81: Eliisa Tennant: Tracking Beyond Calories - Inside the Science of the World's Most Accurate Nutrition App
Tracking Beyond Calories: Inside the Science of the World's Most Accurate Nutrition App
Discover why Cronometer stands out from other nutrition tracking apps. Eliisa Tennant reveals how accurate food data, micronutrient tracking, and wearable integration can transform your health insights.
Here's a frustrating scenario you've probably experienced: You're trying to track your nutrition, so you open your food tracking app, search for "chicken breast," and get seventeen different entries with wildly different calorie and protein counts. Which one is right? Who the hell knows.
Or maybe you've been tracking diligently for weeks, hitting your calorie and macro targets, yet you still feel exhausted. You're wondering if you're missing something, and you probably are. Because most nutrition apps only show you part of the picture: calories and macros. They completely ignore the micronutrients that actually impact how you feel, perform, and function.
If you've ever been frustrated by inconsistent food data or felt like standard tracking apps were missing crucial information, this conversation is going to change how you think about nutrition tracking. Tara sits down with Eliisa Tennant from Cronometer to discuss what sets this app apart, and why Tara's been recommending it to her clients, especially women in perimenopause and menopause.
What Makes Cronometer Different (And Why It Matters)
Let's start with the elephant in the room: why does Cronometer have such a cult following among health professionals, nutritionists, and people serious about optimizing their health?
The answer comes down to two things: accuracy and comprehensiveness.
Most food tracking apps rely on user-generated data. Anyone can create a food entry, which means the database is full of duplicates, errors, and wildly inaccurate information. You're essentially crowdsourcing your nutrition data from random people on the internet who may or may not know what they're doing.
Cronometer takes a completely different approach. Eliisa breaks down their verification process: every single food entry in their database is verified against reliable sources like the USDA, Canadian Nutrient File, and NCCDB (Nutrition Coordinating Center Food & Nutrient Database). They have a team dedicated to checking and maintaining data quality.
This means when you search for chicken breast, you get one accurate entry based on verified nutritional data, not seventeen conflicting options that leave you guessing.
Why Tracking Micronutrients Actually Matters
Here's where Cronometer really shines: it doesn't just track calories, protein, carbs, and fat. It tracks over 80+ micronutrients, including vitamins, minerals, amino acids, fatty acids, and more.
Why does this matter? Because you can hit your calorie and macro targets perfectly and still feel like garbage if you're deficient in key micronutrients.
Low energy? Could be iron deficiency. Muscle cramps? Maybe you're low on magnesium or potassium. Poor sleep? Might need more vitamin D or B vitamins. These micronutrients play crucial roles in everything from energy production to hormone regulation to recovery from workouts.
For women especially, particularly those in perimenopause and menopause, tracking micronutrients can be game-changing. Iron, calcium, vitamin D, magnesium, omega-3s... these aren't just nice-to-haves. They directly impact energy levels, bone health, mood, sleep quality, and how well you recover from training.
Tara mentions she's been recommending Cronometer to her clients specifically because of this comprehensive tracking capability. When you can see the full nutritional picture, not just calories and macros, you can make much more informed decisions about your health.
Who Actually Benefits Most From Using Cronometer
Eliisa breaks down who gets the most value from Cronometer, and it's honestly a pretty diverse group.
People with specific health conditions. If you're managing diabetes, heart disease, kidney disease, autoimmune conditions, or other chronic health issues, you need accurate nutritional data. Cronometer's precision matters when you're tracking sodium for blood pressure, carbs for blood sugar management, or specific nutrients that interact with medications.
Athletes and people serious about performance. If you're strength training, running marathons, or competing in any sport, your micronutrient needs are higher than the average person's. Chronically under-eating certain nutrients will eventually catch up with you in the form of poor recovery, decreased performance, or injury.
Women in perimenopause and menopause. Hormonal changes affect nutrient needs dramatically. Calcium and vitamin D become even more critical for bone health. Iron needs might decrease after menopause but could be crucial if you're still menstruating. B vitamins impact energy and mood. Being able to track these specifically helps you optimize nutrition during this transition.
Health professionals. Dietitians, nutritionists, personal trainers, and other health professionals use Cronometer with their clients because the data is reliable. Eliisa discusses the professional version that allows practitioners to work with clients directly in the app.
