How Do You Use Nutracheck? A Complete Guide to Tracking Your Nutrition

According to Nutracheck, logging your food and drink intake can take less than 10 minutes a day. This guide shows you exactly how do you use Nutracheck to make nutrition tracking simple, effective, and tailored to your health goals.

Quick Summary

This article explains how Nutracheck works, from setting up your account and logging food with the barcode scanner to tracking progress and building recipes for healthier habits.

Key Points

• Getting Started: Download the Nutracheck app, create your profile, and set personalized health and nutrition goals based on your details.

• Easy Logging: Utilize the fast barcode scanner for packaged items or the extensive food search for all other food and restaurant options to log your daily intake.

• Track Homemade Meals: Use the 'My Meals' feature to build and save custom recipes with precise ingredient tracking, making it easy to log home-cooked dishes.

• Log Exercise: Track physical activity either automatically by syncing with a wearable device like a Fitbit or manually by selecting from over 1,000 exercises.

• Monitor Progress: View detailed reports and track long-term progress with the 'Progress' tab, which records weight and other body measurements.

• Find Support: Connect with a supportive community through the Nutracheck forums for motivation, inspiration, and expert-backed advice on your journey.

• Gain Nutritional Insight: Track key nutrients like protein, fat, sugar, and fibre with an easy-to-follow traffic light guide to balance your diet effectively.

Getting Started: Initial Setup and Goal Setting

To begin your Nutracheck journey, the first step is to create a free account and set your personal goals. This process is quick and provides the app with the necessary information to calculate your daily targets. The app's core philosophy is 'knowledge is power', so understanding your starting point is crucial for making informed choices.

Creating Your Profile

1. Download the app: Find the Nutracheck app on your device's app store and install it.
2. Sign up: Open the app and follow the 'sign me up' process, which involves providing personal details like age, gender, height, weight, and activity level.
3. Set your goal: Based on your information and desired outcome (e.g., weight loss, gain, or maintenance), Nutracheck will suggest a daily calorie target. For weight loss, this typically involves a calorie deficit, which you can adjust later if needed.
4. Connect devices: Link your account with compatible fitness trackers, such as a Fitbit or Apple Watch, to automatically log your activity and steps.

Daily Tracking with Nutracheck's Food Diary

Nutracheck's strength lies in its comprehensive food diary. The UK-specific database is extensive and frequently updated, ensuring accuracy for local products.

Logging Food with Ease

• Barcode Scanner: For packaged foods, the in-app barcode scanner is the fastest and most accurate method. Simply scan the product's barcode with your phone's camera, select the serving size, and add it to your diary.
• Search Function: For non-barcoded items or meals from restaurants, use the search bar. Nutracheck's database includes a vast range of foods, and you can add restaurant meals from over 130 popular outlets.
• Favorites: To speed up logging, you can add frequently consumed foods to your 'Favourites' list. This allows for one-tap additions in the future.

Creating and Saving Homemade Recipes

Cooking from scratch is a cornerstone of a healthy diet, and Nutracheck makes tracking it simple.

1. Navigate to the 'My Meals' section in the app.
2. Create a new recipe by entering the ingredients, specifying the number of servings, and saving it for future use.
3. For batch cooking, track the total ingredients, cook the meal, weigh the final product, and calculate the nutritional value per portion to log accurately.

Logging Exercise and Activity

Exercise is a critical component of most health journeys, and Nutracheck provides simple ways to track it.

• Automatic Syncing: By linking your fitness tracker during setup, your daily activity and steps are automatically logged in your diary, providing a clear picture of 'calories out'.
• Manual Logging: You can manually add exercise sessions by selecting from a list of over 1,000 activities. Record the type, duration, and intensity of your workout, and Nutracheck will estimate the calories burned.

Understanding Your Progress

Staying motivated requires seeing your progress over time. The app’s ‘Progress’ tab is central to this, offering a wealth of tracking tools.

• Weight Tracking: Log your weight regularly to see a visual graph of your journey. This is a powerful motivator for long-term consistency.
• Measurements: Beyond weight, you can record up to 13 other metrics, such as waist, hip, and chest measurements, and body fat percentage.
• Detailed Reports: The reporting feature provides insightful breakdowns of your diet, showing which foods contribute the most to your sugar, fat, or salt intake.

