Do you pre-log your food?

leanitup123

Yes and no. Usually prelog my earlier meals and leave dinner and snacks TBD. But my usual foods for breakfast and lunch are always logged during my morning cardio haha

nyponbell

@seccotine Sort of unrelated; but do you find that the free version of MFP is enough for counting macros? I want to get into it (though it makes my head hurt, with estimates such as "lightly active" and "active" -- where do they draw the line?) but it seems like the Premium is far better for that kind of thing but as I'm only just getting back into MFP and I've not yet started counting macros, I'm not sure if that's money I want to spend.

everher

I prelog, but I'm also the type of person who does a monthly (and weekly) financial budget.

I find if I just have x amount of calories a day, but don't prelog or ration them I tend to go over.

With that said, I'm flexible with it, but I find it helps even when being flexible to know well I'm having this for dinner and I have these snacks planned.

asianolikeyou

I log just before I sit down to eat the food I've plated

RobinSFoster

I meal plan, enter new recipes in to MFP, and pre-log each week. Breakfast is always the same and lunch is normally leftovers from the previous nights dinner. Knowing what we're having each night helps me to plan ahead.

generallyme2

I prelog- sometimes days at a time. I usually leave the dessert/snack empty with calories set aside until I know what I'll be having. I've found that I tend to stick to it better (no last minute drive throughs or ice cream runs with the kids). It also saves me money since I write up a meal plan and shop only for that meal plan... if I don't log, I'm more likely to think I'm too tired to cook that night and pick something else up that's easier.

Another pro- it helps me track certain nutrients more easily or to make sure I'm getting enough protein and, if I'm not, I can rearrange things until I'm at a better number.

estherdragonbat

Depends. For religious reasons, I don't write or type on the Jewish Sabbath (sundown Friday night till when it gets dark on Saturday, so about 25 hours). Sabbath meals tend to be substantially bigger than rest of the week (often with higher-calorie options). I find I stress a LOT less when I pre-log on Friday afternoons, so long as I'm honest with myself about what I plan to eat. In other words, when I know that after synagogue services, there's going to be a refreshments buffet and I'm really going to want a frosted shortbread and some potato kugel, I log it ahead of time, see for myself that I've fit it into my daily calorie totals and

1) I don't stress about filling out my diary after the day when I've already eaten the food. That's when the old disordered unhealthy thinking about "I was so bad today. Blew my diet. I can't write down what I ate; it'll just upset me. Let's just not log and I can start over tomorrow. And with that in mind... since today is shot... what else is in the fridge?" comes up. If I already planned on having the treat and recognize that I'm still within my totals, then I skip all the stress and guilt and just have the treat.

2) I like to save some of my calories for after-supper snacking. Usually mid-afternoon, I'll log what I plan to have for supper, so that I know whether I'll have enough calories left over for a snack or whether exercise just moved up from 'a good thing to do if I want to increase fitness' to 'a necessary thing to do if I want to eat after supper', or whether to change my supper plans.

But breakfast and lunch, I usually log as I go.

kavahni

I pre log some. I like to get my dinner logged early in the day since it is almost always my most calorie dense meal.
Like estherdragonbat I am Jewish. But, since Shabbat is supposed to be a taste of the Paradise to come, I don't log anything from Friday afternoon until Saturday evening. At all. There will be no reason to watch what we eat or log calories in the next life! :-)

seccotine

nyponbell wrote: »

@seccotine Sort of unrelated; but do you find that the free version of MFP is enough for counting macros? I want to get into it (though it makes my head hurt, with estimates such as "lightly active" and "active" -- where do they draw the line?) but it seems like the Premium is far better for that kind of thing but as I'm only just getting back into MFP and I've not yet started counting macros, I'm not sure if that's money I want to spend.

well, for a long while I used the free one, but after reaching my ideal weight I had a hard time maintaining and gain back 7 kg. So this time I decided to be very scientific about it. I have a Polar M400 watch that tells me how many calories I actually spend per day (before that I put my activity level at sedentary plus added separately the exercise I did). I used to set my amount of calories at 1200/per day (I am 61 and retired) but had a hard time loosing weight. With the IIFYM.com formula, I am supposed to eat 1400 cal/day with about 42% protein. I have done it for 7 days now and must say I am quite happy. No hunger pangs whatsoever, no cravings, and (drumroll please) I lost a full kg in that week after plateauing for many weeks. Now understand that I am not pushing for the Premium version or the Polar watch, it is just what seems to be working for me. I always loved maths and science and the whole thing just makes sense to me. One of my friends is watching me with complete disbelief because this seems totally alien to her. Each to her own!

nyponbell

@seccotine I use a Fitbit Charge HR, so I totally get where you are coming from with your Polar!

