Question For Those Who Advance Log Meals

HeyJudii

What happens if you decide you want something different last minute?

I try to plan my meals by the week because it has worked well for me so far.
But, I worry (probably too strong a word) that I will eat my first and second meal, and then by third meal time, either the group will decide to go out to eat, or I will decide I have a taste for something else, but because I ate earlier average calorie size meals, now I am "stuck" with what I already planned.

I am here filling out my weekly log, but hesitating to fill in Fri-Sun, because, "What if I want something different then?" The danger, for me, in not pre-planning, is that every time I leave it open, I wind up using more of my exercise calories than I originally intended to use. Since I don't really trust the amount that of exercise calories MFP gives me, it stresses me out. (Neurotic as I am, I don't need any additional things to worry about. )

How do you other pre-loggers handle that?

sytchequeen

I used to worry about it, and would refuse to go out or eat anything off plan.
Not so much now. My weekly log is also a shopping list, so I plan the week, do the shopping. But sometimes things change.

If it helps, include snacks as well as meals in your plan. That way if you end out not following Plan A it is easy to drop the evening snack at the end to balance things out.

fr33sia12

I usually pre log my meals daily. If I find I don't want what I planned (usually for evening meal) at least I know how many calories I can play with and choose something different to fit into that amount of calories.

livingleanlivingclean

Tough. I eat what I've prepared unless something either drastic or amazing happens to change my plans. I figure if I desperately want something, I'll still desperately want it on the weekend when I can fit it in.

tinkerbellang83

I plan my week ahead trying to factor in potential social events, occasionally I don't really fancy what I have planned too, but that's ok, I think trying to see the bigger picture and realising everything can't be set in stone for the rest of your life is important. If I have a day where I eat more calories than I intended to, I just let it be, if I can I try to offset it with an extra walk or by looking at the rest of the week.

At the end of the day, if you're making relatively sensible choices, one meal isn't going to undo the rest of the week.

As for the exercise calories, set a fixed amount to eat back and review how your weight loss is against your intended weight loss and you'll soon know how accurate it is.

NovusDies

HeyJudii wrote: »

What happens if you decide you want something different last minute?

I try to plan my meals by the week because it has worked well for me so far.
But, I worry (probably too strong a word) that I will eat my first and second meal, and then by third meal time, either the group will decide to go out to eat, or I will decide I have a taste for something else, but because I ate earlier average calorie size meals, now I am "stuck" with what I already planned.

I am here filling out my weekly log, but hesitating to fill in Fri-Sun, because, "What if I want something different then?" The danger, for me, in not pre-planning, is that every time I leave it open, I wind up using more of my exercise calories than I originally intended to use. Since I don't really trust the amount that of exercise calories MFP gives me, it stresses me out. (Neurotic as I am, I don't need any additional things to worry about. )

How do you other pre-loggers handle that?

If I change my mind I look up the food I will use as a replacement to make sure I get in the same range. I also have calories that I bank that can be used for last minute situations as insurance or used on Sunday for a nice lunch.

CarvedTones

I change the log and put the new item in. If I go over, I will make up for it at some point. This happens to me sometimes when I bring my lunch in forgetting there is an office celebration or taking someone out to lunch for some recognition or whatever. Allowing plans to change and dealing with it is part of a sustainable lifestyle IMO.

SabAteNine

CarvedTones wrote: »

I change the log and put the new item in. If I go over, I will make up for it at some point. This happens to me sometimes when I bring my lunch in forgetting there is an office celebration or taking someone out to lunch for some recognition or whatever. Allowing plans to change and dealing with it is part of a sustainable lifestyle IMO.

This.

I pre-log some „fixed” items and standard lazy dinners, or just pre-log lunch before I go out of the office to get it, to make sure I get what and how much I need. It may be that I lose appetite for the options when faced with the actual shopping moment... so then I just change the log. I adjust and replace based on calories and the protein I am trying to hit.
There are moments in which lunch or dinner turn into office parties or nights out, then I just focus on getting some good filling „base” + whatever liquid or sugary calories there will be, but moderately. If going over happens, it happens.

ashxtasticness

I typically log the night before so I know what to pack/buy. Every now and then something comes up and I'm not home for dinner, or end up going somewhere last minute. I just try to find something that still fits within all of my macros and be done with it.

happytree923

I always log for the day in the morning and the only day I ever have completely unplanned restaurant trips is on Fridays with coworkers. Since I know I might go out for drinks after work, I keep breakfast and lunch light and if I don't end up going out I get to eat a big dinner when I get home. I always know if advance if I'm going out with friends so I just plan accordingly. If there's a pattern to your last-minute changes maybe you could do something similar?

Also, logging the entire week in advance seems kind of inflexible to me. I pick out three recipes that can be lunch or dinner and shop for those, then log/decide what I feel like that day in the morning. If I change my mind about what I want for dinner at home it's not a big deal because the meals I plan tend to have about the same number of calories.

