How do you plan? What sets you up for success?

lauren478

I am a planner. I tend to over plan everything and then have a hard time following through because it is so strict! When it comes to diet and fitness, what do you do to keep yourself accountable? How do you plan for meals and exercise?

jamie_reynolds

i am also a planner! but i get excited about it. trying to plan meals and exercise within my allotted calories is like a game to me. MFP keeps me accountable. i try to log my whole day in advance, so it is easier to stick to it. this is what works for me anyway.

ana3067

I don't plan... I just log food (sometimes ahead of times, often just before eating), go to the gym and do my normal routine while logging my reps/sets by hand. I don't plan for the very reason that it's too strict.

AmazonMayan

I make sure I keep good food options available in different calorie ranges so I can fit things in. I don't log ahead of time, but I guess you could call it planning since I make sure I have specific foods available for most of my eating.

I kind of have a routine for exercises but I keep it flexible. I love to go hiking and try to find a good weather day about once every week or two to fit it in and that isn't always a set day. I have to adjust other workouts around it because I don't ever want to do another leg day right before a hike day again lol.

kommodevaran

I have no plan for exercise - just try to be less lazy

Food plan - the trick is to be structured without being rigid. Sometimes things happen, and the plan has to be changed. A good plan suits you and your actual life, not some abstract ideal, and it's there to help you, it's not your boss.

I use a spreadsheet with a table showing all meals for one week per table. I enter what I want to eat for the diverse meals, and see to it that I get the required servings of fruit, vegetables and nuts - these are color coded so easy to spot. All items are easy to move around, so I like to play with my food before I enter the whole day into MFP diary and adjust if necessary. Along with entering into food plan, I check stock in freezer, fridge and pantry, and update shopping list. In the grocery store I will follow the list (after all, that is what I want), unless something isn't available or doesn't look appetizing.

Some things have to follow through, for instance if I've defrosted meat and vegetables for dinner, I WILL have that for dinner. Other meals are more open for last minute changes if I suddenly feel like something else. I aim to eat up before it spoils, and portion out for many days if necessary. I prepare just the amount I'm going to eat. I buy only what and how much I want to eat. I'll try new stuff, not everything wil be a success, but I never buy just because I "think I should".

devilwhiterose

I do crazy things like sign up for half marathons. Once I've paid my entry fee, there's no going back so I HAVE to commit towards it on the exercise portion.

As for food, I meal plan but allow myself a break on the weekends. It makes M-F easy for lunch and dinner.

PeachyPlum

I'm a planner too. A good planner always has a contingency plan, and that's what makes it work.

For exercise, I have a schedule. If I can't follow the schedule, I have a backup workout. Example: Friday I injured my foot running. I was supposed to run yesterday, but I rode my bike instead. Tonight I was going to try a short run again, but it's supposed to rain, so I'll do cardio and bodyweight stuff indoors instead.

For food, I just sort of mentally categorize my food into groups based on how many hundreds of calories, rounded. If I know I'm shooting for 700-800 calories for today's lunch, I grab that many calories based on what looks good.

Today, I grabbed
1x 300 Calorie Item (Quinoa Casserole, 304 calories)
1x 200 Calorie Item (1oz Almonds, 160 calories)
2x 100 Calorie Items (Hard Boiled Egg, 84 calories and Greek Yogurt, 65 calories)
1x 50 Calorie Items (Spinach Salad, 35 calories topped with Kidney Beans, 55 calories)

For a grand total of 800 calories (or 703, if I sit down with a calculator).

At dinner time, I'll see that I have about 800 calories left, so I'll have an entrée that's about 400 calories, then check my macros to see what I need. If I see I'm low on fat, I'll have some fruit with peanut butter. If I see I'm low on protein, I'll make a protein shake. And so on.

