Do you plan it out??

zyxst

I plan around what my husband and I are going to have for our shared meal. Usually that's a talk at breakfast, so not really advanced.

kgeyser

I don't plan out every meal, but I do have a rough idea of what dinner is going to be each night, because that is our big shared meal. One thing I do is make extra for dinner and my husband will take that to work with him for his lunch. It obviously lacks in variety, but it's an easy way to get going with calorie counting without being overwhelmed. After a few weeks of eating the same foods I was able to see how well I was hitting my macros and where I could make adjustments in my meals and snacks without worrying that I was going to go over my calories.

EMTFreakGirl

I always plan out (and prepare) a day's food the night before. That way I can adjust my choices to make my macros. In the morning I pack my cooler for work, usually 24 hour shifts, with a few extras just in case that 24 turns into 36. It works for me. It also lets me know exactly where I stand ahead of time so that if an opportunity comes up for a special treat I know if a bite is okay or if I need to stay particularly strong. I also tend to cook in large batches (crockpot) and freeze preportioned meals. Easy to grab and go and I only have to enter the recipe in MFP once!

A_Fit_Mom

I don't really plan....but I do eat a lot of the same stuff during the week. I am not one that needs variety. So I already know what I am eating for breakfast and lunch each day. Dinner is always different and what ever I decide to eat.

easjer

We mealplan for the week. Every meal. Now, it's a little easier for us, because we eat dinner with my mom every night and split the dinner cooking duties and she follows my dietary restrictions graciously. But we plan on Saturday after our toddler is in bed and grocery shop on Sunday and spend time prepping meals Sunday evening.

Breakfast is something that is easy and reheatbable - spinach pancakes are a favorite, or spinach quinoa bars. Egg cups or egg muffins are portable and reheatable, oatmeal can be done in big batches in the crockpot or in the refrigerator for overnight oatmeal if you like oatmeal (I don't - we make it for my daughter). My husband makes smoothies every morning that I drink on the way to work to help with meeting caloric intake easily/healthfully - it takes him about 5 minutes start to finish every day.

Lunch is nearly always a salad of some kind. That is by far the easiest thing to prep and throw together while being filling, healthy and inexpensive. We base around a protein (often beef, sometimes chicken, sometimes fish, sometimes it's tuna or chicken salad on a bed of lettuce), then greens (we always include handfuls of raw spinach, sometimes swiss chard or kale if it's in season and inexpensive), then vegetables and fruits - so much you can add, depending on your likes and dislikes and what protein you are having: cucumbers, carrots, tomatoes, apples, orange slices, berries, celery, water chestnut, squash, onion, broccoli, cauliflower, zucchini. Then fats - dressing helps here (we make ours at home to control ingredients and amounts - it's crazy easy and tasty) - avocados, olives, oils, nuts, seeds. Easy peasy. The most work is cooking the meat Sunday night, chopping fruit/veg, washing ingredients and then portioning. Maybe 30 mintues of prep for a week's worth of meals for 2 people? Other options include soup (make at home to ensure that you aren't too high on sodium) or chili, which can be made in the crockpot, or planning for larger dinners so that you can eat leftovers the following day.

Dinner gets prepped as well - anything we can do in advance to reduce time later in the week, we do. Chop veggies, roast veggies, make sauces, casseroles cooked in advance (or that can be prepped in advance and popped into the oven) etc. But we do a fair amount of crockpot cooking, to save time. We also like proteins that cook quickly, like fish or shrimp, so we're just reheating or steaming/sauteeing veggies to go along with the meat that cooks quickly on the foreman.

It seemed like a lot of work, and it is a little time-consuming to plan in advance, but the actual time spent seems to be less in the end, and it saves us a lot of wasted food and a lot of money, because we only buy what we need for the week and we don't have moments where we throw up our hands in despair and eat out because we don't have enough time to cook (which also saves us money). I felt like I had sticker shock when we switched to healthier, whole foods (instead of processed, pre-made foods) - but soon realized that we were spending less per month on food, even though our grocery bills were definitely higher.

It also helps me keep on track for the day, because I know what I'm eating and can input that early in the day (changing later, if I don't eat breakfast, like today), and see where I'm going to be, and plan for treats ahead of time. I am also entering recipes myself and knowing how much of something is in what I'm eating, rather than relying on guesses or estimates. I think it helps.

