Do you preplan or wing it?

bbygrl5

I've planned before, got tired of the regimented structure and have been winging it for quite some time now, but just yesterday a friend here helped me plan a more aggressive approach to lowering my body fat and I can't do it without some careful planning, so I will be going back to planning.

Elle408

Pre plan! I put in the things that I know i'll be having, like my cereal and protein shakes and then have a think about what's in the cupboards and what's going to come to it's sell by date soon and also what i've been craving and then make up a plan from that.

Then the next day I try to stick to it but am able to change it up a little if something comes up out of the blue, like an unscheduled meeting or eating something naughty off-plan!

I find it really helps me stick to my allowance because I know what's coming up and what things 'cost' me throughout!

shanolap

I pre-plan a week in advance and prepare it all on Sunday, except for dinner...I kinda wing it because sometimes I'm not hungry for dinner or something comes up.

lovetowrite73

I preplan dinners in advance. I'm a supporting member of Allrecipes and will plan my meals out on there. I will then try to cook all the dinners on Sunday so that they can be frozen and reheated on the applicable day. I also cook for 6 people so it saves time for me to do it this way.

MzBug

I wing it. Lots of choices on hand or readily available. If I know I have something special going on I will pre plan my day and make sure to leave plenty of room.

tanniew78

I pre-plan, just the way you described. Otherwise, I will eat more than I need to before dinner and that always makes me sad. Dinner is my favorite meal of the day.

Another thing is that I keep it pretty standard during the week for breakfast and lunch. On my kung fu days, I have to stay away from certain foods so that I don't get sick to my stomach. Interestingly enough, salads do not digest well and make me feel like barfing when the intensity is high. Highly acidic foods do to. Surprisingly, cheese and peanut butter is okay for me and I am always told dairy is the common triggers for sickness at high intensity training. I also have to eat between one to two hours before. Too early and I don't have the energy, too late and yucky tummy. ALL of which is learned through experience, YUCK.

Good luck. Planning is key.

WHERE is the not worthy smiley. lol You go kung fu mama! :drinker:

atrayubrandy

I definitely preplan and wouldn't do it any other way. I've lost 10 lbs by planning the night before but I have recently realized that I don't buy enough fruits and vegetables for the week when I go grocery shopping. So what happens is I'll have 2-3 really good days and then I'll have 4-5 days where I'm below my calorie limit but my diary is filled with chicken nuggets and tv dinners.

So this week I'm planning a full week in advance. I spent a couple hours on Sunday planning my meals and exercise (so that I'm forced to do it). I left a good caloric deficit in case I get invited out for dinner unexpectedly or if I decide to skip my workout. Then, I made a grocery list based on the week. It seems to be working already since this morning I saw my first weight decrease almost two weeks. :-)

Mairgheal

I only plan for daytime. I'm in the office Mon-Fri and on Monday in my lunchbreak, I'd buy all my lunch ingredients and fruit for the whole week.
Evening time and weekends I'm winging it, ie I just eat with my family, but since I keep the cals quite low during work, it's not that hard to eat a normal dinner and stay within my allocated calories.

Nigel99

I wing it. I keep plenty of fresh fruit and veggies in the house, and always have some options to cook lots of different things. I've never actually gone over on my calories in two months, so it seems to be working out ok. I just keep track and log everything throughout the day, and I know where I stand at all times.

baisleac

I am talking about food tracking here. I pre-plan my meals. Usually the night before, but sometimes I do it that morning before a stitch of food passes my lips. Of course I adjust throughout the day if things change, but I find that having a plan organizes my day and helps to keep me on track. And I dont find an excuse NOT to log it because of no time.. etc.. its already in there...

I dont pretrack exercise though. I go by what I feel like doing that day.

This is pretty much exactly what I do... except the exercise part. I plan my calories around my planned workout, but I don't enter exercise until I've actually done it.

dave4d

I preplan work meals. I usually wing it on days I don't have to work.