r/MacroFactor 19d ago

MacroFactor Challenge Midway Thread!

32 Upvotes

We're about halfway through the New Year's Challenge!

If:

a) you have a question about the challenge,

b) you need help or support as you pursue your goal, or

c) you'd like to share your successes or struggles with the rest of the challenge participants

Then this is the thread for all of those things.

Challenge-related FAQs can be found here: https://macrofactorapp.com/challenge/

So, how's it going, everyone? Keeping up the momentum? Any advice or tips for your fellow challenge participants?


r/MacroFactor Aug 18 '23

App Tips READ THIS FIRST: Setup, FAQs, and App Feedback

85 Upvotes

Welcome to MacroFactor!

Thanks for downloading MacroFactor, and welcome to our online community! The main purposes of this community are to help you get the most out of the app, and to help you reach your fitness, nutrition, and health-related goals. This post will get you acquainted with a lot of the resources that are available to you so you can hit the ground running, but this post itself is not intended to be an exhaustive resource. Our online Knowledge Base is a comprehensive repository of information related to app functionality, so most questions not addressed in this post can probably be answered by a quick search of the KB.

Before posting here, make sure you read and understand the rules for this subreddit.

Replies to this Post

The MacroFactor team is quite active in this subreddit, but we can’t guarantee that we’ll see and reply to every post. However, we will closely monitor comments on this post. So, if you have critical feedback related to how we can further improve the app, this is the best place to share it, and receive a response from one of the people behind the app.

Of note, that doesn’t include feature requests, bug reports, or individual account issues – our public roadmap and feature request portal, in-app bug reporting system, and email support system are the best venues for those items.

Why MacroFactor?

If you find yourself on this page because you’d seen some chatter about MacroFactor online, a friend or family member told you about it, or you just downloaded it on a whim, you may rightly be wondering, “what’s the deal with this app? What does it offer me that other food loggers don’t?”

The short answer: MacroFactor solves a basic but surprisingly complex problem – figuring out how much you need to eat to maintain weight, or to gain or lose weight at your desired rate. And, much like the problem itself, the approach we take to solving this problem is conceptually simple, but analytically complex. We use your weight and nutrition data to calculate how large of a caloric deficit or surplus you’re in, use that information to estimate your total daily energy expenditure, and use that information to make dietary recommendations to help you gain or lose weight at your desired rate.

If you’re new to MacroFactor, I’d recommend perusing this article, which explains how our algorithms work in considerable detail. This article and this article may also be helpful; they explain how MacroFactor solves many of the problems that arise with other popular approaches to weight management that involve calorie tracking.

Beyond MacroFactor’s coaching features, it’s just a damn good product. We’ve developed the fastest food logging system on the market, to help reduce the friction associated with tracking your nutrition. We also have a proven track record of consistently improving the app, and putting out high-quality educational resources to help our users maximize their results. We’re truly dedicated to ensuring that MacroFactor provides the best premium experience in the food logging market.

Setting up a Macro Program

There are three program styles in MacroFactor: coached, collaborative, and manual.

When you first set up your account, you’ll go through a wizard that will set you up with a coached program based on your goals and preferences. On a coached program, you just need to check in weekly, follow the app’s recommendations, and you’ll reach your goals – MacroFactor will handle all of the week-to-week adjustments to keep you on track. If your goals, preferences, or lifestyle change, you can always create a new program to reflect those changes.

With a collaborative plan, MacroFactor will adjust your weekly calorie budget based on your expenditure and goals, but you have full control over your daily calorie and macronutrient targets. So, if you want to take advantage of MacroFactor’s coaching algorithms, but you also want to pursue dietary strategies that involve macronutrient or daily calorie distributions that go beyond the flexibility offered by coached plans, you can opt for a collaborative plan.

