Best Apps for Cutting Weight for a Fight (2026 Comparison)
By Simon Jounan · Founder of MyFightPrep · Kickboxer & Muay Thai fighter
Published · 6 min read
MyFightPrep, Cronometer, MyFitnessPal, Lose It! and YAZIO compared for a weight cut: what each app does, what is free and what a fighter actually needs.
Contents
Disclosure: we make MyFightPrep, one of the apps on this list. We have tried to be fair. Every feature and price-tier claim about the other apps comes from their own websites and help centres (checked October 2026, linked in the sources). If something has changed, tell us and we will update the page.
Short answer: for logging food during camp, a general calorie tracker like Cronometer or MyFitnessPal works well. If you also want the app to plan toward a weigh-in date (the weekly pace to your class, fight week, water and sodium, and the refuel after the scale), you need an app built for weight-class athletes, such as MyFightPrep.
What a weight cut app needs to do
A fight cut is not a normal diet: it has a fixed date, a fixed number and a recovery window. The research describes two phases, and a useful app supports both.
- Camp: slow fat loss. The ISSN recommends losing about 0.5–1 kg per week during camp (Ricci et al., 2025). In elite athletes, about 0.7 % of body weight per week preserved lean mass better than a faster rate (Garthe et al., 2011). So the app should show your weekly trend against the date, not just today’s number.
- Fight week: a small, planned acute cut. The ISSN puts supervised acute water loss at about 2–4 % of body mass in the final 24 hours, and the safe size depends on the time between weigh-in and fight (Ricci et al., 2025). Cuts of about 5 % in under 24 hours impair repeat-effort performance (Barley et al., 2019).
- After the scale: rehydrate and refuel. The fight happens after the weigh-in, so the plan has to continue past it.
The ACSM consensus statement adds the most important rule: start early and avoid large, late cuts, which are linked to serious harm (Burke et al., 2021). The best feature an app can have is an early warning that your target is unrealistic.
Comparison table
| App | Free version | Photo logging | Weigh-in plan | Fight week | Built for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MyFightPrep | Yes (beta) | Included | Yes | Yes | Weight-class athletes: MMA, boxing, Muay Thai, kickboxing, BJJ, wrestling |
| Cronometer | Yes | Gold | – | – | Detailed nutrition tracking, including vitamins and minerals |
| MyFitnessPal | Yes | Premium | – | – | Calorie and macro logging |
| Lose It! | Yes | Premium¹ | – | – | Calorie counting for weight loss |
| YAZIO | Yes | Pro | – | – | Calorie counting and intermittent fasting |
Sources: Cronometer, MyFitnessPal, Lose It!, YAZIO. “–” means we found no weigh-in or fight-week planning (water loading, sodium, refuel) on the app’s own pages. It does not mean you cannot plan it manually. ¹ Free members can try Snap It three times.
MyFightPrep: best for planning the whole cut
MyFightPrep is built around one question: will you make weight on fight day? You log a morning weigh-in, and the app shows your weight trend against your fight date and the weekly pace you need. In fight week it gives you a daily target weight, water loading and sodium targets, and then a plan for the refuel after the weigh-in. Meals are logged with an AI meal scanner, and training sits in the same app.
- Best for: fighters with a date and a weight class to make.
- Strengths: the camp and fight-week phases in one plan; built on the ISSN and ACSM guidance cited above; free during the beta.
- Limits: a newer app. It runs in the browser today, with App Store and Google Play versions on the way. If you want detailed vitamin and mineral tracking, Cronometer goes deeper.
Want to check your numbers first? The free weight cut calculator shows the weekly pace and fight-week cut for your weight class.
Cronometer: best for detailed nutrition data
Cronometer is a nutrition tracker known for detail. It tracks macros as well as vitamins and minerals, and the free version includes a barcode scanner (Cronometer). Photo logging, where you take a picture and Cronometer detects the foods, is part of the paid Gold subscription (Cronometer; Cronometer Help Center).
- Best for: fighters who want precise food data during camp.
- Limits for a cut: no fight-week, water loading or weigh-in planning described on its pages. You plan the acute phase yourself.
MyFitnessPal: best known, with a large user base
MyFitnessPal is the calorie tracker most people have heard of. The free version covers food and exercise logging, recipes and body measurements. Meal Scan (photo logging), the barcode scanner and intermittent fasting tools are Premium features (MyFitnessPal Help Center).
- Best for: fighters who already use it and only need calorie logging in camp.
- Limits for a cut: the barcode scanner is not free, and there is no weigh-in or fight-week planning described.
Lose It!: best for simple calorie counting
Lose It! is a straightforward calorie counter with a weight loss plan. Calorie tracking and a personal weight loss plan are in the free version (Lose It! App Store listing). Its AI tools, Snap It (photo logging) and voice logging, are Premium features. Free members can try each of them three times (Lose It!).
