Are you a prelogger or do you log as you go?

Buttermello

Do you log all your food for the day ahead of time (the night before or the morning of), or just log foods as you consume them?

Why?

bpetrosky

I do both. When I'm logging, I'll prelog batch cooked meals like lunches I pack for work, but log dinner when I make it.

CatsRule611

I am still new to this but find if I log what I am eating for the day, I stick to it better. This is for weekdays only, the weekends are a gamble.

cwolfman13

I don't log anymore and haven't in a long time, but when I did I usually pre-logged. I wanted to know where I stood on the day rather than eating and then getting some surprise after I ate it and logged it. I wouldn't always stick to what was pre-logged...often dinner plans would change or something, but I knew where I was in general.

Cadencec1

I log as I go. I just find that it works for me.

sardelsa

Back when I used to log, I did a mix. I prelogged parts of my day then left some blanks. Even if I prelogged I would change things around as I went quite frequently.

garber6th

bpetrosky wrote: »

I do both. When I'm logging, I'll prelog batch cooked meals like lunches I pack for work, but log dinner when I make it.

This is pretty much what I do. On work days, I usually do a lot of the same foods, so it helps to pre-log as much as possible to get an idea of where I am calorie wise, and that helps me make better decisions for the meals that I don't pre-log.

Lietchi

I log as I go, with one exception: when cooking dinner, I make enough for leftovers the next day, so I will log those leftovers in advance, at the same time as dinner itself.

steveko89

I pre-log as much as possible and adjust weights and portions for accuracy as I go along.

janejellyroll

Pre-logging all the way. It's so much easier for me.

noelkro80

Pre log is working out great for me at the minute. I plan my next days breakfast, lunch, dinner & snacks the night before & log it all when I’m eating my breakfast

Sand_TIger

I do both - I prelog what I bring for lunch, and then log dinner when I find out what it is. I prelog my bedtime snack but take it off the next day if I didn't eat it. Which happens more and more because I forget.

StellaRose227

I prelog, sometimes a week or two at a time. I meal plan, so I have a pretty good idea what dinner is going to be on any given day. Lunch is going to be leftovers. I have several hundred recipes saved, so it's just a matter of adding that recipe and tweaking the specific amounts of each ingredient.

PAV8888

Are you asking what's best for weight control (=pre logging / pre-planning --don't forget to make the final changes to reflect the food you consumed in the end. Or, quite powerfully, never putting something in mouth until it's already logged?)

Or are you asking what people who open the fridge and only then start thinking about what they're going to eat do?

I current belong to the second variety.

I will occasionally test log something to see how it would fit. But beyond that I now tend to jot things on a piece of paper by the scale and log while I'm eating. Sometimes even after I'm done.

Then again I'm at maintenance. And have a high enough TDEE that can absorb more than a couple of oopsies!

speyerj

I sometimes pre-log my dinner especially if I plan to have something carb or fat heavy - that way I can plan to eat foods at breakfast and lunch that get me to where I want to be with my macros. Or to see if I have enough left in my 'budget' for a mid day snack. But generally it's log as I go.

CupcakeCrusoe

steveko89 wrote: »

I pre-log as much as possible and adjust weights and portions for accuracy as I go along.

This is what I do. Pre-log foods to get a sense of the macros/calorie load for the day, then go through and adjust the weights as I eat them. Like I'll log a pear from the last time I ate a pear, and when I go to eat the pear, I modify the weight.

lx1x

Both

kshama2001

I generally log about the same time I eat but try to test-log new dinners to see where they are for calories. For example, the focaccia I made Saturday was 515 calories for 175 grams, and I could have easily, easily overeaten that if I didn't prelog it.

However, I do know that for me, for pizza-type foods I should stay under 200 grams, creamy pasta dishes are safe at around 250 grams, my Thai stir fries are good at around 350 g, for chicken and broccoli I'll want 100 g each, etc.

lemurcat2

Buttermello wrote: »

Do you log all your food for the day ahead of time (the night before or the morning of), or just log foods as you consume them?

Why?

