Every calorie and gram you see in Dietrack is an estimate. That is not a disclaimer buried in a footer. It is how the numbers are produced.

This page is about Dietrack specifically: how food enters the log, why two methods disagree, and what the app cannot see. The wider evidence on trackers and labels lives in how accurate calorie trackers really are. If you only need the product loop, use the calorie tracker and macro tracker pages.

How food gets into the log

Daily totals on Today are what you logged, compared with a calorie and macro target from setup (you can edit the target).

You can log by:

  • Saving a meal idea you already generated
  • Photographing a plate (review the proposal, then save). This is Dietrack Pro after a small shared scan try
  • Scanning a barcode, when lookup finds a product
  • Searching
  • Entering numbers yourself
  • Asking Nia, if write actions are on (off by default). Nia chat is Dietrack Pro

Generating an idea does not add it to Today. You still log.

Change servings and the displayed nutrition scales with them.

Micronutrients can appear on a meal detail. They are not a daily vitamin dashboard on Today.

Why a barcode and a cooked dinner disagree

A barcode, when the database has the product, returns pack values for that item: name, brand, nutrition if present. It is not a lab scan of the yoghurt in your fridge. If lookup fails, you fill details another way.

A cooked meal (idea or photo) is an estimate of a recipe: ingredients, amounts, and how the model thinks you prepared it. Oil in the pan, a branded sauce, and “a handful of cheese” are easy to miss.

So the same chicken can land as two different numbers. That is expected. It is not Dietrack “breaking.” Prefer the method that matches the food: a labelled pack through barcode, a mixed plate through idea or photo plus your own quantity check.

Why quantity is most of the error

The database row is often close enough. The serving is where days go sideways.

Two tablespoons of oil versus a teaspoon, half a pack versus the whole tray, cooked rice versus dry grams: those gaps dwarf the difference between two generic chicken entries.

If a number matters (insulin, a clinical plan), use the pack label, a scale, or the professional who set the plan. Dietrack is the wrong tool family for medical-grade counts. The accuracy article keeps that carve-out.

What Dietrack can reasonably estimate

  • Energy and protein, carbohydrate, and fat for a logged meal, as a guide
  • A running day against targets you chose or edited
  • Scaled values when you change servings
  • Barcode nutrition when the lookup matches

Kitchen amounts can update when you log. Treat that as helpful, not a stocktake.

What it cannot know

  • The true metabolisable energy of your digestion
  • Hidden oil, marinades, and restaurant recipes you did not describe
  • Every item in a messy fridge photo (you confirm; low-confidence rows are flagged)
  • Prices, store stock, or a guaranteed allergen-free plate
  • Daily micronutrient totals
  • Automatic “eat back” calories from a walk. Optional Apple Health and Health Connect data is display context. It does not raise the target by itself

A small worked example (illustrative)

Kitchen. Leftover chicken, cooked rice, spinach, yoghurt.

Idea. A bowl that prefers those foods. It may still list a missing extra, labelled.

Log. You save the meal. Today moves by the estimated calories and grams for the servings you set.

List. If the idea wanted lemon and you do not have it, you tap to add lemon. The list does not invent a weekly shop.

That loop is the product. It is not a before-and-after weight story.

When to use something else

Use packaging when the food is a labelled product and you ate that product.

Use a scale when the portion is the decision (oil, cheese, rice).

Use a qualified professional when the number is medical.

Use Dietrack when you want a kitchen-aware day and a log that is honest about being approximate.