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Pre-Logging

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Replies

  • airangel59
    airangel59 Posts: 1,887 Member
    99.9% of the time I pre log/pre plan the next day(s) meals. What I do is put a bunch of stuff into nite snacks, far more than I'd ever be eating and I use that as "place holders" for cals/carbs etc. I work from home and am a grazer when bored with sitting at the work desk, so this way I know in advance what I'll be eating and if I need to adjust thru the day, I just change/delete some of my late nite snacks.

    I've done this since day one and it works for me. I have pre planned and then totally changed an entire meal so nothing is set in stone till the end of the day of course. But this way I'm covered if I eat something I didn't plan on, or if I forgot to log something I ate earlier in the day, I'm still able to make adjustments and not go over my daily goals.
  • CarolinkaCjj
    CarolinkaCjj Posts: 622 Member
    Prelog when it is something out of the norm. I often eat roughly the same thing for breakfast and lunch but dinner varies and dining out, I always plan ahead. Tonight is a wine tasting so I will do some prelogging to see where I will be (always add a full bottle of wine on these nights) so I can try to adjust my work out accordingly. Like airangel59, I try to overestimate so I have a little wiggle room. Keep healthy snacks in the house and bring them out - a whole pound bag of baby carrots may be 200 calories but it is a heck of a lot less than a sleeve of crackers (even if they are reduced fat).
    Find what works for you but the prelog can be a huge help.
  • Azexas
    Azexas Posts: 4,334 Member
    I prelog my day out in the morning for the rest of the day. I find I stay on track more if I already mapped it out. :)
  • ScifiGirl1986
    ScifiGirl1986 Posts: 104 Member
    I'm pretty new at this (only at it a week), but I like to pre-log because it helps me not to overeat. If I know what I want to have for my meals, then I won't deviate unless something drastic happens. It also tells me just how much I can snack during the day and if I can have that can of coke with dinner, especially if I pre-log my workout as well. Today, I know that I could basically have a 4th meal (not that I'm going to do that) because I'm going to burn over 600 calories later.
  • liftingandlipstick
    liftingandlipstick Posts: 1,857 Member
    When you say you log your coffee, do you mean you literally log in "coffee" or do you mean you log the creamer/sugar? I've only been logging the vanilla flavor creamer I use on my morning coffee as part of breakfast. Sometimes I do use the same creamer on my oatmeal so log it then also, but I've never logged coffee. Should I?

    My Big coffe cup (14 oz) has about 5 cals in it, without cream or sugar. I always log it, just to be in the habit of logging everything. Just like I log it if I literally only have a bite of something. Or the flavor packs that go into my water. It's totally up to you, but somedays I'm on a coffee kick and have quite a bit of it, and it does add up, especially when you look at your week as a whole. So . . . up to you, but I say log it.

    ETA: I even log zero calorie food items, like I Can't Believe It's Not Butter spray. Habit.
  • ejdp254
    ejdp254 Posts: 342 Member
    I find if i don't pre log i get nasty suprises and find i've run out of calories before dinner, only happened a few times and i still had dinner!! But i'm more careful now and try and pre log as much as possible :smile:
  • Blokeypoo
    Blokeypoo Posts: 274 Member
    I do my food the night before M-F and never deviate from it - no need as I make sure I have nice stuff in it! I did it 7 days a week when it wt loss but leave w/e's more open now I'm maintaining.

    It means I can see on the Fitbit site that I'm def being active enough to cover my food as the day goes on and also earn some extras for evening treats/snacks.

    I think pre-logging stops me making bad choices and also finding myself in the canteen at work faced with temptation. Better to have it all sorted and say "not on a weekday" to anything not planned for.
  • linsey0689
    linsey0689 Posts: 753 Member
    When I was better at logging everything I did this regularly. Or tell myself this is all I will eat tonight and finish my diary for the day. I think it's good. Keep doing what you are doing if it works. Best of luck to you :)
  • Myhaloslipped
    Myhaloslipped Posts: 4,317 Member
    I tried pre logging this week, and I just don't care for it. Somehow I ended up eating more calories than I normally do when I log as I go. However, my fridge is always stocked with healthy food, and I have a pretty good handle on the caloric content of the foods I eat on a regular basis.
  • CallMeCupcakeDammit
    CallMeCupcakeDammit Posts: 9,377 Member
    I do that in the mornings on work days. While I'm drinking and logging my coffee, I'll log my lunch, too. I already brought it to work with my, so it won't change. Unless I don't eat all of it (which rarely happens) in which case it's easy enough to delete. I also have the same thing or slight variations of, so it's simply to just log it from my recent foods. (Tuna or chicken salad with crackers, if you're interested.)

