Logging Food in Advance - Who does it? How?

PShizle

Hi MFP Team - does anyone log their food for the day and execute the plan? Or is that a little too organized and OCD? LOL. I try to plan ahead making sure I meet my calorie goals and my nutrient goals. If you log in advance, how do you go about the process? Tx

LolBroScience

I do on some days. I just prep the food before hand, by meal and weigh it out.

Fitfornowt

Same for me; I re-plan every single day with some room for the unexpected! It's the only way I can stay on track and plan in some treats.

mccarol1956

I too try to do that. I aim for a week in advance so I know what I need for groceries and can keep on track better. I have not done this week but will be tonight. It keeps me more on plan.

cwolfman13

when I logged, that's exactly what I did. I don't find it OCD at all...I mean it's pretty normal to sit down and decide what you're going to eat for the week so that you can do the grocery shopping...from there, it was just a matter of deciding on what I was going to have on a particular day and logging it.

farfromthetree

My lunch is usually dinner leftovers so I just use quick tools to carry it over. Breakfast is usually the same or I figure that out ahead of time. Dinner can be left up in the air. I wait until I see what I am in the mood for and how many calories/how much protein I need.

ManiacalLaugh

I do because of the accountability factor. Plus, if I'm debating on a morning cheat (usually donuts), I can factor that in and see how it will affect my whole day. If it's going to push me over, I can see that right away.

On the other side though, I'm not too crazy about keeping it accurate. If I do have a cheat, I just amend things and don't feel too badly about it as long as it fits into my goals.

glassyo

I pretty much eat the same things every day so pre-logging isn't a big deal for me. Thank god for the Copy Yesterday button.

(I know...not a big help.)

usmcmp

I log most of my food in advance and leave 300ish calories in case something comes up.

Generally I make lunches for the week ahead of time. I log them first, then breakfast, and finally fill in snacks plus dinner to help meet my macros.

Alidecker

I log my day first thing in the morning during the week. I have planned my meals and cooked most of them ahead on Sunday and Monday. I tend to follow it more if I do. My weekends are not as planned though and I do those as I go.

TaurianDoll

I do when I know exactly what I'm going to eat (usually Monday through Friday). If I'm unsure about how a future meal may effect my caloric intake, I might play with some submissions to help me decide on what I will eat.

On days like today (a very stressful day), pre-planning my meal is a big help. I can't think about anything else other than all the stuff that's going on.

mlavalley73

Yes, I have been doing pre-logging to help plan out my day. I won't do it every day but it does make it easier in my opinion.

Agathokakological

When I get up in the morning I like to get through 2 bottles of water before I eat breakfast. This takes about an hour, so the last 2 days I've put my entire day worth of food into MFP before breakfast. I find it easier than when I was on WW and tracked as I ate because I would either not be able to have dinner, or I'd eat too much for the day. By putting it all in first thing in the morning I can see where my calories are at, space them out throughout the day, and play around with it to make sure I'm not too far under or over. Then as I make my way through the day I can adjust things if needed.

Bizurke51

slong4u wrote: »

Hi MFP Team - does anyone log their food for the day and execute the plan? Or is that a little too organized and OCD? LOL. I try to plan ahead making sure I meet my calorie goals and my nutrient goals. If you log in advance, how do you go about the process? Tx

heck yes at least a day in advance. There have actually been times where i've had my weak planned out. That typically only happens if I have an upcoming cheat day though. I've got my main food for tomorrow set, but still got calories to eat. Not sure what i want to eat or what I have to eat for that matter. Time for a run to the food store

spatulathumbs

Logging certain things in advance has been a really great choice for me. I typically have one of about three things for breakfast, so the night before I just prep it (overnight oats) or don't (in which case I'll have the two other things I cook in the morning) and then when i'm hungry and not yet caffeinated I can make better choices. If I log as I go I tend to not have enough for dinner.

TeaToastParis

I always log 1-2 days in advance and like to try to balance out nutrients too. It also means I can plan the days so I'm varying the meals, and won't be bored of eating similar things too close together. I always add snacks to the plan, and leave calories spare. That way if I eat the snacks or not, I have calories left to treat myself with.

kshadows

I do on days I know what I'm going to eat for the day. Most of my daytime eating is pretty similar... dinner and nighttime snack is where it gets a little murky, so logging up through lunch helps me see what I have available for dinner/snack.

Justthisgirl1994

I logged the night before for a few days last week. It was kind of fun in a weird ocd way haha it was super satisfying to go to bed knowing exactly what I'll eat tomorrow and that I will definitely be meeting my macros while at a deficit.

I pretty much just logged what I usually have as my main for breakfast (oat bran or eggs), for post workout (whey), for lunch (chicken), and for dinner (chicken again). Then I looked at my nutrition and macros to see what I was low in. If i was low in fiber I'd add raspberries for breakfast for example. If I was low on carbs I'd add quinoa or barely etc. Basically I'd play around with my side dishes until my macros were met perfectly.

I stopped doing it because the weekend happened and there's just no way I can pre plan that haha. I also didn't like that i couldn't see how much calories I had left throughout the day without doing some simple math. Deffs not a big deal, but yeah.

I'm good at sticking to my diet anyway, so don't feel like it's necessary for me to pre log. I'll probably do it the night before days I know I will be really busy though.

jaga13

I do! Every night I pre-log the next day's meals. I tend to eat the same things, so it's easy to "copy meal" to the next day. I'm not perfect, so I edit as needed. I don't pre-log if I'm going somewhere on the weekend and can't know what will be served, but most of the week I do it.

Justthisgirl1994

I logged the night before for a few days last week. It was kind of fun in a weird ocd way haha it was super satisfying to go to bed knowing exactly what I'll eat tomorrow and that I will definitely be meeting my macros while at a deficit.

I pretty much just logged what I usually have as my main for breakfast (oat bran or eggs), for post workout (whey), for lunch (chicken), and for dinner (chicken again). Then I looked at my nutrition and macros to see what I was low in. If i was low in fiber I'd add raspberries for breakfast for example. If I was low on carbs I'd add quinoa or barely etc. Basically I'd play around with my side dishes until my macros were met perfectly.

I stopped doing it because the weekend happened and there's just no way I can pre plan that haha. I also didn't like that i couldn't see how many calories I had left throughout the day without doing some simple math. Deffs not a big deal, but yeah.

I'm good at sticking to my diet anyway, so don't feel like it's necessary for me to pre log. I'll probably do it the night before days I know I will be really busy though.