With so many apps and tools and spreadsheets and websites out there trying to help you calculate your macros and your metabolism , I don't think it has to be that complicated . There's a single powerful tool that I love to use . It is my favorite macro and metabolism calculator , and I'm going to explain all the details and why so you can start using it today in today's QuickWits . Why so you can start using it today in today's Quick Wits ? Welcome to the Wits and Weights podcast . I'm your host , philip Pape , and this twice a week podcast is dedicated to helping you achieve physical self-mastery by getting stronger , optimizing your nutrition and upgrading your body composition . We'll uncover science-backed strategies for movement , metabolism , muscle and mindset , with a skeptical eye on the fitness industry , so you can look and feel your absolute best . Let's dive right in . Welcome to another QuickWits , your secret weapon for hacking your health , your physique and your awesomeness , all in bite-sized chunks that will not make your brain hurt At least , I hope not . And today I want to introduce you to my favorite tool for dialing in your nutrition and reaching your physique goals , the tool that I've been using ever since it launched . If you are a follower of this podcast , you've heard me talk about it quite a few times and it's worth reiterating and that is an app called Macrofactor all one word . It is created by the folks at Stronger by Science you may know them folks like Dr Eric Trexler , greg Knuckles and others and it is a game changer because it's not just a food logging app . I almost wish that they had a different name , like a different category in the app store , for this app , because it is completely on a different playing field , not just in being superior for what these other apps do , but it does things that the other apps don't even do , and by the other apps I mean MyFitnessPal , chronometer , macros , plus all the other apps that people say oh no , I already use a food logging app . That is not what this is . Macrofactor is not just a macro tracker . It has a few features that are really unheard of and have not yet been developed in the industry , and there's some reasons for that that we're going to get into a bit . But it has to do with the people behind the app , who are super into the science and the evidence and have come up with very sophisticated algorithms that get you a quick , easy answer for you and your metabolism that you can't get anywhere else you can't get it from a calculator because it needs to understand your habits over time .
Philip PapeSo first I want to talk about the food logging , because everybody thinks of it as a food logger first and foremost . And all I'm going to say about Macrofactor you know , love it or hate it , you always have to get used to a new app when it's new to you . And you know , love it or hate it , you always have to get used to a new app when it's new to you . And you know , when people start using chronometer or RP or carbon or whatever , there's going to be a learning curve , right ? So once you get past that , what you're going to find is that macro factor is is not just one of . They've tested it as the fastest food logger on the market and for me , like , anything that reduces time and friction is a huge plus , because I don't want food logging to be annoying . I want it to be just in the background super quick , a breeze . You know literally seconds at most . Like when I copy and paste , it's like one second right , and when I ask my clients to look at their screen time on their phone after they get used to using the app , it's like a few minutes a day at most . It's nothing right
.
Philip PapeThe other thing about the food logging aspect of Macrofactor is the food database is verified . It is verified . I can't state how important this is . Macrofactor's food database is not verified , so there are thousands , if not , at this point , millions , of bogus entries in there . Yeah , you can find more stuff quote unquote and yet a lot of it is garbage . Not only is it verified , they just recently changed or added a feature where you can submit new entries to the database , but only after scanning in the food label . They have a built-in food label scanner . So then it's validated from that point as well , and it's important you've got accurate data .
Philip PapeBut let's talk about why Macrofactor is more than a food logger and why I push it so much , besides being an affiliate and in fact I am an affiliate , full disclosure and I'm only an affiliate because I've been using it since launch . And then Greg Knuckles sent me a personal email saying hey , I know how much you love this and you share all your stories of your transformation with it . Do you want to be an affiliate ? And I said hell , yeah . And so ever since then , I've been an affiliate and I would have told people to use it anyway . I might as well , you know , make a little bit on the side why not ? So my affiliate code is witsandweights , all one word . If you download the app and enter witsandweights , you will get an extra week on the free trial .
