Over the past two years, I have used several apps on my Android phone to track calories in food and support my weight loss journey. From popular ones like MyFitnessPal and Lifesum to other apps like Healthify and Journable, I have tried many options. Still, I always return to ChatGPT to accurately analyze calories in food.
As any nutritionist will tell you, to lose weight, you must eat right and maintain a reasonable calorie deficit. You simply can’t out-exercise poor food. And thanks to ChatGPT’s GPT-4o multimodal AI, which analyzes images quite well, I have thrown all kinds of meals at it to get the calorie count and an overall opinion on my food choice. This has helped me adjust my portion size and avoid foods that are not suitable for weight loss.
Since ChatGPT is powered by a large AI model, its vast nutritional knowledge comes in handy for getting food recommendations that are low in energy density but high in satiety. Not to mention, as I have been using ChatGPT for quite some time, it has created a memory of what I like and dislike. As a result, ChatGPT’s food suggestions are tailored to my overall preference.
ChatGPT has also memorized my height, weight, age, BMI, and all sorts of health information from past conversations, which helps in personalized responses. I think this level of personalized diet planning for weight loss is not possible on traditional calorie tracker apps. Here is how I have used ChatGPT to stay on track in my weight loss journey.
ChatGPT Can Be Your Personal Weight Loss Guide
First and foremost, let me tell you, I use the free version of ChatGPT, and it’s enough for meal analysis and regular conversations. In my experience, the non-reasoning GPT-4o AI model is generally better for processing images, so yes, you don’t have to change the default model or pay for the Plus subscription. I will recommend users to start with the below prompt in ChatGPT to track food calories and get valuable suggestions.
Analyze the image and identify each food item. Provide the calorie count for each food item and calculate the total calories for the entire meal. In addition, list relevant micronutrients and find any nutritional shortcomings. Lastly, offer suggestions to support my weight loss journey.
You can also include your health information, like BMI, age, weight, etc., into the prompt so that ChatGPT can offer better suggestions. Since ChatGPT remembers key information, you don’t have to repeat your personal health metrics every time. Now, you can keep uploading food images in the same chat, and you will get a tailored response.
As you can notice in my example below, ChatGPT accurately identified the food items, and even got the number of chapatis right. It correctly calculated the calorie count for each item and offered nutritional shortcomings and meal suggestions as well.
Unlike calorie tracker apps, I don’t have to manually input meal data. Just upload the image to ChatGPT, and it gives me a complete picture of my diet. This way, I keep track of my calorie consumption and rarely overstep the caloric limit. If ChatGPT gets something wrong, I simply reply with the correct input, and the total calorie count is re-evaluated.
The conversational nature of ChatGPT makes it even more intuitive. You can talk to ChatGPT and ask questions related to health and nutrition, as if you are talking to a personal weight loss guide. This focused approach to calorie tracking with ChatGPT has helped me reduce weight by 10 kg (22 lbs), from 105 kg (231 lbs) to 95 kg (209 lbs).
I highly recommend using ChatGPT for meal analysis and calorie tracking if you want to lose weight through proper diet planning. It goes on to show that ChatGPT is not just a general AI chatbot, but can be used for practical use cases to improve your overall well-being. Lastly, if you choose to get the ChatGPT Plus subscription, you can take advantage of task scheduling in ChatGPT to set reminders for calorie tracking at specific times.
