Using Fitbit To Track Keto Macros For Beginners

The Fitbit app is a useful tool for tracking your macronutrient intake, which can help you reach your health goals. Macros are the building blocks of nutrition, and they include carbohydrates, proteins, and fats. The Fitbit app allows you to monitor your calorie intake and expenditure, which is essential for weight loss. While the app previously only displayed total calories and carbs, it now has a macro tracker that lets you view your macro intake as percentages and grams. This is particularly useful for those on a keto diet, who can now track their net carbs by connecting their Fitbit account to apps like Carb Manager or Chronometer.

Using the Fitbit app to track keto macros

The Fitbit app has a food logging feature that can help you track your keto macros. To find the macronutrient screen in your Fitbit app, tap the food tile on your dashboard and then swipe left on the graph at the top of the screen. This will show a breakdown of your macro intake over the past week. You can also zoom out to view the past month.

While the Fitbit app does not currently support tracking net carbs, you can use third-party apps such as Carb Manager, MyFitnessPal, or Chronometer, which allow you to set custom macros and connect with your Fitbit. These apps can help you track your keto macros by providing a breakdown of your carb, protein, and fat intake.

Additionally, you can refer to the USDA's recommended healthy ranges for each macro:

• Carbohydrates: 45% to 65%
• Protein: 10% to 35%
• Fat: 20% to 35%

Syncing wellness data between Fitbit and Carb Manager

To sync wellness data between a Fitbit device and Carb Manager, you must have a Premium subscription. Carb Manager imports exercise and health data from Fitbit, including:

• Exercise minutes: time spent on any activity above 3.0 metabolic equivalents (METs), where 1.0 MET equals the energy used while resting.
• Exercise calories/kilojoules burned: calculated using Fitbit's energy burned from total activity, including basal metabolic rate (BMR) and subtracting the BMR portion of calories burned.
• Sleep: overall tracked sleep time minus the time spent awake and restless.

Carb Manager also exports wellness data to Fitbit, including:

• Foods: a list of foods consumed, calories/kilojoules per food, and total macros for foods in a meal.
• Recipes: the name of a recipe and the calories/kilojoules and macros for the entire recipe.
• Meals: the category it was logged under (e.g. Breakfast or Snack), a calorie/kilojoule summary, and a macro breakdown for the day.

To connect Fitbit to Carb Manager:

• Ensure your mobile device or computer is connected to the internet.
• Sign in to Carb Manager.
• Go to Settings and select App Settings.
• In the Macros Settings section, you can optionally turn on Enable Calories/Kilojoules Burned and Enable Macros Burned Deduction.
• Go to the Health & Fitness Device Links section and select Fitbit.
• Follow the on-screen instructions to sign in to your Fitbit account and grant Carb Manager access to your wellness data.

Using Chronometer to calculate net carbs

If you're using a Fitbit to track your keto macros, you may want to consider using Chronometer to calculate net carbs.

Setting Up Chronometer

To set up Chronometer to calculate net carbs, you first need to check your settings. On the web version, navigate to the 'Profile' tab and scroll down to the 'Macronutrient Targets' section. Here, you can choose to toggle to Net Carbs and decide whether to include or exclude sugar alcohols in your net carb count. On the mobile version, go to the 'Profile' tab, scroll to the 'Settings' section, and choose 'Edit Macronutrient Targets'. Then toggle on/off net carbs and sugar alcohols.

Using Chronometer

Once you've set up Chronometer, you can start logging your meals. When adding a meal, Chronometer will suggest the net carbs per serving based on the total carbohydrates and fibre content. For example, if a food has 2.7g of carbohydrates and 1.9g of fibre per 100g, Chronometer will suggest 0.8g of net carbs per 100g.

It's important to note that the way you enter carbohydrate information may depend on the type of food label used in your country. Both European and Australian labels show digestible (net) carbs, so the total carbohydrate value in Chronometer will be the sum of these two values. When creating custom foods, change the label type to European or Australia/NZ to enter the nutrition information as it appears on the label. This will ensure that Chronometer calculates the correct carb values, whether you are tracking total carbs or net carbs.

Benefits of Using Chronometer

Using MyFitnessPal to record food intake

MyFitnessPal is a free app that can be used to record your food intake. It is a nutrition tracking app that allows you to track your food, fitness, and fasting. It has a database of 18 million global foods and can be integrated with other apps and devices such as Fitbit.

Step 1: Determine How Much to Eat

First, calculate your daily calorie intake based on factors such as your height, weight, activity level, age, gender, and goals. MyFitnessPal can assist with these calculations and provide an estimate of your target daily calorie intake. You can further break down your calories into three macronutrients: protein, carbohydrates, and fat. MyFitnessPal automatically sets your macros to 50% carbs, 20% protein, and 30% fat, but you can adjust these ratios based on your goals.

Step 2: Search for the Foods You're Eating

MyFitnessPal has a food database with 14 million foods (and growing) that can help you locate the foods you eat. Here are some ways to search for foods in the database:

• Food Search: Type the name of the food, including the brand name, into the search bar. Select the food that best matches what you're eating. Look for a green checkmark, which indicates verified nutrition information.
• Barcode Scanner: For packaged foods, use your phone's camera to scan the barcode. If the food is in the database, the entry will be pulled up; if not, you can enter the nutrition information manually.
• Recipe Discovery: Search and log recipes or save recipes from other websites. You can also use this feature to calculate the nutrition information for any recipe.
• Meal Scan: For iOS users, take a photo of your food to locate it in the database.

Step 3: Record the Amounts

Finally, log the amount of each food you're eating. Here are some ways to record food amounts:

• Volume: Use volume measurements like cups, tablespoons, or teaspoons. This method is less accurate than weight measurements but is easier to implement.
• Weight: Weigh your food in grams or ounces using a food scale. This is the most accurate way to track your food, especially for calorie-dense foods like oils, nut butters, and pasta.
• According to Packaging: For packaged foods, use the information provided on the package, such as "1 string cheese" or "1 container of yogurt."

Tips for Seamless Tracking:

• Save Frequently Eaten Meals: Save regular meals via the Meals feature to log them all at once, reducing tracking time and effort.
• Discover New Recipes: Explore MyFitnessPal's recipe database for meal ideas that fit your needs.
• Import Your Favorites: Manually import recipes from other sources or websites to save them under the Recipes tab.
• Log Immediately: Log your food immediately after eating to avoid forgetting what you consumed.
• Measure with a Food Scale: Use a food scale to measure portion sizes and get a better sense of how much you're consuming.
• Stay Hydrated: Log your water intake and other beverages like coffee, tea, or juice to ensure proper hydration and reduce sugary drink consumption.
• Confidently Track Takeout and Restaurant Meals: Use the Meal Scan feature to easily log food from restaurants or takeout.

By following these steps and tips, you can effectively use MyFitnessPal to record your food intake and work towards your health and fitness goals.

Using Carb Manager to track keto macros

Carb Manager is a keto diet app that integrates seamlessly with FitBit. It is a user-friendly app that helps you track your keto macros.

To start, input your height, current weight, and goal weight, and Carb Manager will calculate your daily calorie, carb, fat, and protein targets. The app also offers custom macro tracking features, allowing you to set goals for fasting, carb cycling, and more.

The app has a barcode scanner that lets you quickly log the food you eat throughout the day. It also has a Snap feature, where you can take a picture of your meal, and the app will log everything in the image.

Carb Manager also provides meal plans, a keto advice blog, community support, and thousands of low-carb recipes.

The app has helped many people stick to their keto diet and achieve their health goals.

Frequently asked questions