Plain-language glossary · Founded 2025
Plain-language definitions for the calorie-tracking, macro-counting, and nutrition-app vocabulary people actually use day to day.
You open your calorie app and it asks you to pick a "verified entry," or your barcode scan returns three different answers for the same Greek yogurt, or you wonder whether the AI photo log is good enough for a Tuesday lunch. This glossary explains the words behind all of that — in plain English, with the actual apps people use.
Recently updated
- Food Diary A day-by-day written or digital record of everything you eat and drink, used for awareness, coaching, or medical follow-up.
- Food Log A structured day-by-day record of what you eat, usually with portion size and time — the working document behind any calorie or macro tracki…
- Calorie Counter App A mobile app that combines a food database, barcode scanner, portion entry, and daily calorie and macro totals so you can track what you eat…
- Food Database The underlying library of food items — with calories, macros, and portions — that a tracking app searches when you log a meal.
- Verified Entry A food database entry whose nutrition values have been checked against a manufacturer label, USDA data, or an internal editorial review.
- User-Submitted Entry A food database entry added by another app user — fast and broad coverage, but with widely variable accuracy unless the app has verified it.
What you'll find here
Written for real humans
I'm Nina. I've spent five years as a certified trainer and nutrition coach watching people get tripped up by the same vocabulary over and over. "Verified entry." "Tare weight." "Logging friction." "Quick Add vs recipe builder." Your app assumes you already know these. You probably don't, and that's fine.
Every entry here explains the word in plain English first, then shows you how it shows up inside the apps you actually use — MyFitnessPal, Cronometer, MacroFactor, Lose It!, Yazio, and the newer AI-photo tools. Nothing is a marketing pitch. I cite primary sources (PubMed, FDA, USDA, Mayo, Harvard Nutrition Source) and link straight to them.
No jargon that isn't defined right there on the page. That's the rule.