Hello ..I am New Here.I.have a question

smitch007

I like all of the tools here. Tracking what I eat has is great. I can see that this is the place to lose lbs the healthy way...I would like to know if its best to enter the food info at the start of the day or at the end?I have done it at the end for the last two days and had stuff left over. I am happy to find this site and say Hello and good luck to all...Smitch007

birgithooker

I usually track my food as I go throughout the day so I can monitor how I am doing and adjust my meals if necessary. If I am away from home it's another story. Then I write down all my meals and log them at the end of the day. I find it better to log as I go because I can catch myself if I am going to eat something I shouldn't. I tend to make better choices then. Good luck to you in your journey.

Swissmiss

I like to enter my food as soon as possible after eating. That way I don't forget something. I don't have time in the morning so I enter breakfast, mid-morning snack and lunch while I am on my lunch hour. Then I enter my mid-afternoon snack and dinner after dinner. Do what ever works for you . I am sure that you will find this site very helpful. Be sure to join in on some threads. You will make some great friends and get wonderful advice.

AshlySouthard

I log all of my food throughout the day as I eat it. This website is always pretty easy to use from your cell phone. So, if you don't have access to a computer you can log the info from your phone.

DeeDeeLHF

I also usually log throughout the day, unless....I am feeling very tempted to cheat! Then I log what I should be eating throughout the day and stick to that.

Most of the time I appreciate the flexiblity to eat "normal" and change my habits but when I am feeling weak, to log my food for the day is like someone telling me what to eat so that I do not have to make choices. (which is a good think if my choices might be bad choices.)

Good Luck! I love MFP!

pinbotchick

I generally enter breakfast, lunch and planned snacks before I leave for work. This gives me a good idea of my nutrition intake and time to think about what to do for dinner. Sometimes plans change and I will have to modify what I've eaten during the day.

EKarma

some people like to enter there foods at the beginning of the day. It gives them more control and insight to what they're eating before they eat it. I'm in between.. Sometimes I enter food to see how much it's gonna be, and then opt for a healthier option, cause you see how many calories a Big Carl has before you go get one, you think twice..

amymeenieminymo

On the weekends I tend to log each meal right before I eat it, or after if I know it's something that won't mess up my day. But during the week, I log when I get to work, and I already know what I have brought for breakfast and lunch, and my dinners are planned out for two weeks so 99% of the time I know what I am having for dinner too, so I log it all in the morning.

Sometimes I'll even log the night before, for example if I am having something for lunch that isn't already in the database and I need to see the items at home to know how many calories are in each thing.

When you're first starting out, its a good idea to log first, then eat because that way you won't have those moments of, That has HOW many calories? Ugh, I wish I hadn't ate that!

barbiecat

:flowerforyou: :flowerforyou:
I try to log my food ahead of time. i make a plan and get to see how much exercise I'll need to to do to match the food I've planned. If my calories are too high then I can make adjustments before it's too late.

Every day I use MFP I learn something new about healthy eating.

Find a thread to join and check in with them every day. :bigsmile:

Swissmiss

I may be logging in at the wrong time. Do you think that is my problem? I always do this after I eat.

meana717

Hello SwissMiss... welcome!
As for your question. I found it is best for me to log a night or two before. I plan the whole day to see exactly what my day looks like. I found that the first few days I would be way under so i knew to add a few more things in for the day. Just what works for me! Best of luck!

imdamom

Personally, I like to enter my food before I eat it. That way I can see how much a meal is and can adjust if I need to. Plus, I feel like once I enter it, I have to stick to it. It's kind of like a contract with myself. If I entered 4 oz, I don't eat 5. If I can't enter it before I eat, I enter it as soon as I can after I eat. This way, I don't forget to enter something and as others have said, I can adjust as needed. However, what works for one person doesn't always work for everyone. Play around with it, try it different ways and see which one works for you.

barbiecat

I may be logging in at the wrong time. Do you think that is my problem? I always do this after I eat.

If you repeatedly have too many calories or too few calories or too much or too little of something then it might be a good idea to plan your day's eating ahead of time. It's important to eat at least 1200 calories plus at least some of your exercise calories and it's important to have a good balance of protein, carbs, and healthy fats, so logging ahead of time can help you plan accordingly and add or subtract foods or change serving sizes to make everything balance. :bigsmile:

meana717

Barbiecat-
I totally love your quotes! Isn't that true... we sure do give up what we want the most for something that we only temporarily want at the moment! I think I'm going to post that on my refrigerator!