I am glad to hear that your hard work is paying off and hope it continues to work for you. Thanks for the input!

seccotine

@nyponbell I should add that I am lucky enough to have my husband doing all the cooking (he is French!) and everything is prepared from scratch, this makes the lifestyle change (I am NOT dieting) much easier.

Good luck to you. Let me know how it goes for you.

PaulaWallaDingDong

I pre-log. I can't ever just "wing it," but that's me. I'm also a creature of habit, so I don't need to be able to change my mind on a whim.

I log my main meals ahead of time and leave some wiggle room for snacks, or sometimes I just add more to the meals. It depends what kind of mood I'm in.

nyponbell

I have to say, I love all the different replies, and learning some of the thought process behind people's choices in pre-logging or not. I hope that others have felt as inspired and eager to play around with a better system that works for them, as I have felt reading the comments.

kommodevaran

Late to the party, but can I join

I plan my meals, and for me, it's actually one of the things that allows me to have a varied and balanced diet. I also love the predictability, and I enjoy looking forward to all the great meals. The fun/puzzle/game aspect also makes it perfect as a hobby. Did I mention I love meal planning?

I plan in a spreadsheet, not MFP, and somewhat erratic, partly to make the shopping list, partly "backwards" after I get home with the groceries. Dinners are rotated weekly by theme of the day, and often planned more or less completely two weeks in advance, sometimes I start with to-three alternatives, and narrow it down as the day approaches, or I buy whatever I find that's delicious, cheap and fits. I don't change my mind often, but I am flexible and move things around or replace if I find something better or end up eating out, or whatever.

nyponbell

@kommodevaran No one is late to the party, 'cause the party doesn't stop!

Your planning sounds incredible when you do it (I am a planner by nature, but have such a difficult relationship with food I have problems with pre-planning it "properly").

So you have theme days, like Monday is Italian and Wednesday is Breakfast for dinner? (Except maybe not those themes.)

estherdragonbat

kavahni wrote: »

I pre log some. I like to get my dinner logged early in the day since it is almost always my most calorie dense meal.
Like estherdragonbat I am Jewish. But, since Shabbat is supposed to be a taste of the Paradise to come, I don't log anything from Friday afternoon until Saturday evening. At all. There will be no reason to watch what we eat or log calories in the next life! :-)

I totally hear that. In my case, though, I've got some food-related anxiety issues that can detract from my Sabbath enjoyment if I don't recognize for myself that my kugel and cookie (plus cheese on a bagel for Third Meal) fit into my calories without putting me over. This is probably my 6th or 7th attempt at serious weight loss in the last 30 years and, for the first time, I actually feel like the emotional eating issues are mostly controlled. And I'm pretty sure that for me, a combo of allowing treats within calories, pre-logging the days when I can't write, and regular exercise are the reasons.

Juniper210

I prelog my lunch and snack each morning during the work week while I'm eating breakfast. That way I'm not tempted to go out for fast food because I've already logged. Fast food at work is my kryptonite so this Kris me on track. I also like living those so I can ponder what to make for dinner during the day that will fit into my remaining calories. That way by the time I get home, I've usually planned and logged what dinner is going to be.

kommodevaran

nyponbell wrote: »

@kommodevaran No one is late to the party, 'cause the party doesn't stop!

Your planning sounds incredible when you do it (I am a planner by nature, but have such a difficult relationship with food I have problems with pre-planning it "properly").

So you have theme days, like Monday is Italian and Wednesday is Breakfast for dinner? (Except maybe not those themes.)

My planning actually sounds like a lot of work - to me, too! - when I type it out like that (and I'm not even going into details), but it's really very straightforward. I do indeed have a setup like that - Monday is soup/casserole, Tuesday white meat, Wednesday is leftovers from Monday, Thursday fish and so on. I used to think meal planning would mean restrictive and boring food, and it never even occurred to me that I could do it myself (well of course, because I didn't want restrictive and boring food).

I have had to work on my own relationship with food, and getting in a good meal schedule - even before I started planning so extensively - was a great help. I've never had an eating disorder, but I had disordered eating, lots of fear of food and felt quite hopeless. MFP was one of the first steps towards "food security" - I "had to" hit my calories every day, and I was "allowed" to eat anything I wanted. This was liberating. I started to get back to my roots - I'm Norwegian (and you're Swedish, right?) - and reintroduce a lot of the meals and dishes I grew up with. Using fat, sugar and salt to make the food taste good was... not scary, but daunting. I have been afraid of those three for over twenty years. Realizing that I'll be fine - my diet is not going to consist of fat, sugar and salt - and the joy of cooking and eating... simple dishes, made from cheap ingredients... that I could eat food I like without being afraid of getting sick, or fat... I love everything about food now.

