When do you log your meals?

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124

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  • mrsjennifermaffei
    mrsjennifermaffei Posts: 469
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    I log as I go as I tend to forget and I want to be 100% accurate!
  • jfrog123
    jfrog123 Posts: 432 Member
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    I log in the evening for the next day. I am flexible, and sometimes I deviate from what I have logged, but it is nice to have a plan. I find that if I plan ahead and already have the calories figured out it is a lot easier to turn down the treats at the office and the last minute snacks. It does drive my husband a little crazy that I plan meals in advance. He just wants to come home from work and have whatever he is "in the mood for" for dinner. That does not work for me.
  • FammaMel
    FammaMel Posts: 293 Member
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    I tend to log as I eat throughout the day. This allows me to plan dinner accordingly. :)
  • jsj024519
    jsj024519 Posts: 400 Member
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    I log meals before (and sometimes, but rarely after) I eat.
  • pushnhard
    pushnhard Posts: 51
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    I usually log after each meal. Keeping in mind I kinda map out the calories before my intake. Oh, and to be honest, I'm NOT the healthiest of eaters, but I try to stay within my caloric limit for that day. Sometimes I eat some of my burned calories back and on other days I do not....
  • JennMcClafferty
    JennMcClafferty Posts: 1
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    IT really depends, on if it is week day or weekend.. on the week days my meals are more planned out and I usually do it in the morning, and if I need to change it I always can.. on weekends usually when I eat whatever I have to log :)
  • beckamarie
    beckamarie Posts: 23
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    I log everything except dinner first thing in the morning .... unless I am sure of what dinner will be, then I log it also. I take breakfast and pack lunch and snacks for the day so I just need an idea of what I have left for dinner. No matter what, logging is 99% of my success!! I also like to have everything logged so that if I am hungrier by 10a.m. because I have run that morning before work, then I can eat half my lunch or whatever and still know that once I eat what I have with me I am done untill dinner.
  • IShowUp4Me
    IShowUp4Me Posts: 16 Member
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    I am a planner! I also am a Nurse so I have to take all my days worth of food with me so ....With that said I plan and log all my food the DAY BEFORE.... Then tweak any changes I make because I always have extra protein bars if I decide to exchange what I planned to eat for something else...I am more successful that way!
  • cbrick143
    cbrick143 Posts: 26 Member
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    I log all of my meals for the day first thing in the morning. It helps keep me on track, and motivates me to stick with my planned schedule for the day. If I do something different, I update it right on my MFP mobile app.
  • carriempls
    carriempls Posts: 326 Member
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    Wow! Some of you are serious planners. That's awesome.

    I generally log just before or just after I eat. I eat the same few things for breakfast and I've been at the counting game long enough, I can usually eyeball my lunch when selecting from my work cafeteria that I know what I'm getting. I try to stick to 350-400 calories for lunch and that leaves me with plenty for dinner and an after-dinner treat. If I go over at lunch I skip the treat. Of course, I'm not weighing and measuring everythign in my lunch, but I've got a fairly good eye and I've had no problems with stalls yet.

    Sometimes I might do a recipe in advance to see where it will end up and if I need to modify to work it in, but it's usually happening right as I'm cooking or right after I've eaten.
  • AliciaFlagg
    AliciaFlagg Posts: 6
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    I always log my breakfast,lunch and two snacks in the morning before I leave for work. That way I feel like I have no choice to eat anything else and it keeps me on track for the day!
  • lauren3382
    lauren3382 Posts: 372 Member
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    I like to pre-log my entire day. I find that it keeps me focused all day and it allows me to make sure my macros are appropriate rather than waiting to see if I hit the mark at the end of the day or not.
  • Jessamyfrm
    Jessamyfrm Posts: 89
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    Depends how organised I am that day.

    Some days I'm really good and will sit the night before and log what I'm going to eat the next day as I find this stops me from randomly snacking when I don't know what to eat.

    Other times I log as I go along. Sometimes I'll look up what I'm about to eat and decide whether or not that's a good idea.
  • saustin201
    saustin201 Posts: 270 Member
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    I log right after I eat them. Otherwise I forget.
  • KCoolBeanz
    KCoolBeanz Posts: 813 Member
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    I pre-plan and log either the night before, or during my breakfast the next morning, and then I just adjust as needed throughout the day. :-)
  • trianglgrl
    trianglgrl Posts: 24
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    I log my breakfast before I leave the house in the morning b/c I pack it to eat at work. I also pack my lunch most of the time, so I log that in before I leave the house as well. Once in a while if I am going out to lunch, or I don't have anything to pack, I wait and log it in at lunch time when I decide what I'm having. I usually pack snacks with me, but I don't always log them until I go to eat them b/c some days I don't end up wanting morning or afternoon snack.

    Dinner is the only meal I don't really "plan". I usually wait to see how many calories I have left and how hungry I am and then I decide what to eat. I very rarely put something in my mouth before logging it though. The only time I plan dinner is if I know I'm going to be having a "big" meal out or something - then I try to plan a certain amount of calories for the meail so I know to have them left-over.
  • JustJennie1
    JustJennie1 Posts: 3,843 Member
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    It depends.

    Sometimes I log it right after I eat it. Other times if I know for certain what I'm going to be eating ahead of time -- like dinner that's already been planned -- then I'll log it before I eat it and make sure that the serving sizes that I put in my log are what I actually give myself.

    For the most part I'll write down what I made, how much etc. and log it in after I've made it or eaten it.
  • poetgurl2005
    poetgurl2005 Posts: 90
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    I generally log as I go or at the end of the day. I don't log before I eat it, because I don't always plan that far ahead. Plus I change my mind all of the time.

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  • redhousecat
    redhousecat Posts: 584 Member
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    I guess I'm weird. I log most everything in at the end of the day. If I come across something that I feel will make me go over, I go ahead and log in what I have eaten thus far and check my remainder. Seems to work for me since we don't ever plan meals or even the time of day we eat. It just happens.

    Then again, I don't use mfp for weight loss. I use it to track nutritional values and fitness, mainly.
  • senyosmom
    senyosmom Posts: 613 Member
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    I log them as I eat them.... that way I don't leave anything out. Occassionally I log ahead of time for 1 reason - to see the nutritional value before I order food out

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