Personal Preference: Logging BEFORE or AFTER Eating ?

myheartsabattleground
myheartsabattleground Posts: 2,040 Member
edited November 25 in Food and Nutrition
Sometimes I log before, sometimes after, sometimes while I'm sitting at the table, with a bite in my mouth talking xD
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Replies

  • FrankWhite27330
    FrankWhite27330 Posts: 316 Member
    After so I can put in what I ate.
  • jennifer_417
    jennifer_417 Posts: 12,344 Member
    Usually after, though I've found I feel some mild anxiety until I get what I ate logged. I always feel better when I can prelog.
  • ksmit001
    ksmit001 Posts: 133 Member
    I like to pre-log my major meals (breakfast, lunch and dinner) for two reasons: It keeps me from straying and foregoing my brown bagged lunch or planned dinner for a drive through run and because i'm quite the "grazer". I like to know how many calories I have unaccounted for when it comes to snacking.
    ...is that bad?
    It's probably bad. :P
  • hgycta
    hgycta Posts: 3,013 Member
    I always do my best to log beforehand so that I'm not later shocked to discover something was outlandishly more caloric than I had thought; been there, done that, definitely don't feel like going back! If I'm still starving, I'll just log more, no big deal. But I definitely like knowing what I'm getting into beforehand, it's easier to prevent a disaster than it is to conduct damage control.
  • OneHundredToLose
    OneHundredToLose Posts: 8,523 Member
    When I go to work, I like to log everything I brought with me in the morning. That way it feels like my entire day is already set up and all I have to do is follow the schedule I gave myself. On the weekends though I usually end up logging after I eat.
  • Asher_Ethan
    Asher_Ethan Posts: 2,430 Member
    Depends on my mood. When I'm going out to eat I log everything before to make sure I have room for everything. When I have a relaxing day at home I log everything after.
  • HeatherCarnes76
    HeatherCarnes76 Posts: 52 Member
    I log after I eat, but I can see why pre-logging would help with self-control....
  • Gisel2015
    Gisel2015 Posts: 4,192 Member
    After I ate my meals; unless I know for sure, and in advance, what I am going to eat (very seldom that happens) or if the food is already prepared.
  • ohmyllama
    ohmyllama Posts: 161 Member
    Before eating! Then I can see if I can fit in a snack or whatever :)
  • Verity1111
    Verity1111 Posts: 3,309 Member
    Before or during. I reward myself with the food for logging like I'm supposed to. Good me, now you can relax. lol. Not up for logging? NO SOUP FOR YOU!
  • Kalikel
    Kalikel Posts: 9,603 Member
    I log as I go. Don't know what I'll be eating a day (or even hours, sometimes) ahead of schedule, much less the exact weights.

    I try to log some while I'm preparing it, if I can. If not, I log it as I take the first few bites.

    I'm trying to learn to eat without logging, so sometimes I write it all down and log the next day.

    Logging is a tougher habit to break than it is to start! :)
  • vegemitesandwich
    vegemitesandwich Posts: 66 Member
    If I know how many calories I'm having exactly (say 252 for the piece of salmon, 113 for the potatoes) and I know I've got the calories for it I'll put it in after occasionally - but 9/10 times I prelog most of the day in advance. Even if I change around after I still try to keep my swaps for the same amount of calories.
  • MrsSylvie
    MrsSylvie Posts: 301 Member
    I log exactly like you.
    i was trying to pre-log my whole day in beginning but, than i got tired of having to individually delete each item every time i changed my mind, which was often!
    i do always double check how many calories i have left before i decide what to eat throughout the day though.
  • BurnWithBarn2015
    BurnWithBarn2015 Posts: 1,026 Member
    Always a day before.
    And i tweak some the next day

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  • nyponbell
    nyponbell Posts: 379 Member
    I pre-log as much as possible, and tweak when I know the actual numbers. For example, I bring a smoothie with me to work each day; I pre-log it as my saved "meal" but when I actually make it (in the morning, sometimes the night before if I'm being smart) then I adjust. Same with the eggs and banana I eat for breakfast; I log it as whatever is currently listed (I just changed the eggs based on if I'm going to be eating one or two) and then adjust when I know the actual weight of the items. And the same with if I end up not eating a meal I've planned; since I tend to use the app for logging food (because it's sooo much easier; an actual search function that finds your already used items first!) I can remove as needed without much of a hassle.

    However, when I'm eating something "off" my plan, I tend to not log it until after I've eaten it. :wink:
  • Orphia
    Orphia Posts: 7,097 Member
    If it's a meal I've already logged previously and know the calorie count for, I'll log after, usually.