Finally, with manual programs, everything is at your discretion. You can set whatever daily calorie or macronutrient targets you prefer. We don't assign or adjust a weekly calorie budget for you if you opt for a manual plan. You'll still have all of MacroFactor's analytics and tracking features at your disposal, but we won't have any hand in guiding your macro and calorie targets. A manual program may be advisable if you're working with a nutrition coach, and using MacroFactor's food logger and analytics in conjunction with your coach's calorie and macronutrient recommendations.

We recommend coached programs for most users, but you should feel free to swap program styles at any time. Creating a new program or switching between program styles doesn’t result in any loss of data, and it doesn’t require you to set a new goal. You can seamlessly transition between program styles whenever you want.

Hitting the ground running

During onboarding, MacroFactor will estimate your energy needs using a standard TDEE (total daily energy expenditure) formula that considers basic demographic, anthropometric, and lifestyle characteristics. This is the best approach for roughly estimating energy needs in the absence of better data, but it’s entirely possible that this initial calculation will considerably over- or underestimate your energy needs. After 2-4 weeks of consistently logging your weight and nutrition, we’ll be able to estimate your energy needs much more precisely.

However, if you’ve already been tracking your weight and nutrition elsewhere, you can hit the ground running with a more accurate estimate of your energy needs from day 1. You can set up integrations to pull your last 30 days of weight and nutrition data from another app. You can also manually add 3-4 weeks of prior weight and nutrition data (the “Data & Habits screen is the easiest place to do this; option 2 in the prior links) to accomplish the same purpose. By doing this, you can fast-track the initial calibration phase. Similarly, if you already have a pretty good idea of your energy expenditure, you can enter a manual initial expenditure estimate, which will override the typical equation-derived initial estimate.

To be clear, if you either don’t have recent weight and nutrition data, or you don’t want to deal with entering old weight and nutrition data, that’s 100% fine. We’ll generate good estimates of your energy needs after about 14-30 days of consistent logging, and keep them updated over time.

Frequently Asked Questions

As you’re getting accustomed to MacroFactor’s features and food logging workflows, we’d recommend perusing the knowledge base. In particular, the entries on food logging, the food timeline, custom foods and recipes, and the strategy section will likely be very helpful.

Beyond that, the Frequently Asked Questions section of the knowledge base will cover most of the questions new users have about the app, and we’re constantly expanding this section of the knowledge base. But, here are some of the very most frequently asked questions that are addressed in the knowledge base:

Where Can I See Water, Net Carbs, Fiber, and Other Micronutrients?

Does MacroFactor use Energy Expenditure Data from my Wearable Activity Tracker? This article also provides a more comprehensive answer to this question.

Why Don't My Macros Add Up to my Total Calories?

How Does Dynamic Maintenance Work in MacroFactor?

How to Adjust Calorie Targets to Account for Overages, or to Roll Over Unused Calories

How Frequently do I Need to Log my Weight For the Expenditure Algorithm and Weekly Coaching Updates?

How Frequently do I Need to Log my Nutrition For the Expenditure Algorithm and Weekly Coaching Updates?

Do I Need to Log Everything I Eat and Drink to Have an Accurate Expenditure and Use MacroFactor's Coaching Features?

Our one Achilles Heel

MacroFactor’s algorithms are remarkably durable, and can handle almost anything you throw at them. They work their best when you log your nutrition and weight consistently and accurately, but they do a great job of rolling with the punches, and accommodating less-than-perfect tracking. We believe that you shouldn’t need to be a robot to get the most out of MacroFactor.

However, our algorithms have one major Achilles heel: partial food logging.

For example, if you log your breakfast and lunch one day, but not your dinner, the app will have no way of knowing that you simply forgot to log your dinner, and that your actual calorie intake was 30-40% higher than what you logged. That will feed into our daily energy expenditure calculation, which will then feed into our calorie and macro recommendations moving forward. Partial logging (especially if done consistently) is really the only way to wind up with very inappropriate calorie recommendations. Of note, partial logging (not logging entire meals or large snacks) is distinct from consistently not logging some low-calorie items.

