Do you plan it out??

I generally plan a day in advance. I use storage containers and ziplock bags to weigh and measure everything the day before if I know it'll be a crazy day. It helps me hit my macro and not have to spend too much time doing it that day, as I'm a stay at home mom, myself. I find it helps keep me in check. Even if things change, I still know what alloted calories I have left.

I definitely plan out my meals 24-48 hours in advance and its been very helpful. Usually for dinner I make something low fat with protein and end up making enough to bring to work the next day for lunch. Usually for breakfast and snacks I stick with some of the same things all week long and then change up the next week. Good luck!

I do most of the planning while I'm shopping. I'll make sure I have enough meat, vegetables and rice to last me the week, that way I have a good idea of what I'll be having for lunch and dinner. Breakfast can be a little bit of a crapshoot, but I tend to go with eggs or canned soup with black coffee so that it isn't time/though consuming in the morning.

Then, when things get bumped off schedule (go out to eat/have a few drinks) I do my best to adjust accordingly and/or ad in an extra workout to make up for whatever calories I've consumed.

I try to plan a day in advance so I have the ingredients on hand to make what i want BUT I also have stuff in the freezer that I can make in a pinch.

When I get busy at work and cant get home early enough (or as usually the case, forget to plan dinner), I can grab a fish filet and frozen veggies and cook those up. I often make fish or shrimp tacos because they cook quickly (shrimp defrosts fast under running cold water) and I always keep tortillas on hand. Throw a bit of salsa and lettuce, and there is dinner. And all well under 400 cals.

I also will pre-cook chicken so I have it in the fridge for salads, sandwiches, and snacks.

When I do cook a planned dinner, there is always enough for leftovers so that gets packaged up for lunch with the evening cleanup.

I plan my meals in advance, usually the night before. I have two babies and I work so that helps.

I'm a working mom of 4, and I do all the grocery shopping and cooking for my family. For a long time I have shopped on Sunday afternoons, and I plan ahead all of our dinners based on what is fresh and/or on sale. This saves me money, ensures that we will eat well and saves a heck of a lot of stress when I get home at 6. My husband and I both bring our lunch to work. This also saves money and is healthier. I've been planning out my day in full including snacks either in the morning or the night before. This ensures that I have enough good food to eat to keep me from making bad choices in hunger, and it really helps me work on hitting my macros. Experimenting with new things has helped me do this without getting bored, but IMO planning ahead is everything. My diary is open, and I've had a really good week if you're interested in taking a peak for ideas.

Been doing this for 1 year and now trying to maintain the loss. I always find having a good idea of what I am eating the day before or that morning gives me the best advantage to stay on track. I can always change things around later as the needs fits. I love small baggies and when I am repackaging something grab the shears and cut off the nutrition label and stick it in the bag, no questions later. When I work, I package everything up the day before and have it already logged in my diary. I keep a day planner with my daily weight and calorie numbers in each daily block, good reference for quick looking back. It is trial and error for most people and finding what works for you is 1/2 the battle. I also have a fitbit zip that I love and I can quickly see how my exercise and calories work together giving me more of an accurate picture of my journey.

I plan my meals out every weekend for the following week. I try to eat clean and healthy and do a lot of preparation on Sunday evenings. Taking the time before the work week will help you with loss of time during the week.

I somewhat do. My situation is different as in I live alone, so I choose 3 or 4 healthy meals to make, divide into servings and freeze a bunch for future lunches and dinners. This way I'm not running out of healthy food and tempted to get takeout. When I go grocery shopping for the next week or two, I make sure to buy a wide variety of food, including healthy snacks and fresh food I absolutely have to eat so it doesn't go bad. I lost weight in my first couple of weeks without even working out because I cut back on eating out. I was still eating filling things I love, like stews and lasagna, but I was controlling the portions. For a busy dad, slow cookers are awesome!

When I am on task and really dedicated I do plan out meals for the week. I usually take sometime on Saturday or Sunday to look at recipes, go grocery shopping and cook a few meals. I portion them out and freeze them for lunches/supper and just the times I do not feel like coming home. I utilize a slow cooker for some of the meals so I can prep it the night before and let it cook while at work. Hope this helps you!

I find that planning out meals and snacks helps me very much! Every morning I pack a snack bag for myself and my husband. We have protein shakes for breakfast and lunch, then throughout the day we have carrots, a banana, an orange and a fat free greek yogurt and sometimes a Clif Bar. It keeps us going through the day until dinner. For dinners I usually plan what meals we will eat prior to my grocery trip, then it takes the guesswork out of what to have for dinner since we've already planned what we will eat.

The more prepared I am the more I plan, the easier it is. Now if only I could stop being hungry.....!

I plan and log the night before. I work long days with no lunch break so I pack breakfast, lunch, and snacks to get me through the day. Since I can't randomly go out for lunch or grab a snack from someplace else, I am forced to plan out a day. I always leave a little wiggle room in case I don't get to exercise as much as usual or I get home so late that I don't have time or energy to prepare what I had planned for dinner. I also do bulk cooking on the weekends and freeze in individual portions. Good luck on your journey!

Good for you for considering it!! I personally believe this is a big key to success, not just for losing the weight but maintaining once you get to goal. I try to plan out meals for the whole week - and for the same reason (to avoid temptations, last minute quick grabs which are usually high cal/not as healthy).

Saturday morning, I pull out my recipe folder and go thorugh to figure out what I'd like to make that week and create my grocery list based on that as well as whatever I feel like getting for breakfast, snack and lunch. Ingredients sometime also depend on sale flyers - for instance pork tenderloin was on sale last week so I made that part of the plan. It's a bit more work in the beginning but I think most of us tend to make the same general things week after week so you can get a pretty good idea of what works and what doesn't with time and practice.

I also do some prep work, usually on Sunday. Cook a big batch of oatmeal in the crockpot, boil eggs or make a breakfast casserole, portion out my yogurt into individual containers, etc. That way when I go to pack my lunch bag in the morning it's just a matter of grabbing a few containers, a couple pieces of fruit and maybe throwing together a sandwich and I'm done.

Back to the avoiding temptation thing - for dinner, if I've got chicken thawed in the fridge and Hubs wants to order a pizza, I can put him off for a day or two saying I don't want to waste perfectly good food and that way I can plan for the pizza night I know is coming (get in a good workout &/or eat lighter that day).

Good luck!

I plan my meals out the night before and sometimes even (when I'm in my "organized cycle, that is :happy: ) prepare my snacks and lunch. When I get up, I know what I'm going to eat for breakfast, have for snacks, lunch, etc. For me, doing it any other way is a sure-fire road to failure. If I don't prepare ahead of time I tend to obsess about what I'm going to eat next. If it's already planned, I don't.

Try it both ways, logging ahead of time and logging as you eat. You'll find what works best for you and fits into your schedule.

Good luck!:drinker:

I also plan in advance. I wasn't plugging in dinner in advance, but now I am as well because I generally know what I'm going to have. For me, planning is the backbone of accountability.