WhiteRabbit1313

My official response is: No, OP, I didn't, at first. I still really don't. I play each day by ear.

zeal26

I plan a day in advance. There have been two or three days that I didn't plan out and each time I reached dinner time and didn't have enough calories left to have something satisfying, and no calories for snacks for the rest of the night. Each time it really demotivated me so now I plan.

After I've finished logging my diary for the day, I sit down and plan out the next day. I just use a Word document and have a space for each food opportunity I get in the work day and at home (Breakfast, morning break, lunch, afternoon break, dinner, post work out) and fill it in. I add up the calories and then put another section of how many calories I have left after eating everything there. I am not strict about it. Plenty of days I won't be hungry at X time so end up not eating what I had planned then, so I'll have something different later on. Or I go out for coffee and a snack, a friend offers me something eat, someone brings cupcakes to work... all the things that come up in life.

Mostly I just need it for my meals- I NEED to know that I have enough calories for a decent breakfast, lunch and dinner. For me there is nothing worse than getting to dinner time and not being able to have a big, filling meal! So I log my 3 meals when I get up in the morning and fit my snacks in around that. It's working so far so I'm sticking with it.

knra_grl

You can meal plan in advance for the whole family - good wholesome meals will easily fit into your calories - just remember to weigh and measure everything and figure out how many portions a recipe has (I use the recipe tool on this site all the time). It's a good habit to get into to plan your menu on the weekend for the upcoming week - it just makes things easier and is less time consuming during the busier weekdays.

I usually log as I go but when I pack my lunches for work I enter them the night before so it's done - if I end up not eating something from my lunch I just delete the entry later - but I always pack a few healthy snacks so I have options at work.

Amitysk

At this point I pretty much plan dinners only but more from a grocery shopping perspective. Breakfast on work days is generally the same and then I typically turn left over protein from dinner into a salad for lunch.

Amandawith3kids

i plan out my dinners weekly (i actually have a rotating monthly meal plan, no repeats in one month) but as far as lunches and snacks and breakfast goes, i just make sure i have enough staples for the week.

i dont understand how people can shop without meals plans. how would one make a shopping list? just grab stuff on sale and maybe or maybe not know what to do with it at home?

tjsoccermom

I usually make something in the crock pot that I can eat for lunch all week and tend to portion it out as well. This week was chicken and rice soup. I make sure I always have oatmeal on hand for breakfast, although I've been eating greek yogurt more often lately. I always have greek yogurt on hand and fresh fruit and vegetables.

Dinners I'm not quite as good about planning out like that but I generally have chicken in the freezer and can throw something together pretty quickly. In general, I try to eat less calories for breakfast and lunch and save them for dinner in case I do end up going out or preparing something less healthy and dinners I usually make larger enough so that there are left overs for later in the week. I'm feeding 4 of us, and I'm really the only one that needs to be lower calorie. My kids are teenagers in sports, so they need lots of calories and tend to be big eaters. I also stop at the store on my way home from work a couple of days a week, the store there marks down there greek yogurt, cottage cheese and veggies several times a week, so I like to get it when it's cheaper since I tend to eat usually 2 a day and my son eats some as well. This helps to keep fresh food in the house. I also shop at Aldi once a week to get their produce specials and Costco once a month or so. For me, the key is always having something healthy on hand for those "I'm STARVING" moments. Greek yogurt tends to be my go to when I'm not prepared for lunch; that and some fruit and/or veggies takes care of me and then I normally have an apple on my drive home.

craftywitch_63

You've gotten a lot of good advice here that I will definitely agree with as far as trying to be organized and making meal plans/grocery lists ahead of time.

The other thing that I wanted to mention that was a big learning for me when I first started was to also plan ahead for when you know you will be going out to eat. Take some time, if you know what restaurant you are going to, to look at their menu online and then even if they don't have calorie counts available on their website (and many chain restaurants do), you can look up a few things on MFP to see if the actual restaurant entry is in the database, or try to find something that sounds similar so you can get an idea of what you think you might order. By doing a little research ahead of time, it can help you make better decisions at the restaurant - if one of the appetizers sounds really good to you, maybe just get the appetizer and a salad and forego the entree. Or if you are celebrating a birthday and you know dessert will be involved, look through the entrees to pick something a little more calorie friendly so you can save room for a whole dessert or part of a dessert if someone wants to share!

