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

WinterSkies

CoffeeNCardio wrote: »

Lol, I'll mail it all to your kids:) If I never see another spaghetti noodle in my life I will die a happy woman!

My toddler can eat her weight in spaghetti, so she'd appreciate it! I have been fortunate that I've never been in the position to need to use a food bank, but I can imagine that the items in your pantry would definitely get old after a while. It can't be easy to never know what you're going to get.

Francl27

WinterSkies wrote: »

Lol... it amazes me how people can get by without planning! My parents always had a menu planned out, and now I do the same thing. I've got two young kids, so our house would be chaos if meals weren't planned in advance.

Our weekly menu is "planned" on the weekend, before we go shopping. It keeps us from buying too much extra food, and keeps shopping trips shorter. The majority of dinners are arranged such that we will have leftovers for lunch the next day. Our breakfasts are usually pretty similar (toast or cereal), so that's pretty easy too.

We do have some flexibility - if something comes up and we need to make a quicker dinner one night, or we're craving something that was meant for another day, we'll just swap out dinners and rearrange the rest of the week. It works well for my family. As well, we always have several bags of frozen veggies available for a quick side dish, and I keep an extra box of pasta and a jar of tomato sauce in the pantry. Sometimes the kids just want spaghetti

Eh I hate planning. I get more satisfaction out of my meals if it's something I really felt like eating today, as opposed to something that I had planned a few days ago.

I like grocery shopping though, plus it keeps me moving, and I typically go twice a week to two different stores depending on the sales anyway.. so I typically only buy for a few days at a time. My favorite days are days when nothing is expiring today and I can make whatever I feel like having.

BoxerBrawler

I plan out my meals (breakfast/lunch/snacks/dinner) every Sunday, hit the grocery store after my workout, get home and prep & portion everything out. It doesn't take long and I make sure to change the menu so we don't get bored. It helps tremendously over the week when we are coming and going and busy, to have everything ready to go!

KayV85

I plan my menu for the week on a Sunday, I find it helps me. There are day's that I do either swap the meals round or change them completely.

bvff35

I plan my breakfasts & lunches ahead but keep them very consistent with lots of fruits, veggies, and protein so I don't have to put much thought into those. My dinner and night snack varies a little more but I still try to plan those by lunchtime to keep my meals balanced and near my goals for the day. Sometimes I plan all of my meals for the following day if I know it will be a busy day.

bvff35

guinevere96 wrote: »

I used to plan but I found that it caused me too much anxiety when i would go out to eat or other people would cook. Now since the beginning of the new year I stopped planning and ive managed to stick with my calories a lot better. For some people it works, for others it doesnt

How do you stay within your calorie goal this way? Is it just smaller portion sizes or trying to choose healthy things when you can? Just wondering because now that I am doing good with staying in my goal when i make the meals, I'm worried about when other people cook or we go out to eat. I've come so far that I don't want to mess it up.

KittyHeaven74

Depends on the day. If I have to go to the office all day, then I plan ahead so I'm covered until I get home for dinner. I like to have stuff in the freezer that I can grab for dinner in case I don't feel like cooking, too (casseroles, etc. that I've plugged into the recipe builder and know how many calories they are). If I'm working from home, I often just do it as I go, because I can cook my breakfast or lunch and have a little more freedom to add some variety. I do try to plan at the start of my day on the weekends - sort of give myself a general plan so I'm not floundering when faced with temptation. But weekends are hardest for me and sometimes I do well, other times I struggle. Planning ahead can be helpful in those cases.

brb_2013

janejellyroll wrote: »

I make a general plan for the week and then decide the specifics the night before. It works really well for me.

Yep, I also pre log a day or two in advance