Snackbar makes it easy to see how the foods you eat contribute to your long-term goals.
Welcome to Snackbar!
Snackbar is a macronutrient tracking and diet coach designed to help you reach your health and fitness goals. Just set a weight goal, track the foods you eat every day, periodically measure your body weight, and Snackbar will provide ongoing feedback and coaching to help you stay on track and reach your goals.
With Snackbar, there are no gimmicks, rigid diet plans, punishments for eating off-program or negative feedback. Snackbar's diet coaching is designed to be sustainable long-term and fit easily into your everyday life.
To get started, download the app from the App Store if you haven't already, then read on below to get started on your macro tracking journey with Snackbar.
Create an Account
Snackbar uses your phone number for authentication, which allows us to securely log you in to your account and keep your data private. We do this so that you don't have to remember another password or deal with having to remember which email address or social auth provider you used to sign up. Snackbar respects your privacy and will never send you unwanted text messages or share your phone number with anyone else.
Login or create an account by entering your phone number and filling in the code we send you.
Once you've entered your phone number, you'll receive a verification code via SMS. Enter the code to complete the login process.
Enter Your Health Data
Snackbar uses data about your body to create an initial estimate of the total number of calories you burn in a day and provide ongoing recommendations for important nutrients and vitamins.
To get started, Snackbar will offer to sync your data from Apple Health. This data includes information about your height, weight, age, gender, and activity level. To grant data access, tap "Sync with Apple Health" when prompted. Data sync with Apple Health is completely optional and you can revoke access at any time by visiting the Health app settings.
Snackbar will attempt to pre-fill important health data from your Apple Health app if available.
Snackbar takes your privacy seriously and will never share your data with anyone else, or use it for any purpose other than to provide you with a personalized experience within the app. Granting Snackbar access to your Apple Health data is completely optional and you can revoke access at any time.
About Apple Health Sync
Snackbar recommends that you sync your health data with Apple Health to provide the most accurate and personalized experience, especially if you use this data across a number of other apps.
Then, confirm the data obtained from Apple Health, or enter your weight, biological sex, age, and height manually.
Your biological sex is used as an input to the initial expenditure estimate calculation and to provide you with accurate vitamin and nutrient recommendations. Choose the option that best represents your sex if you are unsure.
It's important that the weight entered matches your current body weight, or Snackbar's initial estimate will be inaccurate. If the value obtained from Apple Health is incorrect or out of date, you should enter your weight manually.
Activity Level
If available, Snackbar will display your estimated energy expenditure obtained from Apple Health, usually via a wearable such as an Apple Watch. Because these values can be well off from your actual expenditure, we display it as an additional data point only if you choose to manually change your energy expenditure.
Create an Expenditure Estimate
Next, we'll work on creating an initial estimate of your daily energy expenditure, called your Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE).
Your TDEE is calculated from your basal metabolic rate (BMR), which is the amount of energy your body burns at rest, and your activity level. Choose the option that best represents your activity level.
If you're unsure about your activity level, choose the option that you believe best represents your actual activity level.
Snackbar uses information about your body to create an initial estimate of your daily energy expenditure.
Snackbar uses the Mifflin-St Jeor Equation to calculate your TDEE. This equation takes into account your age, gender, height, weight, and activity level to provide an estimate of your daily energy expenditure.
About Your Initial Estimate
Your TDEE estimate is a starting point that's used to create your initial macro plan, and it is not essential to get it set exactly right. Once you begin to log your food and body weight, Snackbar will provide you with an ongoing expenditure trend that will become the basis for updates to your macro plan.
If you believe that the initial estimate is inaccurate and you have a good estimate of your TDEE from another source, you can manually adjust your TDEE by tapping on the "+" and "-" button and entering a custom value.
Set a Weight Goal
Your weight goal provides the context for your calorie intake recommendations and helps Snackbar provide you with personalized feedback and coaching.
First, choose a target weight you'd like to achieve. Snackbar supports weight loss, weight maintenance, and weight gain goals. To choose a maintenance goal, accept the target weight that matches your current weight. To choose a weight loss or weight gain goal, enter a target weight that is higher or lower than your current weight.
Choose a target weight that you want to achieve, then set the parameters for how fast or slow you want to reach your goal.
When you create a weight loss or weight gain goal, you will be asked to set the parameters for how fast or slow you want to reach your goal. In both cases, Snackbar will provide you with a range of options for what percentage of your existing body weight you should aim to lose or gain each week.
