Filling Out Food Diary BEFORE Eating: Do You Think it Will H

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  • angela828
    angela828 Posts: 498 Member
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    I do it almost everyday for breakfast and lunch (since I eat those 2 meals at work). Definitely helps.. unfortunately, it doesn't always work out. If I have to go to lunch w my dept and our boss, then I just make do with what we have and save my packed lunch for dinner or the next day. But I find it really does help keep my eating under control.
  • tabbychiro
    tabbychiro Posts: 223 Member
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    I think that is a great idea but I rarely do it.

    I am horrible at meal planning. Something to work on.
  • SeasideOasis
    SeasideOasis Posts: 1,057 Member
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    I spend a lot of time away from my house, so planning my menu ahead of time for the meals that are most controllable helps me stay in line and let me know where I stand for dinner if Im not cooking it myself.
  • freerange
    freerange Posts: 1,722 Member
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    It is a GREAT practice to get into, this will let you plan your day, and adjust if you see you are going to be over some place.
  • Meganne1982
    Meganne1982 Posts: 451
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    I always plan ahead- I don't always follow it exactly, but then I just amend it to what I really ended up eating at the end of the day. It really helps me to stay on track from meal to meal and day to day.
  • Lyadeia
    Lyadeia Posts: 4,603 Member
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    I'm new here and decided to fill out my food diary before I start eating every day. I figure it will help me not over-eat (something I tend to do) by sticking to a menu. Does anybody else do this? I just have a problem with telling myself I'm not going to eat much, then by the end of the day realize I ate way too many calories because I took too big of portions or ate that extra snack.

    I do this! Check out my diary. It is full through Monday the 21st.

    I make my plans and play with it until the numbers are acceptable to me. Then I make my grocery list from those plans so I don't buy anything I don't need. Then I have ONLY what's on the list. I started doing that when I was 191 pounds, and I am now 138 pounds. When I was NOT doing it, I wasn't seeing much results because I would eat something without thinking about it, or I would buy something I didn't need. Now I can just play with the numbers and see what's going in my body, and it works great for me.

    Starting next week on Monday, I changed my macro levels to be 40% carbs, 35% protein, and 25% fat which is what a very knowledgeable person who is a personal trainer and exercise physiologist as well as dietitian suggested to me. So there's a lot more red in the macros this week than next week since they are technically different goals, lol. But I think this suggestion will work well for me and it was easy to plan my meals around it. It's MUCH easier, in fact, to plan my meals ahead of time for my percentages because I always make mistakes and switch things around. When you don't plan ahead, you can't just eat it, purge it, and eat something else. :flowerforyou:
  • tammyquinnlmt
    tammyquinnlmt Posts: 680 Member
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    I usually do on the days I work. I plan the majority of the day, leaving room for the unexpected. Definately helps me stay on target.
  • neyes67
    neyes67 Posts: 167 Member
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    I definitely do this on a weekly basis which helps me stay focused on my goals. I love the fact that I can see what I'm planning to eat ahead of time so that I can create my grocery list and allows me to modify if necessary. I try to stick to the rule that if it's not in my diary for the day I can't eat it. Once the foods that I've planned for the day has been eaten I can't eat anything else unless I work for it via working out or I have the extra calories to spare. This strategy really motivates me to watch my sodium intake as well as my fat, protein, carbs and fiber by seeing what's in my food before I eat it leading to healthier choices. GREAT POST:flowerforyou:
  • katbass
    katbass Posts: 351 Member
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    I plan my food out first thing in the morning. It has helped me to stay on track. I know what to grab from the cabinet or fridge if something comes up and I have to leave around snack or meal time. It is definitely nice when you are a stay at home mom and your day goes from 0 to 60 in no time flat!

    Totally agree! I plan my meals first thing in the morning and then I know how much I need to workout in order to stay within my calorie range, and I feel like I have control over what Im eating. I find that I overeat on the days I try to log foods as I go. Planning ahead is definitely helping me shed the pounds!
  • rmhand
    rmhand Posts: 1,067 Member
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    I plan a day or two out. also search for food for going out before hand. If I know what healthy choices I can make ahead of time I'm less likely to make a mistake on something that "sounds" healthy. Some meals I know are good choices so I don't plan ahead but I usually do especially with new recipes and restaurants. Sometimes I plan my desert before my dinner if I really want it and them adjust my dinner accordingly having less meat or carbs and more veggies or less dressings and sauces.
  • CARNAT22
    CARNAT22 Posts: 764 Member
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    I try to fill out my food diary as far in advance as possible.

    It is one thing to log calories on something after you have eaten it but if you log something before and see it is a lot more calories than you thought then you can pick an alternative.

    When I fancy something for dinner I log it and if it puts me over my calories I change it!
  • randi50
    randi50 Posts: 112
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    I usually log mine each morning while I am eating my breakfast. Some things get added or changed at the end of the day but I am always within calories :)

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