Tracking Your Macros with Smart Log

There are three main ways to track your macros on Ladder:

1. Smart Log — describe, photograph, or voice-dictate what you ate for an AI-powered calorie estimate. Best for meals without a barcode or when you want a quick estimate.

2. Search — search our food and recipe database or create your own recipes. Best for packaged foods, common meals, or when you want precise nutritional data.

3. Barcode Scan — scan a product barcode for instant nutritional info. Best for packaged foods with a barcode.

All three routes add items to your food cart where you can review and edit before saving.

Smart Log is our new unified food logging experience, available on iPhone in 4.8.0. It replaces the previous three separate logging methods (text, voice, and image) with one powerful combined input.

With Smart Log you can now:

• Type a description of what you ate
• Use voice dictation via your iPhone keyboard
• Submit one or multiple photos (captured or from your gallery) — no limit on number of images per submission
• Combine any of these in a single submission — the more context you give, the more accurate your calorie estimate will be

Requires iOS 18 or later. Available on iPhone only.

To log food with Smart Log:

1. Tap the + button in the Nutrition tab
2. Select Smart Log
3. Describe what you ate — you can type it out, use voice dictation on your iPhone keyboard, add one or more photos (no limit on number of images per submission), scan a barcode, or combine any of these
4. Tap submit
5. If our AI needs more context, it will ask you a few multiple-choice clarifying questions — answer these for the best estimate
6. Your item will appear in your food cart for review — you can edit or adjust anything before saving

Tip: the more detail you provide, the better your calorie estimate. Bullet points, multiple photos, and descriptions all help!

Requires iOS 18 or later. Available on iPhone only.

To get the most accurate calorie estimates from Smart Log:

• Be as descriptive as possible — include portion sizes, cooking methods, and ingredients
• Use bullet points to break down a complex meal
• Submit multiple photos from different angles when possible
• Combine text and images for the best results
• Answer any clarifying questions that come up after submitting

The more context you give, the fewer clarifying questions you'll get and the more accurate your estimate will be.

If Ladder's AI doesn't have enough information to give you a confident calorie estimate, it will ask you a few clarifying questions after you submit.

This can happen when:

• Portion sizes aren't clear
• A brand or ingredient isn't recognized
• There are hard-to-identify components like oils or additives
• The image or description is ambiguous

The questions are multiple choice, but you can also type a custom answer for more specific details. Answering them helps produce a more accurate estimate for your food log.

In 4.8.0, the previous three separate logging methods (text, voice, and image) have been combined into Smart Log — one unified input that does everything the old methods did, and more.

You can still:

• Type a description
• Use voice dictation via your iPhone keyboard
• Submit photos

The difference is you can now combine all of these in a single submission for better, more accurate estimates. Voice dictation, text, and image are now all available inside Smart Log as combined inputs — no limit on images per submission.

Tap the + button and select Smart Log to get started.