Pre-Logging

airangel59

99.9% of the time I pre log/pre plan the next day(s) meals. What I do is put a bunch of stuff into nite snacks, far more than I'd ever be eating and I use that as "place holders" for cals/carbs etc. I work from home and am a grazer when bored with sitting at the work desk, so this way I know in advance what I'll be eating and if I need to adjust thru the day, I just change/delete some of my late nite snacks.

I've done this since day one and it works for me. I have pre planned and then totally changed an entire meal so nothing is set in stone till the end of the day of course. But this way I'm covered if I eat something I didn't plan on, or if I forgot to log something I ate earlier in the day, I'm still able to make adjustments and not go over my daily goals.

CarolinkaCjj

Prelog when it is something out of the norm. I often eat roughly the same thing for breakfast and lunch but dinner varies and dining out, I always plan ahead. Tonight is a wine tasting so I will do some prelogging to see where I will be (always add a full bottle of wine on these nights) so I can try to adjust my work out accordingly. Like airangel59, I try to overestimate so I have a little wiggle room. Keep healthy snacks in the house and bring them out - a whole pound bag of baby carrots may be 200 calories but it is a heck of a lot less than a sleeve of crackers (even if they are reduced fat).
Find what works for you but the prelog can be a huge help.

Azexas

I prelog my day out in the morning for the rest of the day. I find I stay on track more if I already mapped it out.

ScifiGirl1986

I'm pretty new at this (only at it a week), but I like to pre-log because it helps me not to overeat. If I know what I want to have for my meals, then I won't deviate unless something drastic happens. It also tells me just how much I can snack during the day and if I can have that can of coke with dinner, especially if I pre-log my workout as well. Today, I know that I could basically have a 4th meal (not that I'm going to do that) because I'm going to burn over 600 calories later.

liftingandlipstick

When you say you log your coffee, do you mean you literally log in "coffee" or do you mean you log the creamer/sugar? I've only been logging the vanilla flavor creamer I use on my morning coffee as part of breakfast. Sometimes I do use the same creamer on my oatmeal so log it then also, but I've never logged coffee. Should I?

My Big coffe cup (14 oz) has about 5 cals in it, without cream or sugar. I always log it, just to be in the habit of logging everything. Just like I log it if I literally only have a bite of something. Or the flavor packs that go into my water. It's totally up to you, but somedays I'm on a coffee kick and have quite a bit of it, and it does add up, especially when you look at your week as a whole. So . . . up to you, but I say log it.

ETA: I even log zero calorie food items, like I Can't Believe It's Not Butter spray. Habit.

ejdp254

I find if i don't pre log i get nasty suprises and find i've run out of calories before dinner, only happened a few times and i still had dinner!! But i'm more careful now and try and pre log as much as possible

Blokeypoo

I do my food the night before M-F and never deviate from it - no need as I make sure I have nice stuff in it! I did it 7 days a week when it wt loss but leave w/e's more open now I'm maintaining.

It means I can see on the Fitbit site that I'm def being active enough to cover my food as the day goes on and also earn some extras for evening treats/snacks.

I think pre-logging stops me making bad choices and also finding myself in the canteen at work faced with temptation. Better to have it all sorted and say "not on a weekday" to anything not planned for.

linsey0689

When I was better at logging everything I did this regularly. Or tell myself this is all I will eat tonight and finish my diary for the day. I think it's good. Keep doing what you are doing if it works. Best of luck to you

Myhaloslipped

I tried pre logging this week, and I just don't care for it. Somehow I ended up eating more calories than I normally do when I log as I go. However, my fridge is always stocked with healthy food, and I have a pretty good handle on the caloric content of the foods I eat on a regular basis.

CallMeCupcakeDammit

I do that in the mornings on work days. While I'm drinking and logging my coffee, I'll log my lunch, too. I already brought it to work with my, so it won't change. Unless I don't eat all of it (which rarely happens) in which case it's easy enough to delete. I also have the same thing or slight variations of, so it's simply to just log it from my recent foods. (Tuna or chicken salad with crackers, if you're interested.)

