Meal Planning

I plan 80% of the time. I usually do the next day's diary the evening before. So tonight, I will figure out what food I have for tomorrow (like what left overs I can take for lunch) and then build the rest of my day around that.

But, I don't stress about the occassional things that come up. I'm not going to miss out on time/meals with family and friends because I need to be rigid about planning. Life is more important than dieting. I just try to make it work - I'll order something reasonable or take a portion home with me. And, if I do go over, I just try to stay within my maintenance calories that day.

I pre-plan my meals too, but the reason to do is more so I know what to get at the supermarket than to puzzle the calories. And if I have some leftovers, I log it maybe one or two days earlier.

I plan day by day, but it's flexible. And actually I eat lunch always out ( except weekends), becasue I have no time to prepare meals for it ( I get home around 23 and leave at 7 in the morning ).

What I've started to do and I try to be really strict about is - plan my exercises and make sure my net calories are at least above 1200. This means - plan a certain amount of calories for each meal/snack/brunch, etc. and try to stick to that.

Hope this helps

I have gotten a pretty good feel for what foods/meals work together and fit nicely into both my calorie and macro goals, so I generally only pre-log (plan) when I'm making changes to my goals or when I'm eating foods that are not part of my typical diet.

I generally plan by the day, but really only care about how the week's numbers turn out. Nothing significant is going to happen on a day-to-day basis, so I put much more emphasis on hitting my weekly numbers.

Eating out isn't a big deal for me. I avoid foods covered in sauces and glazes, so I pretty much end up with fish or chicken or steak with some seasoning, which is pretty easy to log and fit into my goals.

As for "being in the mood" for whatever you set out to thaw... I think some people struggle with that more than others. Personally I'd much rather eat a steak that I'm not in the mood for than throw it away and waste the $9.

I preplan my meals day by day but am happy to go off the plan if I feel like something naughty..but always try and reach my macros as best I can.

We try to do meal planning every Wednesday. We plan for a week. Calories are not really a consideration in the planning. (I have a standard arsenal of recipes that are not high cal, and I introduce stuff occasionally, but I'll typically enter it in the recipe calculator before I cook it if I'm worried it's high cal.)

I just plan dinner, except I'll throw in lunch and breakfast on the weekend. I tend to actually devote time and energy to cooking those 2 meals on the weekends. During the week my lunch is leftovers from the night before, and after I cook supper I'll make a fast breakfast to pack. (My mate fends for himself and makes his own breakfasts and lunches during the week.)

I tend to keep standard snacking items on hand at all times: Greek yogurt, hummus, crackers, tuna, cut up veggies, nuts, etc.

I do try to allow for flexibility in the plan, keeping in mind that restaurants are NOT your friends. I will schedule lunches with friends on the weekends sometimes, and about once a month I get a bit tired and worn out and order Italian take out. It happens. It's just the exception, not the rule.

The important thing is to have some sort of a game plan in place. Every evening I look at the meal plan and defrost the appropriate meat, etc. That way I'm ready to go the next day. Always have SOMETHING in mind that you want to eat that night.

Also, the meal plan produces a grocery list. This keeps you from buying crap when you shop. That saves you money, time, and calories.

(BTW, if you really want guided help with meal planning, check out flylady.net and savingdinner.com. You can actually sign up for a subscription service where you'll get meal plans with accompanying shopping lists for a small fee. I think doing it yourself if probably fine, but if you're really struggling it's probably worth it. Getting your meals under control is important.)

I usually plan my meals for the next day. Sometimes or most of the time it may change, like lastnight it was my hubby's birthday and he wanted to go to this Smorgasbord. I didn't plan for it but knew that we would possibly go out so what I did was made sure that I filled up on veggies first and then started with more healthier choices like baked fish and steamed baby carrots and just a little mac n cheese. We don't eat out that often but whenever my meal plan gets thrown off a bit, I just try to make the best possible choices. It has been working so far. I wish you well.

I plan for the week. On Saturday morning, I pull out my recipe folder, figure out what i'd like to make for the week and write up my grocery list based on that. And yes, I plan every meal - breakfast, snacks, lunch and dinner. Breakfast, lunch and snacks are usually the same every day so it's just dinner that I have to figure out. This makes calorie planning easier too since they're usually all around the same amount. You can also tweak your favorite recipes to make them a little lighter. Use leaner meats and/or lessen the amount used, lessen the amount of starch (pasta, rice, potato) and bulk the recipe back up with more veg.

Planning can actually help with those last minute decisions. I wouldn't pass up every opportunity to go out for lunch or dinner, especially if you don't go often. But in my house, we get take-out once or twice a week so it's nice when the temptation comes from my Hubs to be able to say "nah, I've got this chicken I need to cook up, we'll have take-out this weekend". I know what you mean about not being in the mood for things too - pork is not my favorite meat but I still won't waste it if it's the only thing that's thawed and ready to cook.

Good luck!

I preplan my meals a week in advance. This includes breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks. By Saturday the "menu" is made and do my shooping on Saturday mornings. The "menu" is placed on the fridge so everyone knows whats for dinner. The kids actually really enjoy knowing what they are going to eat. When we first started this my husband would say "hey lets go to _____" and I would just let him there is no reason to eat out because we have food. After a while of doing this he quite asking. If we are going to a birthday dinner or whatever you usually know a bit in advance so I just add that to the menu. Before we go to that resteraunt I already know what I am going to order. No need to get tempted by looking at the menu. My husband and I will share a meal because the portion sizes are usually enough for 2 people. For me pre planning is so much easier and less stressful. When you go to the store you know exaclty what you are getting. I also save a lot of money by doing this because there is no mindless shopping and just picking up random things you dont need.

Since I work 3rds I eat breakfast at work, lunch in the morning, and dinner at night when I get up. Breakfast is typically the same foods subbing out 1 or 2 things. Total prep being as long as it takes you to toss things in the bag from the fridge. Possibly stirring protein powder into yogurt.

Lunch is almost always eggs and toast. With protein shake / yogurt mix. (post workout).

Dinner I like to cook ahead of time and reheat so I can sleep longer. Typically cook a few nights worth at a time. Like right now, I'm going to go put sweet potatoes in the oven.

I do plan for a typical amount of calories per meal though, 600-700 or so during breakfast, 800 or so for post workout recovery + lunch. Then whatever's left at dinner. Usually amounts to something like "1 chicken breast or 2?" or an extra side.

If the plan goes wrong, like going out for a heavy italian meal wrong... I just go run the next morning or something. Fixed.