How to use Ello

Everything you need in a five-minute read. Most people only ever use the Log food button.

Getting started

Go to app.ello-health.com and tap Sign in with Google.
Answer a few quick questions: your height, weight, year of birth and activity level. Ello uses them to set your daily targets.
Choose your practitioner from the list.
That's it. You'll land on your dashboard.

Add Ello to your home screen

Ello works like an app without an app store.

iPhone: open Ello in Safari, tap Share, then Add to Home Screen.
Android: open Ello in Chrome and tap Install when prompted, or use the ⋮ menu.

Logging food

Tap Log food at the bottom of the screen. You can add food in four ways:

Search

Type a food, like "salmon" or "chicken adobo", and pick it from the list. Then set the portion and tap add. Local NZ, Australian and Filipino foods are included.

Scan a barcode

Tap Scan barcode and point your camera at the packet. If Ello knows the product, it's added straight away.

Snap the label

If a product isn't found, Ello asks for a photo of the nutrition panel. You can add a photo of the front too, but you don't have to. Check the numbers Ello reads, fix anything that's wrong, then save. Next time anyone scans that barcode, it will be found.

Add your own food

For home recipes or anything else that's missing, use Add your own food and enter the nutrition yourself.

Saved meals: if you eat the same thing often, like your usual breakfast, save it as a meal. Next time it's one tap to log.

Your day

The ring shows how many calories you have left today, or how far over you are. Use the arrows at the top to look at other days.
Today's goals shows protein, fibre and water. Tap +250 ml each time you drink a glass of water, or tap − if you made a mistake.
Today's food lists everything you've logged. Tap an item to change the portion or delete it.

Going over by a little is normal. What matters is how your week looks overall.

Diet quality score

Open Advanced details to see your score out of 100. It's based on your last 7 days, not just today, and uses five things linked to long-term health:

Fibre: aim for 30 g a day.
Fruit and veg: aim for 5 serves a day (one serve is about 80 g).
Salt (sodium): aim for under 2,000 mg a day.
Red and processed meat: aim for no more than 2 serves a week.
Ultra-processed food: aim for under 10% of your calories.

The Biggest lift box tells you the one change that would raise your score the most. If Ello doesn't have enough information for one of the five, it shows "Not enough data" and scores you on the rest.

Targets

Tap the gear icon at the top right and choose Target Settings. Update your weight, activity level or daily calorie target there, and Ello adjusts your goals. Your practitioner can also change your targets.

Your practitioner

If you linked a practitioner when you signed up, their name appears under your greeting ("Guided by …"). Your practitioner can:

see what you log and how you're tracking, so they can give you better advice
adjust your targets

They can't log, change or delete food in your diary. Only you can.

Need help?

Send us a message using the contact form and we'll get back to you. To find out how we handle your data, read our privacy policy.