A survey :)

Paiche

Im curious about how other people go about things, so i'd LOVE if you'd answer some Q's for me

1. Do you pre plan your days food, or do you just eat as you go and stay within your limits?

2. What is your favorite low calorie desert?

3. What is your go to exercise?

4. How many calories are you eating each day? How much are you losing on average per week?

5. Which is harder for you, working out or staying in your calorie limit?

Thanks to all that reply!

amw8675309

1) i am definitely a planner--i try to plan a full week so i know how to grocery shop, but then if i need to alter things as the day goes by i make changes as i go

2) how low cal? i try to save about 200 calories for dessert and i love the edy's mini cups of ice cream

3) running is my favorite, i also go to boot camp class and sometimes play tennis but that's more for fun

4) i aim for 1400/day which would be a .7lb/week loss and i ate back about half my exercise calories (am training for a half marathon so i dont want to short myself on fuel) Ive lost about 10-15 overall but have been gaining and losing 3 lbs for the past few months.. thats more becasue of weekends getting out of hand than anything else though

5) staying in my calorie limit is WAY harder than working out for me

nicole326

1. Most of the time I pre plan my meals. I realized that when I just go along and try to stay within my limits, I normally go over my calorie limit, and I get so discouraged when that happens

2. I normally don't eat dessert, but i do love key lime pie yogurt. haha i know its not dessert but it still tastes like it!

3. My go to exercise is definitely running. I love to blast upbeat music and get all my stress out by running

4. Well, I just started MFP not too long ago. I'm currently eating about 1200-1300 calories per day, and nothing less. After one week, I lost 2 pounds.

5. Hmm...this is a hard one. Each of these is pretty easy for me. I loooove working out and i'm normally not hungry enough to eat over 1300 calories.

mommytomia

1) Honestly, I just eat as I go. All my planning is really in the grocery shopping, making sure there are lots of choices to pick from. I never go over on calories, so I must be doing something right!


2) Chobani Greek Yogurt is my go to dessert.

3) Walking is my only real exercise(but I do at least 10,000 steps a day) because of some health/medical limitations I have.

4) I zig zag...so my calories are between 1200-1650. I lose around 0-2 a week. I am 2 pounds from goal now, so the losing has slowed way down.

5) Working out is definitely the harder of the two, the calories are the easy part!

misspenny762

Im curious about how other people go about things, so i'd LOVE if you'd answer some Q's for me

1. Do you pre plan your days food, or do you just eat as you go and stay within your limits?
Eat as I go

2. What is your favorite low calorie desert?
Subsititute crepes - take a Melissa's Crepe (50 cals) spread half a cup of sugar free jello chocolate pudding (30 cals) add some banana or berries to it (various cals obviously) and top it with a serving of reddi wip (15 cals)... It's really good and lowcal but best of all it's BIG! So you're not depriving yourself at all.

3. What is your go to exercise?
Elliptical machine

4. How many calories are you eating each day? How much are you losing on average per week?
1000. 3-4 lbs a week.

5. Which is harder for you, working out or staying in your calorie limit?
Hmmm... It honestly changes often. Sometimes I'm in the zone exercise wise, other times (like now) it's extremely difficult for me even to eat up to 1000 calories so staying within my limits is not a problem at all.

Thanks to all that reply!

ehlertmartha

1. I just eat as i got and check the calories before i eat it to make sure ill still be in me limit
2. I like those little 100 cal packs with the cookies those are good and only 100 cal
3. I get up every morning and run and also do a lot of things around the house during the day to stay active
4. My limit is around 1800 but i eat around 1400
5. For me i would say working out is harder for me. i know the things i can and cant eat to stay in my limit and just have to work harder at getting up in the morning to go work out

bgeer34

1. Pre Plan. However, I did that before I chose to start eating healthy as I have done a family menu and grocery shopping from that for a few years to keep us within our budget for groceries anyway.

