Do you plan your day?

brittany33107

I'm just curious how you guys log your stuff in. Do you plan ahead and log everything in in the morning including what exercise you plan on doing so you know what your boundaries are? Do you add in as you go? Or do you log everything in at the end of the day and just hope you didn't go over?

Thanks for reading!

momcindy

I completely plan my day with the food diary in the morning, log it in, and revise it later if anything changes. I usually come pretty close to what I originally planned.

As for exercise, I only log it when I actually do it.

Princessa1982

I plan my day either the night before or when I wake up, that way I eat better when it is planned and scheduled!

sassyN1989

I plan a few days at a time and then change it as needed but planning helps me be more accountable.

Revcminor

At lunch time I add what I plan to eat for dinner so I know what my parameters are for the rest of the day, i.e. how many snacks I can have. Afternoon is a difficult time for me. I can go off the rails easily with the snacks.

chevy88grl

On days when I work a long shift, I try and plan it all out. But, sometimes things change and I have to adjust it.

On days that I don't work, I log as I go.

smadrigal04

I plan out my meals and add them in for the whole day. I add my exercise when I do it.

yojibalinese

By now, I'm pretty good on knowing what snacks I can bring with what lunch to keep the calories even but yes, I do plan. Usually I plan the day out the night before and base it according to my upcoming weekend plans. I leave 200 calories to play with though in case I get the nibbles somewhere.

lilRicki

yes I plan my day...lately I've been planning my week, but that's because my kid has practice right after work, so I don't have time to cook. But I make everything on Sunday. I know what I'm eating and I'll log it all in the morning to see where I'm at and how much exercise I need (especially on my rest days, I may go over in calories and just squeek a quick walk in)...if I know what I'm going at the gym I'll log that so I know what to have for my after work-out snack..

cardbucfan

I plan my dinners for the week for when I do grocery shopping. Then each day, I enter my food as I eat it. For me, whenever I log ahead of time something ALWAYS comes up and changes it. I eat pretty much the same few things for breakfast, lunch and snacks every day so dinner is my only variable and even that is within a pretty consistent range. I only log exercise when I do it based on what my HRM says. Some days are higher than others depending on how hard I workout and how I'm feeling. Working for me so far!

wickedcricket

I enter as I go - I have a general idea what my meals & exercise will be but I'm kind of flaky, not in the least rigid and plans can change w/o notice (I MIGHT get invited or treated to lunch, happy hour, anything could happen)

bcattoes

I sort of plan my day in my head, but I don't log anything until I eat it or do it. Usually immediately, but sometimes the next morning for dinner.

JulieBoBoo

I plan my main meals for a week when I do my grocery shopping list on Mondays. Then every morning I plan my days for food. I only add exercise when it's been done though. I also add water throughout the day as I drink it.

ajbeans

I plan food. I don't plan exercise. I tried planning exercise, but I noticed that if I already had it logged, I had a tendency to not do it. It's like seeing the numbers made me feel like I already did it. :-P

Black_Swan

I have a general idea of what my day is going to be like, and then I log as I go:)

tamcrit

I pack all my food/snacks to take to the office each day, so I log them in each morning. Since that is all I have packed, that is all I allow myself to eat. This helps me to stay away from the office "buffet" that is usually around. By logging breakfast, morning snack, lunch, and afternoon snack in early, I know what calories I have remaining for dinner, and then plan dinner accordingly. I log dinner in the evening, and I log exercise after I have completed it. Planning really helps me to stay in check.

katheern

I plan my day in the morning as well. I like doing it this way so that way if I want to have something a little extra later in the day I know how much I can afford to have without going over. I only log my exercise after I do it, though.

parris1164

I actually am different than the others who posted ... I don't plan my meals but I do log everything as I do it ....but I really think it is up to the individual ... whether or not you are a planner, which I am not so logging as I go works better for me. Good luck on your journey !

gbbhey

it depends on the day. for example, today our office is going out to lunch at a sushi place, so I have planned ahead so I don't risk going over. and if I do, I'll stick out my run for an extra ten minutes or so!

Cheers,
Jared

Qarol

I pretty much log everything in the morning, so I can make sure nothing is going to put me over. Once I've eaten it, it's too late.