You can see the impact on how these parameters will affect your calorie deficit or surplus, as well as view information about how long it will take to reach your goal, in the "Breakdown" section.
Safety in Setting a Weight Goal
Setting a weight loss or weight gain goal should be approached with caution. It's important to do so in a healthy and sustainable way, and to consult with a healthcare provider before starting any new diet or exercise program.
Snackbar defaults to a weight loss or gain rate well-within the safe range recommended by health organizations that balances the difficulty of large calorie deficits or surpluses with most people's desire to see results.
New to macro tracking?
If you are new to tracking your food intake, it can be helpful to start with a maintenance goal. This will help you focus on the habit of tracking your food and body weight first, and then you can gradually introduce a small calorie deficit or surplus as you become more comfortable with the process should you choose to do so.
Create a Macro Plan
The last step in getting started is to create a macro plan. A macro plan is a personalized plan that tells you how many grams of protein, fat, and carbohydrates you should eat each day to reach your weight goal based on how many calories you need to eat to reach your goal.
With Snackbar, you can choose between two types of macro plans:
- Automatic Program Setup: Snackbar will create a macro plan for you based on your goal, setting your protein intake and fat to carbohydrate ratio based on your answers to questions about your lifestyle and preferences.
- Manual Program Setup: Manually set your own macronutrient targets for protein, fat, and carbohydrates, providing you full control over your targets.
For most people, we recommend using the automatic program setup unless you're comfortable understanding and setting your own macronutrient targets.
Create an Automatic Macro Plan
Create an automatic program by answering a few questions about your lifestyle and preferences.
To create an automatic program, select "Help me create a program" from the options provided. Then, choose the type of diet that best suits your goals, whether balanced, low-carb, or low-fat.
Snackbar Recommends a Balanced Diet
We recommend a balanced diet for most people because it provides a good ratio of fat to carbohydrates, and can be easier to stick to long-term.
Then, choose a protein intake based on your activity level and dietary preferences.
Snackbar Recommends a Normal Protein Intake
Snackbar recommends a normal protein intake of 0.8g per pound of body weight for most people.
Once you confirm your protein intake, Snackbar will calculate your macronutrient targets for you and present you with a summary of your plan.
Snackbar will display your macronutrient targets and provide a summary of your plan.
Snackbar will also provide you with key information for getting started with your plan, including important reminders about how to track your food and body weight.
If you want to make changes to your plan, you can do so by returning to the program setup screen and selecting a different option. Once you're satisfied with your plan, you can tap "Create Program" to complete the process and continue on to the Dashboard.
Create a Manual Macro Plan
If you have experience with macro tracking and you want to create your own plan, you can do so by selecting "Use my own program" from the program type selection screen.
Create a manual program by entering your own macronutrient targets.
To create a manual program, first enter the number of calories you want to eat each day. This value will be pre-filled based on your TDEE and weight goal, but you can adjust it as needed.
Next, enter your target for protein as a percentage of your body weight to eat each day. Snackbar calculates the number of calories you'll need to dedicate toward protein first, then distributes the remaining calories to fat and carbohydrates.
Automatic Updates
By default, Snackbar will recommend changes to your macro plan if your body weight changes and your protein target should be adjusted. You can disable these updates by turning off the "Adjusts with weight" toggle.
Finally, choose how to distribute your remaining calories to fat and carbohydrates.
Once you're happy with your targets, tap "Create Program" to complete the process and continue on to the Dashboard.
Start Tracking Foods and Body Weight
Congratulations! You've completed the process of creating your macro plan and are ready to start tracking your food and body weight.
Remember, Snackbar is here to support you on your journey to better health. As you use the app, you'll find it becomes an intuitive part of your daily routine, helping you make informed decisions about your nutrition without feeling restricted or overwhelmed.
Don't hesitate to explore all the features Snackbar offers, and remember that consistency is key. Even if you have days where tracking is challenging, just pick up where you left off. Every bit of data you provide helps Snackbar give you more accurate and personalized recommendations.
Here are a few final tips to get you started:
- Try to log your meals as you eat them for the most accurate tracking.
- Weigh yourself regularly, ideally at the same time each day, for the best results.
- Be patient with yourself and the process. Sustainable changes take time, but they're worth it!
- Use Snackbar's insights and recommendations to learn about your eating habits and make gradual, positive changes.
Remember, Snackbar is here to support you every step of the way. If you have any other questions or need help, don't hesitate to reach out through the app's support features. Happy tracking, and here's to your health and fitness success!
