Anybody else who creates their diary in advance?

jofitzgibbons

I've found that doing it this way helps me avoid over-eating. I always landed higher than my goal calorie intake when I recorded as I ate, but if I plan it out in advance I don't snack as much, or if I do, they're planned.

slkehl

Prelogging is supposed to be a great way of doing things. You have to think through what you already have in advance, and planning will keep you from those moments on the run when you just stuff your face with crap instead of thinking through it all.

DrAJ84

I do sometimes. It helps me get an idea of what to eat the next day. It's much easier to edit meals than to go back and add every single thing I ate that day.

Lunachic77

I pre-log breakfast and dinner and sometimes snacks. Whatever I have left I use for lunch. Then when I workout in the afternoons, I use the calorie burn and eat accordingly to fill that void. I try my best to hit all my macros first and then worry about the calories.

seawolf86

Yes I usually do it the night before unless its the weekend which I never know what I'll be eating!

faceoff4

Almost always...its a great way to stay disciplined and manage your goals. For me its a mush

MyChocolateDiet

me i call it pre-logging. pretty sure i did not invent the term or the practice. but i like it sometimes to keep me honest. other times like today, i don't like it cause I feel like a liar to whomever read it this morning and thinks i had a 1200 calorie day when it turned out to be WAY hay hay more than that. but it's still within MFP's guidelines for weight loss and under "maintenance mode" so there's that.

MyChocolateDiet

Almost always...its a great way to stay disciplined and manage your goals. For me its a mush

phyllisgehrke

Yes I do first thing in the morning.
Then I know what I am going to have.
I am allowed 1200 calories and have a hard time meeting that goal, usually under.
So with the diary in advance, I can sneak in a snack to up my calories.

dmikulin

I have not done this yet, but I considered doing it many times. It seems like it would be helpful...

rwc4912

I pre log a lot.
On Sundays I will prepare a bunch of vegtables and chicken and portion it up for my lunched during the week.
IF it is ready and east to take there is really no excuse not to.
Really helps to pre plan meals for the week, both dinner and lunch.

castelluzzo99

Yeah, pretty much. One of my friends on here logs everything down to the calorie (literally--she's either exact or 1 calorie less--but she's got bad knees and can't exercise and is very motivated to lose enough so her doctor will give her new knees; she's really a motivation to all of us!).

I am never that precise, but I usually try to plan ahead. I make a lot of stuff from scratch, and I don't have a food scale. I refuse to obsess over whether I used the right size onion or if the carrot was too big or too small. Those things are pretty low cal anyhow. I have learned how I feel with a certain number of calories in a meal, and have found that 750 is about my ideal number of a meal (I eat bigger meals and don't snack, except for my pre-workout snack, because I work out before breakfast). If I get more than 850, I feel too full. Doing this, I'm able to meet my 2000ish calories per day (I'm breastfeeding and work out 5 days a week, so I need more than most women my age and size) with 2 to 2 1/2 meals (the half meal would be supper if I'm hungry).

But yes, I plan my food, if not at the beginning of the day, at least right before the meal. Then I can adjust as needed. My breakfast is already planned down to how much mayo I'm putting on my waffle (savory waffles with boiled egg, vegenaise, relish, oh, and I forgot to add the ketchup--yum!). For lunch, I know what it will be, but I haven't logged it yet, because I'm not sure on the exact portions. But the recipes are entered already so that I can toy with the servings later and add up how many calories I want to eat.

It really does help planning like this. I have found that if I have leftover calories, I usually am hungry (and by leftover, we're talking over 200). Then I can plan something to eat that fits my calories and my macros. Yesterday I'd hit protein and fat already, so I made a fruit smoothie with just a little soymilk. It was around 200 calories, killed my hunger, and was very nutritious!

ice1200s

I plan my diary and log it all in the morning. It makes it so much easier than trying to compensate at the end of the day. Especially if I'm gonna have a meal out. It also gives me a chance to stop off at the store if I need something to accommodate my intended entries. Ciao, Marc

WeightHacker

i do sometimes if i know im gonna have a busy day.

but other than that, i kinda just do it as i go. but sometimes i have consumed more calories.
but if im gonna go for it. i usually just put things in advance for myself so i know i need to put certain amount of certain things. before i eat it helps me a lot.

