Logging AS A PLAN? Or, logging AS YOU GO?

thisismynewmindset

Question: Do you log your food at the beginning of the day and just follow your diary, so that your whole day is already planned out for you?

Or, do you log as you go? (I log as I go...)


... and why do you do it the way you do it? What do you think are the benefits/disadvantages?

BethanieK

I try to log in everything the night before, so I have an idea of where I am going to be. Obviously sometimes I have to make changes, but I find it easier to stick to my calorie intake if I plan ahead.

colt456781

always log as i go, have for over 6 years. I have no idea what I want to eat in advance and if I logged out a "perfect" plan and then changed it my ocd would most likely kick in and I would feel like I failed, lol.

kathyhull

I do both. Sometimes I log what I'm going to have for dinner before I get home from work. Then I'm a littl more likely to stick to it because not sticking to it means I have to get on my smart phone and change/add things and it takes longer than it does from the computer. So maybe, in this case, my being very lazy is helping me out???

albayin

I try to log in everything the night before, so I have an idea of where I am going to be. Obviously sometimes I have to make changes, but I find it easier to stick to my calorie intake if I plan ahead.

I'm in a very similar way, but I log everything ahead of time every morning.

pnieuw

A little of both. I log the stuff that I know are the same each day, like my after dinner bowl of cereal, or my afternoon apple, and the rest I log as I know what I'm eating.

photorific

I log breakfast as I go, but try to log dinner ahead of time - this way I know what I will be ok with for lunch and snacks...

rachrach66

Logging as I so and some planning. Like I logged my dinner already but who knows I may change my mind when I get home. Since everything is within my goals and nutrients no need to mess up the program.

psuLemon

I plan all my calories so I can make sure i hit my ratio's of carbs/proteins/fats and i hit my calories. If I am over or less than I readjust what I make for lunch and dinner. It is proven that people who write down what they are eating & what their short term & longterm goals are, tend to suceed more.

MsLadyVirgo

Hybrid,

I try to log everything the night before, or first thing in the morning. I do this so I know what i'm lacking, or over, or how hard I may need to workout in the afternoon. However, I allow myself enough flexibility to Enjoy the Suprises that come along My Way. :glasses:

ak_in_ak

I log through my lunch the next day the night before. I do this becasue I make my meals the night before and I save time by having a plan. This way I can also look at the first half of the day and see what I need more of or need to cut back on. If something unplanned comes up then i just adjust as needed. If you log stuff before you eat it you might realize how many calories are in something like cheese and decide you can do without. There is no turning back once you ate it!

RoseBlanc

As I go.
My OCD would go into hyper-drive if I tried to plan everything.

wildon883r

As i go but i eat a pretty standard menu. The fun part is finding unnecessary calories.

verajanine

I log on as I go!!!

Kimmy546

I do both, most days I log everything in the morning and I make adjustments if I need to as my day goes. For the most part I try to stick with my plan so I stay under my calories. Today has been a long day at work so I just added a glass of wine. Still within my daily calorie intake though.

_Sally_

If I don't know how many calories something is, I log it before I eat it to determine if I want to spend those calories on it, or if I should cut back on the serving size, or maybe to see if I have enough extra calories to enjoy a glass of wine with dinner, etc.

Also, if I'm going to a restaurant, I try to look at the menu online ahead of time and select and log if I can. Most restaurants you can easily order healthy choices without worrying too much, but I went out to a group lunch with colleagues the other day to a chinese food restaurant and who knows what they put in the food there. So, the menu research and logging ahead of time helped me to go and enjoy lunch, knowing exactly what I was going to order.

SavCal71

Plan plan plan ... with edits as I go if it changes. This allows me to KNOW how much I"m eating before I do it. Where I need to cut back. Where I can add. How much wine I can drink ...

SavCal71

As I go.
My OCD would go into hyper-drive if I tried to plan everything.

That's hilarious. Because my OCD goes into hyper-drive if I DON'T plan things.

thisismynewmindset

Hmmm very interesting. Didn't know there were so many "pre-planners" out there!

ksr5000

I also do a little of both. I log my breakfast and lunch usually the day before or first thing in the morning, but I usually don't decide whats for dinner until I get home from work, at which time I check my diary and see how different things fit. On the weekends, however, I usually play it by ear.

CRody44

The Bride works and I am retired so I do the shopping and cooking Monday through Friday. I log all the meals and snacks before breakfast so I know how many calories and sodium I have left si I can plan a varied and healthy dinner.

KeriA

Mostly as I go but I do what someone else said I sometimes log things in to see if they work or if I have planned a dinner I log it in ahead sometimes. I have been planning dinners but I don't log them too much in advance since there may be changes.

godblessourhome

i used to log as a plan but i've currently been logging as i go.

Pebble321

Hmmm very interesting. Didn't know there were so many "pre-planners" out there!

I didn't think there would be so many "as I go" people. For me that would be a recipe for over or under eating.
I plan meals for the day, add snacks to get close to my goal then adjust depending on anything that changes through the day. This way I can easily make room for an extra - like birthday cake at work - because I can just drop some snacks or take something away from dinner if I need to.

Hodar

I log everything a matter of hours before the meal. Sometimes a group of guys at work all go out to eat (Yayy, Jimmy Johns); and it's awesome to be able to plan my noon meal, based upon my morning exercise and breakfast routine. Sometimes I have more, or less; of either breakfast or exercise.

That way, I can 'budget' my day. If it's 4pm and time to go home; and I have extra calories - I can have something nutritious for supper - and top it off with a bag of microwave popcorn and a crystal light; and stay below my calorie goal.

My life isn't predictable enough for me to plan out 24 hours in advance. I'd just have to erase and re-enter things to reflect 'reality'.

NicoleMarie0409

I log as I go

KatiePeca

I prefer to plan out my day in advance, it makes it much more likely that I will actually succeed at staying within my goals and also helps me to plan for little treats here and there

Katie

Laurarunnergirl

I currently log as I go, because 1) I have an idea of what works and what doesn't, and 2) I'm just too lazy right now to plan it out ahead of time.

That being said, my most successful weight loss was when I planned out what to eat for the week (with room for revisions as necessary), and then actually went out and bought the food so I would have it on hand. Of course, that was waaay back when I was young and single and had only myself to cook for (yeah, I know -- no excuses!!)

Laura

taralou20

I kind of do both!

LadyPHX

I log in every day (so technically as I go), and it's all part of the plan. It's really both.

1953Judith

My husband and I make a meal for four for breakfast, lunch and dinner using a cookbook/mealplanner for diabetics (husband is diabetic). Because the meal plans are for four portions, we eat the same menu two days in a row. The third day we use leftovers (or occasional out to eats at friends or restaurants) and aim to meet the same nutritional goals as the diabetes menu planner has.

I try to log my three main already-planned meals before breakfast (sometimes I run out of time and log dinner after I get home from work, but I always know how many calories dinner will be). Then I plan what my exercise goals are for the day and plug those in as though I have done them. That tells me how many calories I have available to use toward mini-meals/snacks throughout the day.

While only a couple of months into MFP, we have done the meal planning as described above for over a year. It has offered us the opportunity to change habits while still enjoying food in a healthy variety. My husband's diabetes is under much better control and I am starting to look as good as I feel. The pre-logging of food and exercise has provided me with a daily fitness goal that is doable, useful and fun. I don't know if it would work for others.