2. Schwans sugar free/fat free vanilla ice cream. 1/2 cup is only 70 calories

3. Zumba

4. 1200 ... losing about 2 lb per week

5. Definitely working out. Not because I don't enjoy it, but with 3 active boys in more than one sport each doesn't leave me with a lot of time and I have to figure out how to squeeze it in between the running and pick ups from practices because my hubby works nights.

skinnyhopes

1. Do you pre plan your days food, or do you just eat as you go and stay within your limits? Both

2. What is your favorite low calorie desert? Ice cream

3. What is your go to exercise? Walking

4. How many calories are you eating each day? How much are you losing on average per week? 1200, 0.5 a pound

5. Which is harder for you, working out or staying in your calorie limit? staying within calories !

blondie1238

1. Do you pre plan your days food, or do you just eat as you go and stay within your limits? Depends on the day! On the days I'm really busy, I plan, because otherwise I know I won't get time to come back and enter my food in. Plus, it holds me accountable to exercise and then I feel like I HAVE to eat what I put in. On days when I'm not as busy, I may be a little more lenient but I always keep a tally in my head!

2. What is your favorite low calorie desert? Athenos greek yogurt... blueberry or strawberry. Or Hersheys special dark chocolate chips

3. What is your go to exercise? The elliptical machine, walking my dogs, group fitness classes, or when I don't have time, I pop in a Jillian Michaels DVD!

4. How many calories are you eating each day? How much are you losing on average per week? If I don't work out that day, I eat between 1200-1300. If I do work out, then it depends on how many calories I've burned! I've been in a plateau, but I was losing 0.5-1lb a week, and last week I finally busted out of my plateau and lost 1.4lbs!

5. Which is harder for you, working out or staying in your calorie limit? BOTH! On the days I don't work out, it's hard to stay in the calorie limit. On the days I'm busy, it's hard to find time to work out!

e1lindsay

1) I don't "pre-plan" as much as "casually think ahead"...i know what kinds of foods i can eat or combine to be 300 calories or less for my 3 main meals in order to leave wiggle room for snack, desserts and other things...i tend to log things ahead of time if i can, because then i stick to my plan better.

2) favorite low cal desserts are the Skinny Cow ice cream sandwiches...they come in many different flavors, have less then 200 calories, have fiber and protein and are super delicious! they're expensive but i always have them on my grocery list.

3) my "go-to" exercise is walking/jogging. i used to go to the gym a lot more, but now that it's nice out i've been doing it outside and just stopping to the gym a few times a week for strength training.

4) I'm scheduled to eat 1400 calories a day. this is only my 2nd week following this plan, but i lost 3 pounds the first week!

5) Staying in my calorie limit can be trickier for me, because i always know i can walk a couple miles, enjoy it and earn myself that skinny cow ice cream!

pixycats

1. I usually just eat as I go and do my best to stay within limits - thinking ahead about later in the day if I notice I am eating a lot for lunch, etc.

2. WW Cookies and Cream Ice Cream Bar

3. Running on the treadmill, but I've been trying to mix it up a lot lately.

4. About 1400-1500. I was losing about 1-2, but none for the last couple weeks.

5. Staying in my calorie limit, definitely. I enjoy working out but I definitely don't enjoy not getting to eat as much as I want.

ybba12490

1. Do you pre plan your days food, or do you just eat as you go and stay within your limits?
It just depends. Today I planned because it's sunday and I didn't really have anything to do. However, during the week I never plan (maybe one meal a day I'll plan) because I'm in school and it's hard to know what time or where I'll be eating during which classes etc.

2. What is your favorite low calorie desert?
An ice cream cone from chickfila (170 cals) or sugar free chocolate pudding (60 cals)

3. What is your go to exercise?
the elliptical or jogging on a track, or if I'm with a friend we will play basketball or racquetball

4. How many calories are you eating each day? How much are you losing on average per week?
Right now MFP has set me to eat 1500ish cals per day, but after exercise and eating healthy I usually have a lot of cals left over. I have lost 8lbs in 2 weeks

5. Which is harder for you, working out or staying in your calorie limit?
hmm maybe working out, just because I HATE walking over to the gym! It's hard to be motivated to exercise when I work night shifts (11pm-3am or 3am-7am), go to class, do homework or projects, see my friends for a little and then head to the gym. Time consuming but worth the effort Staying within my calorie limit isn't difficult, only when I'm with my boyfriend because he always wants to eat at fast food places or something, lol. But if I know I'm hanging out with him I'll go to the gym for twice as long and watch my other calories throughout the day

WifeMomDVM

1. Do you pre plan your days food, or do you just eat as you go and stay within your limits? A little of column A and a little of column B.