    I don't do it for dinner or on weekends, though, because I usually don't know what I'll be having that far in advance. I keep several easy to fix healthy options around so I can just mix and match whatever sounds good at the time,

    What she said ^^^ Fits me to a T

    Me, too, except I can usually pre-log my dinners. Weekends right now are too up-in-the-air for me to pre-log. Only same day, though, I don't pre-log the next day.

    ETA that it helps me see what I've got for the day, and I can switch things around if I don't like how my macros look before I've eaten. Also, if I end up having to change my dinner plans, I know what I've got to work with.
  • BrainyBurro
    BrainyBurro Posts: 6,129 Member
    pre-logging works really well and is a good way to get back on track when you find yourself slipping off the path...
  • seltzermint555
    seltzermint555 Posts: 10,740 Member
    I pre-log frequently, and like most in this thread, often for both lunch and breakfast.

    During the work week, I almost always log breakfast up to 2-3 days in advance, because I make breakfast in our house and my husband and I eat/enjoy the same things, so I play around with different days like "Thurs I know I'm going out for coffee and a pastry with my friend so I'll do a bean sprout & cabbage omelet and toast, but Monday & Tuesday we could have refrigerator oats with strawberries and pecans".

    If I take my lunch to work with me, I pre-log. If I go out to lunch (which I do once weekly with my dad) I lurk on restaurant sites to decide what I'm going to order, or roughly, and pre-log the day of.

    For dinner I usually know roughly how many calories I "have left" and will eat that many, or a little over and then get extra exercise.
  • seltzermint555
    seltzermint555 Posts: 10,740 Member
    pre-logging works really well and is a good way to get back on track when you find yourself slipping off the path...

    I completely agree! For me, it is also a fun way to play with my macros and determine which 3 specific meals will help me come closest to meeting them. Sometimes it is amazing and surprising what will work.
  • SashPar5
    SashPar5 Posts: 4
    I always try to pre-log my food for the day. I feel that it helps me stay on track and not eat anything that I don't log.
  • nedtoloseme
    nedtoloseme Posts: 98 Member
    I usually log in everything during the week. I have to decide what I want on the weekends - I'm usually on the go alot.
  • _lyndseybrooke_
    _lyndseybrooke_ Posts: 2,561 Member
    Yep! I plan my meals a week ahead of time and log the whole week. I make corrections if I stray from the plan, but it saves me time during the work week when I'm too busy to log. I also see it as a motivational tool. If I cheat, I know I'll feel bad deleting the healthy food I should've eaten and adding the high calorie food I actually ate. I log exercise, too, since I plan each day's workout ahead of time.
  • JoRocka
    JoRocka Posts: 17,525 Member
    yup- every morning when I get to work- I log what I packed for lunch. boom. done.

    also helps me know if I have room to have one of the brownies someone brought in or not.
  • ekahnicole
    ekahnicole Posts: 216 Member
    I generally plan my dinners ahead of time, like right after lunch or somewhere around that time, so that I know how many calories I can have outside of my regular 3 meals. It has been very helpful to me to go ahead and log it all as soon as I've decided. After all, if anything changes, I cant just edit it later anyway
  • sue_langley
    sue_langley Posts: 63 Member
    I will go to bed earlier since starting MFP just to lay in bed and consider what I will eat the next day and then I log it. This seems to get me to bed earlier and out of the kitchen earlier. : ) If I stay up too late I start to feel hungry and I usually don't feel good if I eat too late. Sometimes the following day I will change some items in my meals or add items or even change my mind altogether. Works well for me. Very easy to do and I feel in control somehow. I too am a little OCD and that might just explain why I enjoy it. : ) : )
  • sarafischbach9
    sarafischbach9 Posts: 466 Member
    Some people find that pre-logging works for them! I think it can be a very good thing to do and I do it from time to time. The only down side is that you can get obsessive!
  • beachylove
    beachylove Posts: 137 Member
    I log my entire day while packing lunches and breakfast in the morning before work since during the week I like to plan out what we are eating. It helps me know what I need to add or subtract for the day to stick to my macros.
    weekends I cant always pre-log as we occassionally go out or have dinners with friends/family so those days I just log as I go.
  • andibenoit
    andibenoit Posts: 71 Member
    I log the meals I eat at work as soon as they're packed, and I log some of my workouts ahead of time, too. I eat a lot of my workout calories back, so knowing an estimation ahead of time helps plan my day better.
  • Pirate_chick
    Pirate_chick Posts: 1,216 Member
    I do this most of the time. It's easier for me to log from a PC than tip tapping on the app.
  • bestmeicanbe84
    bestmeicanbe84 Posts: 58 Member
    Add me to the pre loggers. I find it helpful for staying on track and not overeating. It also helps me use up things in the fridge before it goes bad and I have to throw it out.
  • ashleysarvi
    ashleysarvi Posts: 66
    i always pre log helps me figure out what and when i can eat. if i dont i tend to go over quickly
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