Log before or after you eat?

MissGamerGirl
MissGamerGirl Posts: 187 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Do you log your food after you eat it or before?

Sometimes I do it before but many times I log after the fact. :( I still weigh/measure everything and make sensible choices, but sometimes I will go over in a category somewhere and don't know it until I log it (after I've eaten), which in a way kind of hurts the intent of tracking in a sense.

What do you do?
«13

Replies

  • Phrick
    Phrick Posts: 2,765 Member
    before, usually while I'm cooking I'll enter the values I plan to eat because my intent is to not go over (obviously) and that's the easiest way for me to make sure.
  • Rachelc1992
    Rachelc1992 Posts: 246 Member
    After, but I will check if I'm unsure of rough idea of calories!
  • AtLeastOnceMore
    AtLeastOnceMore Posts: 304 Member
    I'm becoming a huge fan of pre-logging - especially after my moment of calorie stupidity this morning coming from introducing a new food and falling into an old eating pattern (baked beans and melted cheese - OMG!). Suddenly, about half my daily calories were gone in a single meal! Prelogging means that I know exactly how much I should eat to stay within my boundaries, and it answers questions about what you can eat without guesswork.
  • prosperkat
    prosperkat Posts: 59 Member
    Both. I make a plan for the day then adjust or change as the day goes by.
  • smileymaxine
    smileymaxine Posts: 275 Member
    normally before unless incredibly busy, I normally have a plan of what I will have for each meal that day and leave room for snacks.
    I always log any extras I eat afterwards.
  • livingleanlivingclean
    livingleanlivingclean Posts: 11,751 Member
    I plan my meals/days on the weekend and follow my meal plan. I eat nearly the same thing everyday (carb amounts change depending on training schedule but not the type of carbs). it makes planning and prep easier and means I can buy in bulk, cook in bulk and generally have less waste.

    I eat what I plan, no more, no less, nothing changes!
  • JesterMFP
    JesterMFP Posts: 3,596 Member
    If I already know the values, say if I've prepared my lunch for work, then I pre-log. Usually, I log as I'm cooking, while I'm weighing everything out. Sometimes I'll pre-log things to see how they look in my diary and help me decide what to have.
  • jigsaw_me
    jigsaw_me Posts: 616 Member
    Both. I make a plan for the day then adjust or change as the day goes by.

    ^^^ this, but I also never plan 100% of my calories - I leave a few hundred so I can make choices as I go
  • EmmyW1984
    EmmyW1984 Posts: 4 Member
    I do a bit of both

    I'll set up a plan for the day on my food diary, but then add or subtract things as and where necessary as I have the app on my phone so find it really easy to keep on top of it
  • starrylioness
    starrylioness Posts: 543 Member
    Before, while cooking/preparing it, that way I don't forget anything.
  • svsl0928
    svsl0928 Posts: 205 Member
    Log before for most meals. It helps me stay on track.
  • garry2614
    garry2614 Posts: 4 Member
    I find logging before helps me to keep to my calorie intake but just lately I've been slipping and logging after. I can tell the difference as I've put a bit of weight back on.
  • mungowungo
    mungowungo Posts: 327 Member
    Before, while cooking/preparing it, that way I don't forget anything.

    ^^^^^^ This - that way I can weigh as I go too.
  • Carla_Quick
    Carla_Quick Posts: 3
    I log dinner usually before as that s my highest calorie intake meal and it's to make sure I can plan around it. I have the app on my phone which is really handy so usually I just then log as I go :)
  • nicoleisback
    nicoleisback Posts: 184
    I usually log after because A)I tend to have the same or similar things for brekkie and lunch, so I know approximately how many calories I am having and B) I generally don't cook dinner, so sometimes don't know what I am having until it is in front of me. That being said, my partner knows to keep it mostly healthy :).

    I wish I was organised enough to pre log.
  • bumblebeez86
    bumblebeez86 Posts: 208 Member
    I do both normally log breakfast just after eating - as I have just done. Then log my 'packed lunch/work lunch' with the breakfast log. (If this changes I + or - when I get home. Tea I usually do when I am cooking. Then add snacks as I go. I don't have the app on my phone so can only log at home so at work I write it on paper :)
  • gypsyone96
    gypsyone96 Posts: 61 Member
    I log all my meals and snacks for the next day the night before. It lets me know how much I'm eating, how healthy I'm eating, and if I have any leftover calories!
  • avskk
    avskk Posts: 1,787 Member
    Both. I pre-log meals but I log snacks on the fly and/or make meal adjustments as needed.
  • Joannesmith2818
    Joannesmith2818 Posts: 438 Member
    At the beginning I always logged beforehand, but now I have a much better idea of what I should eat in a day, so I'm not so organised!
  • keeptehpeace
    keeptehpeace Posts: 189 Member
    Before, normally in the mornigng but I allow myself a few hundred calories to play around with during the day
  • tlou5
    tlou5 Posts: 497 Member
    I pre log when possible to kind of map my calories for the day and then modify in the evening if needed
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
    Always before I eat, so I know exactly how much I can have or how much I have left.

    Often I'll be counting grams to meet my goal as close as possible in the evening too...
  • PinkyFett
    PinkyFett Posts: 842 Member
    I log all my meals in the morning or the night before... leave room for the snacks until the end of the day. I stick to it better if I pre-log. I feel guilty if I try and grab something extra at dinner or something like that.
  • JilloftheDead
    JilloftheDead Posts: 296 Member
    Before, always before. I like to budget my calories and dislike using too many too early in the day.
  • SailorKnightWing
    SailorKnightWing Posts: 875 Member
    After breakfast, during lunch and before dinner.

    I tend to wake up and eat breakfast however I want since I normally like lower-calorie breakfasts anyway. I log it, then log what I'll be having for dinner since I plan my dinners two weeks in advance anyway. Then I gauge how hungry I am and how many calories I have left for lunch.

    Working from home and knowing how to cook really works to my benefit. :glasses:
  • MrsAustin1480
    MrsAustin1480 Posts: 83 Member
    I log while I'm making stuff, sometimes before I start - when I get an idea and don't know if it's the greatest one - but I try not to log after because I still get little surprises here and there and go over. Ugh.
  • luvsherhubby
    luvsherhubby Posts: 135 Member
    Both. I make a plan for the day then adjust or change as the day goes by.

    ^^^ this, but I also never plan 100% of my calories - I leave a few hundred so I can make choices as I go

    same here, pre log to hit protein and calorie goal with some calorie room for something that might come up, I then adjust as I go. It can make cooking more fun because I put the recipe in as is, and then when cooking I try to get away with less say 2 tbls of soy sauce vs the 4 the recipe called for etc and then I get to adjust it and watch my cals and sodium drop!
  • rjdunn87
    rjdunn87 Posts: 385 Member
    If I'm being organized and responsible, I'll usually have a general meal plan for the week and so I can pre-log at least my breakfast and lunch at the beginning of the day. For example, for lunches last week I made a recipe that serves 4, divided it up into 4 tupperwares and those were my lunches Monday-Thursday, so I could pre-log that in the morning and have a good sense of how much I had left for dinner and snacks.
  • spoiledpuppies
    spoiledpuppies Posts: 675 Member
    Always before. Usually just before each meal/snack though--not the night before or anything earlier.
  • redstar7
    redstar7 Posts: 25 Member
    I pre-log the easy stuff, like the things I can just scan a barcode on my phone or if I have already made or eaten something. But, I really like the recipe maker on this website. It makes it really easy to log things that I make for dinner. Especially since I don't cook for one. So usually when it comes to dinner and I'm making something new I log afterwards by using the recipe calorie builder thing.

Categories