Cindyinpg

I always log food the night before so that I have an idea how much exercise I will need to do. It definitely helps keep me on track!

blackcloud13

Only partially. I pre log breakfast as I know what its going to be.
Also, I tend pre log ice cream, if I plan to have any at night. Not sure why I've singled out ice cream - but then there is lots of stuff I do that I can't find any sensible reason for!

jen_zz

I would like to but I eat out a lot. So I try my best to limit my meal at the restaurant around 500 cals.

Jvillecritter

I try to log a week at a time, so I know what I need to prep and or prepare in advance...and grocery shop weekly. I would LOVE to have a feather that creates a shopping list from my posts...or even to at lease be able to see a week of meals at a time...so I can make a shopping list more easily.

ErinMcMom

I usually log the night before. I log my lunch and breakfast first (because I pack my lunch bag in the evening and log it as I pack it) and then work a dinner into the calories I have left.
Logging ahead of time becomes much more difficult on the weekend because I never really know what we'll be doing while we're on the go. So weekends are logged as they occur.

havenoenvyonlylove

I have mostly the same breakfast every day, but preplan my lunch to esther be higher in fat, lower in sugar, or vice versa and try to allow at least 6-8 g. fat for the end of the day so that I can mostly eat whatever I wanted for dinner

Imperfect_Angel

I'm actually planning my meals 3-4 days in advance. I'm very unlikely to overeat or eat anything if it's not logged in my diary and this has really helped me stay on track. Also gives me a rough idea of how much I'll have spare at the end of the week (calorie-wise) and if I can fit in a nice treat or a meal out.

When I posted this topic, I was pre-logging exercise calories but now I just do it as I go.

reddz12

I do, more often than I should though to be honest. I use it to weigh out nutrition, check sodium level, etc. Once its in, I hold myself accountable to follow it. Some days it totally sucks. However other days, I can put myself on auto pilot and follow what I planned the night before. It does make things easier.

Veggie_Ankers

I fill it in every morning for the day so I know where I'm at for the day. I don't actually click complete until after dinner just in case I change my mind on things like what veg I want for dinner etc. But to be honest it doesn't change much from the morning. Unless I go to cook some veg and realize there isn't any left because the hubby ate it for lunch :noway: :laugh:

GibbsGirl13072

I fill it in every morning for the day so I know where I'm at for the day. I don't actually click complete until after dinner just in case I change my mind on things like what veg I want for dinner etc. But to be honest it doesn't change much from the morning. Unless I go to cook some veg and realize there isn't any left because the hubby ate it for lunch :noway: :laugh:

I do the same thing if I know what I'm making for dinner, but I don't click complete until it's almost time for bed. I add in excercise after I do it, unless whatever app I use does it for me. I tried adding it in beforehand, but I would get lazy and think "oh I'll make it up tomorrow if I skip tonight" so I stopped doing that and it keeps me honest.

willrun4bagels

I always log for the day the night before, or first thing in the morning. When I pre-log ingredients for meals that can require more prep work, like dinner, etc., it's like following a recipe when it comes time to start cooking (10g unsalted butter, 250g broccoli, etc.) that makes it easy to know exactly what I'm going to use in the meal.

slk_5555

I plan my whole week on a Sunday & log all of my meals for the coming week. They might change a bit, but generally I stick to it. It also helps me to plan ahead if I'm eating out at all & helps to get me organized for grocery shopping.

corgicake

Did this on the last leg of effort to get what I want and am now trying to pre-plan some of my daily food intake to see if I can jiggle things around so it's easier to get in my calories (some exercise makes me hungry and lots of it torpedoes my appetite). Based on yesterday, I think I may be starting to win that battle.

Tinker_Aria

I do !

I think it's a great way to keep the control on my "diet". If I know what I will eat, I don' have to search in cupboard and face "wrong food".

I also try to register my exercise, as I know my daily routine, as I'm on Turbofire. Then I adjust If need my cals from workout.

This way works well for me !

xoxo