2. What is your favorite low calorie desert? Vita Tops Muffin Tops Deep Chocolate (I'm a chocoholic).

3. What is your go to exercise? Elliptical Trainer

4. How many calories are you eating each day? 1400 most days, 1700 on days I strength train (the extra 300 calories come from my recovery shake) How much are you losing on average per week? It varies but I've lost 16.5 lbs in 3 months, so on average a little more than a lb/week (but I lost more at first - it has slowed as I approach my goals)

5. Which is harder for you, working out or staying in your calorie limit? Def. working out. I hate it. I can usually say no to most food if I eat healthy satisfying fiber and protein!

ladybg81

1) I pre plan the night before. Mainly breakfast and lunch and wing it for dinner. We only have decent stuff at home for dinner so that is never a problem. I just have to remember to take something out of the freezer before I leave for work. Once I'm home, I just start cooking.

2)Skinny cow anything.

3)Walking on the treadmill.

4)1200 per day. I'm losing a little more than a lb a week

5)Working out if definitely harder. I just really do not want to bother!

MyNameIsNotBob

1. Do you pre plan your days food, or do you just eat as you go and stay within your limits?

A little of both. Sometimes enter as I go along... sometimes planning very carefully, sometimes just "casually planning" as someone else called it. I always plan to save myself 200 cal. for late night / midnight snacking.

2. What is your favorite low calorie desert?

Hmmm... I don't really believe in low-cal dessert! LOL. But I frequently have 1/2 c. of ice cream. If I'm just craving something sweet, a Fiber Plus bar is 120 cal. and cures a chocolate fix.

3. What is your go to exercise?

Swimming, elliptical, rowing machine. WALKING!

4. How many calories are you eating each day? How much are you losing on average per week?

12-1500 cal., on average. 1 day every 10 or so over 1800. I've lost 16 lbs. in 3.5 months.

5. Which is harder for you, working out or staying in your calorie limit?

Calories, for sure. Working out is what allows me to stay under / within calorie goal range.

00trayn

1. I tend to do a combination of the two, but for the most part I stay within my calories as I go. I eat the same breakfast every day, and I tend to have the same selection of snacks. I aim to be around 1000 calories right before I workout after work, and then my dinner, snack and protein shake add another 500 or so calories to that.

2. Right now I'm a huge fan of Jello Temptations, the Lemon Meringue is 100 calories and delicious! The other flavors have more calories, but look tasty too.

3. Running, either outside or on the treadmill. I know I can get a good calorie burn and I'm training for a 5K right now, so I'm trying to improve my running endurance to be able to run the whole distance.

4. I eat around 1600 a day, and I aim for at least 1000 net calories, preferably 1200. I had to increase my calories to break a recent 3 month plateau so I'm just starting to see losses again. It's been between 0.5 and 1.0 pounds per week since the plateau broke. I'm also near my goal weight, so weight loss is slow.

5. Definitely staying under my limit. I tend to workout on a pretty regular basis, 4 nights during the week and once during the weekends depending on my schedule. But I eat out sometimes, like to drink beer, want the occasional treat and I have to focus on staying within a reasonable calorie range.

Jenn070608

I plan my meals the day ahead.
Love Skinny Cow ice cream and Choboni Greek Yogurt
Zumba, Curves and walking

Dreaaa

1. I've noticed if I plan my day ahead or most of it then I eat what I'm supposed to and I've already mentally prepared myself. It's harder for me to go off base and eat something that blows my day.
2. I don't really have a sweet tooth but when I do find myself reaching for something I tend to grab an Activia. They're cold, and creamy and hit the spot. They also carry a bunch of flavors which is a total plus.
3. The 30 Day Shred by Jillian Michaels.
4. MFP has me on 1300 calories but I weigh 225.4 .. as I've lost weight my calorie intake has lowered as well. When I weighed 60 lbs more and I got serious about losing weight, my nutritionist started me on 1800 then lowered it to 1600.. and so on. Since I've started losing I've maintained my weight and haven't gained a pound back. It's been almost 2 years. :happy: On average I lose about 2 lbs per week IF I eat the right amount & I HAVE to workout. If I'm not logging in my food or working out I stay at the same weight. week after week. :grumble:
5. It's harder for me to workout, mostly because I'm full of excuses. When I'm super pumped and motivated I see changes and I workout and I'm sore. haha I just wish I was like that more of the time.

