Pre-filling the food diary

fatgirlflow

Does anyone do this? Does it help? How far in advance do you fill it in?

35dollars

Generally, I fill in breakfast after eating it, then if I know what I'm having for dinner, I fill that in ahead of time - that's effectively a "fixed" meal. Then, I work back from there to see how many calories I have left for lunch & snacks.

Only do it for today though, no further than that

SamanthaLouiseMence

I fill in my breakfast just before I eat it when it's all measured/weighed
I log my dinner (lunch) after I've made it and sometimes I log my tea (dinner) soon after my dinner (lunch) of i already know what I want to have, if not, i log it when I'm making it

brigg9

It usually helps me, since I only meal prep for part of the next day at a time. During a work day I'll have breakfast through afternoon snack planned out, and then depending on how heavy my workout is in the evening I'll then make adjustments and decided on a dinner to fit my macro goals.

Weekends I try to plan my meals in advance, if I can. Two meals that I can spread over lunches and dinner. Breakfasts are usually easy for me, as I tend to eat the same things. I'll adjust my portion sizes depending on how much activity I do in those days.

Many people will meal prep 4-7 days worth of food, log it and adhere to it (or adjust as needed). Others I've seen pre-plan a single day in advance the night before. Others I've seen just wing it with no pre-planning. Whatever helps you stick to your plan, I say go for it.

Francl27

I fill in when I know what I'm going to have, then adjust quantities as I go. It's useful when I want to save calories for a higher calorie dinner and to pick my snacks according to how many calories I have left (and fill up my macros too).

For example, if I know that I'm going to have pasta for dinner, I will pick lower calorie/higher protein snacks. But if I know that I'm having a low calorie dinner (like tonight - cod and zucchini), I know that I can afford some higher calorie/fat snacks during the day.

ForeverSunshine09

I have been lazy lately but, generally I prelog about 2 weeks at a time. Things change but, at least this way I have a good base going. It can be difficult but, once I got the hang of it it helped with my grocery budget and time management.

TavistockToad

at home we have a menu of whats for tea, and i make my lunch for the next day in the evening, so i will log for the next day, and then tweak measurements when i am actually weighing out whatever it is i'm eating/cooking as i go along.

arditarose

For the day I do it in the morning. Sometimes I'll start the day before.

st476

I pre log a week in advance, so on Saturday after food shopping I put in a weeks worth of food. It helps me a lot because I feel like if I logged as I went along I would have a lot more choice left up to me in the moment and I would overeat. I don't always stick with everything I put to the dot, I might change snacks for something with an equal or less amount of calories but my meals stay the same 95% of the time.

JenHuedy

On work days I generally prep my breakfast & lunch the night before so I log it then. If I've got my ducks in a row that week, I also figure out what I'm going to make the next evening and log a rough guesstimate. Then I adjust it when I actually fill my plate. But some nights I wing it and don't even think about what to make for dinner until I'm driving home from work!

jlj9287

I usually do all of our cooking for the week on Sunday, so I log as far as I can and adjust if life changes anything. We're pretty boring eaters and will eat the same meals every day for that week so it's easier and has made counting a lot less stressful. I've found it works for me because I'm less likely to obsess over counting every single calorie every time I eat.

leejoyce31

I fill a week in advance and tweak it as I go.

RoxieDawn

First thing in the morning.. sometimes I copy entries from today to tomorrow. Pre-logging for me is key.

lisalewis7588

Every morning I log for the day. I have a menu plan so I always know what's for dinner, and I bring my lunch with me. I always have to go back and tweak the exact amounts for dinner after I've weighed and everything, but it gives me an idea of what I should eat for snacks. I have a little bit of a snack drawer at work and pre-logging lets me know which snacks and how many I can have. It helps a lot!

xmarye

I pre log for the day usually, since what I eat is generally the same thing for breakfast and lunch everyday. I'll leave the snacks and dinner slots open (I have my diary set to breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks and drinks) so that I can chose what I'll have then according to the calories I have left. Usually I'll have for dinner what I'm serving my family, like the meat and veggies and I'll leave out the starch (potatoe, rice or pasta) since it's high in calories.

SLLRunner

fatgirlflow wrote: »

Does anyone do this? Does it help? How far in advance do you fill it in?

