Meal Recording vs. Meal Planning, & How do you choose?
joedraws
Posts: 2 Member
Hey everyone,
I'm wondering what the general thoughts are on this using MyFitnessPal. Meal planning seems like a better more proactive approach instead of just meal recording, but then again I might be thinking about this in the wrong way. MyFitnessPal seems to work against you if you want to plan meals, but makes it easy to add food on the fly. But that's my problem, I make bad choices on the fly...
How do you view you choices for food? Do you plan all your meals out or do you record as you go?
For myself, I've at least narrowed down that during the work week, I make the worst choices when I'm tired around 3:30-5pm. Having something planned ahead of time has been working to curb those bad situations.
What have you seen that works best for you?
The struggle is real...
I'm wondering what the general thoughts are on this using MyFitnessPal. Meal planning seems like a better more proactive approach instead of just meal recording, but then again I might be thinking about this in the wrong way. MyFitnessPal seems to work against you if you want to plan meals, but makes it easy to add food on the fly. But that's my problem, I make bad choices on the fly...
How do you view you choices for food? Do you plan all your meals out or do you record as you go?
For myself, I've at least narrowed down that during the work week, I make the worst choices when I'm tired around 3:30-5pm. Having something planned ahead of time has been working to curb those bad situations.
What have you seen that works best for you?
The struggle is real...
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Replies
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I'm currently doing a challenge that encourages pre-logging, but on the whole for me it's not that helpful. I tend to be someone who plans out what I'm eating in my head and sticks to it pretty well (and not better because I write it down) and I like having flexibility to decide I want pork instead of chicken or to use the brussels sprouts vs. the green beans -- the fact is I'll use something from my refrigerator that fits basically a similar mode.
That I have to log it tends to make me more conscious of what I eat, so just the recording bit is useful for me.0 -
Early morning before I eat anything, I pre-log food for all day long. I have specific macros to hit and I can't bank calories. I can't afford to wing it. If you can wing it, awesome. I think most of us are here because we don't wing it very well.
I don't mind pre-logging. If I'm making pulled pork for Saturday night, I can input the recipe on Tuesday and then log what I plan to eat. It takes a little pre-planning. Using the recipe and meal builders are far easier from a desk/laptop. The mobile app blows chunks for those pieces. But once they're done, they're easy to use.0 -
I usually pre-log breakfast and lunch and then dinner is entered as it is prepared and before it is eaten. Snacks are usually logged when eaten although I do sometimes pre-log an afternoon snack if I plan to eat it before I will be at my computer.0
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Something else to keep in mind is that if you are new to this pre-logging might prevent surprises. Once you have been doing this a while that's less likely to be the case.0
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When I am thinking about what to eat--like "gee, a so and so would be really good right now" I log it in and see how that affects my calories for the day. If it puts me over, I delete it and choose something else. That little break of being on the computer helps me re-focus. The struggle is real and the struggle is continues...0
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I do both. I like to batch cook 1 day a week, sometimes twice a week. I cook several different recipes, portion out into meals and enter the recipes into MFP. Then during the week it's easy to log my meals since the portioning and calorie calculation has already been done.
When I don't do this, I end up logging more on the fly and do a lot more guessing since I don't get to weigh everything out all the time.
I'm far more accurate when I pre-cook and pre-portion out my meals ahead of time.
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I'm confused about why you can't do both at once.
I plan some meals and prelog them, which helps me make better choices during the day.0 -
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I pre-log my days every morning into MFP.0
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I don't log in MFP anymore, but I use a spreadsheet. I have a template for the various meals of the day, and a set of themes for dinners through the week. I usually fill in perishables first, and plan around those. This gives me an outline of the next day as a whole, and partly of the next 7-14 days. I will adjust to appetite, availability and life in general.
This is not just for keeping calories in check, but also - coordinated with running inventory and shopping lists - to organize shopping, and make sure I don't suddenly run out of something.0 -
Typically, I make my breakfast and pack my lunch and any snacks I'm taking to work at the same time--so I log them all before I leave the house. The total is usually about 600-700 calories, or about half of my total calorie goal of 1400 before exercise--so I know roughly what I've got left for dinner/evening activities before I step foot outside the door.
