Sign-up to our newsletter and we'll also send you our free ebook on building your dream body.
Everything you need to start your journey to good health.
Think you’re good at eyeballing portions? Think again.
Most people believe they have a solid grasp on how much they eat, but the research tells a different story. Studies find that people underestimate their calorie intake by a staggering 20-50%! Such a discrepancy can be the difference between steady progress and a frustrating plateau.
If you’ve been struggling to see results despite changing your diet, precision might be the missing piece. Keep reading to discover why simply estimating your food intake isn’t enough–and how you can track macros to more seamlessly reach your weight goals.
People are notoriously inaccurate at estimating their energy intake. A study by Lichtman and colleagues found that individuals with obesity who reported consuming 1200 calories daily were actually eating nearly 50% more than they thought! While estimates by leaner individuals are slightly less inaccurate, even dieticians have been found to underreport their food intake.
So what’s causing these miscalculations? A few factors are potentially at play in this distorted perception of food intake.
While most people remember their meals, snacking often goes unnoticed. Mindless munching on chips, candy, or trail mix throughout the day makes it easy to exceed your calorie budget. In fact, research links consumption of calorie-dense snacks to higher overall energy intake and body mass index (BMI).
People also tend to overlook seemingly small bites, licks, and sips that accumulate over time. Tracking your food intake can help bring awareness to these fairly automatic behaviors, making it easier to override them and stay on track. Such self-monitoring is associated with greater weight loss success.
Perceptions of portion size can vary widely. One person’s “medium” serving might be another’s “small” or “large.” Ultra-processed or calorie-dense foods can be particularly prone to underestimation. Measuring your servings for even one day can be eye-opening: your daily spoonful of peanut butter or handful of almonds likely amounts to more than a standard serving.
When it comes to dieting, every calorie counts, including those from sauces, creamers, gum, drinks, cooking oil, and even vegetables. Though these additions may seem insignificant, they can easily add up to several hundred extra calories daily—enough to turn a deficit into maintenance.
Tracking macronutrient intake offers a simple yet effective strategy for weight management. In addition to facilitating mindful eating and self-monitoring, macro tracking provides several advantages over other dieting approaches:
Whether you lose, gain, or maintain weight is dictated by energy balance: how many calories you consume versus how many you burn. Macro tracking explicitly manages the intake side of this equation. If you adjust your macros so you consistently eat fewer calories than you expend, you will lose weight–period.
Unlike restrictive diet plans–like Paleo, Keto, or Atkins–macro tracking has no off-limits foods. This more flexible approach allows any food in moderation, supporting a healthier relationship with food and long-term sustainability.
If you hit a plateau, simply adjust your macro targets to start seeing results again. In contrast, if you’re trying to lose weight by “eating clean” or eliminating certain foods, you may not know what to do when results stall. Even the “cleanest” diet can lead to weight gain if portion sizes are too large.
Tracking macros manually can be tedious without the right tools. Fortunately, Carbon Diet Coach simplifies the process, combining precision with convenience. Here’s a glimpse at just a few of the features that make Carbon special.
Similar processed food products from different brands may have not-so-similar macros. Carbon’s barcode scanner helps ensure more accurate tracking. And if your food isn’t already in the database, you can quickly add it using the label scanner feature.
Multi-ingredient recipes can be difficult to track, but Carbon’s recipe feature makes logging homemade meals effortless. Once you’ve created a recipe, simply enter the serving size to get an accurate estimate of your dish.
Carbon holds weekly check-ins to assess progress and promote compliance, the true key to long-term weight management. By holding you accountable and providing data-driven insights, the Carbon app encourages dietary adherence.
With the Carbon app, you never have to guess when to tweak your diet: the coach will make intelligent macro adjustments for you, so you can seamlessly stay on track. At each weekly check-in, Carbon Diet Coach will evaluate your tracking and weight to determine whether your macro targets need more fine-tuning.
If you’re struggling to see progress despite eating "healthy,” you may be underestimating your food intake. The science is clear—what’s measured gets managed. Tracking macros offers an evidence-based approach that improves accuracy, adherence, and, ultimately, results. So, if you’re sick of spinning your wheels, it’s time to stop guessing and start tracking.
Ready to take control of your nutrition? Download the Carbon app today and turn precision into progress.
