recently MyFitnessPal the biggest and most popular food tracking app in the space but one of their popular features the barcode scanner behind a paywall and people were not happy comment after comment erupted negative comments blasting MyFitnessPal people voicing their concerns and quite honestly outrage over the update and I don't blame them it didn't take long for this news to spread leaving many long-term users to abandon the app completely and look for a better alternative that's why in today's video I'm going to give you my expert opinion as a PhD in nutrition and long-term nutrition coach about the best MyFitnessPal Alternatives so if you're a nutrition coach using a food tracking app with your clients great but there have been some big changes in the space recently that you and your clients need to know about and in case you missed it last week I detailed all of these changes happening to MyFitnessPal this is completely shaken up the space with both nutrition coaches and clients looking for a better alternative but where do you go what do you use today we'll dive into the best nutrition tracking apps both free and paid so you can make the best decision for your clients and your nutrition coaching business and make sure to stay to the end of this video where I give you my expert opinion on what food tracking app you should switch to here's the deal if your nutrition coach that helps clients lose weight or gain muscle you're going to have them track their nutrition this is the best way to manage calories and macronutrients which helps clients get results one thing that makes food tracking easier is a barcode scanner so for many nutrition coaches and clients when my fitness pal remove the barcode scanner it was a big deal this seems to be the final straw for many long-term users and since many nutrition coaches have long recommended My Fitness Pal many of them are reconsidering it and looking for alternative I've coached over 2 000 clients and I've always recommended MyFitnessPal and usually I would Talk clients out of paying for the premium version because in many cases they just didn't need it but with this news I'm reconsidering Alternatives so I wanted to do the heavy lifting for you today I'm going to put together a resource discussing all the strengths and weaknesses and everything you and your clients need to know about other food tracking apps but before we discuss the Alternatives I do want to talk about my fitness pal for a little bit longer because in a lot of ways this is the app that we're comparing everything else to so some strengths first it has a very large database of food items including restaurant menus you can create custom recipes and log entire previous meals you have the ability to be friends with other users so you can review and copy food logs and there's a barcode scanner which is no longer free some weaknesses yes the database is large but since users upload Foods the nutrition information may be inaccurate which means there's multiple entries of the same product and now the contentious part the cost of the app obviously there is a free version of the app of the premium version costs 19.99 a month or around eighty dollars for the entire year now despite all the negative press my fitness pal has gotten over this move it might be more emotional than anything else if you use the app and you like it and you feel there's some features that you're willing to pay for then do it because as we'll discuss today some of the Alternatives aren't free either and that might not be a bad thing but if you're sick of this all like I said at the end of this video I'll tell you exactly what tracking app to switch to tired of talking about MyFitnessPal me too so let's dive into the best Alternatives here we go starting with number one chronometer when pulling my audience it did not take long for chronometer to come up and before getting into strengths and weaknesses this does seem to be the consensus number one alternative let's talk about why as far as strengths go there is a complete nutrition summary including micronutrients custom macronutrient Targets this one is big if you've been tracking for a while you'll remember that you used to be able to do this on MyFitnessPal it wasn't easy to do it for free but you could add some code to the browser version and it would work it was an extra step but adding the code kind of made you feel like a computer hacker but you can't do this anymore which is another strike against my fitness pal and a check for chronometer you can also sync other health devices to the app measure things like body weight body fat and sleep data quick sidebar though although many apps will allow you to do this I always recommend clients just use a food tracking app to track nutrition and nothing else because when you add in calories burned during exercise it likes to do this Balancing Act where it tells you to eat more food and all this does is start to add in more inaccuracies to an already inaccurate process and results can really start to suffer so only use your food tracking app to track your actual nutrition I'll do a video another day on wearables but for now let's leave it right there but back to chronometer for a second one last strength is that it's really good for specialized diets it's actually quite commonly used nutrition search for this there are some weaknesses however both on the coaching and client side number one you can only add recipes on the browser version not the app there isn't a social community of users which makes adding clients to review food logs tough and in my personal opinion I don't love that the default setting measures net carbs this is confusing for many clients there is a free version with many of the features I listed above but the premium version is 19.99 per month or 80 for the entire year and that is chronometer at number two we have my macros plus although not as popular as chronometer my macros plus is an app that comes very highly recommended one appealing feature is that the macros are listed for individual meals as well as daily totals and since this app was designed by a professional bodybuilder it does seem to check a lot of the boxes that someone serious about training and results would want some other strengths you can track as many meals as you want you're not stuck in the breakfast lunch dinner and snacks categories you can also do specific Targets in very different days of the week high days low days rest days training days stuff like that and information is stored locally so there's no need for an internet connection there does seem