Adding before eating?

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  • zillah73
    zillah73 Posts: 505 Member
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    I pre-plan every meal I make at home. If I am going out to eat and know where I am going, I will sometimes look through the menu ahead of time, select my meal and add it. The unplanned calories are the ones that have nailed my progress to the wall in the past.
  • Fredderfy
    Fredderfy Posts: 30 Member
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    The only time I do it is if I know I'm going to have a takeaway so that I know how much I am allowing myself so that I don't end up with the mentality of "Oh well I'll just eat it all. And actually, I'll have the Naan bread AND the rice because, you know, I've done so well lately...". etc.

    Sometimes I do it if I know I'm not going to go back on the computer that night.
  • iLoveMyPitbull1225
    iLoveMyPitbull1225 Posts: 1,690 Member
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    I plan everything I eat, and always pre-log it. It makes it so much easier!
  • MzManiak
    MzManiak Posts: 1,361 Member
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    Curious if anyone else does this- dinner is always my favorite meal of the day, as I am not usually very hungry until around 5. I also absolutely love home cooking a great meal for myself and my husband. With that in mind, it is always my biggest meal- I make sure it's loaded with protein, veggies, good fats.

    Does anyone else add in foods to their diary they know they will eat before eating them? I like to put in what I plan to eat for dinner early in the day, so that I can keep my lunch/snacks in the right ballpark- making sure I'm eating enough, but not going over my calories.

    If I don't put in my dinner calories, I find that I either am far under my calories after dinner (I'm trying to build muscle, and pretty close to my goal weight, so undereating is not my friend), or on the rare days that I do feel like munching a bit before dinner, not having enough calories to eat as much as I would like of the dish I spent an hour and a half preparing!

    Any potential downsides of doing this?

    I try to plan all my meals and snacks and log them the night before. Otherwise I may not meet every macro.
    The only downside is possibly not eating everything and then being under goal. But, if you eat when hungry and not necessarily wait for a specific time, and monitor where you're at during the day, you should be good.
  • bugginmary
    bugginmary Posts: 44 Member
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    I usually like to add in my favorites so I can budget the rest of my meals around my favorite one. :)
  • GormanGhaste
    GormanGhaste Posts: 430 Member
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    I will do it if I want to make sure to have enough calories for something in particular, or if I'll be eating away from home for dinner. I can always go back and change it if I end up eating something different.
  • RoyBeck
    RoyBeck Posts: 947 Member
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    I do mine the night before sometimes!! That way I know how long I need to do in the gym and whether any snacks are forthcoming!
  • mrsriisky
    mrsriisky Posts: 129 Member
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    Wow, so many responses! Now I don't feel weird for doing this! Something else I've been doing, since starting 30 day shred- I put in my workout as I'm starting the DVD. It keeps me motivated- I already put in the time, I don't want to have to delete it and disappoint myself!
  • nettechase24
    nettechase24 Posts: 3
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    i add before i eat all the time so i can make sure i don't go over and i love home cooked food..if its too much i take it off and find another option instead of cooking it and eating it and being over
  • pinkledoodledoo
    pinkledoodledoo Posts: 290 Member
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    What works best for me is logging all of my food the night before and preparing my at-work meals/snacks at night so that my choices don't get derailed if I'm running late in the morning. This also helps me with meeting my macros, since I can decide whether or not to eat something ahead of time and whether or not it's beneficial to meeting my goals. I don't see a downside to pre-logging, as long as you correct any entries that end up being different.
  • mrsriisky
    mrsriisky Posts: 129 Member
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    I usually like to add in my favorites so I can budget the rest of my meals around my favorite one. :)

    Yup, that's pretty my exactly what I was trying to describe! I'm not usually too hungry during the day, so it's not a big deal to me to eat 500-700 calories throughout the day if I can have a big, fulfilling meal full of nutrients in the evening!
  • KathyPerry70
    KathyPerry70 Posts: 40 Member
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    I absolutley log food before I've eaten it. It's all part of planning the day. I love the old saying "if you fail to plan then plan to fail". I bring my lunch and snacks to work with me and there's very little chance I won't each what I've brought. So I get it all logged as soon as I have a moment to spare. If, for whatever reason, I eat something completely different, I can always go back and change it. But, like you said, logging what you know you're going to eat allows you to make better choices for the unknowns.
  • chezjuan
    chezjuan Posts: 747 Member
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    I sometimes do. If I plan to go out to eat (esp. at a chain), I'll try to plan my meal. Or, if I am thinking about eating something and look it up in the MFP database, I'll add it rather than wait until I actually eat it.
  • SoDamnHungry
    SoDamnHungry Posts: 6,998 Member
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    I always do it.
  • GurleyGirl524
    GurleyGirl524 Posts: 578 Member
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    Yes, yes, and yes. Logging my entire day ahead of time helps me not only to plan better, but helps me to stick to that plan.
  • generallyme2
    generallyme2 Posts: 403 Member
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    Yes, I do! I found that I won't go over what's in my log if I pre-plan it vs add in as I go. I usually put in my dinner in the afternoon and dessert too if I have room for it. I will hit the 'complete entry' button if I think I might try to binge and for some reason that send me a mental signal that the kitchen is CLOSED for the night and I don't eat anything else lol

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