Honestly it's a journey but it's a worthwhile journey. I hope this helps you. If you have any Q's or you want to chat feel free to add me!

UpToAnyCool

1. I am usually more optimistic earlier in the day: I HAVE to plan in the morning - I still have a dumb-phone so I don't have constant internet access all day unless I'm working and not out at meetings. I usually do a 'rough draft' just to get an idea of what will work.

2. I love fresh fruit and yogurt, but I have that for breakfast :laugh: so now my favorite 'not-so-evil' desserts are chocolate pudding made of skim milk w/ real sugar or chocolate milk or sorbet, etc. I love booze, so sometimes that my 'dessert'.

3. Would have told you that you are crazy, but turns out that I love jogging. I have super laid-back goals: have fun and avoid injury so I can keep running. I haven't made great improvements in speed and endurance, but the emphasis is on keeping it fun so I keep on running. I had to re-set my ticker back to zero last week, however, so I've made a better effort to include resistance training.

4. I'm all of 5'-0" so I am eating +/- 1200 + ALL EXERCISE CALORIES. I am not a stickler though and I don't consider being 30 over worse than being 60 under. My future maintenance should be 1400-1600 and I don't want it to be tough transition, which is why I'm willing to lose very, very slowly and eat all my calories back. I also LOVE :smooched: food, so that's the choice I'm making - the slow route. I am working on BF% goal these days, so I reverse calculated to figure out goal weight. I'm not super concerned about the number, but more concerned about improving muscle mass, strength, balance, and fitness.
(I think improved coordination might be a lost cause )

5. Much, much harder to stay in calorie limit. :embarassed:

- - - - -

^ this is just me ~ pls no arguments about eating exercise calories. i'm not telling anyone else what THEY should do!

Cytherea

1. Do you pre plan your days food, or do you just eat as you go and stay within your limits?

I LIKE to plan my days out. Typically, I decide what is for dinner tomorrow night, and add it right away into the next day's diary, and then I plan the rest of my day around it. Sometimes, I know before going to bed everything that I plan to eat the next day. However, that's not to say that I'm not flexible, and that I can't switch things up if need be.

2. What is your favorite low calorie desert?

Trader Joe's Vanilla Meringue cookies, at the moment. Past favorites include: Smart Ones desserts, Skinny Cow ice cream sandwiches, fruit sorbet, Jamba Juice popsicles, and those devil's food cookies. For a dessert treat, as in, to get something out, always frozen yogurt. Wayyyy better than ice cream and SO much better for you! My current favorite is the devil's food cake batter from Yogurtland. Rich and creamy and delicious, and totally fat free!!

3. What is your go to exercise?

Treadmill.

4. How many calories are you eating each day? How much are you losing on average per week?

1200 per day. I've been stuck in a plateau for a few months now, and really not losing much, but before that, I was losing about 5 lbs. average per month, so about a lb. a week or so.

5. Which is harder for you, working out or staying in your calorie limit?

Working out. I don't mind planning out what I'm going to eat, but getting myself to the gym is and always has been difficult for me. I'm not the type of person who feels great about myself afterwards or gets excited to go. Wish I was, but I'm just not.

mskatec22

1. Do you pre plan your days food, or do you just eat as you go and stay within your limits?
I plan my breakfasts and lunches out for the week, since those tend to be rushed with work and everything. My husband (who recently broke his back and is currently not working) plans our dinners. I text him everyday after lunch and tell him how many calories I have left. He consults our Betty Crocker cookbook and goes to it! lol

2. What is your favorite low calorie desert?
Popcorn, 25 calories a cup and Mike's lite...98 cal a beer

3. What is your go to exercise?
Wii Fit and Just Dance at home, and a cardio circuit training class once a week.

4. How many calories are you eating each day? How much are you losing on average per week?
I'm allowed 1200 calories. I usually come in just right under that as long as I have 2 snacks a day. This is my second week using MFP and I weigh in tomorrow. Last week I lost 3.4lbs. I feel like I may have lost another lb at least.

