Preplan or just wing it ?

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2

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  • ErinK09
    ErinK09 Posts: 687 Member
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    I try to plan out my day most days.
  • arditarose
    arditarose Posts: 15,575 Member
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    Wow. I didn't realize this many people pre-log. A whole week too? Not happening here.
  • lindanewland37
    lindanewland37 Posts: 38 Member
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    I do a little of both. I tend to pre-plan on the days that I work because that day is pretty structured and wing it on my days off - although I still track on the "winging it" days. I do better losing when I pre-plan.
  • segacs
    segacs Posts: 4,599 Member
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    arditarose wrote: »
    Wow. I didn't realize this many people pre-log. A whole week too? Not happening here.

    It's not as daunting as it sounds. After a month or so, many of my go-to recipes were set up in the database as meals, ready to log easily. And even before I started counting calories, I normally had to at least think about what I needed to buy before going grocery shopping -- the thought process is pretty much the same: "Hmmm, how many dinners will I be eating in this week? What am I low on? What do I feel like cooking?" The only difference is that now I jot it down in my food log.

    Breakfasts and lunches at work are pretty boring and consistent for me -- I tend to eat the same things a lot because it involves less thought in the morning. So that part's easy. Copy/paste.
  • arditarose
    arditarose Posts: 15,575 Member
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    segacs wrote: »
    arditarose wrote: »
    Wow. I didn't realize this many people pre-log. A whole week too? Not happening here.

    It's not as daunting as it sounds. After a month or so, many of my go-to recipes were set up in the database as meals, ready to log easily. And even before I started counting calories, I normally had to at least think about what I needed to buy before going grocery shopping -- the thought process is pretty much the same: "Hmmm, how many dinners will I be eating in this week? What am I low on? What do I feel like cooking?" The only difference is that now I jot it down in my food log.

    Breakfasts and lunches at work are pretty boring and consistent for me -- I tend to eat the same things a lot because it involves less thought in the morning. So that part's easy. Copy/paste.

    See, I buy my lunch every day. I live in a big city and sometimes go to the grocery store three times a day too. I've never even used the recipe builder. I have one recipe haha.
  • obscuremusicreference
    obscuremusicreference Posts: 1,320 Member
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    I plan dinner, and then generally only have a couple of options for my second meal.
  • girlviernes
    girlviernes Posts: 2,402 Member
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    Generally speaking, I don't pre-log. I have a basic template for my meals and then fill in snacks during the day. So it isn't hard to hit my calorie goals and carb goal. Protein is something I'm working on.

    I will pre-log whenever possible when I'm going out so that I have a game plan.
  • segacs
    segacs Posts: 4,599 Member
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    arditarose wrote: »
    See, I buy my lunch every day. I live in a big city and sometimes go to the grocery store three times a day too. I've never even used the recipe builder. I have one recipe haha.

    I live in a big city too (Montreal) and there are endless temptations and occasions to buy lunch. One habit I did manage to get into well before beginning my weight loss effort was to stop buying lunch every day. I did this not to save calories, but to save money -- I wanted to prioritize saving for travel, so I didn't want to spend all my cash on lunches. Usually I'd pack a lunch 4 out of 5 days, and give myself 1 day to splurge on lunch out.

    So when I started on MFP, I didn't actually have to change that habit, since I already had gotten into it.

    I do eat a lot of dinners out, if I'm meeting friends or attending social events. But I can usually look at my week ahead and know that, say, I'll be eating out twice that week and cooking in the rest of the time. If it changes, it changes, and I just roll with it and adjust the log. But most of the time I have a pretty good idea by Sunday what my week looks like.

    (In the heat of summer, I eat out more often, cause it's too damn hot in my apartment to cook. I started back at MFP in October, so we'll see how this goes once summer comes along.)
  • TheSkinny66
    TheSkinny66 Posts: 10 Member
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    If I'm making my lunch for the next day, I usually prelog it. I don't wait. At work, it can be tricky to find time to log if you're busy when you're at the office. For breakfast, mine is usually pretty standard, so I just put it in while I'm eating.

