Pre-logging entire food day vs log at end of day?

Personally, I do most of my logging in advance and find it works well for me. The main reason is though, then I know how many calories I have left for snacks, etc. where I can have a little more flexibility. Logging ahead helps me stick to a plan and use food in my fridge, instead of it going to waste. I pretty much know what I'll have for breakfast, lunch and dinner ahead of time, so really snacks are my wild card and then I can choose them around 1) what I feel like and 2) what fits into my day.

Pre-logging really works for me. I especially like to log things like my coffee. With the added cream, it's 44 calories for my "mega mug". I have three a day so that adds up! I log all three of those first thing in the morning. Then I pre-log any little snacks that I'm going to have, ie., I know I'm eating a truffle later, so that goes on the list. Then I log the rest of my meals accordingly. I find that even if I have to adjust some things later on, it really helps me to stay within my daily calorie goal and macros. It also helps me to see it in black and white because I can see if I need to eliminate some foods that are too high in fat/sodium/protein, with more healthy choices like vegetables.

I log everything as I do it. If I don't, I will forget some things and logging won't be accurate.

I pre-log, but leave some wiggle room for adjustments.

For me I like to pre-log so I can see exactly how many calories I have left during the day if I fancy something. and it's easier to stick to the healthy options for me if I know I have them already logged in.

I always pre-log on the days that I work. I usually log as I go on my days off with my goals in mind.

I pre-log whatever my big meal is likely to be for that day, then adjust the rest of the day around that and whatever exercise I manage to squeeze in. Usually it's dinner, because I generally plan family dinners and shop for the week in advance, so I pre-log those each morning when I add my breakfast. Or if I know I'll be going out for lunch, I look up menus and do a rough log of what I intend to eat, then make sure there are salad ingredients in the fridge for dinner.

If I don't pre-log, I inevitably find myself overdoing it at breakfast/lunch, so I get stuck eating a smaller dinner with no room for my evening glass of wine and handful of nuts or square of dark chocolate--and those are crucial to my sanity! I know full well that I'm an evening snacker, and any routine that forbids that would be unsustainable for me. With pre-logging, I'm always careful to leave about 250-300 calories for the end of the day, and I don't feel deprived at all.

However, I do think it's a good idea to post-log for a few weeks when you first start MFP, just to see what your normal patterns are, where you're typically overdoing it, and where you can make adjustments to accommodate whatever is important to you--whether it's a big breakfast, lunch with the office gang, or your evening beverage.

I always pre-log my family's dinner, then figure out my breakfast and lunch based on my remaining calories. Pre-logging also let's you make decisions on guilty pleasures through the day. It let's me decide whether I can have that 190 calorie candy bar and still eat dinner. ????

Personally, I prelog, it helps keep me accountable.

what is your macro %?

I log what I plan to eat that day, I prefer this way as I am a late night picker so if I leave enough calories over from the day then I know the night time fridge hits wont make a dent in the overall calories in/out.

Some day I don't log at all, like saturdays & sundays, my eating is sporadic & as i do a lot of cooking at weekends I tend to nibble & gave up trying to log that, so pre-log Mon-Fri with end of day adjustments & no logging at all at weekends.

You just have to find what works for you

I recently (about a month ago) started pre-logging my day and packing my snacks and lunches according to that. It also forced me to plan my dinner ahead. This has helped me tremendously in sticking to my daily limit which is also 1500 and it forces me to re-consider any unhealthy snacks I might want to eat during the day as that would take away from dinner or the healthy snack choices I packed. It will also help you keep an eye on your macros if you prelog, I for example suck at staying at my sugar intake And another thing I love about this is being able to change things before eating. So let's say you prelog your day and you realize there are way too many carbs in it, change what you had planned to make for dinner. Or if you see you need much more protein, change your snack to hit the protein macro.

This.

I pre-log, but it isn't set in stone. I like to plan my meals a couple days in advance now, but if I change my mind and decide I want something else it's no big deal.

I log every morning except Sunday's my rest day but complete it at night cause somethings can change.

I have to log as I go, or prelog, or I have no idea how many calories I have left for the day and can't plan my snacks accordingly. I'll prelog what I know I will eat (like if I know what's for dinner, I'll prelog it), but I adjust before I eat it (I know I'm going to have chicken for example, but I don't know exactly how much, so if I prelog before I eat it, I know I can have more or less veggies with it etc).

If I logged everything at the end of the day I'd probably be over every time, or my macros would be totally wrong or something. My diary is a tool, it's a bit pointless if I don't use it for actually planning my meals and snacks.