Do You Need a Barcode Scanner to Count Calories?
A scanner is the fastest, most exact way to log food that is still in its packet — and no help with anything cooked, plated or served. How much of your week that covers is the whole decision.
The calorie-counting blog
Practical guides to counting calories and eating without restriction. We write about what actually works day to day — and honestly about what no app can count for you.
The Best Free Calorie Counting Apps in 2026 — and Which Ones Stay Free
"Free" now ranges from a full diary with a barcode scanner to a diary that will not let you set your own calorie target. What each free tier includes, what it holds back, and the one question that picks the right one.
How to Count Calories to Lose Weight: Deficit Size, Pace, and When to Stop
Three numbers decide whether counting calories loses you weight: the size of the deficit, the rate it implies, and the date you planned to stop. Here they are, with the studies behind them and one worked example.
Counting Calories but Not Losing Weight? The Reasons, in Order of Likelihood
The most common reason is also the least interesting one, and it is not a character flaw. Seven causes ranked by likelihood, from the 47 percent gap a 1992 NEJM study measured to the genuinely medical ones, plus a two-week protocol to find out which is yours.
FatSecret vs MyFitnessPal vs Lose It!: The Free Tiers, Compared
Three apps that log food the same way and draw the paywall in three different places. What each free tier actually includes today, and the one question that decides it.
How to Count Macros — and Whether You Need To
Most people who start counting macros are tracking three numbers when one and a half would do. Here is the hierarchy the evidence supports, the arithmetic behind the grams, and who genuinely needs all three.
How to Lose Weight Without Counting Calories (and What a Low-Friction Tracker Changes)
You can lose weight without logging a single number. Here is the method that the evidence supports, who it quietly fails, and the two-week middle ground for when it does.
AI Calorie Trackers: How They Work, and Where They Go Wrong
An AI calorie tracker looks like magic and is really four ordinary steps in a row. Knowing which step is weakest tells you exactly how much to trust the number.
The Best AI Calorie Trackers in 2026, Compared
Five tools that estimate calories from a photo, a voice note or a sentence — what each does well, what it cannot do, and how to tell a real capability from a marketing claim.
Cal AI Alternatives: What Else Actually Works
If Cal AI is not quite right for you, the useful question is which part is not working. Four alternatives, sorted by the reason you would switch.
Counting Calories From a Photo: What Works and What Doesn't
Photo logging is excellent for some meals and close to useless for others. The difference is predictable, and knowing it turns a rough guess into a decent estimate.
Free Calorie Trackers With No Signup: What Actually Exists
"Free" covers at least four different arrangements in this category. Here is what each one actually means before you hand over a month of meals.
How to Count Calories Without Making It Your Whole Life
Most people who quit counting calories quit in the second week, and almost always for the same three reasons. Here is how to start in a way that survives them.
MyFitnessPal Alternatives, Sorted by Why You're Leaving
MyFitnessPal's database is still the best in the category. Here is what to use instead when the database is not the part that stopped working for you.
Calorie Counter Without an App: What Actually Works
Every calorie app asks you to download, sign up and confirm an email before it counts a single meal. Four ways to skip all of that — and an honest account of the two things you give up when you do.
Telegram Calorie Tracker Bots: How They Work and What to Check
Telegram is unusually good ground for a calorie tracker — but it's also the platform where anonymous bots are easiest to publish. How the mechanism works, and five things worth checking before you trust one with your food diary.
Is ChatGPT Accurate for Calorie Counting? What the Data Shows
ChatGPT is good at naming what's on your plate and bad at saying how much of it there is. Four peer-reviewed evaluations, what they actually measured, and the one change that cuts the error roughly in half.
The Best WhatsApp Calorie Tracker Bots, Compared
There are more WhatsApp calorie bots than there were a year ago, and no honest comparison of them. Here's what six of them actually do, checked on their own websites — including ours, which is why the disclosure is at the top.