Sometimes I know what dinner will be because I know what my plans are or what's in the fridge, but other times I'll play it by ear based on how I feel and/or whether I've worked out or not.
And if I know that after work plans may include a bit of indulgence, I'll make a concerted effort to get to the pool and get my laps in beforehand!0 -
rosebarnalice wrote: »Typically, I make my breakfast and pack my lunch and any snacks I'm taking to work at the same time--so I log them all before I leave the house. The total is usually about 600-700 calories, or about half of my total calorie goal of 1400 before exercise--so I know roughly what I've got left for dinner/evening activities before I step foot outside the door.
Sometimes I know what dinner will be because I know what my plans are or what's in the fridge, but other times I'll play it by ear based on how I feel and/or whether I've worked out or not.
And if I know that after work plans may include a bit of indulgence, I'll make a concerted effort to get to the pool and get my laps in beforehand!
This is pretty similar to what I do. I have breakfast, lunch, and snacks planned during a workday, and leave wiggle room for dinner/unexpected hunger.
I also try to plan for when I know I have a curveball meal. Saturday we had a lunch for my nieces baptism, so I only had a small bowl of yogurt for breakfast, and figured I would have a better idea of how much to allot for dinner after getting through lunch. Likewise, tomorrow night is Rosh Hashanah dinner, so I know to have a light breakfast and lunch because my mother is making brisket, chicken soup, and all sorts of heavy yummy Jewish food. (I also plan to run before I go to services to get ready for my heavy meal).0 -
I cannot ore-log. I never know what I'll want. I'd planned to make pea burgers tonight, but ended up with rice and veggies because I really wanted some carrots and was feeling lazy.
If I pre-logged and stuck to it, I'd always be eating things I didn't feel like eating.
Some people do it and it really works for them, though. So, try it and see if you like it!0 -
I record what I eat. On the few times I tried prelogging, I changed my mind and ended up eating differently. I just record what I've eaten while keeping an eye on calories and macros.0
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I wake up, go to the loo, turn computer on, make a cup of tea, pre-log my day.
My days start like this each and every day
It's just become an ingrained habit now. 0 -
Hey Joe,
I would say both meal planning and meal logging as you go. You really need to do some meal planning to have the best things on hand to eat healthy and low calorie. I make a list of what to buy at the market. That way I have what I need to make good meals: good breakfast items like eggs, good cereal, etc, good lunch choices, and protein and vegetable items for dinners.
Personally, I log breakfast and lunch when I eat them, then figure out what I want to eat for dinner that fits into the amount of calories I have left. It is also helpful to look at the bottom numbers on your food diary, too. For example, if I have not had enough protein I try to include a larger amount of chicken or whatever my dinner protein is, or add a snack like Greek yogurt that adds significant protein.
I hope that helps you.
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For me pre-planning only works if someone is checking up on me.
What I've tried in the past and found to be super-duper effective is to have a small group of people who all pre-log. You log the next day the night before, and everyone looks at each other's pre-log and comments on it in the group discussion area (you can create a group on MFP for this, and you don't need too many members - 3-4 is fine - what you do need are active and committed members who will actually check your logs and a willingness to yourself check everyone else's and comment).
Then the next day people update their logs to reflect reality, post about what worked well and didn't, and do the whole thing again.
For me personally, having pre-logged and committed (even to anonymous folks on the internet) has an incredible motivating factor. I'm simply completely unwilling to break that commitment, and will go far out of my way to hit my pre-logged meals exactly as written. If that sounds like you, I'd get a group together and give it a try! I know for a fact it was big for me.
Osric0 -
I pre-plan my week, pre-log my day, and make changes as I go if I decide to eat something different. It's easier for me to balance my macros & calories and get all my shopping/food prep done on a weekly basis, especially with kids.0
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I record what I eat. On the few times I tried prelogging, I changed my mind and ended up eating differently. I just record what I've eaten while keeping an eye on calories and macros.