Rae6503

Sometimes I plan before hand, but only if I know what I am going to eat for lunch and dinner. I then change it if I have to. It makes it easier to budget snacks and such.

1953Judith

I plan ahead two days in a row. I log all three meals in the morning. Snacks vary based on exercise and activity.

outersoul

I plan my day as far as packing my food for the day goes. I do that the night before. My snacks are pretty laid out for the day too. I don't log it until I eat it though. As for exercise...I lift MWF and run on days in between. Sometimes I do both. It just depends on my mood. I log my exercise as I go too.

l3ugjuice

I dont plan it out at all, really, I just eat what I want* and log it. I stop eating when I run out of calories, or if I'm not hungry.

*About the only planning I actually do, is there are just so many things that I can eat. Like I know eating X is 250 to 300 calories, as are Y, Z, D, E etc...so I can have whatever of that I want for lunch and I'm good. I have 10 or 15 things I can eat for breakfast, lunch, and dinner that are all around 300, 300, and 600 calories, respectively....and I pretty much remember them all as I've been doing this for several months now. So I pretty much know off the top of my head how I'm going to get to 1200 calories. What I have to keep track of are 'extras' that I allow myself throughout the day to get closer to the 1700-2000 calories I want to eat. Generally, I'll add something for dinner ... but I try to keep an eye on nutrition content for that one.

I'm getting fairly close to the weight I want to maintain at this point, so I'm trying to train myself to just naturally adhere to my calorie goals for the day as much as possible.

sykin

I kind of plan my food ahead, but I don't plan my exercise in. I log as I eat because I have a tendency to bring too much food for the day (not by calories, but just in general - too much food!). So I kind of do both

NWfluffy

Brittany:
I log as I go. If I plan too far in advance, then if I want something that I haven't planned I tend to rebel and eat too much. If I keep up with it during the day then I'm always aware of what I have left. Good luck!

jmruef

I plan food. I don't plan exercise. I tried planning exercise, but I noticed that if I already had it logged, I had a tendency to not do it. It's like seeing the numbers made me feel like I already did it. :-P

This made me chuckle. I'd probably do the same thing!

I log as I go. I am not nearly organized enough to log ahead of time and have nothing but unbounded respect and admiration for those who do it. [I have to admit I was absolutely baffled by one of my MFP friends who is in a time zone a couple hours ahead of me - she always finished logging ahead of me and I couldn't figure out what was going on until she explained OH so patiently that she logged everything ahead of time! Yeah. I'm smart like that.]

ChrisFA5

Yup, I also plan in advance. I've noticed that it's getting easier and easier to plan ahead of time.

brittany33107

Maybe I am the only one who plans my exercise?? I am a stay at home mom and so I don't usually run out of time to exercise. I'm quite the opposite with the exercise than most of y'all (yes i'm from Texas lol). If I log it in the morning, I feel like I'm required to do it. Although, many times I do have to go back and alter it, but for the most part it helps me see what I'm able to eat and not eat for the day.
As for food, I do usually always log in my meals in the morning. I play with the snacks a little and see what I might be able to eat and then usually change it up later. I have only been at this for a few weeks so I am still learning what everything's worth in calories. Thank y'all so much for your input! Y'all are great!

ashesoh1234

I work out in the morning, so I log that in afterwards along with everything, or as much as possible, for the day. For example, today I did a 30 min personal training session then 40 min of cardio. So afterward, I logged that in then logged in my coffee, breakfast, morning snack, lunch, and afternoon snack. I haven't logged dinner because I'm not sure yet what that will be. Most likely chicken breast and a big salad. I like logging ahead of time because, for me, it completely removes any anxiety I might have surrounding what I'm eating, how I'm doing on nutrients, and where I stand calorie-wise as the day progresses.

KTGator

I'm a very routine person, so I eat the same breakfast, snack and lunch pretty much everyday. Because of this, when I plan out my dinners for each week, I plan meals that will fi either into my 1200-calorie limit, or will put me at 1500 (which I will burn with a workout). So since I have it pretty well planned out in my head, I don't log it until I've actually eaten it -- I prefer seeing the calories go down gradually versus have a huge drop all at once - it makes me feel hungry! ;-)