Do you ever fill out your diary ahead of time?

morganadk2_deleted

Absolutely! I do it almost every day. I'm really trying to focus not only on calories but on my other nutrients as well. If I log before I eat, I have time to tweak the meal(s) to meet all my nutrient goals. Once I've eaten it, it's kinda too late.

Me too!

CARNAT22

I always plan as far ahead as possible.

There is no point logging something after I have eaten it?

Now if I am really craving something I enter it and sometimes just seeing there calories there in black and white is enough to curb the craving LOL!! If I just go ahead and eat something and then enter I have no chance to make a healthier choice / to say no?

To me the single most important thing about MFP is being able to use my diary to plan ....

melsinct

I am a planner by nature. I filled out all of Monday (today) last night. I start with dinner, my biggest meal that I eat and also has input from my husband, then I work in lunch and breakfast. If I don't plan the night before, I always seem to under- or over-eat.

sherrisloan

I always do. My problem is when I write everything down I really limit my calorie intake, so today I'm trying to get them all in. I think I'm not seeing the scale more bacause I eat to few calories in a day. Trying to do at least a 1000 today.

msmandyjo

i do it sometimes, like if I know I'm heading out for the day, and I know what I'm having for dinner, I'll plug in dinner, and then play around with lunch options to see what I can eat. If I know what I'm eating for lunch, before i go there I'm less likely to eat something stupid. I just walk in and order, not wasting time looking at the menu and getting tempted with higher calorie options.

Riebop

I usually plan my lunch and snacks after/ during breakfast. I don't take the time to track dinner in advance. Usually when I plan something for dinner, my husband has other ideas. I'd rather not track before since there's the potential of having to delete it all and retrack.

DonM46

While I don't usually log the food ahead of time, I've done it mentally many times. This serves as a "budget" so I can plan what I anticipate eating for the next meal or snack, especially if we are going to eat a meal at a restaurant instead of at home.

Leanne1795

Yes, it keeps me on track and I don't have to think about food during the day.

Richard_J

Yep. Everyday. But since I work 12 hour shifts it makes it easier to track my intake. Good luck

stephyy4632

yep not everyday but if I know what we are having that night yep I log it in in the morning and its really nice to see what I have left for snack choices also if we do go out to dinner I can see where my workout and other meals need to be to keep me in range

lynn1982

I usually fill mine out a week in advance and then tweak it as I go. I plan my meals ahead of time anyway, so rather than writing it down I just put it on here! It also helps me know what I need to get from the grocery store. It's also useful if I know that I'm going to have a heavy meal one evening for whatever reason, then I can plan lighter meals around that.

Mollywater

I log everything I eat, and sometimes log a meal prior to eating, but haven't gone the step further and logged an entire day's meals, the day before. I want to try this as I feel that I am way more on plan if I have it all written down. I am much better at following my own rules or plans, if left open, it leads to spontaneous eating which is NOT good.

CraftyGirl4

I fill it out in the morning and then adjust it later if I find I ate some different or added additional beverages or whatever. It's not set in stone, but it's nice to see the plan laid out.

VeganGal84

:laugh: I almost always plan ahead, but then it almost always changes, so I'm not sure whether or not it does me any good to plan!

fteale

No, never. I use my food diary to keep track of what I have eaten, not plan what I will eat.

wedjul05

God yeah, I always fill it out ahead of time. I will often sit down at like 10pm and fill out my whole day for tomorrow as I make my own food and freeze it. I know exactly what I am having even for snacks.

I don't have a whole heap of time during the day and am busy when I get home with 2 small kids, gym etc so I need to plan my meals but I love doing it.

Always pre-populate my food diary.

twilightfan20

I always fill out my diary ahead of time. With work during the day and working out in the afternoons, I never know how my day is going to go. At least if I fill it out before the day starts, I can make changes if I have excerised a little more or if I need to eat a little less because of extra snacking. It's more convenient and I can pack my lunches for work better.

deesjourney2fit

Bruce,

I just did this myself. If I can, I try to plan ahead. It does make it easier to know where I stand for the day so I know what I can or can't have later on. Makes tracking and eating much easier in my book!

brucedelaney

Wanted to add another note or benefit I've noticed to filling out or planning it ahead.

The one thing I noticed that I was not able to stay within goal was sodium. Today, through some planning I will most likely be under for the first time ever on my sodium. So planning that through the day seems to make it much easier to manage specific "trouble spots"

Monika135

I started out filling out as I went, then moved to filling out my lunch in the morning, then today I've filled out my breakfast, lunch, and dinner already since I know what I'm having.

For some reason I'm finding it cathartic and good for discipline. Coolest thing is it allows me to know that I have x amount of extra calories to work with through the day so when I feel 'snacky' I don't have to worry. My diary is public feel free to check it out.

So... am I nuts or does anyone else do this?

Regards,
Bruce

PS - Philly cooking creme gets 5 Stars in my book to add flavor to meats and pasta.

Monika135

I almost always end up logging half my day ahead of time... especially since I have the same thing often for breakfast and snacks...I like it, gives me a quick "overview"....

janemartin02

HI!I do the same thing.i`m more accountable if it`s already logged.No you`re not crazy.I think it`s a good form of disicpline also.
good luck on your journey
jane

cclark1203

I started logging my day in the morninsg this week. I am doing it because some days I work out with a trainer (burn more calories), some days I walk/jog on my treadmill and some days I don't do anything. By logging in the morning I can cover my extra calories all day rather than just after I workout when it's usually 7:30pm and I still have 450 calories left or something like that. It helps me alot.