    I log beforehand if it's something new, so know I won't eat more than I should.
  • xX_PhoenixRising_Xx
    xX_PhoenixRising_Xx Posts: 623 Member
    On work days I pre-log my entire day and then adjust if I need to. I take all my food to work with me and I meal plan dinner so I know what it will be in advance. Weekend I usually have a pretty good idea of what I'll eat but I log as I go along. That gives me a bit of leeway if I want something different. After nearly 1000 days on MFP and 156 lbs lost I've found this works best for me.
  • WeighToGoJudy
    WeighToGoJudy Posts: 43 Member
    OneHundredToLose wrote: »
    When I go to work, I like to log everything I brought with me in the morning. That way it feels like my entire day is already set up and all I have to do is follow the schedule I gave myself. On the weekends though I usually end up logging after I eat.

    Ditto. This works well for me too.
  • Fursian
    Fursian Posts: 566 Member
    I tend to eat the same things everyday, and still log after, lol. Doing my best right now to get some variety in my diet. Old habits die hard. I'm an aimless person and not a great planner, so logging after works for me.
  • 47Jacqueline
    47Jacqueline Posts: 6,993 Member
    I log after. I don't know what I will eat before, even though breakfasts, for example are pretty much the same every day.
  • Maxematics
    Maxematics Posts: 2,287 Member
    xX_PhoenixRising_Xx wrote: »
    On work days I pre-log my entire day and then adjust if I need to. I take all my food to work with me and I meal plan dinner so I know what it will be in advance. Weekend I usually have a pretty good idea of what I'll eat but I log as I go along. That gives me a bit of leeway if I want something different. After nearly 1000 days on MFP and 156 lbs lost I've found this works best for me.

    Cosigning this because this is exactly what I do. It's so much easier to spend 30 minutes to an hour every work night making my lunch and prepping my snacks so I can just grab them and go the next morning. I weigh everything on my scale, log it on MFP, then adjust accordingly the next day if there's something I don't eat. It also helps because I can plan around my macros and make sure I'm balancing my meals so I can stay full for the day. I feel like this method is successful for me; I started here in late June at 139 pounds, now I'm 117.5 pounds.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
    edited October 2015
    Before. If I log after, I always get a bad surprise (hello 1000 calories breakfast). If I log before, I'm more mindful about what I'm about to eat and can adjust quantities so it fits my goal better. So I just take 2 minutes before prepping my food to log it, then just adjust the quantities if my piece of meat was 20g bigger or something, but at least I have a basis of how much I can eat.

    I prelog my day when I have an idea of what I'm going to eat but most of the time I end up eating something else anyway...
  • abatonfan
    abatonfan Posts: 1,120 Member
    I log a rough idea of what I plan on eating a few days before (I like to sit down early in the week and pre-log everything I anticipate eating, even if a lot of the meals are left blank), a more accurate version of what I plan on eating the day of (this is when I take a close look at my calories and macros and see if I need to supplement with specific snacks), and what I actually ate (weighed portions) right before eating (so that I can let MFP do the math for me and give me an idea of how many carbs I need to take insulin for).
  • trisH_7183
    trisH_7183 Posts: 1,486 Member
    hgycta wrote: »
    I always do my best to log beforehand so that I'm not later shocked to discover something was outlandishly more caloric than I had thought; been there, done that, definitely don't feel like going back! If I'm still starving, I'll just log more, no big deal. But I definitely like knowing what I'm getting into beforehand, it's easier to prevent a disaster than it is to conduct damage control.

    This

  • Queenmunchy
    Queenmunchy Posts: 3,380 Member
    xX_PhoenixRising_Xx wrote: »
    On work days I pre-log my entire day and then adjust if I need to. I take all my food to work with me and I meal plan dinner so I know what it will be in advance. Weekend I usually have a pretty good idea of what I'll eat but I log as I go along. That gives me a bit of leeway if I want something different. After nearly 1000 days on MFP and 156 lbs lost I've found this works best for me.

    All of this.
  • Lounmoun
    Lounmoun Posts: 8,423 Member
    Before. I pre-log my whole day. It helps me figure out what portion size of foods I can fit in my calorie goal.
    I make adjustments as I go if I need to.
  • WastedGetsSmaller
    WastedGetsSmaller Posts: 41 Member
    Always the night before. Sometimes days in advance. I just adjust things if I need to when the time comes.
  • SweetPeasMom55
    SweetPeasMom55 Posts: 3,567 Member
    I pre-log as much as possible. Even though it drives my family crazy. :)
  • Riff1970
    Riff1970 Posts: 136 Member
    I pre-log, as in at the time it's going on the plate.
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    I usually log when I am preparing my food, before I actually eat it.
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