Knowing that Red Lobster Cheddar Bay biscuits are ~150 cal apiece was very helpful because before, I would have consumed 4 or more in one meal! Now knowing that, I try to plan 300 calorie wiggle room in my meal choices ahead of time so that I can still have a couple, because seriously, who can just eat one of those...

Also by looking at the restaurant calorie counts ahead of time (and I've been known to look it up on my phone in the restaurant - maybe rude but everyone else is on their phones!) - you can avoid the "OMG what did I just do to my calorie total" factor at the end of the day when you go back and log it later.

Good luck!

Excellent advice. I, too have been known to look up calories on my phone before ordering in restaurants. I try not to do things like that on the spur of them moment and look them up beforehand as well. Less guilt that way, I suppose, even though I'm not accountable to anyone else for my weight loss and health.

cingle87

For me Im happy having the same thing for multiple days in a row, so I will either make a stew, curry, soup, chilli etc which I will cook on one day and then use till its all gone. now you may not like having the same meal every day for 4 days but for me it works and meaning I don't have to log every day, log onces use same measures and repeat.

Mr_Knight

...I was just wondering if any of you awesome people plan out your meals in advance so to prevent impulse eating?

Absolutely, yes!

Alex

I have removed several off topic posts and replies from this thread to keep the conversation focused on the original OP and to prevent it from being derailed. Thanks to all for your constructive contributions - lots of great advice and insights here on planning meals.

ILiftHeavyAcrylics

I plan at least a day in advance and sometimes more. It usually takes me about 10 minutes at night to plan and log the next day.

brandiegirl16

You've gotten a lot of good advice here that I will definitely agree with as far as trying to be organized and making meal plans/grocery lists ahead of time.

The other thing that I wanted to mention that was a big learning for me when I first started was to also plan ahead for when you know you will be going out to eat. Take some time, if you know what restaurant you are going to, to look at their menu online and then even if they don't have calorie counts available on their website (and many chain restaurants do), you can look up a few things on MFP to see if the actual restaurant entry is in the database, or try to find something that sounds similar so you can get an idea of what you think you might order. By doing a little research ahead of time, it can help you make better decisions at the restaurant - if one of the appetizers sounds really good to you, maybe just get the appetizer and a salad and forego the entree. Or if you are celebrating a birthday and you know dessert will be involved, look through the entrees to pick something a little more calorie friendly so you can save room for a whole dessert or part of a dessert if someone wants to share!

Knowing that Red Lobster Cheddar Bay biscuits are ~150 cal apiece was very helpful because before, I would have consumed 4 or more in one meal! Now knowing that, I try to plan 300 calorie wiggle room in my meal choices ahead of time so that I can still have a couple, because seriously, who can just eat one of those...

Also by looking at the restaurant calorie counts ahead of time (and I've been known to look it up on my phone in the restaurant - maybe rude but everyone else is on their phones!) - you can avoid the "OMG what did I just do to my calorie total" factor at the end of the day when you go back and log it later.

Good luck!

Excellent advice. I, too have been known to look up calories on my phone before ordering in restaurants. I try not to do things like that on the spur of them moment and look them up beforehand as well. Less guilt that way, I suppose, even though I'm not accountable to anyone else for my weight loss and health.

EXCELLENT INFO ^^^^

one additional piece of advice when eating out...
Restaurants will ALWAYS give you at least a 2 or more size portion of food no matter what you order.Order what you want, it is only one night .. it isn't the end all be all. Portion control is what is going to help you succeed in this lifestyle, so.. moderation, don't overindulge.

a little "portion control" trick i use when going out to dinner. Always ask for a to go contain with your meal when you order. As soon as your food arrives, cut everything down by half.. and store it in the box... put it away, out of sight out of mind. If it isn't staring at you, you won't eat it. You can still enjoy your meal, but you are being accountable for your choices by using portion control. Then you have a lunch/dinner for tomorrow, and you can lose the guilt and regret of "i can't believe i ate all that".

hope this was helpful.

MyM0wM0w

I only shop once a week so on Saturday's I plan my meals(and log) and snacks for the week. Sunday on the way home from church I do all my shopping and when I get home I do all my cooking for the whole coming week. The stuff for late in the week gets frozen until I need it.

I like knowing what and when I'm going to eat. If I have an impromptu lunch or dinner out I always check out the web page of where we're going before I leave so I can decide what to eat/log it and make sure it fits in my day. Then I don't spend ages staring at the menu hoping I[m making a good choice.