Question: Planning Your Daily Intake VS Not Planning?

I prelog. I'll probably always do that. I find it really helps me stay on track - I don't have to make any decisions about food while I'm hungry. It also helps form good habits in the early part of a diet - studies have shown that making a specific decision and plan in advance is about as good at getting people to do the right thing as a habit of doing the right thing.

I guess you could say I'm a casual planner. I usually have a vague idea of what I want to have, as in "Let's see, for dinner, I'll have some kinda chicken dish with whatever veggies are in the fridge and if I have plenty of calories left, maybe I'll throw some cheese on." I usually just make sure I have a variety of acceptable foods on hand and put something together based on my appetite. If I go out, I look up options ahead of time so I know which choices will fit my calories. I always save a few hundred cals for late night snacks. I watch my portions and log immediately afterwards.

Not a planner, rather a wing-it-izer, and have been since the beginning. But at this point I have a pretty good handle on the calorie count in things I like to eat, so it isn't difficult.

I don't like things to be all planned out (in general, not just food), but rather more spontaneous. I don't like to commit to specific dinners (especially) ahead of time. I don't know what will sound tasty at dinner time. Also, some of my exercise, especially in summer, is weather dependent, so I'm not always sure whether it can happen or not, and I need to accommodate that in my calorie budget.

I have more day-to-day repetition in breakfast & lunch, and dinner is where I make the major adjustments - bigger if I have lots of calories left, smaller otherwise. Biggest challenge is getting enough protein in on fewer calories, especially if the outdoor exercise fell through at the last minute (I'm vegetarian, BTW).

I mostly cook from scratch, and I live alone, so I have complete control over the calories when I eat at home, so winging it works fine.

Another pre-logger here. I generally log in the breakfast, lunch & any snack I know I'll be having, then adjust my dinner around how much exercise I've gotten. If my deficit is big enough I'll add a little sumpin sumpin after my evening dog walk, like frozen banana 'fauxlato' or some dark chocolate or a glass of red wine.

No pre planning for me.

I allow 700 calories for dinner in my thinking - sometimes it is over (generally I do not cook it), but not often - usually I have to top it up with fruit or something. I eat nothing until 1pm and then see what protein I can find and eat that together with fruits/vegetables.

It would drive me nuts to have to plan it all out in advance - especially for the week.

If I am going to an event (party, family gathering etc.) I will think about what might be there and pre-think what I am going to choose and how I will behave with respect to food. Sometimes I will drop an extra hundred or two each day for a few days ahead to give me more wiggle room. Mostly this works out but sometimes I will go off-piste :-)

I generally prefer pre-logging, but it doesn't work for me right now. I'm planning to get back to it eventually.

Wow, I'm surprised how many people pre-log and also eat similar meals every day. I have no idea what I will eat from one day to the next. I am very lucky that I live near good food shops so I can just pop out and buy whatever I fancy eating. I eat what I want during the day and then eat a small dinner if I don't have many calories left. I hate being hungry during the day or eating boring lunches, so this works for me. Going to bed a bit peckish is no problem for me. Also, I don't count my calories very accurately because I eat out a fair bit and cook complex meals which would be a nightmare to measure and count exactly.

My weight loss is slow as a result of this sloppy approach - 30lbs in a year, with another 15 to go - but it hasn't felt like a 'diet' at all because I'm still eating fairly much as I always have, but with less mindless snacking, smaller evening meals and less booze.

I think my approach works well for a certain type of person (patient, disorganised, experimental) but I can see how it would be a disaster for other personalities. But that's the key to success: finding what works for you and what you can sustain for a lifetime.

I use to wing it and it usually got me into trouble. Standing in front of the fridge or search through cupboards looking for food made me eat more and before I knew it I'm out of calories for the day.

Now I'm a planner. I plan out dinners with my guy one week in advance on grocery shopping day. Then I plan the rest of my own meals for the next day the night before. I keep a written food/exercise journal and jot it down at the bottom of the day's page.

Of course things may get switched or something else may come up, but having a plan keeps me sane.

I don't eat a lot of the same things very often so I find planning my meals helps me to fit treats in, space out my macros, it keeps me honest, balanced, it saves me time and no there's no stressing like before.

Once I made this switch it has made my life easier when I was in weight loss mode and even still while maintaining my weight.