Anyone else fill out food pages a week in advance?

AtlantaBob
AtlantaBob Posts: 129 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
RELAPSER here. Yes, I lost 90 but I gained 80 of it back,

I've been thinking about the things that made me successful the first time and I thought I'd see if anyone else does it.

Filling out my menu a week in advance was a BIG help to me.

It's a just before grocery store activity. I build a menu, check for calories, sodium, fat, etc. Make my shopping list and am ready to go.

I also felt free to vary the menu if something at the store was on sale or just looked too good to pass up.

Advance menu planning helped me avoid those "skimpy" meals because I was over on calories. Which helped me avoid the "Damn I'm hungry" late night binging

Replies

  • AtlantaBob
    AtlantaBob Posts: 129 Member
    In fairness....I haven't started this again yet. My goal is to start it back up August 1st.
  • jennie1801
    jennie1801 Posts: 12
    Its funny that you posted this topic because I literally just got done planning my menu for next week. I just spoke with my doctor about getting rid of red meats and sugar and limiting my carbs. So I made my menu so I can go food shopping this weekend. To answer your question though...yes...I think it really helps me to plan ahead. That way I do not over spend at the grocery store.
  • marissanik
    marissanik Posts: 344 Member
    I pretty much do variations of the same meals always so it doesn't require too much planning.

    Breakfast I always have toast and greek yogurt with a protein shake, lunch is always a salad with a piece of fruit and cheese string, dinner is always chicken with rice and a green vegetable.

    My snacks I switch up a little more frequently depending what I have on hand. But mostly I'm just changing vegetables/fruits/toppings.
  • dunnodunno
    dunnodunno Posts: 2,290 Member
    I don't fill it out weeks in advance, but I usually fill a few days in advance that way I can change anything if I end up wanting to eat something else.
  • Meerataila
    Meerataila Posts: 1,885 Member
    Sometimes, but it never seems to work out the way I expect. I find three days to be my max if I don't want the annoyance of deleting entries.
  • melissaw78
    melissaw78 Posts: 214 Member
    I usually plan a couple of days in advance. It doesn't do me much good to plan ahead much more than that because with 3 teenagers in the house, food that I might plan on eating mysteriously disappears....
  • Chevy_Quest
    Chevy_Quest Posts: 2,012 Member
    HI - Fellow relapser here!

    Great Post!

    I know that if I pre-plan my day what I am going to eat... 99% I make goal and usually get to eat some great treats! :drinker:
  • ddkphotos
    ddkphotos Posts: 304 Member
    can't plan like that... it's a big deal if i know what I've got going on for dinner that night.
    my fridge and freezer are full of healthy options though...
    just curious - why August 1st? why not tomorrow?
    I lost more weight this time than ever because I don't consider it a diet - with a start and finish date - but a lifestyle change.
    making healthier choices 90% of the time... allowing myself treats 10% of the time... keeping track of it all...
    plus not sure what you weigh but double check what your recommended daily calorie goal should be... because I don't know alot of grown men who should be eating less than 1,200... you might lose weight quickly but not for the right reasons I think...
  • FeraFilia
    FeraFilia Posts: 4,664 Member
    I don't plan them *that* far in advance.

    I generally log all my food for the day at the beginning of each day and adjust as necessary. On occasion, like if I KNOW there will be a higher calorie meal coming up, I'll put that in a day or two before, so I can plan around it.
  • itsbasschick
    itsbasschick Posts: 1,584 Member
    i don't post meals in advance, but i do have about 12 main meals i eat, so it's easy to input them - especially the ones i input in my foods.
  • icrushit
    icrushit Posts: 773 Member
    I don't plan my meals in advance like that, but do have a general template things fit into. For example, brekafast is always yoghurt, berries, nuts and seeds, dinner is often meat/ fish with veg. Lunch is the only one that varies a lot, and sometimes I will use something left over from dinner the previous day, make a frittata, or make myself up a low carb burger (lettuce in place of the bun), or a sandwich using some low carb bread like the flax one people use. A salad with some form of protein like tuna/ leftover meat can be nice too.

    So no, no advance meal plans for me, but I do like to have a decent idea what I will probably have to eat, so I don't have to figure out what I want from scratch, when I'm hungry, as that tends not to work out too well in my experience. The odd time I just have no idea what I want yet am hungry, I will often have a light snack to park the hunger for a little, while I make a proper decision what to have :)

    EDIT: on an unrelated topic, are you actually eating enough ? Your food diary since you started logging the last few days, would seem to indicate a dangerously low, starvation-like level of intake..
  • teranga79
    teranga79 Posts: 202 Member
    I plan a week's worth of meals in advance - that way I know what I need to buy. I've been doing that for years, so the transition to also logging the meals has been pretty easy.

    Sometimes things change, that's fine. But I like to have some idea of what I'll be eating when.
  • SingRunTing
    SingRunTing Posts: 2,604 Member
    I meal plan my dinners for the week and grocery shop based on that. My breakfasts are pretty standard, I only do 2-3 different options. Then lunch is whatever I want that day. I don't enter anything in until right before I eat.

    So yes and no. I plan dinner (which is my biggest meal of the day most of the time) for the week, but other meals, no.
  • SezxyStef
    SezxyStef Posts: 15,267 Member
    Yes I do..usually start Sunday by filling out Mon-Fri based on what groceries I bought or that is in the house then on Wednesday based on how well I did I start planning my weekend.

    For example today is Thursday and I have planned my weekend (mostly) and I have 2500 extra calories atm for the week...lunch for Friday needs added and dinner for Sunday...so I am golden atm...Yah.

    Prelogging helps in a variety of ways...regardless of how far in advance you do it.

    Daily helps you know you hit goals and didn't go over before dinner, helps hit macros if you want that...
    Prelogging a couple days allows for tweaks if something comes up
    Prelogging for a week gives you a good view of where you are for that week and allows for you to add in extra treats if you want or allows for spontanous outings as well.
  • Amitysk
    Amitysk Posts: 705 Member
    I meal plan a week in advance (mainly for shopping purposes), but I don't log it until after I eat. I find myself being more accountable that way.
  • Alidecker
    Alidecker Posts: 1,262 Member
    I meal plan on Sunday for the work week, but don't fill in my log. I do fill my log in at the beginning of every day. Today's is complete, I still have some calorie room if I get hungry. I eat the same thing for breakfast and lunch almost every day, it's pretty easy. Dinner and snacks can be different, but always fairly similar. Unfortunately, the weekends are not the same as the weekdays....my biggest problem.
  • 970Mikaela1
    970Mikaela1 Posts: 2,013 Member
    I do . I eat same lunch daily. boring I know. dinner is a few different things. I eat out about once a week , but it's always at my favorite cheeseburger place.

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