Tracking macros usually means the same ritual for every meal: search for each ingredient, pick the nearest match, adjust the quantity and repeat. Ramen cuts that down to one step. You type the food in plain words, and protein, carbs and fat appear beside the line along with calories.
What macro tracking is, in one minute
Macros are protein, carbohydrate and fat. Every calorie in your food comes mostly from those three. People track them for many reasons, from building muscle to eating more protein to keeping balance across a day.
A macro counter tells you how a day splits across the three. A calorie counter only gives the total. If you are curious about the maths behind targets, how to calculate macros is a clear starting point.
How Ramen counts macros from a line
You write the meal. Ramen reads it and estimates.
greek yogurt 170g, honey, granola ~310
2 eggs scrambled in butter ~240
chicken burrito bowl, rice, beans ~720
protein shake, oat milk ~260
These numbers are illustrative, not measured outputs. In the app, each line carries calories and macros beside it, and the day's totals build up as you go. Most answers arrive in about 2 seconds.
Because you write the line, you can include the details that move macros the most. "In butter" adds fat. "Oat milk" changes carbs. "Double chicken" changes protein. Those things are visible in the sentence and invisible in a photo.
Targets that match you
Ramen works out calorie and macro targets from your goal, body and activity. You can see the idea behind it in the macro calculator. It is a starting point, not a prescription.
If your main interest is one macro, our protein tracker app page covers that angle, and how much protein do I need explains common ranges. For anything medical, your doctor or dietitian should set the numbers.
Why typing suits macro tracking
Macro tracking is detail work. That is why it is easy to quit. You tend to burn out on weighing, scanning and searching, not on the numbers themselves.
Ramen is built to reduce the busywork.
- One line per food. No searching and no picking from a list.
- Household amounts work. Use grams when you know them, spoons and bowls when you do not.
- Repeats are instant. "Same as yesterday" brings back your usual. Meals you save come back with
@. - Recipes once. List the ingredients, set the servings and log a portion.
If you want to see how little effort it can take, save meals and recipes for faster logging shows the flow. If barcodes are what slow you down, see the page on a calorie counter without barcode scanning.
Honest about the numbers
Macro numbers from any app are estimates, and Ramen says so. Each number has a plain-language explanation, so you can see what it assumed. When it is less sure, a "~" appears.
In our own test of 81 typed meals, 92% of calorie estimates landed within 20% of the reference value. That is our own test and it covers calories, so keep the "~" in mind and use the macros as a guide. For more on how to read them, see how reliable calorie estimates are.
Who this suits
Ramen is a fit if you:
- want to see protein, carbs and fat without a spreadsheet
- have given up on searching a database for every meal
- like a record that keeps your own words
- want a calm tool, with no red numbers or streaks
If you would rather weigh and scan every item, a different kind of tracker may suit you better. We are built for the person who wants a good picture with little effort.
Private and portable
A lookup sends only the single food line, with no email attached. Your body details stay on your phone, and the journal works offline. Ramen writes calories and macros back to Apple Health, and you can export everything or delete your account.
Start tracking macros your way
Ramen is coming soon to iPhone. It will be $9.99 a month, or $39.99 for the first year and $59.99 a year after that, and waitlisters get the $39.99 first year. No card needed now. Join the waitlist and we will send one email when it is out.