I don't do it for dinner or on weekends, though, because I usually don't know what I'll be having that far in advance. I keep several easy to fix healthy options around so I can just mix and match whatever sounds good at the time,

What she said ^^^ Fits me to a T

Me, too, except I can usually pre-log my dinners. Weekends right now are too up-in-the-air for me to pre-log. Only same day, though, I don't pre-log the next day.

ETA that it helps me see what I've got for the day, and I can switch things around if I don't like how my macros look before I've eaten. Also, if I end up having to change my dinner plans, I know what I've got to work with.

BrainyBurro

pre-logging works really well and is a good way to get back on track when you find yourself slipping off the path...

seltzermint555

I pre-log frequently, and like most in this thread, often for both lunch and breakfast.

During the work week, I almost always log breakfast up to 2-3 days in advance, because I make breakfast in our house and my husband and I eat/enjoy the same things, so I play around with different days like "Thurs I know I'm going out for coffee and a pastry with my friend so I'll do a bean sprout & cabbage omelet and toast, but Monday & Tuesday we could have refrigerator oats with strawberries and pecans".

If I take my lunch to work with me, I pre-log. If I go out to lunch (which I do once weekly with my dad) I lurk on restaurant sites to decide what I'm going to order, or roughly, and pre-log the day of.

For dinner I usually know roughly how many calories I "have left" and will eat that many, or a little over and then get extra exercise.

seltzermint555

pre-logging works really well and is a good way to get back on track when you find yourself slipping off the path...

I completely agree! For me, it is also a fun way to play with my macros and determine which 3 specific meals will help me come closest to meeting them. Sometimes it is amazing and surprising what will work.

SashPar5

I always try to pre-log my food for the day. I feel that it helps me stay on track and not eat anything that I don't log.

nedtoloseme

I usually log in everything during the week. I have to decide what I want on the weekends - I'm usually on the go alot.

_lyndseybrooke_

Yep! I plan my meals a week ahead of time and log the whole week. I make corrections if I stray from the plan, but it saves me time during the work week when I'm too busy to log. I also see it as a motivational tool. If I cheat, I know I'll feel bad deleting the healthy food I should've eaten and adding the high calorie food I actually ate. I log exercise, too, since I plan each day's workout ahead of time.

JoRocka

yup- every morning when I get to work- I log what I packed for lunch. boom. done.

also helps me know if I have room to have one of the brownies someone brought in or not.

ekahnicole

I generally plan my dinners ahead of time, like right after lunch or somewhere around that time, so that I know how many calories I can have outside of my regular 3 meals. It has been very helpful to me to go ahead and log it all as soon as I've decided. After all, if anything changes, I cant just edit it later anyway

sue_langley

I will go to bed earlier since starting MFP just to lay in bed and consider what I will eat the next day and then I log it. This seems to get me to bed earlier and out of the kitchen earlier. : ) If I stay up too late I start to feel hungry and I usually don't feel good if I eat too late. Sometimes the following day I will change some items in my meals or add items or even change my mind altogether. Works well for me. Very easy to do and I feel in control somehow. I too am a little OCD and that might just explain why I enjoy it. : ) : )

sarafischbach9

Some people find that pre-logging works for them! I think it can be a very good thing to do and I do it from time to time. The only down side is that you can get obsessive!

beachylove

I log my entire day while packing lunches and breakfast in the morning before work since during the week I like to plan out what we are eating. It helps me know what I need to add or subtract for the day to stick to my macros.
weekends I cant always pre-log as we occassionally go out or have dinners with friends/family so those days I just log as I go.

andibenoit

I log the meals I eat at work as soon as they're packed, and I log some of my workouts ahead of time, too. I eat a lot of my workout calories back, so knowing an estimation ahead of time helps plan my day better.

Pirate_chick

I do this most of the time. It's easier for me to log from a PC than tip tapping on the app.

bestmeicanbe84

Add me to the pre loggers. I find it helpful for staying on track and not overeating. It also helps me use up things in the fridge before it goes bad and I have to throw it out.

ashleysarvi

i always pre log helps me figure out what and when i can eat. if i dont i tend to go over quickly