I should probably mention right off the bat that I’m receiving no compensation for this review. (Although I’d be glad to get some, so hmu, Senza devs!) No recipe here–this one is about my favorite app for tracking macros. I know a lot of keto folks use Carb Manager, but not many have heard of Senza. Senza is basically MyFitnessPal or LoseIt, but specifically meant for the keto diet.
Just like those other apps, Senza starts out by getting your general information–age, gender, height, and current weight. It uses that to calculate your macros. It has me eating 25 grams of net carbs, 100 grams of protein, and 123 grams of fat. It calculates the net carbs of everything so you don’t have to.
There are two main parts of the app where you’ll spend the most time, your feed and your journal. In your feed there are links to articles about the keto diet, as well as links to fun recipes to try. It’ll also give you a daily report that scores your previous day’s intake from 1-99 based on how close you came to hitting all your macros for the day. The best I’ve ever done is a 98–I’m still searching for that elusive 99! Throw me a screenshot if you hit it.
The journal is what you use to actually track your food. They have a great database of foods, from restaurant meals to individual ingredients. You can choose the unit of measurement, too, so if you ate 26 grams of onions, just select “grams” after you search and it’ll filter your results to only entries that measure in grams. This is really cool when you’re cooking, which leads me to my favorite portion of the app.
Under the “My food” tab, you have the option of entering in either an individual product that isn’t on their list, or a recipe. For the product, it’ll have you take a picture of the label, then enter the information. Once they get it and see that you did it correctly, they’ll add it to the database, but until then, you can save it and track it on your own. For recipes, it’ll have you name it, select how many servings are in it, and then you enter in each ingredient individually and it will calculate the macros for you. I think a lot of people on keto have trouble tracking when they cook at home, because it’s so hard to figure out exactly what is in each serving. This makes it foolproof. My recipe macros are calculated using this feature.
Another interesting feature that I haven’t used all that much is “Keto Radar”. If you allow the app to see your location when you’re using it, it will show you nearby restaurants that may have keto options. I find it a little bit limited, especially with non-chain restaurants. For example, when I search around my workplace, I can see all the restaurants, but the only one that has low-carb menu options shown is Chipotle. It only shows restaurants within about a five-block radius, which is nice if you need to grab a quick lunch and you’re not sure what’s nearby. But overall, I don’t find this feature to be particularly useful. If I traveled a lot for work, it would probably be invaluable.
The app also has some cool coaching features that I haven’t tried. What I like about those is that you can earn points with the app by tracking foods or adding friends, and then use those points to get help. I have over 17,000 points earned since January, and to give an example, a one-day meal plan is 100 points and a macro review is 650. They also sell some products, which I think you can use points for discounts, but I’ve never tried so don’t quote me on that. You can add friends, track your weight or exercise, and link to Apple Health or Fitbit. You can also set up the app to change your macros if you exercise enough. For example, if I burn over 150 calories, I have it set up so I can eat up to an extra 100 calories, with an added 2 net carbs and up to 20 grams of extra protein. I try not to use it, but it’s nice to know that I can. It can also track IF, which I’ve never done because I like breakfast too much to skip it. And finally, they have an option for real-time chat with keto coaches if you have a question about something. I haven’t tried that one yet, but if you do, please comment with your experience so I can add it to the review!
All in all, Senza is the best app I’ve found to support a keto diet, and I highly recommend it.
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