How often do you log?

2111Cai

This has probably been asked before, but here go nothing:

How often and when do you log your food? Before you eat? If so, several days before, the night before? After you eat? If so, how long do you wait before you log?

Do you log your foods for the next day the night before (as in do you plan what you're going to eat the night before)? Or do you plan what you're going to eat that morning or a few hours before eating?

Just curious

Shadowmf023

I prelog the next day. Sometimes the whole week ahead. (It helps with grocery shopping)

Then I just follow the menu and adjust as needed.

T0M_K

i log as i eat. if i wait i would forget. weigh and log.

machelle04

I log after I eat with my job I can't pre plan very many meals. I do sometimes get busy forget and have to go back and log previous meals.

T0M_K

jennitm wrote: »

I can't remember what I walked in the next room for.... I gotta log as I go.

lol yep.

middlehaitch

I always logged at the end of the day.

My daytime eating was pretty consistent so I didn't worry about the variables on that.
I am kind of a 'wing it for dinner' kind of person and just logged after I ate. Sometimes I'd be a tad over; others under, it all evened out on my weekly goals.

I should say I didn't have a lot to lose and I had more of a problem moving enough rather than eating too much.

Cheers, h.

adamyovanovich

I log after I get my plate of food but before I pick up my fork.

RoxieDawn

I eat the same lunch and breakfast and snacks everyday except weekends. I can pre log the whole week like this. Tweak it each day. We have about 10 - 15 different dinners, recipes already created and I too tweak and log those each day after ingredients are weighed. We decide what we are having before off to work!

If I hate what I am eating today, I will just change the log and replace it with what I want, or what I ate.

Weekends are discussed usually Sat first thing in the a.m. and we buy food Saturday morning for weekend.

One exception is my training will dictate Friday dinner meal but everything else is normal. For example I have a race Saturday so what I eat tomorrow night will be different. I have a Birthday tomorrow and putting off all birthday eating till after the race.. all in pre-planning..

Sounds redundant and boring but it works.

krael65

On weekends, I log it as I eat it.
On work days, I prepare all of my food in the morning and log it as I pack it. (Breakfast, lunch, and snacks for the day). Then I log dinner when I eat it.

peaceout_aly

2111Cai wrote: »

This has probably been asked before, but here go nothing:

How often and when do you log your food? Before you eat? If so, several days before, the night before? After you eat? If so, how long do you wait before you log?

Do you log your foods for the next day the night before (as in do you plan what you're going to eat the night before)? Or do you plan what you're going to eat that morning or a few hours before eating?

Just curious

As my boyfriend says, "Fit life is an outlet for OCD," which in my case is entirely too true. I log at least a day in advance and sometimes, I'll log all week days in advance. It's just easier. I work a desk job and know that I have to pack my lunch the night before anyway so I might as well pre-log. It helps to meet macros.

malibu927

Unless I know ahead of time what I'm eating, I log either while I'm making it or eating it

z4oslo

TBH I dont log anything at all.

This is why: I cant see myself doing it for the rest of my life. I cant even see myself doing it for a few months, so logging is off the table.
I dont have any forbidden food either. Instead I eat the things I would usually eat, just in smaller portions.

So how do I know I eat enough, but not too much? I dont I guess. Instead I trust evolution - meaning I eat when im hungry (and only then) and eat really slow. I then eat untill im satisfied or full but never stuffed.

Ive done this for a couple of months now and lost 11 kg so far.
I dont get any cravings, and I dont think about food unless im hungry.

I can certainly do this for life. After all the only change ive done is eating slowly and not eat because im bored. thats a very small price to pay to get healthier.

I also walk around 12k steps pr day and training to run 5K as well.

Oh and ive stopped smoking .. well kinda of - using e-cigarettes instead but will quit that too at some point.

so no weird diets, and no counting! And i eat carbs like crazy! Probably 60-70% of my food intake is carbs.
I might add that im kinda "lucky" as ive never craved food with sugar.

RAinWA

I log at least a week in advance and then just tweak things as I go along. I have to be organized, I work long hours and my husband can't cook so I plan all three meals and snacks for both of us. I do a lot of crock pot and make ahead meals.

cwolfman13

I haven't logged a thing in almost 3.5 years...but when I did log, I usually pre-logged the day so I always knew where I was and then I'd just make adjustments as necessary if something changed from my plan.

