do you count calories before or after you eat

rockerbabyy

i always log my dinners a week in advance.. each night i sit and figure out what to eat to hit my macros for the next day.
SOMEtimes if i know ill be overeating during the week (birthday party or some other get together) ill log everything for the week along with planned exercise to make sure i dont go over my weekly net goal

flyingwrite

Always before. I do a weekly meal plan so I know what I'm eating each day in the morning. I log everything then and make adjustments (usually to add calories) based on what I come up with. Gotta have a plan.

mgmlap

I do it the night before...

fieldsy4life

I plan my day in the morning, but make changes as needed.

For example, if I say I'm going to eat 12 oz of salmon, but it really weighs 13 oz, I'll make the correction after dinner. Or if I'm hungry and eat some nuts or drink a protein shake that I didn't account for, I'll add via the iPhone app.

I'm particular like that

FitLink

just wondering

Both. I plan my day out with what I plan to eat, but I allow some calories as a cushion so I can add something just when I need it, and sometimes I don't eat something I planned because I'm not hungry. I feel like I should have some plan, but be flexible if I need to be. You only live once, so if someone brings a treat in at work, I might delete something I'd planned and have one, you know?

rower75

I do better if a plan my meals the night before.

giag09

Always before exercise after

dogmom325

I find that I eat better if I count before. Then I stick with the meal that I planned

rower75

Really this is no different that being diabetic and needing to keep your suger level even. My late husband was diabetic and it was always much better to plan the entire day in advance.

10acity

Usually before. Especially if I'm going out to eat-- that works for me, psychologically. If it's already logged into MFP, I'm more likely to stick to what I had planned. I'm kind of a planner in general though, so that's how my mind tends to work. And I like to know what I'm working with as early in the day as possible to stay within my limits.

greeneyedredneckangel

i do it first thing in the morning i plan my meals that way i have a way to hold my self accountable i do the same with my fitness

Queen_M

I log the night before. I'm not obsessive over it, I just like to get a rough idea, then when I actually eat it I adjust to be exact.

minit54

i dont really have time to sit and log the whole day, but right before i go to lunch or dinner I log what it is I plan to eat. I've found that this helps me make better decisions when seeing how much i'm about to consume

SarahMorganP

I do it as I eat. I eat mostly the same things over and over again though, so I always know the calories. I do not pre-log anything because so often I change my mind on what I want to eat. So I eat breakfast and then log, eat lunch and log, eat dinner and log. Same with snacks. I try to keep breakfast and lunch around 300-400 calories each every single day and the rest goes to snacks and dinner.

Stacyanne324

Mon- Sat I plan them ahead for the most part. I'll enter my main meals sometimes up to 3 days in advance. Sunday is my Spike day where I eat a much larger amount of calories than I do the other days of the week and although I planned that at first too I find I'm doing ok with leaving it a spontaneous thing and it's more fun. So that I enter breakfast and lunch as I go (dinner is usually planned so I already have that entered).

DataBased

I'm learning to plan in advance, but more importantly - so is my husband. He wanted honey walnut shrimp for tonight's meal. So I plugged it in this morning and told him what it would cost him in workout and meal portions for breakfast and lunch. He was good with the trade-off for a little mini-splurge, so that''s what we're having for supper tonight.

I'm not organized enough to do a whole week in advance though. I'm far too spontaneous than that. I never know from one day to the next what I'm going to be hungry for.

:happy:

vguynes

I plan my meals before (in the morning). I edit if I need to make changes, but I try to stick to my plan.

Sherbog

Before....sometimes I change my mind.

7funnygirl7

I track first thing before anything goes in the mouth...LOL. This way there is always room for a treat for the day!

sculley

Before I eat usually...Keeps me accountable

finchase

Partially before. It's usually after breakfast but before lunch. I tend to eat the same things for breakfast and lunch during the week at work, so that helps. I also long the snacks I'm going to have at work. That's easy because again, I'm taking the same things and I try not to eat extra things. If I know what I'm going to have for dinner (like tonight I know I already have grilled chicken breasts prepared), I log that, and I try to also decide on what veggies I'm going to have with it. Based on what's left over, I'll know if I have enough calories left to have a snack after dinner, or even two if I've been very good that day.

montana_girl

Before! I try to figure out my food plan for the day so I know ahead of time what I can and shouldn't eat during the day. Works great me. But I'm weird that way...

gingermoon

I'm a planner.
Most of the time I have already figured out the next day or two in advance.
Just easier for me that way.

Tori_356

Try to plan everything ahead of time. Doesn't always go according to plan or I'm not always sure of what i'll eat, so I can just edit it later if it changes!

Jamie2007

I use Sunday for meal prep and I track my entire weeks worth of food and exercise! Love it!!

bcattoes

I log after, usually the next day for anything eaten after I leave work. But I think about calories, balance and portions as prepare meals and snacks.

chiera88

BEFORE. then edit if something changes

citprof

Right before I eat it. My mantra is, it doesn't go in here (my mouth) until it goes in here! (myfitnesspal)--not as impressive w/o pointing!

MrsLong1980

Always after - I might change my mind! I make myself accountable by choosing healthily at the time I also log after each meal so I'm aware of how much I've eaten and how much I have left.

seebeachrun

Both. I somewhat plan my meals for the week to fit within my daily calories but I allow a little wiggle room here and there. I find it easier to count up breakfast and lunch and then try to make good decisions to stay within my remaining calories for dinner. I have been mostly successful so far. At some point I would love to be able to maintain a reasonable caloric intake without having to count.