Anyone who wants to optimize their health. Honestly, even if you don't have a specific health condition, understanding what you're actually eating, beyond just calories, gives you powerful insights into your health.
The Power of Tracking Trends Over Time
Here's something most people get wrong about nutrition tracking: obsessing over daily fluctuations instead of looking at trends over time.
Eliisa emphasizes: the real value isn't in whether you hit your exact iron target every single day. It's in seeing patterns over weeks and months. Are you consistently low in certain nutrients? Do you notice energy dips correlating with lower B vitamin intake? Does your sleep quality improve when you get more magnesium?
This is where Cronometer's data visualization comes in. You can see trends, identify patterns, and make connections between what you're eating and how you're feeling. This kind of insight is impossible when you're just looking at daily snapshots.
Integration With Wearables Changes Everything
They discuss something that's honestly pretty cool: Cronometer's integration with fitness wearables and sleep trackers.
Imagine being able to see your nutrition data alongside your sleep quality, activity levels, heart rate variability, and other health metrics. You might notice that on days when you're low in certain nutrients, your sleep suffers or your recovery is worse. Or you might see that your performance improves when you're consistently hitting certain micronutrient targets.
This kind of comprehensive data gives you a much fuller picture of your health than just tracking nutrition in isolation. It allows you to make connections and optimize in ways that wouldn't be possible otherwise.
How to Stay Consistent With Nutrition Tracking
Let's be real: tracking every single thing you eat can be tedious. Eliisa shares some tips for staying consistent without losing your mind.
Start with one meal. You don't have to track everything perfectly from day one. Start by consistently tracking breakfast, then add lunch once that's a habit, then dinner. Build the behavior gradually.
Use recurring foods and recipes. If you eat similar meals regularly, create custom foods or recipes in the app. Then you're just selecting from your favorites instead of searching and entering everything from scratch every time.
Don't aim for perfection. You don't need to track every single day forever. Even tracking a few days a week gives you valuable data. Or track consistently for a month to establish baseline patterns, then check in periodically to make sure you're still on track.
Focus on what matters most to you. If you're an athlete, you might prioritize protein and certain performance-related micronutrients. If you're managing a health condition, you might focus on specific nutrients your doctor has flagged. You don't have to track everything equally.
Unique Features That Set Cronometer Apart
Beyond the accuracy and comprehensive tracking, Cronometer has some features that make it particularly powerful:
Biometrics tracking. Track weight, body measurements, blood pressure, blood glucose, ketones, and more. All in one place alongside your nutrition data.
Custom targets. Set specific targets for any nutrient based on your individual needs, not just generic recommendations.
Fasting timer. If you practice intermittent fasting, you can track your fasting windows.
Oracle feature. This shows you at any point during the day what foods would help you meet your remaining nutrient targets. It's like having a nutritionist suggest what to eat based on what you've already consumed.
Comprehensive reports. Generate detailed reports showing trends over time, which is especially useful if you're working with a health professional.
The Future: Photo Logging and AI Insights
Eliisa hints at some exciting developments coming to Cronometer, including photo logging capabilities and more AI-powered insights.
The goal isn't to replace the current tracking system but to make it easier and more accessible while maintaining the accuracy standards Cronometer is known for. Imagine being able to snap a photo of your meal and have it accurately logged, but with the same verified nutritional data that makes Cronometer so reliable.
Making Nutrition Data Work For You
Here's the bottom line: you can't optimize what you don't measure. But measuring inaccurately, or measuring the wrong things, won't get you anywhere.
If you've been tracking nutrition and still feel like something's off, or if you're serious about understanding what's actually going into your body, Cronometer offers a level of insight that most tracking apps simply can't match.
It's not about being obsessive or tracking every morsel forever. It's about having accurate data when you need it, understanding the full nutritional picture beyond just calories and macros, and making informed decisions about your health based on reliable information.
For women navigating perimenopause and menopause, for athletes optimizing performance, for anyone managing chronic health conditions, or for people who just want to feel their best, this level of nutritional insight can be transformative.
Ready to take your nutrition tracking to the next level? Check out Cronometer and use code BROADS for 15% off. Visit cronometer.com to get started.
Are you tracking micronutrients or just macros? Share what you've learned about your nutrition on Instagram @broads.app, the Broads community loves getting nerdy about this stuff.