Yes. Every day. I use a different food diary than MFP, but by the end of the day it's filled with the next day's food.

bametels

Yes, I do. After, I close out my daily log, I plan and log all or most of my next day's food. I use it as a guideline and change up some things based on my schedule and cravings for something different. I find pre-logging helpful in multiple ways. Because I do some batch cooking, I find it helpful in using up what I've already cooked. It also helps me to pay attention to using up produce or other foods that go bad over time. Most importantly, it helps to prevent me from going off plan when sudden hunger strikes or I have the urge to stress eat.

Xo_healthylc

Before bed I fill in the night before. It helps me stay on track.

tryett

I log breakfast when I eat it because I don't always eat it. If I know what I am having for dinner I put it in so I can see what I have in terms of calories and macros for lunch. If I am going out with people at lunch, I prelog it if there is an online menu available, then I can plan dinner better. Since I have found several recipes that the family likes it is getting easier to preplan the dinner menu.

Kimo159

I usually do at least a day in advance, if not a few days. Then I know what I need to get from the grocery store and I have a plan. If I deviate from the plan for the day I make adjustments as I go.

laur357

I log in the morning when I get to work for the whole day. Then make quick adjustments at mealtimes if I need to change a portion amount or weight.

Lounmoun

Every morning I pre-log my whole day before breakfast. It helps me to meet my goals better.
If there is a holiday or special occasion I may pre-log it a day or a week in advance to see what my choices look like.

exstromn

Yes I do, generally I already know what breakfast, lunch and snacks I will be eating for the next day. Supper is more of a challenge but definitely easier to manage if I know what I can spend on cals if I have the rest already filled out. A very flexible and useful tool. Goo luck!

kimny72

I try to pre-log my main meals every morning or the night before, and make sure I've left myself 200-400 cals for snacks... or wine. Keeps me on track and I try to avoid making food decisions when I'm hungry.

janejellyroll

Every afternoon/evening I will pre-log the next day's food. The day-of I will adjust actual weights and I may swap out some items, but it's pretty much set the day before.

It has been incredibly helpful to me.

RAinWA

I log at least a week in advance (and change it if life happens!) - it's a great time saver and organizational tool for me. I work a super hectic job and I have to do my husband's and my menus up for the week anyway so I can do the prep (he can't cook) so it makes it super simple. And once you have your regular meals into MFP, it's really easy to copy meals, pick foods from your frequent list, etc.

I do leave a few extra calories each day just in case there's something else I want.

brittaney10811

9 times out of 10, I log my entire day that morning, or the night before. It keeps me from having to worry about going over throughout the day. Weekdays during work are the easiest, because I keep everything pretty much the same. Weekends are a little more unpredictable. On the weekends I log as I go, and generally try and keep breakfast and early in the day calories low if I know I'll be going out or feasting with family later.

CaffeinatedConfectionist

I do intermittent fasting, so that gives me plenty of time to pre-log my entire day in the morning. I find this helps me stay on track and ensures that I do a better job of hitting my macros, and allows me to budget for snacks or treats.

This also helps cut down on decision fatigue - the more decisions we make in a day, the poorer our decisions become. So if I wait until after work, when I've had to make a million incredibly stressful and difficult decisions, and I'm physically fatigued on top of having decision fatigue, I'm going to make incredibly crappy eating choices. If I plan in the morning, I'm making my food choices when I'm at the top of my game for the day. Then all I have to do is make myself stick to it, which is generally easier than making new choices.

smiles4jo

I tend to pre-fill as I pack my lunch bag the night before.

We also menu plan a week at a time, so sometimes, I'll go ahead an enter dinner at the same time.

brb_2013

I fill in at least breakfast (usually only coffee and assorted coffee accessories) and the lunch/snacks I bring to work. If I can estimate dinner I log it(usually I can. I meal plan the week ahead for grocery shopping but things change sometimes). At the end of the day I weigh my dinner and adjust what I prelogged if I need to. But basically it gives me a framework to imagine the day and make any swaps I may want. I dont ALWAYS log consistently but when I do this prelogging really helps me out. I can see how a big coffee will make me have less room for dinner, for example.

nowine4me

lisalewis7588 wrote: »

Every morning I log for the day. I have a menu plan so I always know what's for dinner, and I bring my lunch with me. I always have to go back and tweak the exact amounts for dinner after I've weighed and everything, but it gives me an idea of what I should eat for snacks. I have a little bit of a snack drawer at work and pre-logging lets me know which snacks and how many I can have. It helps a lot!

^^ This works for me too.