Reference
Food tracking glossary
Plain-English definitions of the terms that show up across our reviews and rankings, with links to where each one matters most.
- Adaptive coaching
- A system that recalculates your calorie and macro targets as your weight and intake change, rather than leaving you on a static number. We score this under nutrition coaching.
- AI photo logging
- Estimating a meal's calories and macros from a photo using computer vision. Fast but dependent on portion estimation; read how accurate it really is.
- Barcode scanning
- Logging a packaged food by scanning its barcode, which maps to a specific product. Fast and usually accurate for packaged goods; MyFitnessPal has the broadest barcode library.
- Calorie deficit
- Eating fewer calories than you expend, which drives weight loss over time. The reliability of a deficit depends on accurate logging — see accuracy.
- Energy balance
- The relationship between calories consumed and calories expended. Weight change follows the balance over time. Apps reconcile food and exercise to show it.
- Macros (macronutrients)
- Protein, carbohydrate and fat — the three nutrients that supply calories. Most tracking apps let you set targets for each, not just total calories. See our best macro tracking apps.
- MAPE (Mean Absolute Percentage Error)
- The metric we use to score accuracy: the average percentage gap between an app's totals and a weighed reference meal. Lower is better.
- Micronutrients
- Vitamins and minerals your body needs in small amounts. Few apps track these well; Cronometer is the standout, monitoring 80+. We score this under diet analysis.
- Net carbs
- Total carbohydrate minus fibre (and sometimes sugar alcohols), used by low-carb and keto dieters. Carb Manager is built around net-carb tracking.
- Recomposition
- Losing fat and gaining muscle at the same time, usually at roughly maintenance calories with high protein and resistance training. Macro tracking apps support this best.
- TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure)
- The total calories you burn in a day, including movement and exercise. Your deficit or surplus is measured against it. Adaptive apps like MacroFactor estimate your real TDEE from your own data.
- Verified database entry
- A food entry traced to a trusted source (a manufacturer label or government dataset) rather than crowd-sourced. Verified entries drive accuracy — see why quality beats size.