logging in advance?

Options
healthierheather96
healthierheather96 Posts: 9 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Does anyone else log their food intake in advance? Like I log even a day ahead sometimes as I'm busy and can't log throughout and when I log at the end of the day I'm always under or over my goal! Does anyone else do this to make sure they stay on track? How do you balance your meals throughout the day accurately?
«1

Replies

  • abadvat
    abadvat Posts: 1,241 Member
    Options
    It is beneficial at the begining until you get the hang of it and know your calories / macros of what you eat.
  • jenny24012014
    jenny24012014 Posts: 83 Member
    Options
    I log the day in advance, and sometimes the next day too if I feel like it.

    It's easy for me as I have the same thing for breakfast every day (cereal and milk), one of three or four things for lunch which are all roughly the same number of calories and I buy all the dinners for the week on the weekend as I'm cooking for the family and have put the recipes in to the recipe builder so I decide what we're having and log that.

    I prefer doing it that way as I can then see how many calories are spare after the main meals and plan what to have for snacks throughout the day to bring me up to my calorie goal. I think if I logged as I went along I'd either find that by dinner time I didn't have enough calories left to eat my dinner or have to eat a 500 calorie snack before I go to bed just to get me to the limit.
  • fluffyasacat
    fluffyasacat Posts: 242 Member
    Options
    Sometimes if I know what I'm having I'll use logging ahead for forward planning.

    But then I often put meetings and events in my calendar retrospectively in case I need to look it up later.
  • Megais
    Megais Posts: 28 Member
    Options
    I sure do, I have had too many occasions where I logged something after I ate it and was over because of it. So to avoid that,i log in advance :) x
  • pj27559
    pj27559 Posts: 23 Member
    Options
    Does anyone else log their food intake in advance? Like I log even a day ahead sometimes as I'm busy and can't log throughout and when I log at the end of the day I'm always under or over my goal! Does anyone else do this to make sure they stay on track? How do you balance your meals throughout the day accurately?

    I enter up the whole day on the bus to work in the morning.

    Breakfast & lunch are often similar each day, if I don't know what I am eating in the evening I just copy in a typical meal from a previous day and change the details later.
  • Optimistic_Suzie
    Optimistic_Suzie Posts: 1 Member
    Options
    I do it. In the morning I plan my whole day out and then at the end of the day, I go back and make changes. Sometimes I end up not feeling like what my planned snacks were etc so I change them later. It works well for me although it is a full time job sometimes. Especially because I cook a LOT and have to enter a million recipes all the time. I think MFP has become a bit of an addiction for me now lol.
  • Makterbro
    Makterbro Posts: 101 Member
    Options
    Yes, I am much less likely to overeat if I already logged everything for the day.
  • laineybz
    laineybz Posts: 704 Member
    Options
    I usually log it the day before, i know where i stand with extras then.
  • LeslieTSUK
    LeslieTSUK Posts: 215 Member
    Options
    yeah i often add things in advance, saves me checking on the day, :)
  • maram29
    maram29 Posts: 100 Member
    Options
    Logging in advance has helped me understand the different nutrients foods have and have made me more accurately hit my numbers. I start with my proteins, as they are what is hardest for me. I load my carbs (fruits first, then veggies and then starches). After that, I will tweak foods to make the numbers work, adding food here and there. On a day I have complete control over (feeding myself), I can log in about 10 minutes now, though it was much longer when I started. When I know I'm going to someone's house for dinner, for example, I leave a flexible snack in my purse (like almonds) and leave some protein and carbs and fat for that meal. When I log it, I might need a few almonds to make the numbers work, so I eat them on the way home. I don't know if this process will help you or not. Best wishes as you work on your health. :drinker:
  • cheripugh1
    cheripugh1 Posts: 357 Member
    Options
    Yes very often, or at the very least I log breakfast and dinner (because it's planned ahead normally) that tells me what I have left for lunch and snacks. IF I change it of course I correct it as soon as I can, but I have an idea of what amt. I've allotted for that meal and that helps me decide on what to pick.

    If I eat out I always have 1/2 my meal to-go so I enter it and then enter the other half for the next days lunch/dinner as soon as I get home. I seriously think it helps you keep yourself in your calorie plan.
  • 2thesexydress
    2thesexydress Posts: 54 Member
    Options
    I have noticed if i log the food the night before, then i only have to follow the day calories, rather than having extra bits and making the calories go over than the 1200 marker. If i don't log in advance it goes abit haywire!
  • ukaryote
    ukaryote Posts: 874 Member
    Options
    Advance logging is a tool to help me plan meals and stay on track. Later in the day it is adjusted to match reality.
  • QuillensMom
    QuillensMom Posts: 100 Member
    Options
    I wrote out my meals and snacks (on paper though) ahead of time because I think doing it ahead of time helps a lot so you aren't looking for food while hungry and can look over the whole day and make sure you have the right amount of what you need ie protein, carbs, dairy, etc When I had tried just making a goal and writing things down as I ate, I tended to not get in what I needed to and/or would overeat.
  • kommodevaran
    kommodevaran Posts: 17,890 Member
    Options
    I wouldn't want to go over unknowingly, regularly, so I usually enter before I eat, yes :smile: I go by a "checklist" for the things I'd like to make sure I eat in the right amounts every day (fruits, vegetables, nuts, milk, fish/meat, starch). Protein goal should also be met, and it always is, when I do it that way. I normally prepare my own food, so for most meals I know exactly what I'm going to eat, and I can tweak and play with my food :laugh: For the occasional meal out of the house, I just leave an approximate amount of quick add calories and try to eat an appropriate amount of whatever food is served; if I think went over, I'll adjust the numbers later and eat a little bit less at the next meal, or just leave it at that, no big deal.
  • Mr_Knight
    Mr_Knight Posts: 9,532 Member
    Options
    Does anyone else log their food intake in advance?

    Yep. I do that a lot. It helps immensely in staying on track.
  • shutterbug282
    shutterbug282 Posts: 588 Member
    Options
    I log in advance, it helps keep me on track.
  • healthierheather96
    healthierheather96 Posts: 9 Member
    Options
    I'm glad I'm not the only one then! It's just easier to look at the intake for the day and see if I hit all my goals or if I should change what I'm going to eat before it's too late haha!
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,372 Member
    Options
    I log when I know but typically I don't know how big exactly my piece of meat will be (for example), so I adjust as I go.
  • shapefitter
    shapefitter Posts: 900 Member
    Options
    I've only ever logged in advance a couple of times. My life is not that predictable, and I ended up having to change the meals and snacks, at the end of the day. Thus, giving me more logging to do. Not my favourite passtime.

    My days are very varied, and I rarely eat anything twice in the same week, as I'm always trying new foods, and receipes. Also, I like eating out, at the drop of a hat, whenever I feel like it, and the canteen is quite good, as well (I think it's called cafe culture, in Europe). I just logg, as I go along with my phone app, as this suits me best.

Categories