Sweets1954

I log ahead if I know what I'll be having, usually breakfast and lunch during the week. Evenings and weekends I try to log as soon as I eat.

capaul42

Breakfast and lunch during the week is same so I prelog those and adjust amounts as I go (like today I had 86g of chicken in my wrap, yesterday it was 79g). Same with my snacks (most of which is coffee). Dinner I will prelog when I decide what we're having and adjust amounts while cooking/plating.

kshama2001

When I'm eating by myself, I log while I'm eating.

I often prelog new meals as I'm creating them, for two reasons:

1. If they don't contain meat I want to check the protein content
2. If they might be high calorie I want to see how much I can eat or if I need to eat lighter earlier in the day

Amym26

I log a week in advance, then tweak as I go if I change my mind about what I had planned to eat. I can't not log, as my brain will still tell me to eat as much as possible so I don't starve. My brain doesn't understand moderation, it still thinks I am a cave person with little nourishment.

red99ryder

I log as I go .. I can see how much I can eat for dinner that way.. tracking is good .. after awhile you know what to eat and stay in calories .
It kind of a learning tool and accountability partner

Good luck

Rogus1

How interesting! I never thought about logging days in advance, but I don't plan meals ahead other than sometimes dinner, but only a day or two ahead.

momoisgorgeousss

I log all my food before I eat it, and then I go back after I'm done eating and update it if I didn't finish the serving size, or if I ate more than the serving size.

NEOHgirl

I log every meal, either after it is prepared and I'm about to eat it, or right after I eat it, if I can help it. If I don't log as I go, I would never be able to make proper adjustments to meals later in the day, as far as sticking to my targets. And if you don't track, how do you know where you are at nutritionally, even if you aren't counting actual calories to lose weight? Knowledge is power, and without accurate info, analysis is useless.

kgirlhart

I log every day. I usually log as I go, most of the time I write it all down when I weigh it and log it when I'm finished. My husband gets annoyed when I log at the table. I will usually log snacks before I eat them to decide if I really want it.

mrs_sjlarsen

My rule is to log it before it goes into my mouth... sometimes that means a day ahead... sometimes an hour ahead... sometimes a minute ahead...... but never after. I would forget.

CasperNaegle

I mostly log in the morning what I'm going to do for the day, sometimes I get the next day going. I update it sometimes through the day or change things. It helps me a lot if I start with my dinner and evening snack and then back into the rest of the day.. o

NattySchmatty

mrs_justice wrote: »

My rule is to log it before it goes into my mouth... sometimes that means a day ahead... sometimes an hour ahead... sometimes a minute ahead...... but never after. I would forget.

I agree mostly with this. Usually I log in the morning. Even though I have a tendency to eat the same breakfast/lunch/snacks during the week, I like to log daily after I pack my food for the workday and I know exactly what I have available. Sometimes I decide to have an unplanned item and when that happens I log it immediately. On occasions where I think temptation may be an issue (holidays, parties, special occasions) or I know I am having a meal that is not regularly included in my routine, I log ahead of time. This helps me stay on track. Usually I log my dinner after I eat it because we like to change it up often. I have also been known to log it as I am eating it.

Catawampous

Log every day. During the work week I prelog the evening before what I'm taking to work to eat and also my breakfast because I don't have time to mess with logging before work. Dinner I log as I'm making it. Weekends I generally log as it goes into my mouth because if I don't, I'll forget.

Evamutt

I log when i have my plate of food before i eat

AmberSpamber

Sometimes I will log food while I lay in bed for the next day after I have prepped, but it works best for me to log as I go on throughout my day. I struggle badly on the weekend though.

elisa123gal

Happy to see a few who do not log. I made the decision recently to only log if I need a calorie count on something I'm not familiar with. For me, I don't want to have to log the rest of my life. For me, it is obsessive and puts too much negative energy into getting fit. However, logging was useful for me to learn about calorie counts and nutrition.. now I need to make the lifestyle change to trust myself.

kuftae

elisa123gal wrote: »

Happy to see a few who do not log. I made the decision recently to only log if I need a calorie count on something I'm not familiar with. For me, I don't want to have to log the rest of my life. For me, it is obsessive and puts too much negative energy into getting fit. However, logging was useful for me to learn about calorie counts and nutrition.. now I need to make the lifestyle change to trust myself.

Same here, I logged everything for years and it caused some bad habits. Mainly, clearing my plate all the time and ignoring the instinctual aspects of hunger-- I was just looking at "the numbers." I still think that logging is useful. Even logging everything everyday can be useful but it's not the best long term strategy. Now i will log a days worth of food about once or twice a week to make sure I'm around my macronutrient and micronutrient goals. Other than that, I've gotten familiar with my gut and started listening to it.