Tracking Beyond Calories: Inside the Science of the World's Most Accurate Nutrition App
Discover why Cronometer stands out from other nutrition tracking apps. Eliisa Tennant reveals how accurate food data, micronutrient tracking, and wearable integration can transform your health insights.
Here's a frustrating scenario you've probably experienced: You're trying to track your nutrition, so you open your food tracking app, search for "chicken breast," and get seventeen different entries with wildly different calorie and protein counts. Which one is right? Who the hell knows.
Or maybe you've been tracking diligently for weeks, hitting your calorie and macro targets, yet you still feel exhausted. You're wondering if you're missing something, and you probably are. Because most nutrition apps only show you part of the picture: calories and macros. They completely ignore the micronutrients that actually impact how you feel, perform, and function.
If you've ever been frustrated by inconsistent food data or felt like standard tracking apps were missing crucial information, this conversation is going to change how you think about nutrition tracking. Tara sits down with Eliisa Tennant from Cronometer to discuss what sets this app apart, and why Tara's been recommending it to her clients, especially women in perimenopause and menopause.
What Makes Cronometer Different (And Why It Matters)
Let's start with the elephant in the room: why does Cronometer have such a cult following among health professionals, nutritionists, and people serious about optimizing their health?
The answer comes down to two things: accuracy and comprehensiveness.
Most food tracking apps rely on user-generated data. Anyone can create a food entry, which means the database is full of duplicates, errors, and wildly inaccurate information. You're essentially crowdsourcing your nutrition data from random people on the internet who may or may not know what they're doing.
Cronometer takes a completely different approach. Eliisa breaks down their verification process: every single food entry in their database is verified against reliable sources like the USDA, Canadian Nutrient File, and NCCDB (Nutrition Coordinating Center Food & Nutrient Database). They have a team dedicated to checking and maintaining data quality.
This means when you search for chicken breast, you get one accurate entry based on verified nutritional data, not seventeen conflicting options that leave you guessing.
Why Tracking Micronutrients Actually Matters
Here's where Cronometer really shines: it doesn't just track calories, protein, carbs, and fat. It tracks over 80+ micronutrients, including vitamins, minerals, amino acids, fatty acids, and more.
Why does this matter? Because you can hit your calorie and macro targets perfectly and still feel like garbage if you're deficient in key micronutrients.
Low energy? Could be iron deficiency. Muscle cramps? Maybe you're low on magnesium or potassium. Poor sleep? Might need more vitamin D or B vitamins. These micronutrients play crucial roles in everything from energy production to hormone regulation to recovery from workouts.
For women especially, particularly those in perimenopause and menopause, tracking micronutrients can be game-changing. Iron, calcium, vitamin D, magnesium, omega-3s... these aren't just nice-to-haves. They directly impact energy levels, bone health, mood, sleep quality, and how well you recover from training.
Tara mentions she's been recommending Cronometer to her clients specifically because of this comprehensive tracking capability. When you can see the full nutritional picture, not just calories and macros, you can make much more informed decisions about your health.
Who Actually Benefits Most From Using Cronometer
Eliisa breaks down who gets the most value from Cronometer, and it's honestly a pretty diverse group.
People with specific health conditions. If you're managing diabetes, heart disease, kidney disease, autoimmune conditions, or other chronic health issues, you need accurate nutritional data. Cronometer's precision matters when you're tracking sodium for blood pressure, carbs for blood sugar management, or specific nutrients that interact with medications.
Athletes and people serious about performance. If you're strength training, running marathons, or competing in any sport, your micronutrient needs are higher than the average person's. Chronically under-eating certain nutrients will eventually catch up with you in the form of poor recovery, decreased performance, or injury.
Women in perimenopause and menopause. Hormonal changes affect nutrient needs dramatically. Calcium and vitamin D become even more critical for bone health. Iron needs might decrease after menopause but could be crucial if you're still menstruating. B vitamins impact energy and mood. Being able to track these specifically helps you optimize nutrition during this transition.
Health professionals. Dietitians, nutritionists, personal trainers, and other health professionals use Cronometer with their clients because the data is reliable. Eliisa discusses the professional version that allows practitioners to work with clients directly in the app.
