How do you log?

literaturelover25

So I've taken a bit of a hiatus from my food diary and i'm ready to come at it in a different way. I think it's time i pre log for the next day. In my past attempts to log as i go i'd end up so nervous about going over that by the time dinner came around i'd have over 800 cals left and would end up going on a binge.

So how do you like to log? Any tips to stay successful? Make it less tedious?

onefortyone

I mainly pre-log before the meal - I sit down with my coffee and 'choose' what I'll have for breakfast and lunch. Then when hubby gets home from work we grab a quick snack and do our workout, then we get caught up on our logging, and then whatever what we have left for the day is planned for our supper (usually 800-1300). We have a weekly meal plan, so we already know what food we'll be eating, but if we have extra calories we'll give ourselves a little more meat, or rice, or something

I didn't choose this routine, it's just what has worked for me so far. On days my logging is all over the place, I feel less in control of my choices and more likely to go over.

Anxieux

I usually pre log what I know i'm having in the day. Then after that, the remaining calories I eat throughout the day.


The scanner option in the app helps a lot

SandyBVTN

I pre-log, usually the night before after I press the complete button on that day. Things change as I go along, of course, and I approach it with flexibility.

I think of it like a budget, and knowing the whole picture helps me make decisions based on what I really want to spend my "money" on. When I look at the day as a whole, I can shave off some of that cheese in my lunch pizza, knowing I'd rather have an extra ounce of steak for supper or whatever.

myrtille87

I log my breakfast and lunch (packed lunch for work - usually a wrap or salad) in the morning or the night before.

I often roughly log my dinner before I make it to give me an idea of what calories I've got left for snacks. But obviously I haven't weighed everything before I make dinner, so I then adjust it.

whitehatworlds

Thanks for share!


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TavistockToad

I pre log either the night before or in the morning after breakfast. i follow IIFYM so its the best way for me know im going to hit my macros & calorie goal... i can then just tweak my snacks/portions of my evening meal if i get exercise cals to eat as well.

VintageFit

Since I can't pre-log before work (I work in a kitchen - lots of tasting and having to eat new recipes etc. so you never know for each day)
I tend to only pre-log dinner. I have a little breakfast, then see what I take in at work, and then see how much calories I have left over for dinner at home, and then plan dinner accordingly.

mar36jen

I log as I go so I know where I am at along the day. Plus I usually do not know what the meal plans would have for me from one day to the next. But by logging as I go I can see habits and know what I have left for the remainder of the day. Not sure what I will do when I return home, if I will log before or as I go.

KrissyRawrz

I prelog for the next day generally, sometimes I do a couple of days in advance. Then on the day if I'm craving something different I just make my adjustments for the day

nzchikky

I have never been able to stick to whatever I prelog so I just log in everything after my meals

aeb09

I pre-log 99% of the time the night before. Since I'm living keto and need my macros to be on point every day I find this is the easiest for me.

Francl27

I prelog the night before when I know what I'll be having, but more often than not it gets changed during the day.

JenniDaisy

I prelog my breakfast and lunch at the beggining of the week because I have both at work and I have the same thing everyday. Then, while I'm on the computer at work I decide and log dinner, that way if anything changes I know if I have calories to spare. Weekends are slightly different as things are less structured but I still try to plan ahead.

lorib642

I log as I go usually. Sometimes, I will log ahead if I have my meals planned out. I haven't had an issue with having too many calories at the end of the day yet, but I just started

MityMax96

So I've taken a bit of a hiatus from my food diary and i'm ready to come at it in a different way. I think it's time i pre log for the next day. In my past attempts to log as i go i'd end up so nervous about going over that by the time dinner came around i'd have over 800 cals left and would end up going on a binge.

So how do you like to log? Any tips to stay successful? Make it less tedious?

Sometimes, when I am sitting in front of the TV the night before...
I will just fill in my diary for the next day.....
Then no thinking on it....

Prep my food the night before, pack it and have it ready to go.

merfhur

I pre-log before I start cooking so I'm not tempted to add extra things when I'm cooking!
I find that if I log after I've eaten I tend to forget weights/measurements of food.

Sued0nim

I log when I eat

I am also trying to increase my calories at each meal this week so from a 350 lunch I'm aiming for more like 500 (which can include afternoon snacks)

if I get to the evening and have not enough for dinner, I'll do some exercise or eat into previous defecits during the week

if I have too many calories left I'll have an icecream or piece of chocolate in front of the TV just to make up some of the difference

MinnieInMaine

For me it starts with planning meals for the week. Then every morning, by the time I've packed my lunch and snacks and done any necessarily dinner prep (like marinading meat or taking out tomorrow pork chops from the freezer), I know pretty much everything I'll be eating that day so I can log it all. I don't log exercise until I do it but I know some who pre-log exercise as motivation (gotta do it to earn the calories).

jrcrmr

I think i'm the crazy one here, but I log almost a week before. On Thursday evening, I choose what meals I want to cook for the following week. On Friday, after work, I do groceries JUST for the meals I said I would prepare. I take a few hours on Sunday, cook all the meals (usually 4-5 breakfasts, 2 servings of a meal with fish, 2x4 servings of two other meals...which makes for 14-15 meals, mon-fri), and then slot them for the week until friday evening. Keeps my on track and if something happens that I don't eat a particular meal, I just push the meal to the next one and have something for the weekend.

Samstan101

I log my breakfast and lunch (packed lunch for work - usually a wrap or salad) in the morning or the night before.

I often roughly log my dinner before I make it to give me an idea of what calories I've got left for snacks. But obviously I haven't weighed everything before I make dinner, so I then adjust it.

Exactly the same for me too.

in_lieu_of

My husband calls me "cute" because last night he told me about a place he was taking me to dinner on Friday night, and I already went through their menu and logged what I was going to have, including dessert. Like Max, I tend to do pre-evening prep when making the kid lunches for school the next day so I know what is available and what to "avoid" if I'm feeling weak self-control wise

dopeysmelly

I pre-log the night before or in the morning after breakfast, but focus mainly on protein, fiber and fat when I pre-log. I use the generic database entries, so I'll log a "medium apple" etc, but when I actually put my meals together I adjust that for the real weight of what I'm eating and make minor adjustments as I go.

seltzermint555

I have gotten into the habit of eating roughly the same number of calories for each meal, each day.

For example...I don't really snack, so that's out. I find a small breakfast totally satisfying, so most of my breakfasts through the week are roughly 200 cal. Lunch is usually around 500 because if I eat a 350-400 cal lunch I feel cranky and super hungry by the time I get off work. This leaves me around 700 for dinner, so I have a higher calorie meal or a treat/dessert along with my meal.

For me this works out really well and has made it pretty easy.

When I have something special going on, like a dinner out, I still have 200 breakfast and maybe scale back to 400 at lunch...leaves me with 800-ish calories, a bit more if I fit in a long walk or an hour of serious cleaning.

On weekends I get in enough exercise that I am comfortable eating back some or many of those calories and don't really have to worry much about it. I still log everything though!!

kefryar

I try to pre log my exercise and food for the entire week. That does require me to plan my meals, which is a good thing. On sunday my husband and I go to the store and buy what we need for all our meals, then i log it all. Some days I get off track, but mostly it helps me stay accountable.

literaturelover25

Thank you for all the replies. logged today's meal last night and have made slight adjustments here and there throughout the day based on time and hunger. so far so good.