Philip PapeSo back to why Macrofactor is more than a food logger . I think they call it a smart nutrition coach or a nutrition sidekick or something like that . But basically , when you go into the app , you tell it your goal . Do you want to lose weight , gain weight or maintain right ? Do you want to have a balanced meal , low carb , low fat , high fat , whatever ? Do you want to distribute your calories ? Do you want to go moderate protein , high protein , extra high ? Do you lift ? Do you do lifting and cardio ?
Philip PapeIt really tries to understand all the aspects about you and then the algorithms spit out a starting target based on an estimate . Now that number is pretty much bogus from the first day , meaning that it's just like every other calculator you would go online and use . And the cool thing is , from that point on , when you start logging your food and weight every day , that bogus number actually starts to become a real number of your metabolism . That is where Macrofactor stands out from everyone else . Whereas MyFitnessPal and Chronometer they use this estimate that anybody can find online . Macrofactor starts with that estimate , which could be way off , and then it starts to converge towards your true metabolism as you log your food and weight . So it's adapting to you over time and then every week you check in , it ups or lowers your calories and macros based on your target , based on your progress right and based on your actual metabolism . So you're always getting super up-to-date , effective recommendations to keep making progress .
Philip PapeAnd that's one of the ways we avoid the dreaded plateaus right , the plateaus everybody seems to experience . It's also a way that we can avoid reverse dieting . We don't have to reverse diet , we can recovery diet straight to our maintenance calories . So , yeah , macro factor basically dynamically calculates your energy expenditure , and this is a big deal because your energy changes daily based on your activity level . Of course , your muscle mass is part of that , but also your amount of protein , your stress , your sleep there's so many things that affect your metabolism and Macrofactor keeps up with those changes . So you get the right goals every week .
Philip PapeAnd then it has all the other fun frilly stuff that I like to talk about occasionally , like the tracking of micronutrients , right . Vitamins , minerals , fiber , saturated fat , and you can set targets for each one of those . It's pretty . It has a lot of great charts and visualization and fun tech stuff like that . It has something called AI Describe , where you can just use AI to tell the app all the things on your plate and it will automatically log everything for you . You know you double check it to make sure it's accurate , but it's pretty darn . It's pretty darn amazing how that works . And then they added I think in the last year they added this they have progress photos , body metrics , right , so you can celebrate your changes along the way and monitor that . It's got widgets . It's got all that fun stuff that a lot of apps have today .
Philip PapeBut really what I love about this app because I know I'm a walking sales pitch for it is the science-based approach to not only the macros and your energy balance but the sustainability , the adherence neutral approach , which is in line with goal setting and behavior change research right . It flexibly adapts to you and does not shame you for going over or under calories , right . No stress , no guilt . That's what I really like about it . So , of course , I highly recommend Macrofactor . This is like , again , a walking advertisement for it , because there's nothing else that does what it does . If another app comes along that can actually adjust to your metabolism , they'll have some competition , but they don't do that right now . So I want you to go ahead and download Macrofactor . Give it a try . I'm going to add a free video that I made . It's on YouTube . I've shared it a couple of times in the past , but it's unlisted , so you can't find it in a search , and it tells you how to download and set it up for your initial goal of maintenance and body recomp , and then you could do that for , say , six to eight weeks , and then you can switch to like a fat loss or a muscle building goal . So I'm going to include that in the show notes as well .
Philip PapeUntil next time again , keep learning , always , always . Keep learning . Be skeptical , evaluate all these apps and see if they're a good tool for you . It's what my clients use . It's what we use in the Physique University . It's data-driven decisions and awareness is what it's all about . All right , thanks again for tuning in to another episode of Quick Wits . Thank you for tuning in to another episode of Wits and Weights . If you found value in today's episode and know someone else who's looking to level up their wits or weights . Please take a moment to share this episode with them and make sure to hit the follow button in your podcast platform right now to catch the next episode . Until then , stay strong .