Has anyone had success with planning all food ahead of time?

I pre-log. It saves time and helps my organise my eating. I also save a lot of meals as "meals" - that way it quick adds lots of components at the same time. Eg. bolognese (recipe saved) + pasta + cucumber + cheese. One click and dinner is done

I also often copy preivous day for morning and afternoon snacks. I'm a creature of habit.

I plan all my lunches and dinners for the week on Sunday and while I don't prelog, all my recipes are already in here or I add them as I go, so it's easy to log when I do. I find that planning keeps me on track and I eat the same snacks most of the time, so I know what my day is going to look like. This helps for when I experience a craving for something not so healthy. Then, I know which days I'm lower in cals, so I can sneak something unhealthy in. That doesn't happen often though. I've gotten so used to eating non-processed food that I rarely crave junk anymore. I've lost 45lbs since July, so this is working well for me.

I make a monthly menu plan, it helps me to know what I will be buying when I go to the store so that I can stick to my list, and it helps me to know how may calories I will be eating in a day so that I can add something special if I choose. I know a monthly plan sounds daunting and it IS difficult at first, but once you get a month down, the next month(s) will be easier because you know what you liked from the previous month(s) and you can just jot them into the days you choose on the calendar, for example: I always make sure I get at least two days a week of fish and at least one day a week that is meatless. The rest is usually something with turkey or chicken and maybe one day of beef or lamb per week. Good luck!

Hi I am seriously struggling with following the food log and counting calories. I have a busy lifestyle and find it hard to keep track all day. I have weighed between 175-183 for the last 2 years and can't seem to get any weight off. I am thinking of planning my whole week of food and logging it ahead of time, and then looking everyday to see what to eat. Has anyone tried this and has it helped? Ugh I am so tired of being overweight and of not being able to get ahead!

I pre-log in the morning, although I will generally try and plan what I need to defrost from the freezer the night before - so I will take out some chicken, or salmon and then figure out what recipe to use on the day.

I get to around 1000-1100 just on pre-logging for normal days depending on what I am doing in the gym, and then have some left over for snacks, fruit etc. up to my daily goal...
Like another poster - I save meals/recipes to speed things up and tend to try and use up all fresh produce up before resorting to frozen stuff.

I tend to eat the same thing almost everyday. So, I stopped pre-logging a while ago. I know what my macro targets are, so I just go with that. I log at each meal.

I always log the night before if I work the next day. I also cook in bulk and eat a lot of the same food day in and day out.

Pre-logging is a wonderful tool. It makes you accountable to what you agreed to with yourself when you planned it out.

To be honest, I find myself more satisfied this way, too. Because I can see what's coming up next to eat!!

Yes, I do plan ahead a day or night before. It really helps me to break down my calories in a balance range. I tried a couple of times without planning and ended up mad regret with the junk which I stuffed into my mouth earlier...

Planning ahead is the key, but dicipline is more important

I plan ahead at least a day during the week now - I planned ahead at least 2 days when I was losing. Planning is the key to success with this - it keeps you satisfied and keeps you from going off track if you have limited options.

I log everything pretty early in the day. Some things like lunches, I will make a weeks worth to keep in the fridge. That I will log all at once. If I am having the same breakfast all week I log that too.

Dinners get planned early-ish. I have most stuff logged before noon. Then I just have to track nibbles. I give myself up to 500 calories for those.

I've been having much more success lately then I did before. It takes time to learn it.

I also try to pre log in the morning when I can. As for meals though, my routine is to prepare at least 4 full meals for my family and me on Sundays to eat throughout the week. Then, I'll either enter them in the recipe builder, or if I have the nutritional information, I'll add it to "my foods". I find this has helped me tremendously by saving time, money and having something healthy and delicious ready to pop in the oven when I get home after a hectic day at work.

Prelogging in the morning has also helped me avoid having a ton of left over calories at the end of the day. At first, I was kind of afraid to eat my calories early in the day because I thought I wouldn't have enough left for the evening. So, I ended up being starving all day with too many to eat through at night. Now, I am able to keep myself satisfied throughout the day and know I will have plenty left in the evening for dinner and a snack.

I do this all the time and have had pretty good success. Small Things get altered but I mostly follow it x

I pre-log, but not a week at a time.
I log my entire day at breakfast, and then look back throughout the day to see what I should be eating.

I log my day in the morning. Sometimes I have to go back and change things but it helps me not only to stay on track but lets me know how many calories that I have to play with for snacks or if I need to walk at lunch or excercise more in the day to cover what I eat.