Sticking to food plan

Jkowals123

I am having a difficult time sticking to
My food plan and need help! Do you all
log food the night before or as you eat
it? How do you stay strong in evening.
Seem to do good for breakfast and
lunch then crumble! Please help!

Regan45

I usually log my food before I eat it but not the night before - just the same day. If it doesn't fit within my numbers, I adjust what I eat.
I also like to eat later in the evening. I just make sure that I leave enough calories for that. My breakfast and lunch meals are pretty similar every day. I like to vary dinner and snack time.
Good luck! You can do this!

misschoppo

I try and plan ahead so will try and log a few days in advance and then just adjust it and tweak it on the day itself as and when I make changes.

I also feel the need to eat more in the evenings rather than during the day so forward planning means I can allocate more cals to 6pm onwards when i get home. Overeating during the day is never an issue for me really since I take a food bag to work with all my snacks and lunch for the day so I just eat what I take with me but like you I really love to eat more in the evenings!! especially when the weather is rubbish & I'm sat watching tv.

Try to plan your daytime meals & snacks to be healthy filling options that are naturally fairly low cal if you can, therefore allowing you to eat a satisfying volume of food but limiting the calories (a big salad with lean proteins or some nice soup etc are my standard lunch options) and I will snack on pre-weighed small portions of nuts, dried fruit, fresh fruit, wasabi peas, seeds, mini kid sized pots of yogurt, high protein snacks that I also really like because they are tasty like jerky or fridge raiders chicken snacks) that way you can eat plenty in the day but still have plenty of cals to play with in the evening.

Sometimes in the evening I will give in to the bag of cookies my bf is sat munching or the pringles etc so sometimes I do go over substantially but I think you have to keep it in perspective and don't beat yourself up about it just don't do it all the time! Also, you don't mention how much exercise you do? If you already do quite a lot it may not be realistic for you to do more but if you are fairly inactive, you could always up your activity levels allowing you to eat more. Also, if you are able to exercise in the evening if that fits with your lifestyle the more you get out and do stuff in the evening, the less likely you are to overeat, I try and swim as much as I can and the sessions at my local pool run from 8-10pm most weeknights so on the nights I swim I actually eat very little as when I get home from work I will just have something really light and then by the time I get back from the swim having had a shower, dried my hair etc which all takes time, it is late and I don't have much time to sit around eating before bedtime.

Good Luck

Jkowals123

Thanks for the comments! I do
Exercise most days but I don't
Want to log it because I don't
Want the extra calories. I do
Pure Barre and spinning classes.
Taking a break fro running after
Training for marathon.

Adc7225

I think you really need to log your exercise. If you are going off track with your eating it could be because you are hungry - exercise burns calories that you need to replenish. If you are hitting points in your day where you are losing control this may be the reason. Track everything be honest with yourself about your food choices and you might be surprised.

It can be difficult figuring out the calories in v. calories burned because we hear you need to burn calories to lose weight, but it is really a complex science to how that works - we still need to provide our bodies with enough nutrients and calories to correctly burn the fat. I went through the same thing, a period of not eating enough and exercising and wondering why I didn't lose any weight - surprise I needed to increase my calories, but realize as you lose weight you will need less calories.

Jkowals123

Thanks! That is helpful advice!

phyllisbobbitt

:flowerforyou: what I do is make a list for a week! I go to the store and buy only what I need! after I finish a days meals I log what I ate before going to bed! the thing is, you need to plan in advance so you already know what you are going to have & it is within your guidelines that have been set just for you! I also always make time for my exercise daily!
I am going to send you a friend request! hopefully we can encourage & support each other! I am on here daily & do give support to all my mfp friends! I hope you accept my offer!