pre-planning menus - is it worth it??

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LernRach
LernRach Posts: 286 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I have done MFP before, got pregnant and stopped. Now, baby is 9 months old, been down a very long and awful health journey including shed loads of steroids, but I'm ready to start again.

I was thinking - is it sensible to plan all calorie consumption night before, so that when I wake up I know exactly what I;m going to eat, when, and there is no room for going over, or is that mental???

What are your experiences please?

Rachel
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Replies

  • weightliftingdiva
    weightliftingdiva Posts: 522 Member
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    I think it is sensible, but I would leave room for changes/not beat myself up if I didn't follow that specific plan exactly. I try and prelog when I can, but sometime I change my mind about what I want to eat at the moment.
  • traelime
    traelime Posts: 6 Member
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    That is what I do. I plan out breakfast/lunch/snacks the night before so it's easier for me get ready in the morning with everything taken care of. This at least gives me an idea of how many calories i'll have left over for dinner and I usually decide that when I get home. That way I don't feel like i'm gong to crazy with planning.
  • IamMCM
    IamMCM Posts: 122
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    I do much better with planning because spontaneous choices often get me into trouble. I do leave some leeway, but I do much better with my eating when I lay things out ahead of time and make sure that I have those healthy choices available and easily accessible.
  • christullos
    christullos Posts: 89
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    I always pre-plan my day. Doesn't mean I can't change it, but I have found that pre-logging tells me how many calories I have to "play with" for the day.
  • lisakonopski
    lisakonopski Posts: 2 Member
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    It sounds like a great idea! I think maybe I should be doing that. Good luck????????
  • riffraff2112
    riffraff2112 Posts: 1,757 Member
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    I plan out everything most days except dinner since that depends on so many factors for us (busy with work/ kids sports etc). It works for me. Makes it easier to turn down snacks that show up, and keeps me from visiting the cafeteria or vending machine for a quick fix of invariably bad food choices.

    I also leave a stash of healthy snacks, emergency meals at work so that if I forget my lunch, or didn't have time to pack it I at least have something I can go for that won't derail me. These things include...

    1. tuna salad by the can....those small cans of flavoured tuna salad. Comes with a few crackers. A nice light snack and pretty healthy.

    2. Nuts/trail mix....again...a good snack that will do in a pinch

    3. Oatmeal...hot cereal...can make this in a few minutes
  • IHateThinkingOfAUsername
    IHateThinkingOfAUsername Posts: 568 Member
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    I pre-plan/pre-log a day in advance. Saves me from the old trap of:

    "What shall we have for tea?"
    "Dunno."
    30mins later
    "What shall we have for tea?"
    "Don't mind."
    30mins later...
    Repeat until it's too late to cook anything and I've lost motivation.
    "Shall we get a takeaway?"
    "Okay"
    "Pizza?"
    "Ok you phone."
    9in pepperoni and mushroom pizza and a portion of chips each later...
    "We should have cooked"
  • GoldspursX3
    GoldspursX3 Posts: 516 Member
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    Me and my wife plan our meals two weeks out at a time. It makes it really easy to stay within your diet and it saves on our grocery bill because we know exactly what we need to buy and no food goes to waste.
  • SezxyStef
    SezxyStef Posts: 15,268 Member
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    Yes it is worth it...

    I preplan typically Mon-Thur on Sunday allowing for changes as needed/required...

    This lets me know how my weekend will go as well.
    Makes it easier on cooking as I have the foresight to take something out of the freezer
    Gives me a good idea on my macros and where I need to tweek.
    Usually based on groceries bought on Saturday or Sunday
    Let's me give the men in the house a heads up on what is for dinner so they can decide of that's what they want to eat.
    Allows me to let the husband know on his days off what he is cooking that night.

