How do you stay consistent?

well.. i actually do eat the same thing every day lol

I eat the same breakfast 90% of the time - its easier than having to be awake and actually plan a breakfast and the calorie values are exactly right. The problem with making different foods is getting the serving size and calory count correct. For dinner I'm cooking for my family also and I'm sure I constantly underestimate what I eat.

I find I need to be really organised and plan ahead. I eat lunch and breakfast at work so have to prepare them the night before. So I add them to my food diary and then I know how many calories I have left for the rest of the day. Knowing this helps me plan dinner - not many calories means fish and salad, quite a few means I can fit in a pasta.

Maybe try zig-zagging? I never ate to one set goal every day, it wouldn't match my lifestyle. I basically zig-zagged without putting too much thought or 'science' into it.

Based on my WEEKLY net calories I would divvy them through the week, ensuring that I never ate above them and would generally be a 1000 plus under them by the end of the week (if you have the MFP phone app there is a clear chart with weekly net calls - I used this to gauge what I was doing).
Generally I ate less mid-week and worked out, saving at least half of my exercise cals. At weekends I would be more indulgent and I guess those saved exercise cals gave me the leeway to do so). However I was a stickler for measuring and probably over-estimating calories (when out) which I felt was important.

If you want to think about it, take your weekly net so e.g. 1400 per day x 7 = 9800

Mon 1200
Tue 1250
Wed 1500
Thu 1200
Fri 2000
Sat 1350
Sun 1300

Ok this is going to sound a little OCD but I decided when I started this plan I needed guidelines so I roughly worked out how many cals I would have allocated to what meal/beverages/snacks etc.

Then I spent a very LOOOOONG weekend using the recipe function to plan out about 5-6 different breakfasts, 5-6 lunches and 6-7 dinners that fell into those categories, plus 3 that went slightly below and 3 that went slightly higher for each meal.

Now all I do is look at how busy my day is going to be (work days I tend to eat a breakfast from the slightly higher cal group) and I know I always have go-to meals if I find I have over/under eaten my rough estimates per meal.

Oh, and my after dinner snack plate is a rough 100 cal which gives me a buffer if I do go over, I skip the snack plate. If I go a bit under I change the fruit that goes on it, or bump it up a bit with some other things like a bit of yogurt or nuts etc.

I've had a lot of trouble consistently eating my goal calories. I'm way under for a few days then I'll be way over. How do you guys eat consistently without eating the same thing every day?

In reality if you're numbers are still working on a weekly basis, you're probably fine. I bank calories some days knowing I may be going over later in the week.

I eat the same things I always have, but control the portions. Once you can control portions you can be consistant.

I do this also!

just do it.... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b2uFH0NCMY4

Seriously. it's really not that hard. don't bring junk into your house. don't eat fast food. keep healthy snacks on hand. If you're committed, you'll find a way. period.

Some truly thoughtful responses - good topic!

Well, what you are doing is actually totally ok as long as you are still at a deficit at the end of the week. So if this is working for you, try looking at your weeks instead of days. I personally aim to have meals that are 200 to 400 calories (a little more sometimes now that I am maintaining) and fill in the rest of my calories with snacks throughout the day.

I find that easiest way for me to stay consistent is to make sure that my meals consistent. It can suck eating the same thing everyday but for me the trade off is being healthier and losing weight, that's worth repeating meals to me. I plan my entire week out for breakfast, lunch, and snacks. And to keep myself sane I make dinner my toss up, just as long as its healthy.

this is probably going to sound repetative but it seems like a lot of us do the same sort of thing - for me breakfast is always the same - a protien shake - lunch is usually the same, yoghurt, cheese, fruit - and either meatballs or leftover meat & veg from the night before. Dinner is the variable - whatever I either a) am in the mood for or b) what I have time to make between life & gym. Monday dinner is the only difference - I have another protein shake and sometimes a snack (which I dont usually have) because I have a class on Monday nights and dont have a lot of time between work & school - so I bring it with me to work and just grab some milk to mix it with on my way to class. Beats drive thru!

I have a lot of food issues so my menu doesnt vary too much but since I've started on MFP I have been adding a lot of new things to my menu (mostly veggies) it's been interesting finding new recipies - the hardest part is finding good low - sodium recipies - I've noticed that a lot of so called Low-Sodium recipies are still way high as far as Im concerned but I'm getting much better at adapting them to lower it even further.

Consistency is what you make of it - if over/under but staying under average for the week works for you then go for it - if planning to the nth degree works for you then go with that - it's your path to walk - walk it how you want - Luck & Love