Depends on the runs. For shorter runs or less demanding sessions, as I’ve been eating to the macros/calories hexis recommends then it states 0g/hr as I should be fuelled enough to do the work.
For longer and more demanding runs it will give me *g/hr recommendation for carbs only. For instance, my last Sunday long run (2hr30 run) it advised 70g/hr, this was purely carbs only and totalled 180g carbs
I wonder if there is any solution for syncing the nutrition apps prospectively with Trainerroad ? I would LOVE to have a nutrition plan which is made according to my TR workouts. Any solution anyone ?
As far as I know, the various apps all sync with Trainingpeaks and other services, too. In my opinion, you could use template workouts that roughly match TSS/duration/intensity/etc. in Trainingpeaks to mimic your Trainerroad plan to have a good enough representation in the nutrition apps as well.
After the workout the apps sync the actual TSS/duration/intensity/etc. from Trainingspeaks/Garmin etc. and replace the planned template workout.
To have the actual Trainerroad plan in the apps would require Trainerroad to share it with other apps but they are limiting this (for good reason, I guess, except the very next workout which can be pushed to Garmin, Zwift etc.).
You guys taking about the Hexis Live app? It’s got terrible ratings in the App Store.
yeah and in the dedicated Hexis thread on this forum. not sure why it’s getting positive reviews in this thread.
I looked into it and there is an upfront cost similar to TR is. I didn’t want to investigate further after that.
I am using it for over 2 years. In the beginning it had glitches in the user interfaces, which I wrote in this forum as well. It still worked well with the nutrition guidance. Now, those glitches are resolved. I am a paying user of Hexis.
I signed up for the 14 day trial for MacroFactor yesterday. Currently I’m a paid subscriber to Cronometer.
There’s already some things I like about it. Its approach is legitimately “different” than how other trackers approach nutrition tracking. So I’ll give it a shot see how it goes.
The main difference is the up front nutrition estimate and adjustments based on actual response in weight trends. One of my biggest points of friction with Crono is “guessing” what I’m going to need today. Like, is it an off day? The RMR + a little is enough….like 2k calories. And that’s what I have my baseline set to. But do I have weights and 1.5h of intervals? Ok, that’s like 350 + 900 + baseline. And I usually knock these out in the afternoon or evening. So I have to “get ahead” of the calories or I’m eating right before and a larger than I’d want meal before bed.
It’s not a huge deal, but it adds a little cognitive load that can be annoying at times when you find yourself way behind….or ahead because of a skipped workout due to life.
If MF removes that friction while still hitting targets during gain/cut cycles. . . probably worth the switch by itself.
Where do people get the energy from to count what they eat in order to follow these anyway?
I have enough problem deciding what to eat, what is reasonable quick to make and doesn’t take forever to clean, is tasty, is healthy, and is affordable.
When I did gym I tracked macros, it got so exhausting.
It doesn’t take that much with a good tracker. And, generally, if your weight management is fine without tracking that’s awesome. I wouldn’t bother either.
Personally, when I’m very active I tend to under eat and lose weight. And when I’m very sedentary I tend to over eat and gain weight.
Tracking helps me maintain a healthy weight and build intuition so I can make better food choices when out and about.
I also have to watch exactly how much I eat of certain nutrients for health reasons. If I ignore that, it could literally shave many years off my expected lifespan….which is a pretty good motivator.
It’s all about having a routine. Whether I track or not I usually the same assortment of foods and that makes it easy.
Hard disagree.
Still need to weigh your food, a tracker doesn’t do that for you.
Also, I bet most people who think they know their calorie burn, don’t.
I use Macrofactor and have been tracking and weighing food since about December. If I leave the scale out on the kitchen counter it adds less than a minute to every meal. If you don’t have that sort of energy you got other problems going on.
Yea, have the energy for a 5 hour ride but not for weighing food. It’s about mental energy not physical.
Not to mention the mental load having to not only figure out what to make but in what exact amounts. And that every single day for every meal.
Most humans cannot stick to a diet. Nevermind a diet that requires this much effort. But it’s ok, because you think people that don’t wanna do this have bigger problems.
Am I misunderstanding this? Do you not remember if you have a workout planned for the day?
lol no no, of course I remember. Though with kids, etc. there can be flex (last minute I bump something to tomorrow)
Let’s see. Most tracking apps work like this.
Ok, so say you work out in the evenings. In the morning, your tracker says you need 2k calories. Now, if I know I have a workout today I have to do a mental math something like “Ok, today is 1.5h of intervals…that’s about 900c. And an hour of weights, that’s 300-400-c…sooo 1300c today. So actually I need 3300c”.
I tend to undereat, so if I don’t have this in the back of my head I’ll end up at the end up the day like 1200 calories shy with a few hours before bed. One day doesn’t matter, of course, but over time I lose weight that I don’t want to lose.
It’s really not that big of a deal. But it’s nice (interesting/different) that MF removes this kind of thinking all together.
edit
Oh. Also slightly annoying on those last minute changes when I’ve been eating like I’m doing a 3 hours of working out that day, but have to cancel because something comes up. Then I’m almost 2k over what I needed. Again, not a big deal. But MF approaches it differently by figuring out what your “true” average is based on your weight response and setting it fixed every day.
Just a note that the entire “special sauce” of MacroFactor is exactly that it accurately determines your calorie expenditure based on your weight response.
People find different things annoying. You do you as they say.
For me, good nutrition and tracking noticeably help in getting the results I want in the shortest time frame. Particularly with weight gain and loss. And at a time investment that’s a tiny, tiny fraction of other important things like just simply feeding myself or training.
And it builds an intuition that I can use to make better choices when I’m not tracking because I know the nutritional ‘cost’ of various things much better.
Ah, I see. I use LoseIt which doesn’t have any workout planning ahead of time. It just pulls in the calories from Strava. I almost always ride in the morning, which makes it a lot easier. I know I’m going to have 500 calories of toast + jam or cereal before my ride, 700 calories of overnight oats after, and 500-1000 calories of drink mix during depending on how long/hard the ride is. Then I just make up the deficit at lunch (or save the calories for dinner if my wife is making something I want to pig out on 
). If I don’t ride for some reason, I just don’t eat the two breakfasts plus carb mix. I don’t include calories from the gym, rock climbing, or walks. I figured it’s a wash since I entered “moderately active” when I set up my goals, and it seems to be working. Actual weight loss vs predicted is really close.
This is exactly what Hexis does best. It estimates fuel needs based on the scheduled workouts in addition to intra-workout fuel recommendations. I tried it last winter and it worked well for this purpose, but I wasn’t motivated enough to pay for it.
Yeah, with my tracking my weight gain/loss hews very close to exactly what I’d expect. Especially after I got a DEXA and was able to use lean mass for RMR…it increased my calories by 150 over the general population estimate for my weight/age.
I like biking in the morning. But man, the PNW is chilly for me. I find myself wanting to wait a few hours for it to warm up.
