Pre-logging meals

mlaird071194

Hi guys,
Something I find useful when both trying to lose weight or increase weight is to log my meals before they happen. I follow an iifym/flexible dieting protocol with my diet so I get leeway but find that if I log my meals when I think them up I will tend to stick to these and avoid replacing them with less hungry satisfying options or else missing the meal all together.

Matt

Liftng4Lis

Yep.

kshama2001

Yup. I often log as I'm thinking of the meal if it doesn't contain meat, cuz if I have too many carbs to protein chaos ensues.

I'll also prelog meals I'm eating with my SO, as these tend to be higher in calorie.

xXGearheadXx

Agreed. log em ahead, and make them fit your calorie and macro goals. I find it a lot easier to meet goals when i'm eating to a plan than eating followed by logging what i ate.

chollands29

I tend to put in a bunch of different combinations of meals and portion sizes until I find the one that fits what I'm aiming for. Sometimes I'll end up changing my dinner even after I prelogged in the morning but I still prelog right before eating it so I know I'm still okay.

chelleb1974

I find pre-logging makes me stick to my plan better. Especially when going out to eat and I know where I'm going. It's easier to stick to what I have already decided to eat than to log something different afterwards. I tend to eat the same breakfast and lunch during the work week and find it helps to pre-log these also, usually on Mondays. I then have time to think of dinners and can see what I have left to create a dinner with.

Jessyd76

So great to hear this! When I'm planning my meals for the week, I've been logging them so I can make sure I'm at or close to my target for each day. Then as I go through the day I adjust based on what I actually had. Wasn't sure if that was a good approach or not.

Lounmoun

I also find pre-logging my food useful.
If I do change my mind about something I can just try to find something around the same calorie count and adjust the log.

vivmom2014

It's personal preference. Pre-logging just wouldn't work for me - can't wrap my head around it.

nyponbell

I pre-log my larger meals (especially lunch and midday snack as I make it in advance to bring to work; and in the case of lunch, I tend to make one large batch of some soup and then save it as a "meal" so that logging is easier). For me, it helps a lot in estimating how many calories I have left, if I can "afford" this or that even though I haven't had dinner yet.

I don't log well in advance though; usually in the morning of, sometimes I might do it the night before but it's rare.

krithsai

I do it. I know all my meals for the day in advance(mostly) and I log them first thing in the morning. I do go in and make changes if I've deviated or added in an extra snack.

cookiealbright

I prelog every day.

trisH_7183

chelleb1974 wrote: »

I find pre-logging makes me stick to my plan better. Especially when going out to eat and I know where I'm going. It's easier to stick to what I have already decided to eat than to log something different afterwards. I tend to eat the same breakfast and lunch during the work week and find it helps to pre-log these also, usually on Mondays. I then have time to think of dinners and can see what I have left to create a dinner with.

This

nordlead2005

I pre-log my lunch and after dinner snack pretty much as soon as I wake up. I don't really eat breakfast.

This basically allows me to know how much I can eat throughout the day and still have enough calories for a decent dinner (500-800 calories). If I somehow have less than 500 calories available for dinner I then decide to either exercise more, skip the after dinner snack, or just lose weight slower.

Four_Leaf_Clover

Just started it this past week and it is amazing. Absolutely helps me meet my macro goals. I started with dinners. I entered all the recipes for what I would eat for the week and logged them. (I meal plan dinner for the whole family for at least a week in advance). Then the night before I log my lunch and play around with breakfast.

Really hoping I can keep it up!

PinkPixiexox

I always, always pre-log my weekdays when I'm working. The weekends I tend to take things as they come because I'm usually out and about I love pre-logging!

SingRunTing

I only prelog if I know my day will be tough to work around. Like today. We're going out to eat with friends, so I prelogged what I'm going to eat at the restaurant. It helped me plan the rest of my day so that I can stick to my goals.

callsitlikeiseeit

because we eat out so much, i feel i have to pre log - its the only way for me to keep an eye on what im taking in and lets me plan around that meal out.

salembambi

yup prelog and then make changes as i need too

1stgardengirl

I always pre-log. I have two breakfasts that I alternate to avoid boredom. Then I plan my lunches and dinners based on the proteins and fresh veges on-hand (fish, chicken, beans). Snack is almost always plain, nonfat Greek yogurt, with blueberries and 1 T minced walnuts, sometimes a second snack of fruit. Very careful about weighing, measuring. Pays to have a good scale and a grocer who will cut fish pieces to the correct size!

40andFindingFitness

I log breakfast after it happens and pre-log lunch and dinner most times. Sometimes I will wait to see if I'll eat anything else and forget to complete the diary for the day but pre-logging definitely helps me stay within my daily calories.