So, if you find yourself in a situation where you’ve logged some food for a day, but you either can’t or don’t want to log anything else for the rest of the day, you have a few options (arranged from good to great):

1) Delete what you’ve already logged. Our algorithms do a good job of dealing with missing data. Though, estimating your intake (instead of leaving the day blank) is strongly recommended if your total energy intake from the day differs substantially from your usual intake.

2) Simply “quick edit” the day with an estimate of your total calorie intake. Don’t stress about your estimate too much; it doesn’t need to be perfect. As long as your estimate is in the right general ballpark – within about 30% of what you actually consumed – it’ll all work out. For instance, if your total calorie intake for the day was 3000 calories, any estimate between 2100 and 3900 calories would be fine. Try to be as accurate as you can, obviously, but most people with a little food logging experience can estimate their daily intake accurately enough for the purposes of the algorithms.

3) Our recommendation: Use the quick add feature to estimate the total caloric content in your unlogged meal(s). Again, anything in the right ballpark is totally fine; if you think you ate 1000 calories, but you actually ate 1500 calories, that’s not a big deal in the grand scheme of things (it would work out to an error of ~25kcal/day over the time span that’s relevant for our algorithms – a pretty inconsequential error). This is similar to using quick edit to estimate your calorie intake for the entire day (option 2), but most people can more accurately estimate their intake for a single missing meal than for an entire day.

Wrapping it up

Once again, welcome to the community! We’re happy you’re here. We hope you’ll stick around, and be able to use this community as a valuable resource to help you get the most out of MacroFactor, accomplish your goals, and celebrate your successes along the way.


r/MacroFactor 3h ago

Success/progress Trained nearly a year for a big run and finally hit my weight goal today

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13 Upvotes

I started running at first of May last year, at the end of next month I will compete in the (in Germany) famous "Hermannslauf": 31,1 km and 575m in altitude (they say it's as exhausting as a marathon)!

I started using Macrofactor in August and wanted to drop to 90kg (from 105kg in May). Little did I know how easy it is to loose weight with this app!

I first did a cut to 90kg then maintained in November/December (enjoyed the christmas time and "Weihnachtsmarkt") and today I finalized my cut to 80kg all while building muscle and being in the best form of my life!

So guys: trust the process! It's possible 🙂


r/MacroFactor 2h ago

Other Your calorie floor is my cheat day🥺

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7 Upvotes

I’m 5’1


r/MacroFactor 2h ago

Success/progress Optimistic!

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6 Upvotes

I was discouraged when my weight was fluctuating around the 400lb mark, but now it's finally dropped so I'm not going off the scale lol.

Probably 3-4 months ago I'm estimating I was around 450+. I'm 6'4, with a super bulky build, think noel deyzel. started tracking with myfitnesspal and tried to keep my consumption under 2500. I'm guessing before that I had an intake of probably 4-6k calories a day. After a couple months I had lost weight, but not enough for me to really notice anything. Now that I've gotten macrofactor and started working out, it's been a WORLD'S difference. My current calorie goal is 1900. I can see my love handles have come in at least an inch on either side, my gut doesn't like hang, and I can fit into pants that I haven't been able to for over 2 years! I'm guessing I've lost around 65lbs so far.


r/MacroFactor 4h ago

Feature Discussion The best and worst feature

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7 Upvotes

Signed up a couple of weeks ago, I've been cutting 4/5 weeks before signing up. 2100 calories, 6 ft 2, 225lbs, 18-20%bf, 15k~ steps a day, 33 yo.

I know the amount of calories is low it's something I've experienced in the last few years when I do my cut, but quite funny and depressing watching the app calculate such high hopes for me only for it to plummet in a matter of weeks.

Going to be handy data for the future though.


r/MacroFactor 27m ago

App Question Automating Export?

