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.

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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.

SezxyStef

I log on Sundays all meals including snacks to meet my goal of 1500 knowing I will be adding to it as my adjustments come through up to Friday at dinner....that is typically up in the air, as is Saturday in general.

It's easy to ensure I have hit my macros that way and I can play with it a bit if I didn't. And it makes knowing what to take out of the freezer in the morning easy.

I do change if I want/need to...it's not set in stone...

Yes I do stick to it.

AlisonH729

I kind of do this. I work in a laid back office and eat breakfast at my desk & bring lunch, so I like to keep them balanced. I usually bring a lot of the same stuff which makes it easier. But for example, if I have a sandwich for lunch I'll bring yogurt w/ berries or fruit & cottage cheese for breakfast. If I have a salad for lunch maybe I'll bring an english muffin with PB&J for breakfast. Then I also have an afternoon snack, which varies. I log everything I brought with me when I first login in the morning. Then I can see generally where I stand for dinner and can sort of brainstorm options for the rest of the day.

Case in point- planning ahead to any degree is a good idea.

qpdoll75

I think most of us have some kind of daily schedule to keep, so logging in advance is pretty easy and effective.
I always have my breakfast and lunch pre-made so I can grab and go to work. I log those either the night before or while eating breakfast at my desk. Either way, now I know how many calories I have left for the day and can plan my dinner and snacks more easily. I also think most of us have "go to" breakfast choices and we tend to know how many calories we start our day with... it sets you up for the rest of your day. I have one breakfast option that is lower cal that I use when I know I'm having a heavier dinner and one breakfast that is very healthy but also higher cal and eat this when I know I'll have a lighter dinner or lunch. Planning ahead makes a world of difference in staying on track, logging in advance is just another form of planning that gives you a visual. The only condition of this method is that you must go back and make adjustments to your log if you ate more or less.
I even log exercise in advance. It keeps me motivated and says.... YES, I will do THIS activity today for at least this amount of time! I don't want to have to change the goal I set in advance, so for me, this helps. But, you must have the ability to be honest with yourself. I guess this is true of logging in general. We should never be scared of logging honestly anyway. We are accountable only to ourselves here.

dalem48

shell1005 wrote: »

Every single day. It helps me plan better and stay accountable.

Same here.

FitPhillygirl

A few weeks ago when I used to track my food I always tracked my food for the next day the night before. That said, I don't think it actually helped one way or the other.

besee_2000

When I used to be good at counting, anytime I entered in early something would come up and I would change it. Like Murphy's Law when I try to be good it ends up being a waste of time. Now I'm trying to get back on the wagon but its not as easy as I remember it being.

EmmaFitzwilliam

If I want a calorie dense food like a cookie or a pastry during the day, I pre-log what I expect to have for dinner and see how the cookie impacts my bottom line. If it's worth the consequences, I go ahead. Or I decide I don't want to "spend" that many calories that way, and don't. Or I decide to have something else for dinner.

PeachyCarol

LolBroScience wrote: »

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

Same. Prepping in advance is a time-saver too. I generally have an idea of approximate calorie counts of my main meals on days where I'm sort of winging it as I go along. I have two meals every day that pretty much stay the same from day to day with only minor variations.

Gska17

I log my lunch, breakfast, and snacks as I prepare them the night before.

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