Do You...

Options
lbaxandall
lbaxandall Posts: 62 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Do you enter your food into MFP BEFORE you eat it, and use it as a sort of guide to what you'll eat all day? Or do you enter as you go, and make changes where you need to?

Replies

  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
    Options
    I pre-log. It helps me meet my goals.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
    Options
    Both. I log what I know I'll be eating during the day (meals) to give me an idea of what kind of snacks I should have to meet my macros. But I never know exactly how much food I'm going to get until I actually go and eat, so I adjust as I go too. Typically it means that for dinner, I'll eat more or less meats and veggies to meet my macros and calories. Sometimes it means putting back 1 square inch of meat in the pan, but so be it, lol.

    And yeah if I get hungrier I often end up scratching my dinner plans and making something lower calories.
  • Kalikel
    Kalikel Posts: 9,626 Member
    Options
    I do it as I go. I rarely know what I'll be eating ahead of time and I don't know the weights until I weigh it. It's just easier for me to do it as I go.
  • beamer0821
    beamer0821 Posts: 488 Member
    Options
    i log as i go but i meal plan so even before i log it i kind of have an idea on my day
  • RoseTheWarrior
    RoseTheWarrior Posts: 2,035 Member
    edited November 2015
    Options
    Yes, I pre-log the night before. I know by then what I'll be having for lunch and dinner, and it definitely helps me stay on track. If I know I only have 25 calories left, I am not going to be tempted by anything other than my planned food :smiley: When I'm not sure what I'm going to be eating - because, say, I'll be going to a new restaurant for lunch the next day - then I'll make sure to leave myself extra calories for that meal just to be on the safe side.
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    edited November 2015
    Options
    I do it as I go (usually when cooking -- if I bring lunch I will prelog it when I make it). I usually plan ahead in my head, though, and have a pretty good idea of what I will eat based on what's in my refrigerator, defrosted, so on, although I will revise plans sometimes.
  • glassyo
    glassyo Posts: 7,642 Member
    Options
    I tend to eat the same things every day so pre-log and then adjust as necessary (which usually means adjusting the weights of some things or adding whatever my co-worker forces me to eat at work :))
  • DisneyDude85
    DisneyDude85 Posts: 428 Member
    Options
    I meal prep on Sunday for my M-F meals, so I prelog, and then I'll know what I can and can't snack on during the day. I tend to leave around 300-400 cals for snacks, and eat a dinner that will keep me full til bedtime :)
  • ForeverSunshine09
    ForeverSunshine09 Posts: 966 Member
    Options
    I prelog like a mad person usually 2 weeks at a time mostly for our grocery budget. Buy only what I need. Sometimes things get moved around or quantities change but, it works for us.
  • MommyL2015
    MommyL2015 Posts: 1,411 Member
    Options
    I have been pre-logging so I can use the ideas that I have that I want to eat, and see how they fit. I can adjust the amounts in there, so that when I go to sit down to eat, I know how much to put on my plate. :) I can also kind of fiddle with numbers to see what I have left for dessert or something sweet later if I want it.
  • seska422
    seska422 Posts: 3,217 Member
    Options
    Kalikel wrote: »
    I do it as I go. I rarely know what I'll be eating ahead of time and I don't know the weights until I weigh it. It's just easier for me to do it as I go.
    This.

    I log right before I eat something. The spontaneity of eating what I want when I want makes me feel less restricted.
  • ainarsraciks
    ainarsraciks Posts: 166 Member
    Options
    I pre log either for a meal or for a whole day and then weight and measure everything to match.
  • Confuzzled4ever
    Confuzzled4ever Posts: 2,860 Member
    Options
    I'm boring. I eat the same things almost every day. So I pre log, then adjust quantities. Honestly I don't even need to log with what I eat. I do it to increase chances I'll eat enough, it does help a lot though and takes all the stress out of meals.
  • Machka9
    Machka9 Posts: 25,118 Member
    Options
    lbaxandall wrote: »
    Do you enter your food into MFP BEFORE you eat it, and use it as a sort of guide to what you'll eat all day? Or do you enter as you go, and make changes where you need to?

    Yes.

    To both.

    Sometimes I do, sometimes I don't.

    I often log right after lunch and I'll enter everything I've eaten and plan to eat right up till dinner. I have no idea what dinner will be ... I don't make it ... so I can't log that, and what I eat after dinner will depend upon what I ate at dinner.

  • annette_15
    annette_15 Posts: 1,657 Member
    Options
    I usually prelog 450 calories for dessert and then prelog each meal before i make it lol
  • middlehaitch
    middlehaitch Posts: 8,485 Member
    Options
    I usually log at the end of the day, or the next morning.
    Cheers, h.
  • Troutrouter1968
    Troutrouter1968 Posts: 122 Member
    Options
    I pre-log for the next week on Fridays. Make a grocery list for shopping early Saturdays. I don't get anything not on the list. This helps me stay on track and saves me money.
  • lbaxandall
    lbaxandall Posts: 62 Member
    Options
    MartinArnold1 wrote: »
    I pre-log for the next week on Fridays. Make a grocery list for shopping early Saturdays. I don't get anything not on the list. This helps me stay on track and saves me money.

    Good on you for being so disciplined! That's awesome.

    Thanks for all the replies everyone!
  • questionfear
    questionfear Posts: 527 Member
    Options
    I pre-log breakfast, lunch, and snacks. I don't prelog dinner because sometimes I get home and my wife has decided to jump around on our weekly meal plan depending on time, toddler naps, etc. I do make sure I have recipes for our weekly meal plan entered accurately in my recipe box, so it's no big deal to get home, see which recipe we're having, and log it then.
  • Christine_72
    Christine_72 Posts: 16,049 Member
    Options
    I pre-log my day first thing in the morning.

Categories