This is exactly what I do. I never pre-logged my food when I was trying to lose, so I am not going to do now that I am in maintenance.
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I only pre-log in the sense that I enter items just before I consume them. If I pack my lunch to eat later or something, I do log that before I leave the house because that's going to be accurate.
I would find pre-logging my entire day to be too restrictive. I like eating what I want to eat when I want to eat it. I keep a wide variety of things handy and choose from among those. I can do that because (and I'm sure some will cringe from this) I keep my freezer full of frozen dinners. I don't cook and I'm not going to cook. I'm losing weight in a way that I can manage long-term.0 -
I cannot ore-log. I never know what I'll want. I'd planned to make pea burgers tonight, but ended up with rice and veggies because I really wanted some carrots and was feeling lazy.
If I pre-logged and stuck to it, I'd always be eating things I didn't feel like eating.
Some people do it and it really works for them, though. So, try it and see if you like it!
This is so interesting. I plan just so I can make sure I'll be eating what I want. I only buy things I like and know how to use, but it's hard to keep in mind what I like to eat and cook, and I'd end up eating the same few meals. A log/plan helps me remember all my favorites, thus providing variety, and minimizes waste. Waste was my biggest guilt, and the fear of wasting food made me consistently overeat.
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pre plan mon-fri at the beginning of the week, then pre plan sat and sun at the beginning of the week end
generally I know what I eat the day before, but I can also log when I do my long runs and have lots of calories0 -
Somebody on here recently had a big thread about pre-logging. Then getting too attached to it and causing social problems with a lack of flexibility. Not to say that pre-logging forces that behavior, because there were other issues, but it could tend in that direction.
Anyways, I don't pre-log but the large majority of my food is about the same, day-to-day so it's never a big surprise. I know what my standard numbers are like.
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I only pre-log if dinner is leftovers from the night before. I can see the merits in pre-logging, but it's not something I'd be comfortable with at the moment.0
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for me pre-log, be more intentional more control0
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I have planned meals for years. It helps me work with a tight budget. I have 28 different dinners planned in advance. It is normal for me to live like this. I have found it suprising that others don't have any idea what they want to eat for the next 8 hours or so.
I prelog my whole day the night before or in the morning. I find it helpful for choosing things that will fit my calorie goal as well as getting more protein foods. I've noticed that I tend to eat the same amount of calories for each meal naturally so I try to plan meals that fit that pattern of calorie distribution.
If I change my mind during the day or plans shift, I don't find it difficult to make changes in my food diary. It happens. Having a plan doesn't mean you can't be flexible as well.
If I want to change a meal or snack the easiest thing to do is to find something with about the same amount of calories as what I had planned. I kind of know the calories count of some foods fairly well after doing this for awhile.0 -
I cannot ore-log. I never know what I'll want. I'd planned to make pea burgers tonight, but ended up with rice and veggies because I really wanted some carrots and was feeling lazy.
If I pre-logged and stuck to it, I'd always be eating things I didn't feel like eating.
Some people do it and it really works for them, though. So, try it and see if you like it!
Yeah it's typically what happens to me, I prelog and end up changing everything because I get hungry earlier and don't want to wait an hour for the chicken to cook or whatnot. It's useful when I actually do stick to it though.
I usually only prelog the meals though and plan my snacks around them.0 -
kommodevaran wrote: »I cannot ore-log. I never know what I'll want. I'd planned to make pea burgers tonight, but ended up with rice and veggies because I really wanted some carrots and was feeling lazy.
If I pre-logged and stuck to it, I'd always be eating things I didn't feel like eating.
Some people do it and it really works for them, though. So, try it and see if you like it!
This is so interesting. I plan just so I can make sure I'll be eating what I want. I only buy things I like and know how to use, but it's hard to keep in mind what I like to eat and cook, and I'd end up eating the same few meals. A log/plan helps me remember all my favorites, thus providing variety, and minimizes waste. Waste was my biggest guilt, and the fear of wasting food made me consistently overeat.
This is interesting.
