Inputting food & exercise BEFORE you do it

LydiaShackelford

I try to always pre-plan my food the evening before and log it into MFP. Then I'm more likely to stick to it the following day. I never pre-record my workouts. I use a HRM, so it would be pointless to guess how many calories I would work off in my next workout session.

bzmommy34

Absolutely! I always pre-plan my food the night before. If I have a busy week, I'll aim to pre-plan as many days as I can so I'm never stuck with just grabbing what's easiest.

As for exercise - I don't log my burns until I've done them. Mainly because I use a HRM faithfully so I don't know my burns until I've reached them.

flanary888

YES, YES, YES!! It makes me stop and think about having to delete my good food to replace it with bad food! Not saying I don't ever do it, but it has been a deterrent many times for me.

kaybelieve

I pre-log a lot of my food as I know then whether I can treat myself that day, it helps me stay on track.

I rarely pre-log exercise as I probably wouldn't do it, and there's no point lying about it.

classy2731

I prelog both sometimes. I find that prelogging my exercise makes me more likely to do it. It basically makes me stay true to my word. If I happen not to do it, then i'll take it off or i'll change it if I do something else. But it works for me mentally.

majope

I find it helps to pre-log on the extreme days of my week. For instance, today is a rest day, so I won't have any calories to eat back (unless I just can't stand it and go for a walk--and then it will probably be no more than 200 anyway). So I planned out my food today to give me a better sense of how much I can eat.

And on days when I'm going to burn 700-900 calories exercising, I pre-log that so I can plan bigger meals throughout the day and spread out the calories.

Sometimes I'll also pre-log if I'm going to eat out, to make sure I can comfortably allow enough calories for a restaurant meal.

prium01

I pre log my food and exercise every day...sometimes I go over my exercise...I change my food log sometimes, but it remains more or less same.. It definitely helps me stay on track!!

ltowne

Not very good at that....however, I have started logging right before a meal and that helps me with portion control. "Seconds" can be a problem for me! We eat out alot and I do try to check the menu before going so that I know what I should/should not eat and the calories involved. I have a hard time being disciplined. I am a "work in progress." LOL

mammakisses

Yes I log in all my food in the morning while I'm having my coffee. I don't log in exercise until I've done it. When I log in my workouts I also plan an extra snack with the extra cals.

xampx

I eat a variant on the same thing for breakfast and lunch every work day so thats easy to pre plan and then I can work out what the best option for dinner that night would be, depending on whether I plan on going to the gym or not. It definitely helps me keep on track.

I never pre load exercise, as I don't know what I will do until I do it, but I usually go to the gym (after work, before dinner) with the intention of burning at least 400 calories on a cardio day and at least 200 on a strength day (usually more). If I look like I am going to go way over calories that day, I will do more.

But then I have days like today where I have logged everything I plan to eat, and it really is everything as I don't want to go food shopping until Monday so the only snacks I can have tonight will be peanut butter straight from the jar! And I am running low on that too!

heidihorton

I pre log my food and exercise every day...sometimes I go over my exercise...I change my food log sometimes, but it remains more or less same.. It definitely helps me stay on track!!

Same here...check it out if you want. I've been at this for over a year and it works for me. Knowing what I'm eating for the day keeps me in my calorie goal also presetting my exercise makes me stick to it. Every time I have to delete my exercise for the day I feel crappy about it and I usually decide to just do the exercising instead of deleting it. Lol

bermudamel

Most days I either plan my whole day out in the am or even the night before so I can just pack the essentials in my bag before going to work. If I did it throughout the day I'd prob eat all my calories by lunch!

baileybiddles

Actually, no! I change my mind so often throughout the day about what to eat that I would just be constantly changing it anyway. I do, however, track my breakfast, lunch and snacks first thing. It's really only dinner that I don't track since I can never make up my mind about what I want.

As far as exercise goes, I track after I work out. It seems like a curse for me. Whenever I track before I do my work out, my work out doesn't happen... If I wait to track, it does.

suz155

I input food , during the work week, for breakfast , lunch and snacks. Dinner, I leave open. On the weekends, Im a bit more flexible, but, 99% of the time, I always input food, before I eat, but, it might be 5 mins, before, I eat. I want to know, where I am, for the day, before, I eat. Its that awareness thing, that MFP has taught me. Exercise, I always log afterwards.

Kelley528

Do you find it easier to be disciplined (sticking to your targets) when you load MFP early in the day? Maybe the whole thing?

Yes. I always log my food and exercise the day before. The only thing I leave out is dinner. I bring my breakfast, lunch, and snacks to work so I have my whole day planned. I can taylor my dinner based on how many calories I have left. This also allows me to eat a treat during the day if i'm really craving something. By knowing the bulk of my calories in advance it allows me to stick to the plan a lot easier. I also do a set amount of walking every day so I enter that the day before, too. Anything extra I do gets added as I do it.

fattyfoodie

Yes, I often plan & log food night before but never register exercise until I've done it.

^^This!

Apyl32

I will enter my food before eating it if its still cooking or I know what I'm making for dinner so I dont have to do it after. As for exercise, no I only add that after I do it I exercise different amount each day so I dont know what the time will be until its over.

poseyj88

I do best when I log the night before. I bring breakfast, lunch, and snacks with me to work, so it also makes for efficient packing the next morning. Sometimes things change as the day goes on, but I enjoy pre-planning.

momofJandA

I log all my food for the day in the morning (keeps me on track and less likely to "cheat". . . I log my exercise after I've done it (according to my HRM)- of course I get all my exercise done by 6:30am so that's not too hard

doctorwhome

I try to plan and log everything in the morning, and it works...right up until dinner. Usually, I end up not eating what I planned. It's usually still pretty healthy, but it still makes me feel like I have zero discipline.

SweetestLibby

food? sometimes. I meal plan weekly so I can prelog.

exercise? NO. It doesn't get logged until I actually do it.

cnlargent

I also input my food after breakfast, when I know what my lunch and dinner plan is. Exercise no, because I use a HRM, so I don't know exactly what my burn will be.

scooterjay_wwis

I log my food and excercise as I go throught the day. That way there is no cheating. (like logging excercising when you didn't, or the chocolate sundae you had, that wasn't on your food diary)

KANGOOJUMPS

FOR SURE!,, i log it all before i do it,,,, then i make sure that i do it,, motivates me more!

askeates

it is much simpler to add it before for me... I find I stick to plans better than when I just wing it!

MelyndaWaldner

I log everything in the morning including exercise, it motivates me to stick with the plan.

smantha32

I try to. I prefer to. There are times when I don't, and I try to eat something that seems healthy, but when I go and track it AFTER eating it, I'm often shocked at how high the calories actually are.

fiferize

Absolutely! Sometimes I eat something different for dinner than what I logged, but it's always within the same calorie range. Inputting the exercise ahead of time keeps me honest. I am much more likely to go through with it if it's already been logged! So YES!

katevarner

I do a little of both. I log breakfast while I'm fixing it or eating it, usually the same with lunch and any daytime snacks, but I often pre-log dinner to see what I can fit in (altho I adjust amounts as I weigh the food during prep), and if I end up with calories left over, I try different late snacks (aka desserts) to see what works best within my calories/macros before I eat it.

I log exercise after I do it so I know what I actually burned--my walks and runs are uploaded automatically from Endomodo, and I log my gym workouts using the calories burned from my BodyMedia Fit, so have to wait until I sync post-workout to get the accurate reading.