Question: Planning Your Daily Intake VS Not Planning?

kami3006

I only prelog when I know I will be eating something high calorie and I need to work the rest of the day around it. But like lemurcat said, been doing it long enough I pretty much do it in my head daily anyway.

Kalikel

If there are leftovers that must be eaten, then I know I'm eating those at some point. Otherwise, I wing it.

I can't pre-plan. I don't know what I'm going to want when dinnertime rolls around, you know?

Why? It just works better for me that way. If you plan on spaghetti, but would rather have tacos, have tacos!

I used to work for a place that served us food - really, REALLY GOOD food - and I ate whatever the chef happened to serve us that day and it was fine, so I guess I can eat whatever is planned. But when I'm making my own food, I want to make whatever I most feel like eating, you know?

arditarose

lol no way do I wing it. Gone are those days. I'll log a day in advance even. Sometimes even a few days in advance. Over the weekend sometimes I don't know what I'm doing and will wing it, even so-if I'm going to be drinking I'll already have those drinks pre-logged.

afatpersonwholikesfood

I'm a planning winger!

I don't eat anything before logging it, and it's not unusual for me to plan out my whole day, but it's also not unusual for me to just log as I go - right before or while prepping food or as I am sitting down to eat. I don't have to worry about temptation due to not planning because there's nothing to tempt me in the house. There's plenty of food that I enjoy, but it's all nutritionally dense and calorie light or something that I don't tend to crave/overeat.

If I know I'm going out to eat or order in, then I obviously plan to make sure my calories fit - unless I'm stuck with friends/family who made a last minute choice to go out! Then I just try to look up stuff as quickly as I can and make boring food choices when in doubt. If there is a special occasion, I may even go as far as planning that day a week ahead of time.

Jruzer

I prelog as much as I can. Weekdays are mostly in my control, but I leave an 800 kcal placeholder for dinner as Mrs Jruzer often doesn't know the dinner menu until late in the day.

Weekends are a little harder so I make edumacated overestimates with placeholder foods and then replace when the food is eaten.

I'd be a little lost without prelogging.

cnbbnc

For the most part I'm a pre planner. Since I'm gone at work a good chunk of the day and I don't go out to eat at all (budgeting single mom), it kind of forces me to plan what I'm going to be eating the next day. If I'm going to be out on a weekend shopping or something I tend to pack a snack for myself that I can log easily and fits my goals.

I always make sure my plan leaves enough calories left to have a little snack/something sweet after dinner.

Kimegatron

DemoraFairy wrote: »

On weekdays I tend to plan out my main meals so that I know how many calories are left for snacks, and eat those as I want throughout the day. Though this is quite easy as on weekdays I tend to eat the same thing everyday.

On weekends I log as I go along. I usually have no idea what I'm doing for each meal on weekends until I'm actually eating it.

I'm the same way! I eat basically the same thing every Mon-Fri, with slight variations. Sometimes I will add a little something to my lunch or dinner. On weekends, I take it as it goes

Lounmoun

I'm a planner. I think about it the night before or in the morning and log in advance. It works for me.
I eat most of my meals prepared from home by me. I have dinners planned for 28 days at a time. I know the food options I have in my home. I'm not eating out or running to the store more than once a week. I don't often change my mind about what I want for my main meals within a day, although I might change my mind about a snack.
I like pre-logging because it helps me see how my choices fit my day. I can see what portion size I should have. I can see if I need to get more of a type of food. It is easy for me to just plan out the whole day and look at my diary as a reminder of what I'm going to have for lunch. If I do change my mind then I know how many calories I have available for that meal so I can find something that still fits.
I don't have to think about it as much or get a surprise at the end of the day. I know how much exercise to do for the calories I plan to consume.

Protranser

I wing it. I used to pre log when i was doing less cardio and was less active. "Winging it" is closest to how i expect the rest of my life will be in terms of eating and exercise.

ekat120

If I don't prelog, I'm almost guaranteed to go over.

entwife

I wing it but I try to eat roughly 3x400 cal meals + 300 for fruit, treats etc. I tend to rotate the same meals so I just keep the portion size around the 400 mark. I find this pretty easy to do, I've fallen off the wagon before because I got so sick of weighing and measuring and planning. Plus I love the 'frequently paired with' feature of the MFP app, as I rotate the same stuff it means I can log on the run in seconds. Love it!

rankinsect

I prelog. I'll probably always do that. I find it really helps me stay on track - I don't have to make any decisions about food while I'm hungry. It also helps form good habits in the early part of a diet - studies have shown that making a specific decision and plan in advance is about as good at getting people to do the right thing as a habit of doing the right thing.

sayyestohealthy

I couldn't pre log because i have no idea what I'll be craving that day

pstegman888

I guess you could say I'm a casual planner. I usually have a vague idea of what I want to have, as in "Let's see, for dinner, I'll have some kinda chicken dish with whatever veggies are in the fridge and if I have plenty of calories left, maybe I'll throw some cheese on." I usually just make sure I have a variety of acceptable foods on hand and put something together based on my appetite. If I go out, I look up options ahead of time so I know which choices will fit my calories. I always save a few hundred cals for late night snacks. I watch my portions and log immediately afterwards.

fishshark

i pre log but a good amount of the time dinner will change if we go out or want something else. dinner is my favorite meal so I pre log to get the most calories out of it esp so i can have some booze.

AnnPT77

Not a planner, rather a wing-it-izer, and have been since the beginning. But at this point I have a pretty good handle on the calorie count in things I like to eat, so it isn't difficult.

I don't like things to be all planned out (in general, not just food), but rather more spontaneous. I don't like to commit to specific dinners (especially) ahead of time. I don't know what will sound tasty at dinner time. Also, some of my exercise, especially in summer, is weather dependent, so I'm not always sure whether it can happen or not, and I need to accommodate that in my calorie budget.

I have more day-to-day repetition in breakfast & lunch, and dinner is where I make the major adjustments - bigger if I have lots of calories left, smaller otherwise. Biggest challenge is getting enough protein in on fewer calories, especially if the outdoor exercise fell through at the last minute (I'm vegetarian, BTW).

I mostly cook from scratch, and I live alone, so I have complete control over the calories when I eat at home, so winging it works fine.

eliza8897

I pre-log during the week. I basically eat the same lunch everyday and vary the dinner by salads or veggies. Not much variance during the week. I only have a "free" day one day a week. I live an active lifestyle so losing the weight has been relatively easy soon as I started using MFP. Good luck everyone!

scolaris

Another pre-logger here. I generally log in the breakfast, lunch & any snack I know I'll be having, then adjust my dinner around how much exercise I've gotten. If my deficit is big enough I'll add a little sumpin sumpin after my evening dog walk, like frozen banana 'fauxlato' or some dark chocolate or a glass of red wine.

Ashtoretet

I never pre log but I usually have a good idea about what I'll eat since I tend to eat the same things a lot.

IanRS

No pre planning for me.

I allow 700 calories for dinner in my thinking - sometimes it is over (generally I do not cook it), but not often - usually I have to top it up with fruit or something. I eat nothing until 1pm and then see what protein I can find and eat that together with fruits/vegetables.

It would drive me nuts to have to plan it all out in advance - especially for the week.

If I am going to an event (party, family gathering etc.) I will think about what might be there and pre-think what I am going to choose and how I will behave with respect to food. Sometimes I will drop an extra hundred or two each day for a few days ahead to give me more wiggle room. Mostly this works out but sometimes I will go off-piste :-)