Sweets1954

I try to plan some things ahead of time. I will make stuff to grab and go for breakfast, usually for a week, sometimes for two. I will make ahead things to take to work for lunch or to keep in my desk and mini fridge for lunches and snacks. Dinner I can rarely plan as my husband had taken over the cooking in the evenings. I try to keep my calories lower during the day to compensate for whatever he springs on me. If he decides to go out to dinner or we have something planned on the weekend, I don't sweat it as I try to stay a little under most days. My issue is vacations, I can't log while I'm gone and often what is available is not that good.

jessicapk

jmeprich wrote: »

i am also a planner! but i get excited about it. trying to plan meals and exercise within my allotted calories is like a game to me. MFP keeps me accountable. i try to log my whole day in advance, so it is easier to stick to it. this is what works for me anyway.

I'm the same way. I pre-plan everything! They key is to know where I'm weak. I don't go over calories and expect myself to work out to make up for the overage. It might not happen. I leave enough calories to have a big dinner because I want a big dinner and, no matter how larger my breakfast or lunch was, I still expect to get it. Those are my main shortfalls and I work around them. Know your weaknesses.

I also make my lunches for work in advance so I know up front what I'm working with. My breakfasts are basic and are the same most days. I make sure I have things in "stock" at work so I don't panic, forget to pick something up, and decide to grab Burger King instead. Not saying anything against Burger King, but my 2 croissanwiches in the morning get in the way of my big dinner, a higher priority

999tigger

I'm a planner or more accurately a thinker.
Food I eat what I want as long as its within my guidelines. In any given day I will have vegfruit, protein and some complex carbs plus I use surplus calories on treats. I shop on the basis I have available food fo a number of meals and im close to shops so its easy for me to get new supplies.

Exercise as long as its within the guidelines, but I do take notes of my exercise, records times, distances and weights so I can chart my progress. Keeps me focused and makes sure I get done what needs to be done.

Planning is great make sure your plan has the unerlying knowledge behind it and is sufficiently flexible. I dont log in advance becayse I like to feel I have choice.

CrabNebula

I plan based on a number of calories and grams of protein I want to eat in a day. I am one of those weirdos that can eat the same thing every day for most meals for weeks on end (very true for breakfast and lunch during the workweek), so once I get settled in, it just goes on auto-pilot. For dinner, I have a rotation of about 15-20 meals that I know the exact calorie/protein count of 90% of the time. I generally decide every two weeks what we are having for dinner when I do the biweekly grocery shop.

For exercise, I have just also made it an auto-pilot habit of doing during my lunch hour. I don't question it, just go change into my gym clothes and do it. I pick one weekend day now to get up early and go to the gym.

If I cheat myself, what have I gained?

njitaliana

I make my weekly meal list. Then I make the grocery list based on the meal list. Then I prelog everything. I've prelogged up till Sunday night, and it's only Tuesday morning, LOL. I go to physical therapy twice a week and work out a lot there. I can't miss, as I have appointments. It's harder for me to stick to my at-home workouts. I find having things planned out like that helps me stick to what I'm supposed to do. Not that I don't slip up (ugh, my stomach still hurts from Easter dessert), but I find that planning and making appts helps a lot.

thatguynick

I am a creature of habit, so I mostly eat the same thing every day. Dinners are wild cards however. In the morning I eat 2 servings of oatmeal, during the week I have a grilled chicken sandwich and cheddar sun chips for lunch, and on the weekends I'm currently eating 2 corn dogs for lunch. I have been purchasing lean cuisine and smart ones meals for dinner.