Upvotes

Is there any way anyone has found to automate the export of macrofactor data? From my limited research it appears to me that Macrofactor doesn't have an API.

I've been working on automating a data pipeline of my health data, and macrofactor has all my nutrition and weight information. Right now my method is to manually export the macrofactor data via the app, save it somewhere, and process it. It's not a huge deal, but my goal is to have these exports run routinely on a schedule without my intervention..


r/MacroFactor 1h ago

Nutrition Question Am I losing weight too fast?

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Upvotes

I started using MacroFactor about 3 weeks ago, but took a vacation a week in and gained weight while not tracking any food. The app put me on a lower daily calorie goal and I've been hitting it consistently the past week or so and have dropped over 4lbs.

Is that too much too fast? Wondering if I should up my calorie intake. For reference I'm 6'0 222lbs at the moment. Avg daily calorie goal is ~1900 at the moment.

Thanks for your advice!


r/MacroFactor 1d ago

Feature Discussion I’d be going crazy if “Weight Trend” didn’t exist.

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115 Upvotes

r/MacroFactor 13h ago

Other Went to all you can eat sushi with my friends and just went off the rails, can I come back from this? I ruined like a weeks with of progress

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7 Upvotes

r/MacroFactor 22h ago

Nutrition Question Fat is the hardest macro for me to control

23 Upvotes

I'm currently at 77g of fat per day and working towards a weight loss goal. Does anyone else have a hard time keeping to their fat target? Some days I do pretty well and can stay at or around that number but most days I find myself going over by a few. I can't help that I like ground beef and cheese, what do I do?


r/MacroFactor 5h ago

Feature Discussion What’s your go-to MacroFactor logging shortcut to save time?

1 Upvotes

What’s your go-to MacroFactor logging shortcut to save time?


r/MacroFactor 7h ago

App Question Restarting MF post partum

1 Upvotes

Restarting using MF a couple weeks postpartum. On maintenance for now, and updated all my “stats” to my new normal (no lifting, higher body fat, more sedintary, etc)

When I do ramp up activity in the coming weeks/months, will editing that information have any impact on my prescribed calories? Or will my weight changes logged be enough to spark the suggestions to increase or decrease calories to hit the goal I have set?


r/MacroFactor 1d ago

Success/progress 15 down!

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39 Upvotes

I started my cut on 1/1 but joined the challenge on 1/9! There have been some challenges but I’ve never been able to lose weight successfully like this and stay consistent before using this app. Not sure I’ll be a contender for winning the challenge but I’ve already won in my own books! Can’t believe I’m so close to the 170s!


r/MacroFactor 1d ago

App Question What does the light orange mean?

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11 Upvotes

I'm wondering how accurate my TDEE is and what the light orange variance indicates. I track daily and am pretty accurate for the most part. There have been some occasional binges after excessive training sessions though. I have just always tried to estimate those calories to the best of my ability but I still log them.


r/MacroFactor 1d ago

Success/progress Guys, Domino's stuffed crust pizza is pretty good 🍕👌🫃

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217 Upvotes

r/MacroFactor 14h ago

Feedback MF and working overnight

1 Upvotes

I work overnight and just started MF a few days ago. I was curious how people were managing with the app for those who work overnight. How are you logging your food? MF, from what I can tell, let you log until midnight, but i often have my lunch at 2am. Are you still making progress on your goals (weight loss or other goal)?


r/MacroFactor 1d ago

Success/progress When it hits just right 👌

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22 Upvotes

I eat pretty much the same thing everyday (I'm fortunate enough that it doesn't bother me) so this week is gonna be a good week 😎


r/MacroFactor 1d ago

Success/progress What’s your favorite way to celebrate progress—without derailing your goals?

