Pre-logging entire food day vs log at end of day?

KKishaA

First off, I want to just say HELL YEAH to all the successes on this site. I have been a member of a few tracking sites and it seems like this one has more people actually accomplishing goals and making progress compared to the others. I have gained so much PRACTICAL AND APPLYABLE knowledge from reading the forums the last few weeks so here's a big THANK YOU! :drinker:

So far I have been deciding what I am eating for the day in the morning, packing my lunch for work, then once I get home a figure out a snack and dinner I figure out basically right before I eat it. I write down what I eat during the day in a little notebook, including extra "bites" of things, and at the end of the day I log it. This is how I found out I was addicted to candy!

Anyways, my question is for the MFPers that have been successful at keeping a steady deficit - do you feel that the most effective way to meet your daily numbers is to plan everything first and log it and follow only what you have on your schedule? My goal has been 1500k daily but I have only hit that once so far.

mschicagocubs

It's honestly a preference.

I have a sporadic life, so I can't always pre-log. I do when I can that way I can keep my macros in check.

I more so log as I eat.

katro111

For me, I find it easier to stick to my allotted calories if I pre-log. It also helps me figure out what I want to eat, too, instead of drawing a blank when I'm hungry and need to eat.

kdrats64

I am sure it depends on the user. There is not one thing that works for everyone. I am normally like you. I prelog my breakfast and lunch because I pack those for work. But dinner can change for us, due to our busy lifestyle. But I can say that I have more success when I know what is coming up and plan a head of time.

Good luck!

_Calypso_

I try to pre-log everything that I can. Things can change and I adjust accordingly, but I find that I stick to my calories better if I pre-log and try to stick to my diary!!

dschassie

I recently (about a month ago) started pre-logging my day and packing my snacks and lunches according to that. It also forced me to plan my dinner ahead. This has helped me tremendously in sticking to my daily limit which is also 1500 and it forces me to re-consider any unhealthy snacks I might want to eat during the day as that would take away from dinner or the healthy snack choices I packed. It will also help you keep an eye on your macros if you prelog, I for example suck at staying at my sugar intake And another thing I love about this is being able to change things before eating. So let's say you prelog your day and you realize there are way too many carbs in it, change what you had planned to make for dinner. Or if you see you need much more protein, change your snack to hit the protein macro.

Jlmervin03

For me, I find it easier to stick to my allotted calories if I pre-log. It also helps me figure out what I want to eat, too, instead of drawing a blank when I'm hungry and need to eat.

Same here.

BeLightYear

For me, I find it easier to stick to my allotted calories if I pre-log. It also helps me figure out what I want to eat, too, instead of drawing a blank when I'm hungry and need to eat.

Same here.

Me too

wannakimmy

For me, I find it easier to stick to my allotted calories if I pre-log. It also helps me figure out what I want to eat, too, instead of drawing a blank when I'm hungry and need to eat.

Same here.

Ditto

ShannonMpls

I pre-log 90% of the time. I know what I'm eating all day, when I'm eating it, and I find it much easier to stick to my plan if my food is packed and logged. I can keep an eye on my protein and fat minimums and adjust ahead of time as needed. I often have room for extras but I still log those before I eat or drink them.

For me, pre-logging (sometimes my whole week!) and planning is a reason I was successful.

You are far more likely to accurately log if you pre-log and weigh ingredients before eating them, rather than sitting down at the end of the day and trying to recall everything you ate and guess at its quantity.

littleandysmom

I log food in for the whole day in the morning.....but change if I eat something different. For me, I find that the more structured I am, the easier it is to not cheat.

thegilly6

I especailly like to do this when I'm going to a new restaurant. I'll research on-line before I go, decide what I'm going to order and log it. That helps to keep me honest to myself.

tkdgirlms

Preference...I log as I eat so I don't forget anything!

JTick

I normally just log as I eat. Occasionally I'll pre-log if I know I want to fit something in to my day. I prefer flying by the seat of my pants though. :laugh:

zyxst

I log as I go.

My husband and I share one meal together, usually supper, depending on his work schedule. My breakfast is the same thing, so I work my lunch around what we decided to have for supper. I also have to fit things under a sodium cap.

NikiaSue

So far, I like to try to pre-log. I started pre-logging yesterday.

tiger4nikki

I usually pre-log my breakfast, lunch and snack at least. Then I think about what I want for dinner and see if I have enough cals left for it. It seems to work better for me.

Routerninja

I pre-log as much as I can since I do have some set items, like my shakes after workout and after dinner, and if I know what I am making for lunch/dinner I will pre-log then adjust with actual weights as needed.

njitaliana

Anyways, my question is for the MFPers that have been successful at keeping a steady deficit - do you feel that the most effective way to meet your daily numbers is to plan everything first and log it and follow only what you have on your schedule? My goal has been 1500k daily but I have only hit that once so far.

I find I have the most success when I pre-log everything the night before. That way, I know exactly what to eat without even having to think about it, since all the thinking has already been done at a time when I wasn't hungry or rushed. I just follow what my food diary says to eat. I even look at restaurant menus online and figure out exactly what I will eat there and log that in advance.

I find I'm not as successful if I don't plan ahead because there are too many surprises and too many times I am stuck wondering how many calories and carbs I can still have for the day. Especially at a restaurant, I don't want to be asking for the calorie counts and trying to figure them out while I'm hungry. I like to have it done already.

adipace815

I actually do a pre-plan log first thing in the morning with a general snack/meal plan for the day. If I don't then I will find myself in trouble at the end of the day when I am most likely to cheat. I am one of those guys that has to have a snack before bed at night or I am going to be up snacking in the middle. So I always know what I am going to have at the end of the day and go ahead and pre-log it. I usually throw in a lunch and dinner plan that fits within my daily goals and if I do any adjusting throughout the day, I just make it fit within the daily.

thesimsisters

We plan out our meals when we go grocery shopping every two weeks. So I already basically know what we will be having what day. So I prelog every night what I will have the next day. The only thing I do not prelog are my evening snacks, as those change based on what I want at the time and on my burned calories.