If I make lunch and dinner ahead I will go ahead and log them the morning of or day before. I usually log breakfast when I'm making it in the morning. I don't log anything that isn't already measured out (so dinner if I specifically broke it into servings when I made it or lunch most of the time), and never farther ahead than the night before. If dinner is leftovers but not measured out I might copy the day I first had it and then adjust servings later.

I don't plan meals ahead until I've already made them -- having a week planned out isn't fun for me I like to be creative/spontaneous about what I want to make for dinner often. If I have a dinner made (leftovers) and planned but decide not to have it I usually move it to the next day to have it then.

Why? I plan and hold plans in my head pretty well so I can figure out what would fit my cals/goals and the ingredients in my refrigerator without formally menu planning and menu planning too much makes me feel restricted.

lgfrie

I log at least one day in advance, often 2-3 days. There's usually some tweaking that takes place when I actually get to the day in question, but I like having a general roadmap worked out, mainly because it allows me to tweak portion sizes to stay within +/- 10 calories of my calorie target. Then I can just kick back and enjoy all my food and treats w/o any stress about "going over".

Here's my roadmap for tomorrow, all laid out and waiting for me:

hesn92

I pre log the whole day unless I don't know what I'm having for dinner yet or something. Because I like to see how my whole day looks and make adjustments if I need to...

debtay123

I pre log then make adjustments in the evening as needed.

AnnPT77

I almost never prelog: I'm an impulsive person, with variable exercise, and prelogging doesn't suit. That said, my breakfasts and lunches have certain patterns (saved as meals), because I'm still semi-comatose and on autopilot then. Dinner & snacks, not so much.

I think the value of prelogging or not is a personality and self-insight kind of thing, not a universal. YMMV.

loveisapineapple

To keep on track I kind of have to pre-log. Otherwise I would run the risk of getting to 4pm and having no more calories left for dinner. But I do leave it a bit flexible and make changes later, but I will know for example if I'm going to have a glass of wine with dinner or not.

RoseyandReady

Log as I go. I eat a lot of meals that I have cooked and froze so I know generally what is going to fit in to my log.

Khartman6

I do a combo of both. I enter my info in the evening. My diet is very structured and i know what my last 2 meals will be. So, the first 4 meals are typically entered after I already have eaten them. The last 2 are entered prior. No real reason, other then timing.

BarbaraHelen2013

Sometimes I wish I pre-logged, but I know myself well enough and I know the sure-fire way for me to not want to eat something is to pre-log it!

I very, very rarely eat breakfast and my lunches tend to be fairly formulaic based on a few variables but only around 200-250 cals.

This leaves me room to be fairly spontaneous when it comes to dinner. I often ‘plan’ in my head, but very infrequently actually stick to that plan when it comes to it! As a vegetarian, I also cook for a meat eating husband and a picky grown daughter who like to eat at different times so by the time I get to dealing with myself I often just opt for easy and quick!

Best laid plans...😂

gothchiq

Prelog what I am considering to see if I can "afford" it and change if I cannot. One meal at a time usually

Danp

When I log my morning coffee I'll tend to fill in what I expect I'll be eating for the rest of the day as I'll generally have a good idea of what I'll feel like eating.

It means I only have to log once a day so logging becomes a 30-60sec task. It also gives me a good view of my calories for the day up front and lets me know if I have some wiggle room in order to treat myself should I feel the need.

If my reality deviates significantly from my plan then I'll pop in and update as needed but even if I don't eat exactly what I planned I tend to just let it go as long as I know what I logged and what I now plan to eat are both relatively close in calories. For example one of premade frozen meals I enjoy is 825cal. I also know that a regular order from a local restaurant comes to about 790cal. If I pre-log one and change my mind and eat the other then I'll tend to just leave it as is, because for my purposes the calories are close enough and I don't monitor macros.

OAS5

Never the day before but sometimes at work I'll do the lunch when I'm logging breakfast because I know what I'm having exactly for lunch because it's all pre made and set up.

sgt1372

Usually log after I eat unless I know 4 sure what I am going 2 eat for a meal, which only happens when I cook at home