The Honest Read
MyFitnessPal is the most popular calorie tracker on the planet, and it's good at what it does — logging food. The database is enormous, the barcode scanner works, and the free tier gives you enough to track a basic caloric deficit. For general weight management without athletic performance goals, it's a perfectly fine tool.
Here's where it falls apart for cyclists. MyFitnessPal treats every day the same. Set your macro targets once and they stay there — whether you're resting, doing a two-hour Zone 2 ride, or racing a 140km sportive. That's a fundamental problem for anyone training with periodisation, because your body's fuel requirements shift substantially between rest and training. An 82kg male cyclist on Hexis's FFTWR model eats around 1,750 kcal with 123g of carbs on a rest day. On a moderate training day, that same rider gets 1,953 kcal with 157g of carbs. On a competition day, it climbs to 2,309 kcal with 219g of carbs. MyFitnessPal doesn't know the difference.
The FFTWR methodology matters. Fuel For The Work Required — developed by Dr Sam Impey and Professor James Morton at Liverpool John Moores University — is the approach Hexis automates. The principle is simple: match your carbohydrate intake to the training you're actually doing. Low-intensity or rest days get lower carbs and a mild energy deficit that supports body composition. High-intensity training days get higher carbs to protect session quality and recovery. Competition days get full restoration plus a carb-loading bonus. It's the same framework used by Ineos Grenadiers, EF Education-EasyPost, and Tudor Pro Cycling.
Anthony ran this model for twelve months. He went from 86kg to 79kg — eating more food on training days than he'd ever eaten before. That's the counterintuitive result that periodised nutrition produces and calorie restriction can't: you eat more when you need it, less when you don't, and the body composition follows because you're never under-fuelled when it counts. MyFitnessPal would have given him the same 1,800 kcal target every day and left his Thursday threshold session cooked.
MyFitnessPal's strengths, plainly. The food database is bigger — 14 million entries versus Hexis's million-plus. The social features are more developed. The free tier is useful for someone who's never tracked food before. If you don't train with structure — if you ride when you feel like it and don't follow a plan — MyFitnessPal is probably enough. The moment you start periodising your training, your nutrition needs to follow. That's where Hexis sits.
The cost question. MyFitnessPal is free at the basic tier, or $19.99/month for Premium. Hexis is around $20/month. The free MFP tier is a fair starting point — but Premium MFP and Hexis cost roughly the same, and Hexis gives you something MFP fundamentally doesn't: nutrition that moves with your training. If you're paying for a nutrition app as a structured cyclist, Hexis earns it. If you're counting calories as a general health tool, MFP is the right choice.
Can you use both? Some riders use Hexis for macro targets and MFP for food logging, though Hexis has its own database and logging built in. The workflow that works best for most cyclists is picking one and using it properly. If you train with structure and care about performance-led nutrition, Hexis. If you just want a food diary, MFP. The fuelling calculator gives you the periodised numbers for free if you want to try the approach before committing to either app.
If you want to try Hexis, Roadman readers get 25% off with code CARBS25 — sign up here.
FAQ
Is MyFitnessPal good enough for cycling?
For tracking food, yes. For fuelling training, no. MyFitnessPal doesn't adjust to your training day — it gives you the same calorie target whether you're resting or racing. Any cyclist following a structured plan will eventually outgrow a static calorie tracker. Hexis fills the gap MFP leaves by periodising your macros to your session type, intensity and duration.
What does periodised nutrition actually mean?
It means your daily carbohydrate, protein and fat targets change based on what training you're doing. Rest days get fewer carbs (~123g for an 82kg male cyclist). Training days get more (~157g). Competition days get the most (~219g with carb loading). The principle — Fuel For The Work Required — was developed by Dr Sam Impey and Professor James Morton and is the methodology Hexis automates.
Is Hexis worth the money compared to a free tracker?
If you train with structure and want your nutrition to match, yes. Hexis runs around $20/month — roughly the same as MyFitnessPal Premium. The difference is that Hexis adjusts your macros to each day's training, provides in-ride fuelling targets, and handles competition carb-loading. MFP Premium gives you a bigger food database and barcode scanning without any training awareness. The value depends on whether you need a food diary or a fuelling system.
Can I use both Hexis and MyFitnessPal?
You can, but most riders find it redundant. Both have food databases and logging. The cleaner workflow is picking the tool that matches your goal: Hexis if you want periodised macro targets driven by your training, MFP if you want a simple calorie tracker. If you want to try periodised nutrition before paying for Hexis, the Roadman fuelling calculator gives you the same FFTWR-based numbers for free.
Does Hexis have a food database like MyFitnessPal?
Yes — Hexis has over a million foods in its database with barcode scanning. It's smaller than MFP's 14 million entries, but most cyclists find it covers the meals they actually eat. The real difference isn't database size — it's that Hexis uses your food log inside a periodised framework that adjusts daily, while MFP treats every day the same regardless of training.