.app are reserved for paying customers.
3. Total Keto Diet
Total Keto Diet provides the tools to track everything - your macros, your calories, your favorite recipes - and a keto calculator to make sure you’re staying on track with your ketosis. It also features a beginner’s guide to keto in case you want to learn more and better optimize your keto journey.
4. KetoDiet
KetoDiet is an all-encompassing app meant to help you keep track of all aspects of a keto diet. This includes your favorite recipes, your diet plan along with how closely you’re staying on track with your diet, measurements of all your health and body stats, and numerous scientific references that can help you better understand how keto works and what you can realistically expect from a keto diet. The KetoDiet app helps you reduce your carb intake by adopting a whole-foods approach to nutrition. Learn how to keep your blood sugar levels stable and manage your appetite all while enjoying high-quality food sources. Use both iOS and Android? Get full access for the same price with a KetoDiet Membership. The KetoDiet blog, which is fully integrated into the KetoDiet apps, is an invaluable source of trusted information for thousands of keto dieters.
5. Senza
The Senza app is an ultra-optimized app for logging and understanding the food that’s a part of your keto diet, from home-cooked meals to restaurant food and grocery store snacks. It even syncs with the BioSense ketone monitor that uses your breath to determine whether your body’s in ketosis or not.
6. Lifesum
Lifesum lets you set goals, as well as track calories and nutrients. It uses an algorithm to calculate how “balanced” your diet is based on your diet plan and personal goals. Using a colorful meter, it shows you how well you’re keeping up with your diet goals.
Read also: Comprehensive Weight Loss Guide
7. Cronometer
Cronometer is designed for those who want in-depth, complex data. It breaks down your intake of nutrients, your macros, your micronutrients, your supplements, your exercise, your metabolism and much more. This app also pairs with the BioSense breath monitor and a wide range of activity trackers, such as Fitbit and Garmin, so you can keep all your data in one place. It is simple, and quick to input data with instant results. Cronometer is unique for its vast database of nutritional info, gleaned from verified sources like the USDA. You can also set specific micronutrient and macronutrient targets. You can even set a weight loss target, and use Cronometer to track your progress.
8. Drama Labs Keto Diet App
Drama Labs provides advanced keto diet information. You can go beyond simply managing your carbs. You’ll get information to better understand what it takes to live the keto lifestyle, including info about standard vs. targeted vs. cyclical keto. You’ll also have access to a big database of keto-friendly recipes, including zero-carb foods that can help trigger ketosis more quickly.
9. Stupid Simple Keto Diet App
The Stupid Simple Keto Diet App simplifies the process of adjusting your diet to get the most out of keto in relation to your desired lifestyle and health goals. It uses visual tracking imagery to make it easy to log your foods and see how you’re doing along your keto journey. Adding foods to your daily tally is as easy as clicking an icon. And yes, all the standard features apply: a barcode scanner, a workout tracker, grocery lists, a goal setter, and even a tool to track water consumption. One final feature deserves a special mention: the food bank. The food bank lets you “bank” calories so you can save up for a special event or a cheat meal.
10. Lazy Keto
Lazy Keto wants to make a successful keto diet possible for you whether you have all the time in the world to plan out every detail of your diet or you just have a few minutes a day to check in and track your progress. There are tons of recipes to try and customized plans that can help ensure that you see results from the keto diet, even if you just use the app to help get a leg up before you get into more advanced keto dieting.
11. MacroTracker
MacroTracker gives you simple tools to track your macros from the foods you eat every day. A big database of foods, a barcode scanner, and goal tracking tools can help you quickly adjust your diet based on how the foods you eat help you achieve your keto diet goals.
Read also: After a Cheat Meal
Additional Tools and Strategies
Beyond keto apps, several other tools and strategies can help you track your keto diet effectively:
Keto Calculator
A keto calculator can help you determine your ideal macronutrient ratios based on your individual factors, such as age, gender, activity level, and weight loss goals. These calculators use formulas to estimate your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR), the minimum amount of calories your body will burn in a day. They also calculate your Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE), an estimate of your total calories burned per day.
Food Journaling
Food journaling involves manually recording your food intake, either in a physical notebook or a digital document. This method requires a few extra steps but is an equally effective means to track macros.
To calculate your macronutrient percentages, follow these steps:
- Multiply total grams of fat by nine. Divide the result by total daily calories.
- Multiply total grams of carbohydrates by four. Divide the result by the total daily calories.
- Multiply total grams of protein by four. Divide the result by the total daily calories.
Understanding Macronutrients
Macros, or macronutrients, are the energy-supplying nutrients - fat, protein and carbohydrates - that the body needs in large quantities. Tracking your macros can help you maintain ketosis and help assures you’ll be following a high fat, moderate protein, very low carb plan.
- Fats: Fats are your primary source of energy on a keto diet. They should make up the majority of your calorie intake.
- Proteins: Protein is essential for maintaining and gaining muscle mass. It should be consumed in moderate amounts.
- Carbohydrates: Carbohydrates should be restricted to a very low level to induce ketosis. On keto, it’s a general rule of thumb to stay under 30g net carbs a day.
Net Carbs vs. Total Carbs
It is important to understand the difference between net carbs and total carbs. When you see “total carbs” on a food label, the number beside it represents the cumulative total of grams of dietary fiber, sugar, and sugar alcohol that are in that food item or beverage. Net carbs are calculated by subtracting the grams of fiber from the total grams of carbohydrates. By giving you your suggested carb consumption in net carbs, we are providing you with the most direct way of knowing how many carbs you need to eat to enter ketosis.
Importance of Calorie Deficit
High-quality research studies have been published on this specific topic, and the data clearly shows that - regardless if you are on a high carb or low carb diet - you will lose weight if you are in a calorie deficit and gain weight if you are in a calorie surplus. Simply by eating keto foods and cutting out the carbs, most people will eat fewer calories than usual and start losing weight consistently. A deficit or surplus just relates to the number of calories you want to intake. A surplus means you are eating more than your body needs. Typically if you are losing weight, you want to have a deficit in calories. 10-20% is standard for people. 20-30% ranges are considered high deficits and are typically difficult to do (you will be fighting hunger). Typically if you want to gain muscle, you want to have a surplus in calories. You need extra calories if you want to put on lean mass.
Staying Hydrated and Replenishing Micronutrients
Dehydration can exacerbate symptoms of keto flu - temporary side effects of your change in diet, including headache, fatigue, nausea and muscle cramps. And despite keto's emphasis on macros, you still need to remember the value of micronutrients. "When you start the keto diet, select food groups will disappear from your plate," says Bede, referring to those typically packed with the aforementioned nutrients.