Do you plan out your menu each day or figure it out as you go along?

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AriesGal329
AriesGal329 Posts: 236 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I'm finding if I plan my daily menu first thing in the morning it helps me stay on track. I work from home, so this is pretty easy for me. The only challenge is when I join friends for lunch or dinner. Any tips?? Does anyone actually plan their menu weekly?
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Replies

  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
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    I make a general plan for the week and then decide the specifics the night before. It works really well for me.
  • merbear787
    merbear787 Posts: 82 Member
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    I plan it weekly! I usually pick 2 or 3 recipes for lunch and dinner that I know what the calories are and that are homemade. I make them a day or two ahead, and then plan ahead for a treat meal on the weekend with friends. It helps me a lot!
  • sianlr87
    sianlr87 Posts: 72 Member
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    I plan my meals weekly so it makes it easier for me to do my shopping. If it's not on the list I don't buy it. I usually plan at least a week in advance, but the meals are interchangeable so easy to swap/change if needed.
  • nordlead2005
    nordlead2005 Posts: 1,303 Member
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    I plan out breakfast (typically none or a small snack) and lunch (typically pizza or a wrap). Dinner and everything else are just whatever my wife makes and what I have calories for. If I know dinner ahead of time I might eat a snack earlier in the day.

    Not knowing what will be for dinner isn't a big deal. I always have ~800 calories for it, and eat whatever fits in that amount.
  • bisky
    bisky Posts: 1,016 Member
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    Hi, Recently my small group planned a week's worth of meals in advance. Then we got together and chopped, cooked and froze stuff. It was my best week ever on this diet. I tapped the menu to the fridge and checked off meals as we went along and had a ready answer for hubby when he asked what was for dinner. It was a really good experience. As for joining friends for lunch, know in advance where you are going and visualize yourself ordering healthy food. Know that the fun part is not the food as much as enjoying their company. Also plan a treat afterwards. Mine is a cappuccino with no sugar and sugar free godiva dark chocolate bar. Pricey but keeps me from feeling deprived.
  • JodehFoster
    JodehFoster Posts: 419 Member
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    Generally, we plan daily, our tastes & cravings change too often to plan beyond that. We often try to plan the weekends just to stay on track, but that tends to change as well. I'll shop on my lunch hour if need be for dinner.
  • spzjlb
    spzjlb Posts: 599 Member
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    I have a general idea of what I am going to eat a few days beforehand. I like to log before I eat, if possible. I am relaxing more as I try to maintain (i.e. not re-gain!).
  • ki4eld
    ki4eld Posts: 1,215 Member
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    I plan, pre-log, and adjust throughout the day to account for what I actually ate or unexpected changes in the meal.
  • Lounmoun
    Lounmoun Posts: 8,426 Member
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    I pre-log my whole day every morning. I plan dinners for the month but do not log them until the day I have them.
    If I'm going to eat out at a restaurant then I try to figure out what I will have before I go.
  • Kimberly_Harper
    Kimberly_Harper Posts: 409 Member
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    lauragreenbaum148 wrote: »
    I'm finding if I plan my daily menu first thing in the morning it helps me stay on track. I work from home, so this is pretty easy for me. The only challenge is when I join friends for lunch or dinner. Any tips?? Does anyone actually plan their menu weekly?

    This is the way I have adopted as well. I make my breakfast (its the same thing every day for now, because I love it) and while I am eating it I plan out my day's food based on what I have on hand.
  • gramarye
    gramarye Posts: 586 Member
    edited February 2016
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    janejellyroll wrote: »
    I make a general plan for the week and then decide the specifics the night before. It works really well for me.

    This is generally what I do. I have a small planner stuck to the fridge that I write out the dinner plans on, and I tend to eat the same few things for breakfast and lunch. I don't plan it all down to the wire, but I have general guidelines I prefer to work around. (I try to keep at least half of my calories for evening dinner/snacking, and I tend not to eat breakfast, but have yogurt or something around 10am when I get hungry, etc.)
    JodehFoster wrote: »
    Generally, we plan daily, our tastes & cravings change too often to plan beyond that. We often try to plan the weekends just to stay on track, but that tends to change as well. I'll shop on my lunch hour if need be for dinner.

    Also, this. I live by a grocery story and often run in on my way home from work to grab one or two things for dinner.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 27,988 Member
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    I don't need to prelog if I am eating exclusively my food. But when I am cooking for others or going out to eat, it's easy for me to go over my calories unless I pre-log.
  • bigbodybake
    bigbodybake Posts: 49 Member
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    I find myself eating pretty much the same thing everyday, with small changes to change up taste/texture. Makes it easy and cheaper
  • erinc5
    erinc5 Posts: 329 Member
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    M-F, I usually eat the same things for breakfast and lunch. Some combination of: coffee, yogurt, apples, eggs, tomato soup, cheese, and popcorn... Sometimes I will eat a frozen meal or leftovers for lunch. In the morning I decide what I'm gonna have for dinner (usually my main/biggest meal of the day) and then I just fill in the rest of my calories with what I listed above + chocolate and whiskey.
  • QueenofHearts023
    QueenofHearts023 Posts: 421 Member
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    I plan my eating plan a week ahead. I only go to town once a week so I need to plan meals anyway, to ensure I buy all the necessary groceries. So, since I know what I will eat a week ahead I might as well log it ahead too.

    Being organized makes weight loss a lot easier for me.
  • missjones513
    missjones513 Posts: 345 Member
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    I try to plan my meals for the week and try to do my cooking over the weekend. Then I have options for throughout the week.
  • amusedmonkey
    amusedmonkey Posts: 10,330 Member
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    Sometimes I plan sometimes I don't. When I know I will be having a high calorie meal I usually plan around it, otherwise I just eat whatever I feel like for the day. I do make "soft" plans in the morning to know what to buy.
  • ilex70
    ilex70 Posts: 727 Member
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    The only challenge is when I join friends for lunch or dinner. Any tips??

    If you can figure out what would be a good choice on the menu before you go and be the first one to order. Less pressure that way vs. if your friends all order cheeseburgers and then you chime in with a grilled chicken salad/dressing on the side.
  • YalithKBK
    YalithKBK Posts: 317 Member
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    I cook my dinners for the week on Sunday. Lunch for me is currently a "usual" as I am busy at work and just keep something simple and fast. For breakfast, I give myself options and then pick 2-3 things in the morning to fill my breakfast calories.

    I do usually log all of my planned food for the day in the morning. It does help keep me on track.
  • RAinWA
    RAinWA Posts: 1,980 Member
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    I do all the food shopping, prepping and cooking at our house so I need to be super organized. Since I have to make a weekly schedule of meals anyway, makes sense to do it on MFP where I can see the calories, etc. I just print out the whole week, make notes on what I'm adding/changing for my husband and post it on the fridge. Makes things much easier.

    It helps that we eat a lot of the same things during the week. I get more creative on the weekends.

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