Meal tracking

Do I need to weigh my food to use Poma?

No, Poma estimates the ingredients and portion sizes from a photo or a description, so you do not need to weigh your food. Portion sizes estimated from a photo are approximate. If you know an exact amount, for example from a scale or a package label, you can change that ingredient's amount, and the meal is recalculated.

How do I log a meal with a photo in Poma?

To log a meal with a photo in Poma, tap the + button on Home, choose Photo, and take a picture or pick one from your photo library. For the best estimate, fit the whole meal in the frame, make sure all ingredients are visible, spread out food that is stacked in layers, remove lids or foil and use good lighting. You can add a comment about anything the camera cannot see, such as oil, a sauce or a drink on the side. Each meal uses one photo. The analysis runs in the background, and if notifications are on, Poma lets you know when the results are ready.

Can I log a meal in Poma by typing what I ate?

Yes, Poma lets you log a meal by typing what you ate. Tap the + button on Home, choose Describe, and write a description of up to 400 characters, for example a large bowl of fried rice with chicken, some bread and a diet soda. Including amounts, cooking fats and drinks helps the estimate. Poma's AI then identifies the likely ingredients and estimates the calories, macros and scores, as it does for a photo. Meals you eat often can be saved and logged again from the Favourites option in the add menu.

How do I fix a meal Poma got wrong?

To fix a meal in Poma, open it and tap the Fix results button, or the ingredients icon on a meal with high confidence. You can change an ingredient's amount with the plus and minus buttons or by typing a number, remove a wrong ingredient with its X, and use the Add item box to describe anything missing, such as a tablespoon of olive oil. When you save, Poma re-analyzes the meal and updates the calories, macros and scores. If you know an ingredient's exact nutrition from a package label, you can edit its calories and macros per 100 g, which leaves the scores unchanged. The meal chat can also update the analysis.

Can I log yesterday's meals or a meal I forgot in Poma?

Yes, Poma lets you log a meal for any day in the last 30 days, including today. Pick the day on the date strip on Home, then add the meal as usual, with a new photo, a photo from your library or a typed description. Check the date first, because a logged meal cannot be moved to another day. Poma scores a past meal for the time of day you log it, and changing the time afterwards, by tapping the meal's time, does not re-run the analysis.

Can I save favorite meals in Poma?

Yes, in Poma you can save any logged meal as a favorite by tapping the heart, then log it again from the Favourites option in the add menu. When you re-log a favorite, you can adjust amounts, add or remove ingredients and add a note, and those changes apply only to that log. The AI then re-scores the meal for the current time of day and your other meals that day. You can search your favorites, see how many times you have logged each one, and edit a favorite's name, photo and ingredients.

Do drinks count, and can I log them in Poma?

Yes, drinks count, and many add calories that are easy to forget, such as milk and sugar in coffee, juice, soda and alcohol. Alcohol provides about 7 kcal per gram, according to the NHS, and the WHO counts the sugars in fruit juice as free sugars, which it recommends keeping below 10% of daily energy. In Poma, you can log a drink on its own or as part of a meal, by photo or description, and supplements can be logged the same way. Coffee and alcohol also affect Poma's Sleep score, more so close to bedtime. Poma has no separate water counter.

Does Poma work with Apple Health or Apple Watch?

No, Poma does not connect to Apple Health, Apple Watch, Health Connect or other wearables, so it does not read steps, workouts, sleep or heart data. Poma works from the meals you log and the profile you enter, such as your age, sex, height, weight and how many workouts you do a week. Its Pace of Aging, Sleep, Youth and Energy scores are AI estimates based on your food and profile. You can log your weight in the Insights tab, and Poma's default calorie and protein targets follow your latest logged weight.

What is the easiest way to track what you eat?

The easiest way to track what you eat is to log each meal soon after eating, with the quickest method you will keep using, such as a photo or a short typed note. In a 2015 study of 141 food journalers, many described tracking as too much effort, time-consuming or tedious, forgetting was the most common reason for missed entries, and meals at restaurants, friends' homes and parties were the hardest to log. The researchers saw photo-based food journals as a promising way to make such meals easier to log. Poma lets you log a meal with a photo or a short typed description, and re-log saved meals from the Favourites option.

Does calorie counting have to be exact?

No, research links weight loss with logging regularly more than with spending a long time on each entry. A 2011 systematic review in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association consistently found an association between self-monitoring and weight loss. In a 2019 study in Obesity, how often people logged their food was related to weight loss, while the time they spent on it, which fell from about 23 to 15 minutes a day over six months, did not differ by outcome. Including oils, drinks and snacks matters, since they are easy to forget. In Poma, ingredients analyzed with less than 80% confidence carry a Might not be accurate label, a cue to check their amounts.

Can I track food without counting calories?

Yes, you can track what you eat by looking at the balance of your meals, without counting calories. The NHS Eatwell Guide suggests that fruit and vegetables make up just over a third of what you eat each day, and starchy foods just over a third as well, and notes that you do not need this balance at every meal. The WHO recommends eating at least 400 g of fruit and vegetables a day. Poma's Home screen opens by default on the Pace of Aging, Sleep, Youth and Energy view, where each meal shows its effect on those scores. Poma has no setting to hide calories, which sit on a second view you swipe to.

Read more: How to build a balanced plate: a framework for every meal

Can calorie tracking become obsessive?

For some people, calorie tracking is linked with more worry about food and eating, so it is worth noticing how it makes you feel. In a 2017 study of 493 college students, those who used calorie trackers reported more concern about eating and more dietary restraint. In another 2017 study, 73% of eating disorder patients who had used MyFitnessPal felt it had contributed to their disorder. These studies show links and cannot prove cause. If tracking makes you anxious or guilty, take a break and talk to a doctor or an eating disorder service. Anyone with an eating disorder or a history of one should talk to a healthcare professional before using Poma.

Should I weigh food raw or cooked?

You can weigh food raw or cooked, as long as the weight matches the nutrition values you use, because cooking changes a food's weight. Rice and pasta absorb water, and meat loses water as it cooks. According to USDA FoodData Central, 100 g of raw white long-grain rice has about 365 kcal, while 100 g of cooked rice has about 130 kcal. Weighing raw is often more consistent, since the amount of water absorbed can vary. In Poma, amounts estimated from a photo are for the food as it looks on the plate, so if you correct an amount from a scale, weigh it as served, which for rice or pasta is the cooked weight.