pre-planning menus - is it worth it??

That is what I do. I plan out breakfast/lunch/snacks the night before so it's easier for me get ready in the morning with everything taken care of. This at least gives me an idea of how many calories i'll have left over for dinner and I usually decide that when I get home. That way I don't feel like i'm gong to crazy with planning.

I always pre-plan my day. Doesn't mean I can't change it, but I have found that pre-logging tells me how many calories I have to "play with" for the day.

I plan out everything most days except dinner since that depends on so many factors for us (busy with work/ kids sports etc). It works for me. Makes it easier to turn down snacks that show up, and keeps me from visiting the cafeteria or vending machine for a quick fix of invariably bad food choices.

I also leave a stash of healthy snacks, emergency meals at work so that if I forget my lunch, or didn't have time to pack it I at least have something I can go for that won't derail me. These things include...

1. tuna salad by the can....those small cans of flavoured tuna salad. Comes with a few crackers. A nice light snack and pretty healthy.

2. Nuts/trail mix....again...a good snack that will do in a pinch

3. Oatmeal...hot cereal...can make this in a few minutes

Me and my wife plan our meals two weeks out at a time. It makes it really easy to stay within your diet and it saves on our grocery bill because we know exactly what we need to buy and no food goes to waste.

Yes, it's actually very beneficial, particularly in the initial stages. When you pre-plan, you know exactly where you are any given day...no guessing about whether or not you can have X, Y, or Z...it's already in the books. I pre-planned the night before for the first couple of months I was doing MFP...after a couple months I didn't really need to do that anymore but I still did with some things.

I do pre-log some things but try not to be too hardcore about it so that I do have some flexibility. I've been on this site for almost a year and a half and over time I've really gotten into a nice routine where my meals seem to follow a pretty similar calorie structure. That really helps. In an average day, I eat 1400 calories. My breakfast is 200-250, lunch is around 500, and I have around 600-700 to play with for dinner. Getting into that routine has helped me a lot because I have developed a "feel" for what foods fit into my day well. I now realize that I can play around with it and fit in big restaurant meals once in awhile even if I don't have time to exercise that day because with 180 for breakfast and 370 at lunch I still almost 900 calories to "spend" on dinner. Everyone has their own preferences of course and I think the biggest thing is figuring out what cals/macros you need at what times of day in order to feel full. For example I don't snack. I am satisfied by larger 3 meals and no snacks. Some people are totally opposite.

Play around with pre-logging and see if it helps! Over time it gets easier!

Of course. I preplan for the day if we have plans to go out in the evening. I will often peruse the restaurant's menu, and work out what to order beforehand, so I can stay within my goals.

I have found pre-planning the days meals helpful. I don't spend all day "thinking" about the next meal/snack.

Yes. I am a planner. My hubby and I pre-plan and precook. For example we will bbq a weeks worth of b/s chicken breasts, a pot of quinoa and a wok full of veggies made up ever Sunday. He can eat that every day for the rest of his life but I cant so sometimes we switch it up. Lean ground beef, quinoa and spinach taco salads etc. Then we just measure out our quantities each day. I have several snacks to choose from in my desk drawer so that is where my variety comes in. I plan my dinners a month out and freezer cook to save money. I think it boils down to personality types but i have to plan or I end up substitution for bad choices.

it really helped me out in the beginning because I honestly didn't know portion sizes and guessing where I was in calorie consumption was way off. after about the first year I quit logging everything because I can tell roundabout what each meal is and if I have room for dessert later

Yes, it's worth it from a weight loss perspective as well as your monetary budget.

The most important thing I can tell you about preplanning is that it gets easier the longer you do it. I do my planning on a biweekly basis, and we keep our trips to the grocery store limited in between. (ie for fresh produce or the occasional half gallon of milk)

Definitely start planning. Get a list of foods you know you like that are good for you and make sure you know their calories. Come up with combinations of protein and good quality carb's that will keep you satisfied. I aim for 1400 calories per day, but I go with 4 mini meals of 350 each, because I swear I never get hungry when I do this. Portion size is key - so that you are really getting 100 or 200 calories of peanut butter instead of 300,400... I do not get crazy over measuring everything, but I am careful with the high calorie stuff.

We plan for the week...... Pick a day and cook ahead all your meals for the up coming week. That way when you get up, just grab a few things from the fridge/freezer, and off you go for your day.

I find it very helpful to pre-plan and/or pre-log, but like many other commenters have said, leave some wiggle room. That way if you want to eat something you didn't plan ahead for, it won't be a big deal. (As long as you stay within whatever goal metric you're using, of course.)

Well, I don't really pre-plan, and I have done well. Everybody's different, I guess.