Great survey, thanks! It definitely helps to reflect like this!:bigsmile:

5. Which is harder for you, working out or staying in your calorie limit?

neyes67

1. Do you pre plan your days food, or do you just eat as you go and stay within your limits?
I take time every weekend (Sat or Sun) to plan my meals for the entire week... it keeps me focused and prepared.

2. What is your favorite low calorie desert?
I really don't do desert per say but I do like greek yogurt with honey by Athenos; I also like peanut butter a lot so I do eat it on a half side of a sanwhich twin with bananas which s more of a snack between meals; I occasionally have a glass of champagne or desert wine with grapes and laughing cow cheese

3. What is your go to exercise? Jillian Michaels Banish Fat Boost Metabolism (it takes care of those days I don't get to the gym or really need to shock my body... love the cardio/circuit training); at the gym I love the elliptical trainer.

4. How many calories are you eating each day? How much are you losing on average per week? I was averaging around 1200-1400 but I hit a plateau because I wasn't eating back my exercise calories and I worked out everyday. Now I'm shooting for 1400-1800 (trying the Zig Zag type process for a week or so to see if it gives me a boost) I was averaging 1.5 - 2 pounds per week but hit a plateau and it has slowed to approx .5 pounds per week... hope this will pick up a little from changing my workout and eating more

5. Which is harder for you, working out or staying in your calorie limit? Neither one are hard for me ... I never really exceed my calorie limit ( I try to choose low calorie items which fill me up, I eat 2-3 snacks between my 3 meals, and drink lots of water) ... I have become somewhat addicted to working out because I love the way I feel afterwards and even when the scale doesn't reflect a change the inches are the results which motivate me the most from working out ...I love the way my body is changing as a result of it.

callipygianchronicle

1. Do you pre plan your days food, or do you just eat as you go and stay within your limits?

I mostly log as I go. However, I make things in bulk and tend to eat variations of the same thing for a week at a time. I have a general idea of what I’m eating, but I keep things flexible. I usually need some protein and additional calories after diner, so I pre-plan that snack with the goal of getting as much protein as possible.

2. What is your favorite low calorie desert?

14 Ghiradelli chocolate chips (60% cacao) and 20 grams of dry roasted almonds is my favorite after dinner snack. But when I want dessert, I don’t do low calorie. I manage my calories and exercise and work it in.

3. What is your go to exercise?

Yoga 3-5 times a week. Has profoundly changed my life.

4. How many calories are you eating each day? How much are you losing on average per week?

1300-1500. I don’t weigh every week, but average -3.5lbs a month.

5. Which is harder for you, working out or staying in your calorie limit?

Neither. It’s hardest for me to meet my daily calorie requirement without exceeding my daily sodium. I also struggle to get enough protein.

b00b0084

1. Do you pre plan your days food, or do you just eat as you go and stay within your limits?
I eat as I go and pray Im in my limits.

2. What is your favorite low calorie desert?
desert flavored Yoplait Light

3. What is your go to exercise?
In home walking (leslie sansone)

4. How many calories are you eating each day? How much are you losing on average per week?
Around 2000 a day and I have no idea if I am losing or not.

5. Which is harder for you, working out or staying in your calorie limit?
both lol

calliope_music

1. Do you pre plan your days food, or do you just eat as you go and stay within your limits? pre plan! i can't eat as i go...generally that's a recipe for disaster.

2. What is your favorite low calorie desert? fresh fruit! melon, pineapple, berries...i love summer for the fresh fruits!

3. What is your go to exercise? elliptical.

4. How many calories are you eating each day? How much are you losing on average per week? 1600. on average, like 2 lbs or so.

