My own journey with weight and food has been anything but straightforward.
For years I struggled with my weight, an underactive thyroid, emotional eating and what I now know as food noise. I tried diet after diet, but every evening I seemed to end up in the same cycle — thinking about food, eating in secret, feeling guilty and wondering why I couldn’t just have more self-control.
As my weight increased, I started isolating myself more and it began affecting how I felt about myself. In January 2023, I decided something had to change.
I had heard about GLP-1 medication and decided to explore that option with medical support with Rightangled. One of the biggest changes I noticed wasn’t actually the number on the scales — it was the quiet in my head.
The constant thoughts about food that had occupied so much of my day suddenly became much quieter. At first, it actually felt strange. I remember thinking “is this what it’s like not to think about food all the time?”.
That space allowed me to focus on other areas of my life. I became more productive, slept better, became fitter and started feeling like myself again.
Over my journey I’ve lost 9 stone 10 lb and gone from a size 28 to a size 8. But the biggest transformation hasn’t just been physical. It’s been understanding my relationship with food, my emotions and my own behaviour.
THE LIGHTBULB MOMENT
Later, I started CBT therapy to understand my emotional eating. I was asked to keep a diary of when I experienced food noise, or binge eating. I wrote everything down but didn’t really think much of it until I read it back with my therapist. She asked me “can you see the pattern?”. Every time I felt overwhelmed or stressed, I was reaching for food.
That was my lightbulb moment.
I hadn’t just been eating because I was hungry. Food had become one of the ways I dealt with emotions I wasn’t actually dealing with. And that’s where one of my favourite Nano Tracker features came from.
TURNING MY EXPERIENCE INTO NANO
When I began my journey, I wanted an app that understood the whole experience. I could find calorie counters everywhere, but I wanted somewhere to track things like food noise, mood, symptoms, injection sites and progress — alongside a community of people who actually understood what the journey felt like.
I also wanted somewhere people could talk openly without constantly having to use code words on social media, so I decided to build it myself.
The Food Noise & Mood Tracker was inspired directly by what I learned through CBT. Instead of making journalling feel clinical or like homework, I wanted it to be visual and easy. You can use emojis and colours to record how you’re feeling and add private diary entries. Over time, you can look back and start noticing patterns.
Maybe your stressful days keep showing up red. Maybe food noise becomes stronger when you’re tired, overwhelmed or bored. When you can see a pattern, you have a better chance of understanding it and deciding what you want to change.
BUILT BY SOMEONE WHO’S LIVED IT
I’m now maintaining my weight loss, and I’ve learned that maintenance brings its own challenges. There is no magic wand. The tools can help, but learning about your habits, movement, nutrition, emotions and triggers still matters.
That’s why Nano Tracker isn’t just about losing weight. It’s about understanding yourself along the way.
I’ve made the Food Noise & Mood Tracker, Community and core Home features free because these are the things I wish I’d had during some of the hardest parts of my own journey.
Not everyone has access to therapy. Some people don’t even feel comfortable telling their friends or family they’re using a GLP-1. Sometimes you just need somewhere to track what’s happening, understand your own patterns and talk to people who get it.
That’s what I wanted Nano Tracker to be.
Built from lived experience. Designed to make the journey feel a little less lonely and a lot more understood.
Zara, CEO & Founder - Nano Tracker
