Planning--just wondering

jennifer2977

How far ahead do you plan your meals?

I have noticed that it's much easier for me to sit down the night before, plan out all of my meals and snacks, and enter them in the trackers. It seems to keep me much more focused than wondering what I'm going to eat at lunch the next day, or for dinner when I get home.

A friend of mine actually planned a month's worth of meals--too much for me, but do any of you do it by week?

msShari1

My life is WAY too crazy to plan that far ahead. I admire those that are that organized!

cardbucfan

I tend to eat the same things for breakfast, lunch and snacks. For dinner, I'm a planner. I sit down once a week when I'm making my grocery list and plan the meals for the week and buy accordingly. When my kids were really little and I only went to Sam's once a month, I would do a monthly meal plan. Now, they go through so much food I'm at Sam's every week! I don't enter it in my diary ahead of time though. Every single time I do that, something comes up and changes my plans.

SweetPea482

planning is one thing that i HATE doing... i DO it... but i hate it. How far out you plan, is really based on your lifestyle. for me, a week is max for how far out I can go, because things change, and appointments are made and broken at the last minute, too often.

for that week, i choose my evening meal based on schedules and time to cook for me or my husband. Lunches, i tend to either count on leftovers, or I purposefully plan to make salads, or eat a boca burger, etc. THEN i shop.

some people say they shop for a month, and i just can't imagine doing that. its so far out, and i would be afraid of wasting food, or just not having enough pantry space. and i get too frazzled NOT having a plan, that going day-by-day would be torture for me.

Hope this helps!

jennifer2977

LOL! I hate planing too, but if I don't, I fall off the wagon. I do get frazzled when I've planned my day then get home and my BF is like 'hey let's go out to dinner'--then I'm like WHERE? WHEN? I GOTTA LOOK UP NUTRITION INFO!!!!!! Then he usually ends up saying, 'nevermind, I'll eat a can of soup'. LOL

SavCal71

I usually plan a week at a time.

RBXChas

I don't plan, really. I do have some stand-by things that I like to eat, but generally the only time I think about what I want to eat in advance is when I'm making my grocery list. I log either right before I eat or right after, but I always go to the fridge or pantry with an idea of how many calories I should be eating for this particular meal or snack based on what I've eaten earlier or what I know I'll be eating later today. (For example, on days when I am running at night, I eat a lighter dinner and make up for it at lunchtime and for snacks.)

I guess my thing is, I could plan, but by the time that meal or snack arrives, I may not be in the mood for that particular food. Even when I worked out of the house, I had to suck it up and eat whatever I brought for lunch if I wasn't feeling what I packed, but most of the time what I think I'll want for lunch or dinner is not what I end up eating.

A month in advance? That's crazy to me. I'm not a spontaneous person in the least bit and like planning, but that's planning on crack!

jennifer2977

I don't plan, really. I do have some stand-by things that I like to eat, but generally the only time I think about what I want to eat in advance is when I'm making my grocery list. I log either right before I eat or right after, but I always go to the fridge or pantry with an idea of how many calories I should be eating for this particular meal or snack based on what I've eaten earlier or what I know I'll be eating later today. (For example, on days when I am running at night, I eat a lighter dinner and make up for it at lunchtime and for snacks.)

I guess my thing is, I could plan, but by the time that meal or snack arrives, I may not be in the mood for that particular food. Even when I worked out of the house, I had to suck it up and eat whatever I brought for lunch if I wasn't feeling what I packed, but most of the time what I think I'll want for lunch or dinner is not what I end up eating.

A month in advance? That's crazy to me. I'm not a spontaneous person in the least bit and like planning, but that's planning on crack!

Right! I eagerly await her announcements of meal changes on Facebook. LOL

likeaphoenix28

So far my planning sucks a**. I haven't been to the grocery store in ages. However, when I do plan, and when I get back into it, I like to shop for my food for a couple of days. So if it's Monday, I'll get food for Tuesday and Wednesday. Planning for more is just too much for my wittle brain to handle and I end up getting anxious in the grocery store, trying to figure out what to get.