- Best for: a simple daily calorie target in camp.
- Limits for a cut: built for general weight loss, not a weigh-in on a date.
YAZIO: best if you also use intermittent fasting
YAZIO combines calorie counting with fasting timers. The free diary covers meals, water intake and body weight, and the 16:8 fasting plan is free. Other fasting plans, weekly and monthly analysis and AI photo tracking are part of YAZIO Pro (YAZIO Help Center; AI tracking).
- Best for: fighters who like a fasting window during camp.
- Limits for a cut: water logging is not the same as a fight-week water plan, and there is no weigh-in planning described.
Calorie tracker vs. fight-camp app
A calorie tracker answers “what did I eat?”. A fight-camp app answers “will I make weight, and how?” Both are useful. The difference shows up in the last two weeks:
| Question | Calorie tracker | Fight-camp app |
|---|---|---|
| Am I losing at the right pace for my date? | You work it out from the graph | Shown against the weigh-in date |
| How much has to come off in fight week? | Not covered | Calculated from your trend |
| How much water and salt, day by day? | Not covered | Planned toward the weigh-in |
| What do I do after the scale? | Not covered | Refuel and rehydration plan |
If you use a calorie tracker, pair it with a written fight-week plan from your coach. Our guide on how to cut weight for a fight has a week-by-week timeline you can follow.
How to choose
- You have a fight date and a weight class: pick an app that plans toward the weigh-in, or use a tracker plus a coach’s fight-week plan.
- You want maximum food detail: Cronometer.
- You already log in MyFitnessPal or Lose It!: keep using it for camp, and plan fight week separately.
- You fast during camp: YAZIO handles the fasting window, but not the weigh-in.
- Whatever you choose: weigh in every morning, judge the weekly average and start early. A realistic weight class matters more than any app.
Important
This guide is general information, not medical advice. Rapid weight loss and dehydration can be dangerous and have caused deaths. If you are under 18, follow your federation’s weight-management rules and do not dehydrate to make weight. Work with your coach and a doctor or sports dietitian.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best app for cutting weight for a fight?
It depends on what you need. A general calorie tracker such as Cronometer or MyFitnessPal handles food logging well. An app built for weight-class athletes, such as MyFightPrep, also plans toward the weigh-in date: weekly pace, fight week, water and sodium, and the refuel afterwards.
Can I use MyFitnessPal or Cronometer for a weight cut?
Yes, for the camp phase. Both log calories and macros, which is most of the work while you lose body fat. Neither describes fight-week, water loading or weigh-in planning on its feature pages, so you would plan those parts yourself or with your coach.
Which weight cut apps have photo meal logging for free?
Among the general trackers compared here, none include photo logging in the free version as of October 2026: it is part of Cronometer Gold, MyFitnessPal Premium, Lose It! Premium (free members get three tries) and YAZIO Pro. MyFightPrep's AI meal scanner is included while the app is free during the beta.
Do I need an app to cut weight?
No. A scale, a notebook and a good coach work. An app makes it easier to see the weekly trend instead of single weigh-ins, and to spot early whether your weight class is realistic, which is where most cuts go wrong.
Sources
This guide is based on the works below. Numbers in the text refer to them.
- Ricci AA, Evans C, Stull C, Peacock CA, French DN, Stout JR, et al. (2025). International Society of Sports Nutrition Position Stand: Nutrition and Weight Cut Strategies for Mixed Martial Arts and Other Combat Sports
- Burke LM, Slater GJ, Matthews JJ, Langan-Evans C, Horswill CA (2021). ACSM Expert Consensus Statement on Weight Loss in Weight-Category Sports
- Garthe I, Raastad T, Refsnes PE, Koivisto A, Sundgot-Borgen J (2011). Effect of Two Different Weight-Loss Rates on Body Composition and Strength and Power-Related Performance in Elite Athletes
- Barley OR, Chapman DW, Abbiss CR (2019). The Current State of Weight-Cutting in Combat Sports
- Cronometer (2026). Cronometer: nutrition tracking app (barcode scanning free)
- Cronometer (2026). Cronometer Gold: features
- Cronometer (2026). Mobile – Photo-Logging (Help Center)
- MyFitnessPal (2026). The difference between Free, Premium, and Premium+ (Help Center)
- Lose It! (2026). Lose It! – Calorie Counter App (App Store listing: free and Premium features)
- Lose It! (2026). 10 Lose It! Hacks You Need to Know
- YAZIO (2026). What is the AI Calorie Tracking Feature, and how does it work? (Help Center)
- YAZIO (2026). Tutorial of the Yazio app (Help Center)