Welcome to TCT! You're about to start a journey toward understanding how your diet affects your health. Here's everything you need to know to get set up and start tracking.
Sign Up Process
Step 1: Start Your Free Trial
Select any "Get Started" button on the TCT website.
Step 2: Create Your Account
Follow the prompts to set up your account credentials.
Step 3: Choose Your Subscription
Select the subscription plan that works best for you. All plans activate after your 7-day free trial ends.
No in-app purchases. No hidden fees. No premium tiers.
You get access to ALL features immediately—food correlation analysis, nutrient tracking, barcode scanning, recipe builder, AI label reader, and more.
Check Your Email
After signing up, you'll receive a welcome email with:
- Instructions for downloading the app from the App Store
- Account activation link
- Getting started tips
Download the app and activate your account before diving in.
Essential First Steps
1. Update Your Settings (Do This First)
Why it matters: TCT needs your demographic information to set up your Standard Goal Profile.
Tap the gear icon (bottom ribbon) → Settings
Fill in:
- Activity level
- Sex
- Year of birth
What this does:
TCT creates your Standard Goal Profile based on the USDA's Dietary Guidelines for Americans. This profile guides your daily nutrition targets until you create custom profiles later.
Without this info, your nutrient tracking won't be accurate.
2. Flag Known Allergens or Ingredients
If you already know what you need to avoid (diagnosed allergies, known sensitivities), set them up now.
In Settings:
- Flag Ingredients → Search and flag problem ingredients
- Flag Allergens → Select from the top 9 common allergens
Why now? You'll get instant alerts (red flag with text) when these items appear in foods you log—preventing accidental exposures from day one.
(See the "Flag & Avoid Trigger Foods" tutorial for details.)
3. Take the App Tour
Explore these core features before you start tracking:
Food Logger
- Barcode scanner
- Text search
- Recipes and custom foods
- Favorites
Symptom Logger
- Common symptoms (backed by research)
- Custom symptoms
- Severity tracking
Dashboard
- Daily nutrient tracking
- Suspect food correlations
- Symptom-nutrient correlations
- Logging calendar
Tutorials: Access step-by-step guides for every feature (you're reading one now!).
Your First Week: Building the Foundation -Start Logging Both Food AND Symptoms
Don't wait to add symptoms. Log both from the start.
Food:
- Use the barcode scanner whenever possible (most accurate for packaged foods)
- Log every meal and snack
- Include portion sizes
- Check the time/date before saving
Symptoms:
- Log as they happen (or as soon as you notice them)
- Use common symptoms when available (you get nutrient analysis)
- Be consistent with severity ratings
- Make sure time/date are accurate
Goal: Build the habit. Don't worry about analysis yet—just focus on consistent, accurate logging.
Explore Your Dashboard and Analysis Tools
By now you'll start seeing data populate:
Nutrient Tracking: Shows your daily intake vs. goals. Use this to spot if you're consistently low or high on specific vitamins or minerals.
Symptom-Nutrient Correlations: Immediate, actionable insights! TCT checks if your intake is outside the healthy range for nutrients linked to your symptoms (based on NIH research). Use these insights right away to adjust which foods you eat and start addressing potential deficiencies or excesses.
Example: You log headaches. TCT checks if you're low in Vitamin A or high in zinc (both linked to headaches) and flags it if your intake is outside the healthy range.
Use this right away to start thinking about which nutrients to watch.
Suspect Food Correlations - You'll see which foods, ingredients, and allergens appeared before your symptoms—valuable leads to watch and track. As you accumulate 3-4 weeks of data, the scores and confidence levels become reliable enough to make elimination decisions with certainty
Logging Calendar: Shows your tracking consistency. Aim for complete days (both food and symptoms logged).
Watch Items (if you flagged any): See how often you're consuming flagged ingredients or allergens over the past 3 weeks.
What to Expect: Timeline
Week 1:
- Nutrient correlations start working immediately
- Food correlations appear; socre and confidence build as you add meals and symptoms
- Focus on building the logging habit
Week 2:
- Dashboard fills in with trends
- You'll spot nutrient patterns (always low in iron? High in sodium?)
- Food correlations start showing more data
Week 3-4:
- Food correlation scores and confidence become meaningful
- You can start identifying real triggers
- Patterns emerge in symptom timing and frequency
Week 5+:
- Analysis tools are fully powered
- You have enough data to test eliminations confidently
- TCT adapts to your unique patterns
Tips for Success
✅ Log every day - Consistency is everything
✅ Log in real-time when possible - You'll remember details better
✅ Use barcode scanning - Most accurate method for packaged foods
✅ Be honest with portion sizes - Accuracy matters
✅ Don't skip symptoms - Even mild ones provide valuable data
✅ Check your Dashboard regularly - Watch for patterns early
✅ Give it 3-4 weeks before making big changes - Let the data accumulate
✅ Start simple - Don't try to use every feature at once
What If I Miss a Day?
Don't stress. Life happens.
Just pick back up the next day and keep going. TCT's analysis works best with consistent data, but a few missed days won't ruin everything.
The key: Get back on track immediately instead of giving up.
Getting Help
Need more guidance?
Articles: Learn Pro-tips about the app and how to interpret what your are seeing.
Support: Visit [support page/email] for technical help or questions.
Have a specific question about a feature? Check these tutorials:
- Log Your Meals Quickly
- Create Custom Foods & Recipes
- Log Your Symptoms
- Track Your Nutrients at a Glance
- Find Foods That Trigger Your Symptoms
- Check If Nutrient Imbalances Are Causing Symptoms
- Flag & Avoid Trigger Foods
- Stay on Track with the Logging Calendar
- Your Dashboard Guide
Ready to Start?
Here's your action plan:
Right now:
- Update your demographics in Settings
- Flag any known allergens or ingredients
- Explore the app features
Today:
- Log your next meal; if you can remember past meals, you can backdate the information. This data will be useful, especially if you are experiencing a symptom now.
- Log any symptoms you're experiencing
This week:
- Log every meal and symptom
- Check your Dashboard daily
- Get comfortable with the logging tools
This month:
- Review food correlations as scores develop
- Use nutrient tracking to adjust your diet
- Start identifying patterns
Bottom Line: TCT works best when you commit to daily logging from day one. Update your settings, flag known triggers, and start tracking both food and symptoms immediately. Nutrient insights appear right away, but food correlation analysis needs 3-4 weeks to show reliable patterns. Be patient, stay consistent, and let TCT do the detective work for you.