RavenLibra

S.M.A.R.T goals... SPECIFIC, MEASURABLE,ACHIEVABLE, REALISTIC, TIMELY... I will lose 50 lbs in 2 months...umm not going to happen...without medical intervention... just as an example of a none too smart goal... MY goal.. bring your attention to the concept of smart goals... google it... read about it... enact it... and BE the success you know you can achieve... YOU are welcome

RavenLibra

'cause Emu's just wanna be helpful

urloved33

I plan all my meals. all my shopping by lists and all my workout times and days. i plan everything. it works for me this way.

robynmoosehead

I like to plan after lunch. Breakfast is usually one of five options but when it comes to lunch, I have what a fancy, log it then plan my dinner around what I've got left. I work weird hours so find lunch so much more fun than dinner.

queenofknots

I plan all my meals a week in advance - sometimes more. I live alone, so I usually only cook twice a week and eat leftovers the other days, which makes logging in advance a lot easier. I'm completely flexible about my meal plan changing if things come up, but having it keeps me on track when I'm shopping and cooking. It also means fewer surprises, because I build my recipes out and know roughly how many calories they will be before I even make them.

I tend to plan my exercise as well because I usually go to the gym after work, which requires packing a gym bag in the morning. I don't usually log the exercise until I'm done, though.

snaptate

lauren478 wrote: »

I am a planner. I tend to over plan everything and then have a hard time following through because it is so strict! When it comes to diet and fitness, what do you do to keep yourself accountable? How do you plan for meals and exercise?

snaptate

I food prep on Sundays for the week. I also write down my outcome goal and behaviors I need to change and then add limiting factors when they come up. Once I complete 2 constant weeks of changing one behavior goal, I then cross off and move on to the next. If you try and change 2 or more things at once it becomes overwhelming. Successes happen with baby steps.

flatlndr

I log my meals before I eat them. Gives me a chance to a) check my calorie count, b) check my macros split, and c) make a change, if needed, *before* I eat. Then I'm mindful of what I eat, and there are no surprises at the end of the day.

ETA: I have a weekly schedule of 3 days lifting, 2 days cardio, 1 day rest, 1 day optional. By having that "free" day, I have the flexibility to move things around, when life happens.

natboosh69

I'm a planner I log at least a week in advance. I would just do it each day instead, only I usually have at least one meal a week out or at my boyfriend's, so I have to allow for that If I don't know what I'll be eating on a certain day for any reason, I will just 'quick add' my daily amount so I can plan the other days.

mpat81

PeachyPlum wrote: »

I'm a planner too. A good planner always has a contingency plan, and that's what makes it work.

For exercise, I have a schedule. If I can't follow the schedule, I have a backup workout. Example: Friday I injured my foot running. I was supposed to run yesterday, but I rode my bike instead. Tonight I was going to try a short run again, but it's supposed to rain, so I'll do cardio and bodyweight stuff indoors instead.

For food, I just sort of mentally categorize my food into groups based on how many hundreds of calories, rounded. If I know I'm shooting for 700-800 calories for today's lunch, I grab that many calories based on what looks good.

Today, I grabbed
1x 300 Calorie Item (Quinoa Casserole, 304 calories)
1x 200 Calorie Item (1oz Almonds, 160 calories)
2x 100 Calorie Items (Hard Boiled Egg, 84 calories and Greek Yogurt, 65 calories)
1x 50 Calorie Items (Spinach Salad, 35 calories topped with Kidney Beans, 55 calories)

For a grand total of 800 calories (or 703, if I sit down with a calculator).

At dinner time, I'll see that I have about 800 calories left, so I'll have an entrée that's about 400 calories, then check my macros to see what I need. If I see I'm low on fat, I'll have some fruit with peanut butter. If I see I'm low on protein, I'll make a protein shake. And so on.

Love this approach! I'm going to try it. I am always within my calories but my macros are way off some days. This seems like a good way to fix that problem.

mariel918

I just started recently pre-logging about 75% of my food the night before when I pack meals for work. I typically enter breakfast, lunch and snacks. Then depending on whether I have left overs I'll log my dinner too. The 25% usually goes towards snacks, another side for dinner, or a treat.

Since I am a big snacker so it has been incredibly helpful in keeping me accountable in making sure I don't accidentally over eat and log and realizing after the fact I ate to much. For exercise though I always wait until I'm finished eating for the day before logging. Otherwise I feel I'd be too tempted to eat back my calories.

Find what works for you!