to be less descriptions see between macros and calories and this is probably because it has a more accurate database during my research I couldn't find many weaknesses but this could be because the app just isn't as popular there is a free version of the app but my macros plus Pro cost 199 per month or around 20 for the entire year which is a steal of a deal now I do want to switch gears for a little bit here moving on to a slightly different type of food tracking app with number three macro factor and spoiler alert this one isn't free and that's okay because we need to talk about it macro Factor isn't a group of nutrition coaching apps that we're going to start calling smart nutrition apps this is because they're a little different and a little more advanced than your run-of-the-mill food tracking app what is setting apart an app like macro factor from everything else is making calculations and adjustments based on what actually happened not what you were supposed to do they call this an adherence and neutral approach and based on the feedback that I got from other people that have been tracking for a while and both myself this seems to be a good blend between tracking meets mindful eating practices unlike other diet coaching apps which we're going to touch on next you don't have to perfectly adhere to your targets to get weekly adjustments to your plan when that being said you may be thinking that sounds a lot like a computerized nutrition coach if I recommended this to clients will they even need me and you wouldn't be wrong for thinking this although the algorithms in these apps are getting really smart and quite accurate they will not replace traditional nutrition coaching we need to remember what makes nutrition coaching so powerful the human to human connection the expert guidance and support and the in the trenches experience that an app or computer just cannot replace so I wouldn't worry so much about an app like this replacing your nutrition coaching and honestly which we're going to talk about in a second this app might be best suited for a different demographic altogether but let's talk about some features of macro Factor starting with strengths we got a barcode scanner verified database by registered dietitians as well as it tracks micronutrients there's different settings you have the code setting collaborative setting and the manual setting which includes those Dynamic weekly adjustments in the coach setting lastly it has that timeline style food log which depending on who you ask is a strength but some clients might need more structure as far as weaknesses go there is no free version you have to be 18 plus to use it as well as this app might be best suited for you users with previous tracking experience as far as Costco's you're looking at 11.99 per month or a yearly cost around 72 dollars for the entire year if you're thinking about making a switch this is a very intriguing option but I'll save my overall thoughts and recommendations till the end of the video and number four continue on with the trend of smart nutrition apps we have carbon diet coach brought to you by Lane Norton and team this is another tracking app with the science-based coaching algorithm based on my research the carbon diet coach puts a bigger emphasis on body composition changes which makes sense because most people that track their nutrition are trying to influence and change this sort of thing users that have used both macrofactor and carbon diet coach Express the latter is more dependent on adherence and planning making the process more rigid but in some cases if you don't do things perfectly it seems like the effort is a waste depending on who you ask this can be a strength or a weakness remember tracking is a powerful educational tool but a lot of people do it for a result in holding yourself to some level of compliance is what makes this happen therefore carbon diet coach might be the right app for you if you're ready to track on your own without the accountability of a human coach that sounds funny saying that but you still appreciate some rigidity other strengths include a barcode scanner logging food that is very easy and very straightforward a timeline style food log and a more results focused approach some weaknesses include less Grace around non-compliance which means nothing changes or is adjusted without adherence which again depending on who you ask might actually be a strength the cost is 9.99 per month or around 80 for the entire year now we're going back to more basic nutrition coaching apps with number five lose it some strengths are you have a barcode scanner and you can also track food with photos it has a large food database with verified entries and there are also nutritional challenges in their social Community some weaknesses are it's tough to enter homemade food and there are no micronutrients as far as Costco's there is a free basic version and the premium version is 39.99 for the entire year and last but not least we have number six fat secret first off I had a hard time just saying that name not only is the name awful but it might be fat shaming people I'm not sure but if you're looking for a completely free app this app does have a few good features as far as strengths we have the barcode scanner and meal breakdown and user food entries are actually highlighted in the database and since there's only one version It's never trying to push you to premium weaknesses it has a terrible terrible name but again the cost is fully free so if you're looking for a tracking app that is completely free this might be the right app for you and that's it folks those are the most popular MyFitnessPal Alternatives if you're considering switching from MyFitnessPal for you or your clients here is my suggestion in a very strange scenario where there is a gun to my head and I have to choose switching from MyFitnessPal here's what I would do if I'm a coach I'm getting my clients to switch over to Corona meter and if I'm an athlete user and I don't mind paying I'm switching to macro Factor I've been playing around with this and the AI food logging is really cool and those are my thoughts I would love to hear yours by adding to the discussion in the comments below as great as all those tips are if you're really serious about starting a nutrition coaching business then next thing I'll have you do is check out this video I've linked up right here now that you know the best MyFitnessPal Alternatives find out why this borrow code scanner thing is so important so make sure to check it out now and I'll see you in the next video