For supplements containing meaningful amounts of carbohydrate, fat, protein, amino acids, or ketones, it’s probably a good idea to track them, even if the label doesn’t list any Calories.
For example, it’s not uncommon to find branched-chain amino acids products that list zero Calories per serving or fail to disclose information pertaining to Calorie content, but actually contain roughly 4kcals per gram.
An example of a supplement label reporting zero Calories per serving of branched-chain amino acids. This supplement contains 9.5g of amino acids (protein) per serving, so it actually has about 38kcal per serving
Obviously, the degree to which this Calorie tracking matters will depend on your supplement consumption habits and the precision required for your goal.
If you’ve got an intense goal for which every Calorie matters (such as high-level competitive bodybuilding) and you consume a substantial amount of energy from supplements each day, then tracking supplement Calories is advisable. Fortunately, if you use a supplement that lists inaccurate Calories on its label, MacroFactor makes it easy to stay on track by making a custom food entry with the real Calorie content.
On the other hand, if you’re just generally trying to enhance your fitness level and you only consume a single serving of branched-chain amino acids once or twice per week, then tracking supplement Calories isn’t going to meaningfully impact your progress.
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