Have you seen this?

What is Normal Eating?

Normal eating is going to the table hungry and eating until you are satisfied. It is being able to choose food you like and eat it and truly get enough of it -not just stop eating because you think you should. Normal eating is being able to give some thought to your food selection so you get nutritious food, but not being so wary and restrictive that you miss out on enjoyable food. Normal eating is giving yourself permission to eat sometimes because you are happy, sad or bored, or just because it feels good. Normal eating is mostly three meals a day, or four or five, or it can be choosing to munch along the way. It is leaving some cookies on the plate because you know you can have some again tomorrow, or it is eating more now because they taste so wonderful. Normal eating is overeating at times, feeling stuffed and uncomfortable. And it can be undereating at times and wishing you had more. Normal eating is trusting your body to make up for your mistakes in eating. Normal eating takes up some of your time and attention, but keeps its place as only one important area of your life.

In short, normal eating is flexible. It varies in response to your hunger, your schedule, your proximity to food and your feelings.

http://www.ellynsatterinstitute.org/hte/whatisnormaleating.php

erienneb66

Occasionally I prelog. Like if I know I'm cooking for dinner for my husband and I, I'll log the dinner so I know what to do with the rest of my day. But otherwise, no, because I'm a child and I don't like being told what to do even if it's myself. It's just psychological. I'll bring food to work, planned for my day, but if I log it before I eat it I get aggressive even though I was going to eat it anyway?

kommodevaran

erienneb66 wrote: »

Occasionally I prelog. Like if I know I'm cooking for dinner for my husband and I, I'll log the dinner so I know what to do with the rest of my day. But otherwise, no, because I'm a child and I don't like being told what to do even if it's myself. It's just psychological. I'll bring food to work, planned for my day, but if I log it before I eat it I get aggressive even though I was going to eat it anyway?

This is fascinating! I couldn't understand that kind of reasoning until I read Gretchen Rubin's "Better than before" - and initially I believed I was a Rebel too... but you are a rebel. I'm a Questioner. As long as I get a good answer (it doesn't have to be the right answer), I'm happy.

quiksylver296

Lounmoun wrote: »

I prelog for the day every morning. I do not prelog several days in advance though.

This^^

nyponbell

@kommodevaran I am Swedish, yes! It is difficult to get back into any Swedish-food rots though as I'm also a vegetarian, and much is meat-based (like in almost every culture!).

I hadn't read the Normal Eating text before, so thank you for sharing it. It's something that I need to remind myself off, I think.

@erienneb66 I'm similar! I can make a great plan, but if I'm having an off day, I just want to rebel against my own plans (even if I actually also want to follow them). Some times I can follow the plan though, which is nice. It sounds like you have found a way that works for you, which is fantastic and all that matters - even if it might be annoying (or I find it annoying when I'm acting like that).

ncfitbit

I like this thread! I wonder about this, too, and all these different answers are great.

For me, I do SO much better when I pre-log my day in advance and yet I don't always do it because there's this rebellious part of me that wants to be spontaneous in my choices. But that is a poor excuse. Most of the time I really enjoy eating the food I planned and usually make room for a treat at the end of the day so that keeps me from feeling deprived or tempted to eat treats during the day.

You said you wish there was a check box if you ate as planned, but I consider pre-logging to accomplish that in advance. The reward for eating as planned is you don't have to do any more work! You can just check your diary as complete at the of the day, right? My issue is that I probably will have to tweak a serving or ingredient or two so that is annoying, but still better than having to enter the whole meal and possibly going way over on calories.

thewindandthework

Sometimes I prelog meals that I have made ahead of time, which would be my breakfasts and lunches for workdays.

Dinners and days off are unplanned, so that wouldn't work for me.

sosteach

I only pre-log if I want to see if I can eat something in particular that I want. Like can I afford to have corn on the cob with butter.

apullum

I pre-log as much as possible, but I don't feel like I *have* to eat exactly that meal plan just because I pre-logged it. Instead, I use it to see how many calories I have left to play with after I've put in the things I know I'll eat. For example, I plan dinners for the week in advance, so I pre-log those. I almost always have the same thing for breakfast, so that goes in too. Now I know how many calories I have left for lunch and snacks.

infinitynevermore

I prelog all meals up to 3 days in advance, just to see how I can work my mom's casseroles into my day.

vnb_208

I prelog breakfast pretty much have same thing everyday and prelog lunch & snacks dinner is always up the air

sgt1372

Not always but sometimes prelog to meal plan when I 'm running out of available cals.

nyponbell

@ncfitbit I usually have to tweak a lot, as I don't weigh until I actually eat it (also I sometimes change). I have solved my non-ticking box "problem" by using Google Keep and list my meals there to cross off.