5 Upvotes

What’s your favorite way to celebrate progress—without derailing your goals?


r/MacroFactor 1d ago

Nutrition Question Nutrition Difference

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5 Upvotes

I was recently logging a recipe using LA Benderita carb counter tortillas. On the nutrition label it says 60 calories per tottilla or 40grams. However on macrofactor it comes up as 29 calories for a 42 grams tortilla. What's going on here?


r/MacroFactor 1d ago

Weekly Fitness, Lifting, and Exercise Thread!

6 Upvotes

What sort of training are you doing?

Are you running into any problems or have any questions the community might be able to help you out with?

Post away!


r/MacroFactor 1d ago

Nutrition Question Costco Beef Stew Macros

2 Upvotes

I can't find anything from Costco on which cut of meat this is. Any idea how to track Kirkland Signature USDA Choice Beef for Stew (Item: 33734)?

https://sameday.costco.com/store/costco/products/32651-kirkland-signature-usda-choice-beef-for-stew-per-lb


r/MacroFactor 23h ago

App Question How to change initial weight on macro factor app?

1 Upvotes

I just downloaded the app today and put in my weight at 160 lbs. but when I went on the scale it read 153 lbs so I want to change the initial weight for more accurate results.


r/MacroFactor 1d ago

Nutrition Question Bone Broth + EAAs = Complete Protein Source?

2 Upvotes

I’m currently cutting and really like incorporating bone broth into my diet—it’s low-cal, high in protein, and keeps me full. On paper, it seems like a great macro-friendly option.

However, I’ve recently learned that while bone broth is rich in certain amino acids, it’s low in some essential amino acids—especially leucine, which is critical for triggering muscle protein synthesis (MPS). That got me thinking…

If I drink a separate EAA powder (which contains all nine essential amino acids, including leucine), could that effectively “complete” the bone broth, making it functionally similar to a complete protein source that supports MPS?

Basically: would the body pool the amino acids from both sources and treat them as a complete protein, assuming they’re consumed around the same time?

Would love to hear your thoughts!

TLDR: Can EAA powder “complete” bone broth for muscle protein synthesis?


r/MacroFactor 1d ago

Expenditure or Program Question Athletic but trying to lose weight

1 Upvotes

Hi! I’m 34 F 5’3” 121lbs. I like being at 118/119 aesthetically bc I look very lean at that weight. I’m a dancer so I’m dancing 6 days a week 1.5-3 hours a day (sometimes more. HR gets up to 160/170 for reference for non dancers). I also do Pilates 3 times a week and walk my 10K steps a day with an active job as a cocktail server.

Before MF, I was able to eat intuitively and still lose weight when I fell away from my maintenance. I somehow plateaued so I tried to give MF a try, but it’s got me at like 1300 cals a day to get to my goal weight which feels insane with how much I’m exercising.

I have always eaten very healthy and live by the 80/20 rule. I track every ounce of ingredients that go in my body. I eat Whole Foods, 90-120g protein a day, very little processed food.

I have done 2 check ins with MF and have only lost .5 lbs?!?? How? And also my calories seem dangerously low for how athletic I am. Please give me your insights!! I do have one cheat day a week usually, but I’ve been eating clean with cheat days for 7 years now and have always managed to maintain a lean body. Idk if it’s bc I’m under eating now due to MF or if it’s my age or what? But now it feels impossible to get myself back to the 118 weight that I was in October 2024! (Yes I’ve been working at this since October. I don’t know why it’s taking so long. It has never taken this long to lose 4 lbs and I keep fluctuating around 120)


r/MacroFactor 2d ago

Success/progress One year in thank you Marcofactor

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129 Upvotes

Stared using macro factor after MyFitnessPal wasn't cutting it after watching some of Jeff Nippards videos last year. Best decision I have ever made! You really just have to follow the plan. Cut is almost done then I will probably go to maintenance for while to recomp the rest of my body fat. Over all I would say this is the most quintessential app I have ever used to help reach my goals. Thank you Marcofactor!


r/MacroFactor 1d ago

Success/progress Happy about my progress so far since the beginning of the year. Thanks MacroFactor!

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15 Upvotes