#cronometer

Let’s be real: counting calories as an Indian vegetarian is like playing chess during an earthquake. You think you’re doing great — until someone drops off a plate of hot samosas and suddenly your macros look like modern art.

So I did what any chaos-taming millennial would do:

I downloaded Chronometer and committed to it for two weeks.

2800-calorie maintenance. 800-calorie deficit. A whole lot of lentils.

And yes — I survived. Barely.

Spoiler: It’s the most detailed nutrition tracker I’ve ever used.

Also spoiler: It made me realize poha might be plotting against me.

The good:

Nutrient tracking so intense it knows your iron levels better than your doctor.

Syncs with wearables like it’s training you for a nutrition-themed video game.

Recipe builder saved my rajma-rice routine from spreadsheet hell.

The chaos:

Logging “Mom’s Special Aloo Paratha” felt like filling out a tax form.

Dosa entries? A crime against South Indian cuisine.

Spent more time logging food than eating it.

Thinking of switching from MyFitnessPal or HealthifyMe?

I broke it all down: the pros, the cons, and a few hunger-induced hallucinations.

You’ll either want to download the app — or delete it from orbit.

Not my best sleep ever, but still getting used to waking up at 4am. Could have been better, but also could have been worse. I like to fall asleep to ASMR, but I think some generic white noise like rain would be better.

Despite that, I did my workout and got my steps in. I stuck to my meal plan. And, I may be a lot of things, but nutrient deficient isn't one of them!

The meal plan may be boring (fruit, chili, chicken, veggies, potatoes, protein shakes, fiber bars), but it's easy, I don't have to think about it too hard, and it keeps me full all day. I usually end my day with potatoes cause they're so satiating and make me happy.

-equinox to equinox animal biased food tracking experiment challenge

Rough drafts:

Tracking link

What I also will be doing (ymmv):

-Daily Rucking and Sandbag carry (7x)

-Daily Walking (unloaded) (7x)

-sunlight (skin and eyes) (7x)

-heavy compound lifts 2x week [sq and strict press ~3-5 rep max for 2 sets of 3-5, Chin 8x10, plus a BB pump drop set]

-barbell complex workout 1x week

-bike or row sprint intervals (I do one bike interval and one BP interval every morning before rucking) (7x)

There is a women's health feature that they had/have (Idk if they have it anymore 'cause I won't waste actual money on this application), but I noticed it doesn't include IRON! Talkin' 'bout women of child bearing age, but failing to mention iron?! Do better.

Also, iodine and choline aren't even listed among the nutrients (maybe they are, but I have to pay money for a fancier version of the app to see the rest). Like, what?!? A dietitian's worst nightmare!

Especially as someone who has definitely had orthorexia, and still has orthorexic tendencies. Worse: any time Cronometer has a clinician guest speaker, it is ALWAYS a medical doctor. NEVER a registered dietitian. Are we a joke to the world? Jeez.

Tirade aside, I use Cronometer anyway to track my calcium, vitamin D, and some other key nutrients like B12, selenium, etc., as I am vegan 90% of the time. I went back to real eggs about two years ago, but I don't eat them every day.

I feel this day only met 96% of my needs because I ate almost 1.5 whole blocks of tofu, had half a scoop of Vega Sport, and supplemented calcium with D3, and B12. I ate chia and hemp seeds today. I usually do FAR more nuts than seeds, but am trying to eat seeds a few times a week. Good sources of micros and good for increasing gut biodiversity.