How to log food in the Levels app

Overview: 

This article walks you through the different food logging methods in the Levels app. We're updating our logging system to focus on macronutrients — proteins, carbohydrates, and fats. This means we're moving away from the two-step logging method to a more straightforward approach that highlights the nutritional content of your meals. This update is designed to make tracking your nutrition simpler and more insightful, supporting your health and fitness goals with greater accuracy and convenience.

Why Macronutrient Logging? Focusing on macronutrients helps you understand the impact of your nutritional choices on your health goals and overall well-being. It's about making informed dietary choices to reach your goals and improve your metabolic health.

In this Article:

• Comprehensive video walkthrough
• Manual Search: Use our database to find and log specific foods.
• Barcode Scanning: Scan a food item's barcode for instant logging.
• AI Describe: Tell the app about your meal, and it logs the nutrients for you.
• Recent Logs: Quickly log foods from your meal history.
• Custom Food: Manually log unique meals.
• Editing and Deleting Logs
• Viewing Macros
• Habit Loops Protein & Fiber

New Ways of Logging available for iOS as of February 2024

Manual Search (1:00)

One of the ways to add your meals in the Levels app is by searching our database for the meal you just ate. To get started:

1. Tap the (+) button on your Today page and select ‘More’.
2. On the bottom of the screen, Tap on ‘Search’. This will open up the Food Search screen.
3. Type in the food you’ve eaten. Our database will show a list of food items that you can choose from.
4. Tap on the food item that is closest to what you’ve eaten. You can select the serving size of the food item as well.
5. Tap 'Add to meal'.

Barcode Scanning (2:00)

If you want to be more specific about your meals, we suggest scanning the barcodes of your ingredients. To get started:

1. Tap the (+) button on your Today page and select ‘Barcode’. This will open up your camera.
2. Point your camera to the barcode of the food item you’ve eaten.
3. Wait for a couple of seconds as the app searches the database. You can edit the serving sizes before adding the food item to your Food Review page.
4. Tap 'Add to meal'.

AI Describe (2:54) 

AI Describe is a new feature that will make logging easier for everyone! Just click, speak, and wait for the app to create your meal log within 20 seconds! To get started:

1. Tap the (+) button on your Today page and select ‘Describe’. The new Describe screen will then pop up and show you a text box.
2. In the text box, you can either type the meal via your keyboard or use your app’s dictate feature at the right part of your screen (we recommend this better).
3. Tap 'Analyze'.
4. After a few seconds, your Review page will open with your meal logged as you have dictated! You can go ahead and edit the items, or add more items as you wish.
5. Once finished, tap on ‘Save meal’ on the top-right of the screen.

Add Recent Logs (3:59)

Everyone surely had the experience of eating the same snack multiple times a day. With the ‘add recent log’ feature, you can log a meal you’ve previously logged in a few taps!

1. Tap the (+) button on your Today page and select ‘More’.
2. Select ‘Recent’ from the options at the bottom of the screen. Your last 50 logs will be listed on this screen.
3. To add a recent log, simply click the meal item you want to copy. Tap on ‘Yes’ to copy this to your Review screen.
4. Your log will be added to your Review screen. You can edit or add more meal items.
5. Once finished, tap on ‘Save meal’ on the top-right of the screen.

Creating a Custom Food Item (4:30)

Not seeing your food item in our database? Or do you have your own recipe for your favorite daily healthy shake? You can add a custom food item to easily access your favorite personal recipes (and their macros!) with a quick tap on your screen. To get started:

1. Tap the (+) button on your Today page and select ‘More’.
2. Select ‘Custom’ from the options at the bottom of the screen.
3. Tap the ‘Create new food' button’ This will open up the ‘Create New Food’ screen where you can add the details of your log!
4. After filling in the proper fields, press the green ‘Save’ button on the top right. This will save your Custom Food item.
5. You can access your custom food items via the ‘Custom’ screen. You can even add the food item via recent logs or through manual searches!

Editing and Deleting Logs

Editing a Log (5:12)

To edit a log:

1. Select the meal log you want to edit, from the Today page. 
2. Tap on the three-dot menu on the top of the meal card and select ‘Edit Log’. This will open the Review screen.
   1. Here, you can edit the time, meal title, and add or remove ingredients. To edit an ingredient, simply tap on it.
3. To delete an ingredient, tap on it and select 'Remove item'. You can also delete the whole log by tapping on the red 'Delete log' button.
4. Once finished, tap on ‘Save meal’ on the top-right of the screen.

Viewing Macros (6:12)

Here are the different ways of viewing your macros:

1. Daily Macronutrients Tab
   1. Slide the daily metrics tab to the left to reveal the daily macronutrients tab.
   2. Tap on ‘See all meals’ to see the total macros for the day. Scroll down to see each log you’ve added.
2. Zone Cards
   1. Scroll up to the Timeline on the Today Page and check your Zone Cards.
   2. The Zone Card shows a roll-up of the macronutrients within the zone. Tap the zone to see more information.
   3. In the Zone Card, you can see insights and items based on the meal you have logged.

Habit Loops Protein & Fiber (7:04)

Make tracking your macros easy by adding them to your habit loops straight from the Today page! To get started:

1. Open up the Habit Loops screen and tap on ‘See Habits’.
2. Select Protein or Fiber from the list of Habits.
   1. You may need to unselect a habit if you are already tracking other habits.