Using Advanced Features

Nutracheck goes beyond basic logging with features designed to support and educate users.

• Community Forums: Connect with other members, share experiences, get inspiration, and ask questions in the active user forums, which are supported by expert nutritionists.
• Dietary Goals: In addition to calories, you can set specific goals for seven key nutrients: carbs, protein, fat, saturated fat, sugar, salt, and fibre. This helps you focus on more than just weight loss.
• Eating Out: The app includes a database of popular restaurant meals, making it easier to stay on track while dining out. You can plan ahead by checking meal information before you go.

Nutracheck vs. MyFitnessPal: A Comparison

Feature	Nutracheck	MyFitnessPal	Comparison Details
Food Database	Primarily UK-focused, verified food data, highly accurate.	Very large database, but with many inaccurate user-submitted entries.	Nutracheck offers greater accuracy for UK users, while MyFitnessPal has a wider but less reliable global database.
User Interface	Intuitive and logical, with a slightly steeper learning curve for some advanced features.	Straightforward and simple for basic use, but older design can feel clunky.	Nutracheck is often preferred for its clean look and UK-specific food photos.
Barcode Scanner	Fast and easy-to-use functionality for UK products.	Formerly included, but functionality was removed for free users, impacting accessibility.	Nutracheck's scanner provides a more reliable and seamless experience for most users.
Premium Value	A more affordable premium experience with comprehensive features, including diary sharing.	More expensive premium subscription, with limited features on the free tier.	Nutracheck offers better value for money, especially for UK residents.

Tips for Maximizing Your Nutracheck Experience

• Pre-Track Your Food: Enter meals into your diary before you eat them to avoid subconscious overconsumption and ensure you stay within your calorie targets.
• Weigh Your Food Accurately: Use a food scale to weigh ingredients, especially for homemade meals, for the most precise nutritional tracking.
• Use the Recipe Calculator: Save time by using the 'My Meals' section to create and save recipes you eat often, so you only need to log them once.
• Explore Reports: Regularly check your reports to get a deeper insight into your eating habits and identify areas for improvement.
• Engage with the Community: The forums offer a great source of inspiration, support, and motivation from other members on a similar journey.
• Set Reminders: Use the app's reminder function to receive nudges to log your meals and stay hydrated throughout the day.

Conclusion

Nutracheck is a comprehensive and effective tool for tracking your nutrition and achieving your health goals. By following the steps for initial setup, diligently logging your food and exercise, and utilizing the app's many features like the recipe builder and progress tracking, you can gain valuable insights into your habits. Compared to alternatives like MyFitnessPal, Nutracheck offers superior data accuracy and a more affordable subscription, particularly for UK users. Its user-friendly approach empowers you to make informed decisions and build healthier habits that last. Get started today and take control of your diet and wellness journey.

Nutracheck official website

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I create a meal from scratch in Nutracheck?

To create a homemade meal, navigate to the 'My Meals' section. Tap the plus button to add ingredients and specify the number of servings. You can also group multiple food items you've logged and save them as a single meal for future use.

Can I adjust my own calorie and nutrient targets?

Yes. While Nutracheck provides initial targets, you can override them at any time. Go to your diary, find 'Nutrient Goals,' and select 'Set My Own Goal' to enter your preferred numbers for calories or other nutrients.

How accurate is the Nutracheck food database?

The food database is highly accurate, especially for UK products. Unlike apps with a high volume of user-submitted content, Nutracheck's food data is verified by a dedicated team, leading to fewer errors.

Does Nutracheck include a barcode scanner?

Yes, Nutracheck includes a fast and reliable barcode scanner. Simply open your diary and tap the barcode icon to scan a product and log it with ease.

How do I track my workouts?

You can track workouts either automatically by syncing the app with a compatible device like Fitbit or manually by searching for and adding your activity from the exercise database.

Is it possible to track my progress over time?

Yes, Nutracheck features a 'Progress' tab where you can log and track your weight over time. You can also record other body measurements to monitor your physical changes.

Where can I find support or inspiration within the app?

Nutracheck has an active community forum where you can engage with other members, share inspiration, and participate in challenges. The app also has support staff and expert nutritionists.