Minimizing waste has been a focus for me too, but what I currently do is force myself to work with the produce in my refrigerator (mostly from my CSA box at the moment). For meats, I have a variety of frozen things (the side effect of buying from a local farm), and I tend to take things out to defrost based on when I want to eat it and stick with that choice or instead maybe get some fish. So I'll usually have a plan for my protein (or maybe a couple of options) but wing it based on what I choose to eat with it -- what the starch and veggies are, mainly.
Prelogging starts to seem like a burden, because of course I have to modify everything once I know the precise numbers anyway, and I don't like to decide on the sides in advance, especially since it depends on what I need to use up. There's no advantage to me of doing so, as I eat basically the same way whichever I do, and I plan out dinner in my head without logging it in advance.
Just personal differences.
I never prelog breakfast, but my breakfasts are pretty much one of two things, with only quantities changing, so again there'd be no advantage there. If I make lunch in advance (which I try to do), that's where I prelog.0 -
lemurcat12 wrote: »kommodevaran wrote: »I cannot ore-log. I never know what I'll want. I'd planned to make pea burgers tonight, but ended up with rice and veggies because I really wanted some carrots and was feeling lazy.
If I pre-logged and stuck to it, I'd always be eating things I didn't feel like eating.
Some people do it and it really works for them, though. So, try it and see if you like it!
This is so interesting. I plan just so I can make sure I'll be eating what I want. I only buy things I like and know how to use, but it's hard to keep in mind what I like to eat and cook, and I'd end up eating the same few meals. A log/plan helps me remember all my favorites, thus providing variety, and minimizes waste. Waste was my biggest guilt, and the fear of wasting food made me consistently overeat.
This is interesting.
Minimizing waste has been a focus for me too, but what I currently do is force myself to work with the produce in my refrigerator (mostly from my CSA box at the moment). For meats, I have a variety of frozen things (the side effect of buying from a local farm), and I tend to take things out to defrost based on when I want to eat it and stick with that choice or instead maybe get some fish. So I'll usually have a plan for my protein (or maybe a couple of options) but wing it based on what I choose to eat with it -- what the starch and veggies are, mainly.
Prelogging starts to seem like a burden, because of course I have to modify everything once I know the precise numbers anyway, and I don't like to decide on the sides in advance, especially since it depends on what I need to use up. There's no advantage to me of doing so, as I eat basically the same way whichever I do, and I plan out dinner in my head without logging it in advance.
Just personal differences.
I never prelog breakfast, but my breakfasts are pretty much one of two things, with only quantities changing, so again there'd be no advantage there. If I make lunch in advance (which I try to do), that's where I prelog.
I have to adjust to what's available at any time (what's in season, or what's in the freezer) - this forces me to be creative. (I can't just combine anything, I feel some foods go better together than others.) My freezer is stocked with a variety of single frozen meat/fish/vegetables, and if I choose to use some of that for dinner; the "point of no return" is the night before, because of defrosting (I like to do that in the fridge). But I'm OK with that. Any meal that doesn't require defrosting or soaking, can be rearranged at any time.
I don't log amounts anymore, that really started to become a nuisance this summer so I quit; I felt ready to just go by appetite.
Meal planning has become an important part of my life, eh, day! Like a fun game, a puzzle to solve. But I think it fills a deeper need too, it prevents the "emotional food scarcity" - I had eaten poorly for quite a while, and I think that has made me, on an subconscious level, insecure about my next meal. Seeing all those delicious dishes laid out, no matter if they're just words on a screen, combined with the feeling of complete satiety and relaxation I have these days, reassures me that there WILL be food, and food I like. The amount of effort needed to get enough, is nowhere near the effort spent trying to get "enough" when my diet mostly consisted of chips, ice cream and chocolate. Real food, even though a lot of it is perishable, lasts so much longer.
I need some time to "digest" all of this
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I prefer to pre-log the night before. My breakfasts and lunches don't change a whole lot so it doesn't take long to do. Most of my "new" logging is done after dinner when I see how many calories I have left and then determine what - if any - evening snack I'll have.0
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