The MacroFactor alternative for GLP-1 users

Sunday check-in. MacroFactor looks at your weight trend, sees it falling faster than planned, and nudges your targets. Sensible — except you already couldn't finish dinner most nights this week, and what you really want to know is whether that's the medication, the dose step, or something else.

A quick note: this page is written by the team behind Holt. MacroFactor details come from its App Store page and website, checked on November 1, 2026.

Why does a macro coach miss part of the picture on a GLP-1?

MacroFactor is clever. Its listing describes a dynamic algorithm that adapts to changes in your metabolism and a coach that adjusts your macro plan each week. For lifters and dieters, that's exactly what they want: a precise budget that keeps up with them.

But it's still a budget, built around what you eat. On a GLP-1, the harder problem is often eating enough — protein for muscle, fiber for a gut that's slowed down, enough fluid — while appetite comes and goes with your dose. And the explanation for a rough week usually sits outside the food log: when you took the shot, whether the dose just went up, how sick you felt the day after.

We couldn't find GLP-1 features on MacroFactor's App Store listing or website. That's not a flaw in what it set out to do. It just isn't a medication tracker.

Why do GLP-1 users switch to Holt?

Because Holt starts from the dose and builds the week around it.

• Shot day, handled. Reminders and a Live Activity on your lock screen, an estimated medication-level chart over 7 or 30 days, and a countdown to your next dose.
• Injection sites. Log arms, stomach or thighs, left or right, and Otto suggests the next spot in your rotation.
• Side effects with a strength and a date. Severity sliders for nausea, constipation, heartburn, food noise, suppressed appetite and fatigue, plus your own, lined up against your dose days.
• Food in one photo. Holt estimates calories, protein, fiber, carbs and fat, with protein, fiber and water on your home summary.
• A report for your appointment. A doctor-visit PDF covering 30 days, 90 days or your full history, with suggested questions for your prescriber.

What changes when you switch?

Your weekly review changes. Instead of a target adjustment, you see your doses, your eating and how you felt on the same timeline — so a falling appetite after a dose step reads as part of a pattern, not a puzzle. That's a better conversation to bring to your prescriber than a macro chart alone.

Cost changes too. MacroFactor's listing says it has a 7-day free trial and no free subscription tier. Holt is free to download, with some features in an optional subscription.

What you'd give up: MacroFactor's adaptive expenditure estimate and coaching, its micronutrient detail, its Android and Apple Watch apps, and its sister app for workouts. Holt is iPhone only for now.

Should you stay with MacroFactor?

Stay with MacroFactor if:

• Strength training is your focus and you want a coach adjusting your macros as you go.
• You use Android or want an Apple Watch app.
• You don't need to track the medication itself — doses, sites and side effects.

Some people run both: a macro coach for training, Holt for the GLP-1 week. That's a perfectly reasonable setup.

What we'd track in your first two weeks with Holt

1. Every dose and its site, so the level chart and next-site suggestion have real data.
2. Protein at each meal, from a photo — the number most worth protecting on a GLP-1.
3. Side effects with a severity on shot day and the two days after.
4. Weight a few mornings a week, as a trend rather than a daily verdict.
5. A doctor-visit report before your next appointment.

Download Holt and track your next dose cycle

Whichever app you use, it records what you were prescribed and how you felt. Questions about your dose or protein targets belong with your prescriber or a dietitian.