Plan to Eat -OR Fail. Planners please chime in!

I HAVE to plan or I will blow it and buy something quick and convenient from the store in my buiding (frozen pizza & mac and cheese and Doritos, lots and lots of Doritos!) and totally blow it day after day.

I very literally do a menu plan (Mon, Tues, Wed....Bfast, Lunch, Snacks & Dinner) with categories and a chart template on Sunday and go to the store Monday after work. The planning usually takes way less than an hour as I have my go to/favorite recipes from my favorite sites, but even if I am looking for a new one it is easy to find nutrition info quick. If I ever have to run back to the store towards the end of the week it is for produce but I am sure to go in and out so as not to spoil the budgeted money OR calories. I should note that I plan using daily calories, not weekly.

I make my lunch and snacks the night before and tend to have a liquid breakfast that is thrown in a blender and made super quickly in the morning. Sometimes, I even buy snacks in packages or portion it out and leave it at work for the week. I prefer crockpot recipes which I prepare the night before, throw in the fridge and turn on before I leave for work, but even if I don't make dinner in the crockpot, it is planned and waiting to be prepared!

I don't log beforehand though. I feel if I did that I would feel pressure to be sure I eat and do everything on time as scheduled and that is a little too much structure for me (if you can believe it!). Usually if I feel pressure or stressed I will veer from the plan to alleviate it. That is the only reason I have had success on this site is because I can still eat/do whatever I want (just in moderation) and not feel restricted. Also, not logging beforehand leaves the opportunity for spontaneous life events to occur (a friend needs a girls night drink, etc.), which one should never turn down. I should also note that very often I don't eat what I had "planned" on the exact day that I had planned it, but having the days of the week charted out ensures that I have the right amount of food and am able to stay within my calorie and financial budget.

YESSSS food prep on sundays.. Is important to my personal success and takes the focus off of finding things to eat everyday..

I plan and count calories, when I don't then I go off wagon and feel sick to my stomach. If I crave something that day then I just adjust for that.....weighing is a big part for me as well....

For breakfast, I like to make egg/bacon/cheese sandwiches-although they depend on if I have time. For lunch, I tend to make ahead the night before just because I don't have much time in the mornings. But dinner I do absolutely NO planning unless there is something I need to get cooked or used up. I eat for dinner whatever I have left in the way of calories for the day. But I've always been a spur of the moment person so I don't think I could stick to meal planning.

Edit: I do preportion out all my snacks and things once i get home from the grocery store though. I will find myself overeating if I do otherwise.

I pre-pack my lunches and snacks for the week on Sunday afternoons. I have protein shakes for breakfast so I prep those the night before. I am not a morning person and barely coherent before I leave the house so pre-planning is a must! :laugh:

I love to cook, and don't do much of that any more because I munch on food while I cook. It's been frozen entrees for me to help with portion control and to keep me from eating my calories before I actually sit down to eat. I do keep rye bread and turkey pastrami in the house at all times, because that's something that I always enjoy and will fall back on when I just can't make myself eat other things. It's my "go to" food that feels normal (I just don't use mayo anymore!).

I'm the same way but I set aside a day each month to cook a lot of meals that I pre-portion and freeze. To help with munching I chew gum or set out a bowl of grapes or something healthy to snack on. But this helps me when I need something quick and easy that's healthy. Right now I have spinach lasagna rolls and mini spinach and cheese quiches. I hope to make some chili soon as we'll as maybe some enchiladas or something.

For me, I have to have the right food available. If I am on the road, I know what I want already. It's always the same
Shrimp cocktail and side salad dressing on the side. Or 2 eggs Grilled Tomato on the side

So I guess I am a planner

I thought I was really good a meal-planning, but having read every post on this thread, I am completely humbled and impressed!

I have a full time job, a husband who is an amateur race car driver, and a child who's at soccer practice or a game most nights a week, so it's a necessity for me to plan a week's worth of meals and shop on Sunday afternoon. That way, I can freeze the meats that don't get used later on in the week, buy vegetables and fruits based on when they should ripen, etc. I will look in my planner in the evenings and see what's supposed to be made the next day and then do any food prep needed to shorten the cooking process.

I pre-package all of my work snacks, although that was a big fail this week because hubby and son liked the crackers I bought and so they ate them all!!