What we're reading.

MacroFactor, Carbon, RP Diet Coach, PlateLens and Arrow all update calorie targets from your data. How adaptive TDEE works, what each app costs, and how to get an accurate estimate.

A lean bulk works when the scale rises slowly and your lifts climb with it. How Arrow, MacroFactor, Hevy and MyFitnessPal compare for tracking both.

To keep strength while losing fat, track trend weight, intake and your lifts together. How Arrow, MacroFactor, MyFitnessPal and Hevy compare for a cut.

On a recomp the scale barely moves, so track strength, measurements, trend weight and protein. How Arrow, GainFrame, MacroFactor and Hevy compare.

Strong, Boostcamp, Alpha Progression, Fitbod, MacroFactor Workouts and Arrow compared as Hevy and Strong alternatives, with verified prices and honest trade-offs.

Carbon, RP Diet Coach, Cronometer, MyFitnessPal, Lose It!, PlateLens and Arrow compared against MacroFactor's adaptive expenditure, with verified prices.

MyFitnessPal, PlateLens, Cal AI, SnapCalorie, Lose It!, Cronometer and Arrow compared for photo logging, plus how accurate photo scans are and when to weigh food instead.

Seven ways to track lifting and food in 2026, ranked by what each covers and what it costs per year, including setups under $5 a month.

The Arrow Score is one number that combines your strength, nutrition and consistency, weighted for your goal, so a cut and a bulk are scored differently.

A meal with about 20–40 g of protein (roughly 0.3–0.4 g/kg) plus carbs if you train again soon. The "anabolic window" is hours wide, not 30 minutes. Evidence and apps that help.

The setups that put lifts, food, and bodyweight in one place in 2026, what each costs, and how to tell whether an app actually reads your training and nutrition together.