Lounmoun

I tend to eat the same amount of calories for meals pretty much every day. If I need to change I can just find something that is close to the original amount and change the log. I also have calories saved for an afternoon or evening snack that could go to a bigger dinner if I need them.
Breakfast 100-300 calories
Lunch about 400 calories
Dinner about 500 calories
Snack 100-300 calories

I only eat out one meal a week and grocery shop once a week so options most days are limited to food in my house. I don't really change my mind about what I want for dinner when I decided to cook a particular item and have the ingredients ready.
I've been logging for a few years so I know calorie counts of lots of foods which makes it a little easier to substitute also.

jemhh

I prelog by day not by week. Also, I usually treat going out to eat as a regular meal , not a treat. I order grilled meat and veggies. If my plans change it's not a big deal. I don't go to places where there's not food I like.

tcunbeliever

I try to pre-log since I always do better about staying on plan when I do. If something changes, then I go back and log the actual and compare it to what I planned. If the changed meal is lunch, then I can tweak dinner as needed. If the changed meal is dinner then maybe I can try to tweak the next day, but a lot of times if it's dinner I just take the hit and miss goal for the day.

I have found that over time I'm getting pretty good at choosing something different that is still very similar to the original plan so it doesn't throw me off goal. And I do enjoy the spontaneous lunches or dinners out with friends and family which makes the whole health/fitness process less frustrating and more sustainable.

Pipsqueak1965

As long as your calories average out over the week, it doesn't really matter ...

nowine4me

fr33sia12 wrote: »

I usually pre log my meals daily. If I find I don't want what I planned (usually for evening meal) at least I know how many calories I can play with and choose something different to fit into that amount of calories.

Me too. And if I eat something not in the days plan, I log it and subtract those calories from my supper — or make an informed to go over.

janejellyroll

nowine4me wrote: »

fr33sia12 wrote: »

I usually pre log my meals daily. If I find I don't want what I planned (usually for evening meal) at least I know how many calories I can play with and choose something different to fit into that amount of calories.

Me too. And if I eat something not in the days plan, I log it and subtract those calories from my supper — or make an informed to go over.

This is exactly what I do.

apullum

Depends on what the "something different" is and how "last minute" it is. If the new thing is in the same calorie range, no big deal, I just eat it and change my log to match. If it's substantially more calories and I'm still able to adjust the day's plan to make it fit, I do that. But if it's a lot of calories and I can't make it fit into that day, I'll probably eat it on a different day instead...unless I really REALLY want it and I can't get it later.

collectingblues

HeyJudii wrote: »

What happens if you decide you want something different last minute?

I try to plan my meals by the week because it has worked well for me so far.
But, I worry (probably too strong a word) that I will eat my first and second meal, and then by third meal time, either the group will decide to go out to eat, or I will decide I have a taste for something else, but because I ate earlier average calorie size meals, now I am "stuck" with what I already planned.

I am here filling out my weekly log, but hesitating to fill in Fri-Sun, because, "What if I want something different then?" The danger, for me, in not pre-planning, is that every time I leave it open, I wind up using more of my exercise calories than I originally intended to use. Since I don't really trust the amount that of exercise calories MFP gives me, it stresses me out. (Neurotic as I am, I don't need any additional things to worry about. )

How do you other pre-loggers handle that?

If I want something different, it needs to fit within the original calorie budget. If I can't find anything I want that fits, I go with the original plan.

But the closer reality is that I buy groceries each week that match *exactly* what I plan to eat that week. So the odds are good that unless I'm swapping meals for another day, I'm pretty much stuck with the original plan. (I also don't keep snack foods in my house, so there's no option of "sit and snack" for dinner.)

callsitlikeiseeit

this is really why i dont do it often. i can plan a day, MAYBE 2 in advance and be ok. But on day 3, whatever it was doesnt sound good anymore. i was wasting FAR more food than I Should when I tried to do it that way.

so now ... i do it daily, sometimes the day before, but no further out than that.

i do make a grocery list for the week, but can change things out as i want, and really, most of my routine meals are made with the same key ingredients anyways.

nickssweetheart

I prelog a week at a time. I try really hard not to waste food, and in a household of one that requires some careful planning, especially where produce is concerned.

If I want something different, I first think about whether I REALLY want it and what that means for the food that I already have in the house. Say I want to go out for lunch. If my lunch is something that's already made, like a soup or stew or leftovers, I ask myself, will it freeze well? If it does AND I really want whatever it is, I have it, and then make the rest of my day work. Sometimes that means a little extra activity, sometimes that means just going over, sometimes that means sipping bubbly water all evening instead of having another meal. Then I bang whatever I was going to eat into the freezer and plan to have it another day.

If what I was planning won't keep and I really want to deviate, I copy the pre-logged meal into my next day's worth of eating, eat the meal I've decided to have, change the log, and go on from there.

Mostly, though, if I deviate, it's from the point of moving things around or eating something from the freezer, not just throwing out my plan and going out for tacos and margaritas (not that there's anything wrong with that! I love a good taco and a margarita, but for me, those tend to be planned events, to fit into my caloric and fiscal budgets.)

dsboohead

Meals or foods logged can easily be deleted. I do it all the time with changes of plans.