5. Which is harder for you, working out or staying in your calorie limit? working out - sometimes there's not enough time in the day!

bethanyweathers

1. Do you pre plan your days food, or do you just eat as you go and stay within your limits?
I just try to stay in the limits.

2. What is your favorite low calorie desert?
A diet Dr. Pepper or fresh fruit. Not exactly low calorie I know, but better than chocolate.

3. What is your go to exercise?
Zumba or yoga. If there aren't any of those classes available, then the elliptical.

4. How many calories are you eating each day? How much are you losing on average per week?
I'm eating 1650 a day, with the hopes of losing two pounds a week.

5. Which is harder for you, working out or staying in your calorie limit?
Working out, only because I have a hard time fitting it in my schedule.

aeckels616

1. Do you pre plan your days food, or do you just eat as you go and stay within your limits?

A little of both. I preplan the stuff that I know I'll be eating, and I always put at least something down for dinner to "reserve" those calories... otherwise I'm afraid that I'll accidentally snack too much and have nothing left for dinner.

2. What is your favorite low calorie desert?

Strawberries with whipped cream. Or a Hershey's Dark mini (38 cals).

3. What is your go to exercise?

I alternate between Jillian videos and running.

4. How many calories are you eating each day? How much are you losing on average per week?

I zig-zag, so my calories are different each day. I just make sure my weekly average falls around or slightly below my "daily calorie limit" of 1100 (I'm short). I've lost 10 lbs in 2 months.

5. Which is harder for you, working out or staying in your calorie limit?

Well, both or neither. I love to run on sunny days, so when I get to run, it's easy to exercise AND easy to stay under my cal limit because I get more calories to work with. But this weekend, exercising has been harder because I've been stuck in the house. So it's been hard to stay under my cal limit too because I have less cals to work with AND I'm around the kitchen all day.

pandafoo

this is fun!

1. Do you pre plan your days food, or do you just eat as you go and stay within your limits?
I usually cook my meals, so I plan what I'm going to have for each meal. On the weekends, I usually eat as I go

2. What is your favorite low calorie desert?
1-2 pieces of chocolate - the ones I love lately are Dove Silky Smooth Promises. Each one is only 42 calories, and oh so decadent. And chocolate is not bad either... lots of antioxidants!

3. What is your go to exercise?
Zumba - I look forward to this class every week!

4. How many calories are you eating each day? How much are you losing on average per week?
I eat a net of 1500 calories daily, and I've lost about 20 lbs in 3 months, averaging 1.5 lbs/ week

5. Which is harder for you, working out or staying in your calorie limit?
I'm actually doing well on both fronts - my body craves daily exercise (never thought i'd be the type to say this!), and if I go over in calories, it's 1x/month on avg. If i had to choose one, it'd be staying in my calorie limit - there are times I may not be hungry, but wish I had leeway to do some extra snacking instead of watching that I don't exceed my calorie ceiling

bobbijo72

1. Do you pre plan your days food, or do you just eat as you go and stay within your limits?
I DONT PLAN PER SAY BUT I DO THINK AHEAD.. OF WHAT I HAVE AS TO WHAT I WILL EAT. IM VERY SIMPLE AND EAT LOTS OF THE SAME STUFF. EGGS AND CHICKEN. LOVE BOTH AND COULD EAT THEM ALL DAY EVERY DAY.. I PRETTY MUCH DO


2. What is your favorite low calorie desert?
NO SUGAR ADDED FUDGE BAR OR IF IM HAVING A GOOD DAY TARGET 100 CALORIE MINI SUNDAY CONES CHOCOLATE OF COURSE.

3. What is your go to exercise?
PILATES

4. How many calories are you eating each day? How much are you losing on average per week?
I TRY TO STAY BELOW MY 1200.. I AM NOT LOSING AT ALL.. NOT SURE WHY.. I SHOULD PROBABLY BE EATING MORE. BUT I FOLLOW WHAT MFP PUT IN FOR ME. WHEN I EXCERSIZE I EAT MORE. IDK.

5. Which is harder for you, working out or staying in your calorie limit?
WORKING OUT DEFINATELY.. IM VERY VERY VERY LAZY