If you're trying to lose weight, the adage "you are what you eat" is truer than ever. But the problem with eating right is that it's hard to keep track of everything you're putting into your body—especially if you don't even know where to begin. Let’s look at a few web apps that help you track your diet and get leaner.

1. MyNetDiary

Dashboard features in MyNetDiary

The MyNetDiary app is a comprehensive nutrition and fitness tracker that will help you monitor your diet and stay right on track with your weight loss goals. To create your profile, you'll have to enter your personal information such as height, weight, age, gender, and target weight. You'll get daily calorie goals based on how much weight you want to lose each week and your level of activity.

Draw up your calorie and macro-nutrient intake goals by going to the Plan tab of your dashboard. The app offers an intuitive interface to log your meals and weight-loss workouts and generate comprehensive insights.

The premium version gives you access to more than a simple calorie counter—you'll get detailed insights on macros, auto-tracking features, and personalized recipes backed by dietitians. You can also connect your Fitbit and Garmin wearables to monitor your health metrics.

Log foods via MyNetDiary

Key Features of MyNetDiary:

  • Create a calorie deficit by setting weekly targets, and monitor your weight, food intake, and exercise accordingly.
  • Track calories by logging meals directly from its extensive database of food items from restaurants, grocery stores, and more. You can also enter recipes from nutrition labels with a built-in barcode scanner feature, or add custom recipes manually.
  • Get a comprehensive break-up of macros—carbohydrates, proteins, and fats—so you can see what percentage of your daily total comes from each category.
  • Get summarized reports of food and calorie intake.

Download: MyNetDiary for Android | iOS | Web (Free, subscription available)

2. MyFitnessPal

Logging meals in MyFitnessPal

The site states, "The best way to lose weight and keep it off forever is to simply keep track of the foods you eat." MyFitnessPal aims to make that simple while providing detailed information.

You can sign up for free. MyFitnessPal recommends your fitness and nutrition goals with your basic info. With that as a benchmark, you can start tracking your food in a personal food diary. The application also gives you an exercise diary to log your daily physical activity.

Log weight using the Check-in tool in the MyFitnessPal app

Key Features of MyFitnessPal:

  • The Quick Tool allows you to speed up your recording by copying the same data from or to other dates.
  • The recipe nutrition calculator gives you the nutritional breakdown of any food added to your food diary.
  • Maintain your activity and use the Check-in tool to record your weight daily.
  • Gauge your optimal weight range using the BMI Calculator.
  • Generate reports based on your nutrition, fitness levels, and overall progress.
  • Explore the message boards for advice, motivation, and support.

Download: MyFitnessPal for Android | iOS | Web (Free, subscription available)

3. Carb Manager

Screenshot of CarbManager online dashboard

If you're looking for a way to lose weight, you've probably heard of the ketogenic diet. CarbManager is an app that will help you track your keto diets, monitor your carbohydrate intake, and more.

The first thing that makes the Carb Manager app different from other calorie-tracking apps is its primary focus on low-carb diets. With its intuitive dashboard, simply log your meals, and the app will calculate your total calorie intake for the day, along with a breakdown of macronutrients consumed.

Key Features of Carb Manager:

  • Set up weight loss goals, track your sleep, and log your daily water intake.
  • Find new and interesting recipes daily with the Recipe of The Day feature.
  • Log in exercise minutes every day. You can input your workouts manually or by using the Quick Find option and monitor your daily progress.
  • You get a "Keto grade" of your foods based on their carb content, fiber content, and other attributes. You can use this information to add or lessen calories from your meals, if necessary.
  • With the Connect feature, you can share your experiences and support other users in their weight loss goals. Join groups, participate in challenges, and access helpful weight loss resources, diet plans, and more.

The app also offers premium features such as tracking your cholesterol levels, health measurements, premium recipes, personalized meal plans, advanced health insights, and more.

Download: Carb Manager for Android | iOS | Web (Free, subscription available)

4. Lose It!

Log meals using the Lose It!app

Lose It was originally created for the iPhone as a weight-tracking app. The simplicity required of a mobile app is now reflected in the web version. You can sign up for free and enter your current weight and goal weight. Then, the app calculates a daily calorie "budget" and deadline. The interface is very neat and user-friendly.

Key Features of Lose It!:

  • Auto-suggestions help you to enter data very quickly.
  • Match up your daily calorie intake with exercise to see the balance between both. Also, track your nutrients.
  • You can add custom foods and custom exercises to your account.
  • If you own the Withings Wi-Fi-connected body scale, you can sync its data to your Lose It! account.
  • Share your progress reports via email, Facebook, and Twitter.

Download: Lose It! for Android | iOS | Web (Free, subscription available)

5. Cronometer

Tracking calories burned and macronutrients in Cronometer

Cronometer is a simple nutrition tracking tool for anyone looking to get the most out of their daily diet. As with the other apps, you can log meals and track macros, along with 82 micronutrients (including trace elements and vitamins) to analyze your progress easily.

Key Features of Cronometer:

  • Get access to comprehensive calorie information, including a breakdown of nutrients and micronutrients.
  • Customize your targets by setting your goal weight. Adjust daily intake of calories and macros (protein, fat, carbs) accordingly.
  • The app can track your physical metrics—including body fat, triglycerides, hemoglobin count, ketones, and more—so that you can see how your diet is affecting your overall health.
  • You can sync your data with wearable devices such as Apple Watch and Fitbit.

Cronometer has limited features compared to other apps on our list, but if you're just looking for something simple and effective, this might be the one for you. Premium features are accessible with a monthly or annual subscription and include a fasting timer, advanced insights, nutrition scores, custom biometrics, and food suggestions.

Download: Cronometer for Android | iOS | Web (Free, subscription available)

Bonus: More Free Tools to Track Your Calories

Health and fitness are primary concerns, and quite a few web services helping you get leaner. Check these websites out for their free tools:

  1. WebMD BMI Calculator
  2. Noom Calorie Deficit Calculator
  3. FitDay Calorie Counter
  4. Fat Secret Activity and Exercise Finder
  5. FitClick BMI Calculator
  6. Start Your Diet

Are You Ready to Lose Weight?

Diets and fitness depend a lot on the kind of lifestyle you have. Some of the sites on the list are overwhelming with their breadth of information, so you should pick the one you are most comfortable with. A cautionary note: the right diet also depends on the current state of your health.

Always consult a physician or a dietitian before you start a new diet. Treat these sites as tracking tools and information resources and not medical guides.