    Best part is that if something "POPs up" I have room for it, mainly because I usually am sitting at a 3k deficit even after logging some of my weekend meals on Wed/Thurs.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,874 Member
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    Yes, it's actually very beneficial, particularly in the initial stages. When you pre-plan, you know exactly where you are any given day...no guessing about whether or not you can have X, Y, or Z...it's already in the books. I pre-planned the night before for the first couple of months I was doing MFP...after a couple months I didn't really need to do that anymore but I still did with some things.
  • _funrungirl
    _funrungirl Posts: 145 Member
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    "When you fail to plan, you plan to fail" I don't know who said that, but for me it is true.


    I try to plan out my next day as much as possible, however if one meal deviates from the plan, I don't beat myself up over it.


    In my freezer I ALWAYS have 3-4 healthy, homecooked meals. These "tv dinners" have save me from ordering pizza many times over.
  • seltzermint555
    seltzermint555 Posts: 10,742 Member
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    I do pre-log some things but try not to be too hardcore about it so that I do have some flexibility. I've been on this site for almost a year and a half and over time I've really gotten into a nice routine where my meals seem to follow a pretty similar calorie structure. That really helps. In an average day, I eat 1400 calories. My breakfast is 200-250, lunch is around 500, and I have around 600-700 to play with for dinner. Getting into that routine has helped me a lot because I have developed a "feel" for what foods fit into my day well. I now realize that I can play around with it and fit in big restaurant meals once in awhile even if I don't have time to exercise that day because with 180 for breakfast and 370 at lunch I still almost 900 calories to "spend" on dinner. Everyone has their own preferences of course and I think the biggest thing is figuring out what cals/macros you need at what times of day in order to feel full. For example I don't snack. I am satisfied by larger 3 meals and no snacks. Some people are totally opposite.

    Play around with pre-logging and see if it helps! Over time it gets easier!
  • helenarriaza
    helenarriaza Posts: 519 Member
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    I don't really pre log but I have this bag where I have breakfast + lunch already weighed in and I carry some pre-weighed snacks, fruits and veggies.

    In case I have some hunger/anxiety and decide to eat everything in sight, I've got my stuff.
  • MysteriousMerlin
    MysteriousMerlin Posts: 2,270 Member
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    Of course. I preplan for the day if we have plans to go out in the evening. I will often peruse the restaurant's menu, and work out what to order beforehand, so I can stay within my goals.
  • Leana93412
    Leana93412 Posts: 162
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    It saves a lot of time.
  • mrogers52
    mrogers52 Posts: 378 Member
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    I have found pre-planning the days meals helpful. I don't spend all day "thinking" about the next meal/snack.
  • lildynarider
    lildynarider Posts: 78 Member
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    I used to make a loose weekly menu at home. It allowed for a lot of flexibility which I need. I knew all of the cook times for what I'm making that week and I also had all of the ingredients prepped on Sunday. That helped cut down on that cook time. I also knew the basic calories. This left me a lot of play in my eating habits. If I didn'1t use every idea through the week (due to unexpected changes) I would carry that meal over to the next weeks menu. I say all of this in past tense because my life got a little crazy when I did some moving and I need to get back in this routine.
  • Angurla
    Angurla Posts: 159 Member
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    Yes. I am a planner. My hubby and I pre-plan and precook. For example we will bbq a weeks worth of b/s chicken breasts, a pot of quinoa and a wok full of veggies made up ever Sunday. He can eat that every day for the rest of his life but I cant so sometimes we switch it up. Lean ground beef, quinoa and spinach taco salads etc. Then we just measure out our quantities each day. I have several snacks to choose from in my desk drawer so that is where my variety comes in. I plan my dinners a month out and freezer cook to save money. I think it boils down to personality types but i have to plan or I end up substitution for bad choices.
  • tibby531
    tibby531 Posts: 717 Member
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    that's the best way for me. I pack my lunchbox, anyway, but then, when I get to work, and I see all the delicious "office snacks" laying around, I can check to see how much I can have and still stay within my limit. I actually allot some calories specifically FOR irresistible office snacks.
  • btanton27
    btanton27 Posts: 186 Member
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    it really helped me out in the beginning because I honestly didn't know portion sizes and guessing where I was in calorie consumption was way off. after about the first year I quit logging everything because I can tell roundabout what each meal is and if I have room for dessert later ;)

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