    While I'm not as hardcore about prelogging as some of these other people (that's great), I do go to bed with some general idea of what I want to eat the next day. Now that I've really gotten into the habit of calorie counting, I begin to think several days in advance, but I don't prelog them. Sometimes, things change and I make plans to go out for dinner, but usually that's not spur of the moment, so I still have time to plan my daily diet around it.

    One thing to note about going to out to eat, if I know that I am, say I make these plans the night before, then I try to look up the menu online or something before I go to bed. That way, I have rough estimate of what those meals are going to cost me calorie-wise. While I may not set my heart on a specific dish, I can least get a general idea about what my calorie "budget" might be for the rest of that day.

    So at the very least, I'm thinking about my next day's diet, but not really prelogging it. I like to go with the flow, but still have some sort of structure. However, before I eat anything, I make sure that it fits with my goals and that my portions are correct.

    Hope that helps!
  • dougpconnell219
    dougpconnell219 Posts: 566 Member
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    I prelog, but frequently call an audible at the line of scrimmage if something else catches my fancy.
  • ana3067
    ana3067 Posts: 5,623 Member
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    I ain't got time to pre-log, eff that *kitten*. I meet my protein macro just fine without pre-logging, and I am fine with being over/under on fat and carbs since it usually eventually balances out. I only pre-log if I am going out or am adding something calorie dense. I pre-logged a generic chicken breast weight becuase I know I'm having chicken for lunch tomorrow (midterm so I need to make quick breakfast and fast lunch). Otherwise.... freestyle.
  • ana3067
    ana3067 Posts: 5,623 Member
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    arditarose wrote: »
    Wow. I didn't realize this many people pre-log. A whole week too? Not happening here.

    I might pre-log a week's worth of chocolate, but like. not really. Especially since I just logged a usual week of chocolate into 2 days, so I might be a bit chocolated out (probably not). Pre-logging just makes it too regimented for me. I need spontaneity and whatnot so I can just eat whatever I crave or is available.
  • rainbowbow
    rainbowbow Posts: 7,490 Member
    edited January 2015
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    Prelog every single day. That way if i see something i just REALLY want i can say "hmm, if i have that i cant eat what i wanted for dinner. Then i'll probably go to bed hungry. worth it? Nope!"
  • melbmeg
    melbmeg Posts: 32 Member
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    I'm shocked how many people pre-log too!

    I have never done that. I eat what I feel like, then log after each meal. If I don't have many calories left by 6pm I either have a light dinner or go a bit over. I'm not that strict, or that worried about macros.

    I like a lot of variety in my diet and I like to eat what I'm in the mood for at the time.

    I am curious about whether people like me have as much success as the very organised people who eat in a routine. I've been doing this for about six months and losing about 3/4 of a pound a week. I guess that if I wanted to lose faster I'd have to be more hardcore, but then I don't think I could stick to it for long given my personality!
  • segacs
    segacs Posts: 4,599 Member
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    I used to prefer spontaneity, too. But spontaneity led me to gain 40 pounds. So I'm trying to cut back on it.

    Don't get me wrong, there's still plenty of spontaneity in my life. Just a little less in my food. And that's okay with me. I don't get bored, I eat at restaurants plenty, I can roll with it. But planning means I cook more appetizing things for myself and I actually enjoy eating my food more now.

  • Camo_xxx
    Camo_xxx Posts: 1,082 Member
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    Pre plan and then just go with it
  • Christine_72
    Christine_72 Posts: 16,049 Member
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    My morning routine is... Make my cuppa and prelog my day
  • Merkavar
    Merkavar Posts: 3,082 Member
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    I plan but that's easy for me cause I like the same or similar foods each day.

    But then some days, like today, I didn't plan my lunch and decided to have subway.
  • SandyBVTN
    SandyBVTN Posts: 367 Member
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    Blueseraphchaos wrote: »
    I loosely pre-log so i have a general idea, but I'm open to change as well. Lol

    +1
  • kramrn77
    kramrn77 Posts: 375 Member
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    I prelog my work meals and snacks and generally wing the rest of the time. I want to start meal planning more and a job switch should help with that, so if I can manage to meal plan I will start trying to prelog as well.

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