Anyone who wants to optimize their health. Honestly, even if you don't have a specific health condition, understanding what you're actually eating, beyond just calories, gives you powerful insights into your health.
The Power of Tracking Trends Over Time
Here's something most people get wrong about nutrition tracking: obsessing over daily fluctuations instead of looking at trends over time.
Eliisa emphasizes: the real value isn't in whether you hit your exact iron target every single day. It's in seeing patterns over weeks and months. Are you consistently low in certain nutrients? Do you notice energy dips correlating with lower B vitamin intake? Does your sleep quality improve when you get more magnesium?
This is where Cronometer's data visualization comes in. You can see trends, identify patterns, and make connections between what you're eating and how you're feeling. This kind of insight is impossible when you're just looking at daily snapshots.
Integration With Wearables Changes Everything
They discuss something that's honestly pretty cool: Cronometer's integration with fitness wearables and sleep trackers.
Imagine being able to see your nutrition data alongside your sleep quality, activity levels, heart rate variability, and other health metrics. You might notice that on days when you're low in certain nutrients, your sleep suffers or your recovery is worse. Or you might see that your performance improves when you're consistently hitting certain micronutrient targets.
This kind of comprehensive data gives you a much fuller picture of your health than just tracking nutrition in isolation. It allows you to make connections and optimize in ways that wouldn't be possible otherwise.
How to Stay Consistent With Nutrition Tracking
Let's be real: tracking every single thing you eat can be tedious. Eliisa shares some tips for staying consistent without losing your mind.
Start with one meal. You don't have to track everything perfectly from day one. Start by consistently tracking breakfast, then add lunch once that's a habit, then dinner. Build the behavior gradually.
Use recurring foods and recipes. If you eat similar meals regularly, create custom foods or recipes in the app. Then you're just selecting from your favorites instead of searching and entering everything from scratch every time.
Don't aim for perfection. You don't need to track every single day forever. Even tracking a few days a week gives you valuable data. Or track consistently for a month to establish baseline patterns, then check in periodically to make sure you're still on track.
Focus on what matters most to you. If you're an athlete, you might prioritize protein and certain performance-related micronutrients. If you're managing a health condition, you might focus on specific nutrients your doctor has flagged. You don't have to track everything equally.
Unique Features That Set Cronometer Apart
Beyond the accuracy and comprehensive tracking, Cronometer has some features that make it particularly powerful:
Biometrics tracking. Track weight, body measurements, blood pressure, blood glucose, ketones, and more. All in one place alongside your nutrition data.
Custom targets. Set specific targets for any nutrient based on your individual needs, not just generic recommendations.
Fasting timer. If you practice intermittent fasting, you can track your fasting windows.
Oracle feature. This shows you at any point during the day what foods would help you meet your remaining nutrient targets. It's like having a nutritionist suggest what to eat based on what you've already consumed.
Comprehensive reports. Generate detailed reports showing trends over time, which is especially useful if you're working with a health professional.
The Future: Photo Logging and AI Insights
Eliisa hints at some exciting developments coming to Cronometer, including photo logging capabilities and more AI-powered insights.
The goal isn't to replace the current tracking system but to make it easier and more accessible while maintaining the accuracy standards Cronometer is known for. Imagine being able to snap a photo of your meal and have it accurately logged, but with the same verified nutritional data that makes Cronometer so reliable.
Making Nutrition Data Work For You
Here's the bottom line: you can't optimize what you don't measure. But measuring inaccurately, or measuring the wrong things, won't get you anywhere.
If you've been tracking nutrition and still feel like something's off, or if you're serious about understanding what's actually going into your body, Cronometer offers a level of insight that most tracking apps simply can't match.
It's not about being obsessive or tracking every morsel forever. It's about having accurate data when you need it, understanding the full nutritional picture beyond just calories and macros, and making informed decisions about your health based on reliable information.
For women navigating perimenopause and menopause, for athletes optimizing performance, for anyone managing chronic health conditions, or for people who just want to feel their best, this level of nutritional insight can be transformative.
Ready to take your nutrition tracking to the next level? Check out Cronometer and use code BROADS for 15% off. Visit cronometer.com to get started.
Are you tracking micronutrients or just macros? Share what you've learned about your nutrition on Instagram @broads.app, the Broads community loves getting nerdy about this stuff.
