Anyone have luck recording foods in advance

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  • Alatariel75
    Alatariel75 Posts: 17,959 Member
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    For me, it's been one of my most valuable tools. Sure, I often change it up halfway through the day, but knowing what I have logged and what I have to play with really keeps me on track. I log my food in the morning, or as soon as I have worked out what I'm having. It also helps take a lot of the fretting about what to make out of it, I tend to get a bit obsessive over picking foods for dinner (not from a calorie point of view, just from a loving to cook and change things up point of view).

    Plus, it's no good logging after the fact and finding out something was a lot more than you expected!
  • needstobefit15
    needstobefit15 Posts: 119 Member
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    I perlog my meals for a few days ahead. Sometimes I have to change some stuff but overall I stick to what I have logged. It has been helping me a lot.
  • Mezzie1024
    Mezzie1024 Posts: 380 Member
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    I prelog right before my weekly grocery trip. It also helps me make a shopping list.

    I'm still flexible with my meals, but I've got a basic framework to work with. For example, on my originally logged plan, I was going to have pasta tonight, but then my husband surprised me with carnitas tacos. No problem -- I knew they were going to be made at some point this week, so I'd logged them for this Saturday. I swapped tonight's dinner with Saturday's, and all is good. I did go over a few hundred today because I'd also planned for a dessert which I wasn't about to skip, but I'll be under now on Saturday, so for the entire week I'm still on track. I find it much easier to focus on my weekly intake than to try and be perfect every day.
  • 604ImpaLa
    604ImpaLa Posts: 5 Member
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    i try to pre log the night before but not right down to the gram. always leave some wiggle room
  • GemimaFitzTed
    GemimaFitzTed Posts: 260 Member
    edited January 2016
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    arditarose wrote: »
    Yep. I prelog everything. Usually everything is input for the day by lunch time.
    I do the same. Hubby and I usually have discussed/decided on dinner by lunch time, so I prelog.
    kaysday wrote: »
    I do this most days. tends to keep me on track.
    This too...It keeps me accountable

    I also prelog exercise - my workout routines are such that I usually can guess how much I will burn. If it comes in less/more, I'll change it then
  • fidangul
    fidangul Posts: 673 Member
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    I don't regularly prelog. But when I do prelog, it's mainly because I'm probably going out for dinner. By prelogging I more or less know how many calories I would need to save in order for me to enjoy my night. (There has been an occasion where I have prelogged a week in advance.) I always go back after the night to make adjustments if necessary.
  • toe1226
    toe1226 Posts: 249 Member
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    pre-log, sometimes for days. It shifts and changes a bit, but it is more about reducing food waste than controlling calories- if I do a big shop, prelogging helps me make sure I stay in calorie goals AND use up the food I need to use. Winnnn.
  • utahmomof10
    utahmomof10 Posts: 133 Member
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    jacksonpt wrote: »
    I've been at this long enough that I don't need to pre-log for calorie purposes, but it does help me balance my macros. Plus, it lets me swap different foods in and out so I can find the best balance of taste/enjoyment and calorie/macro needs.

    ^^ This exactly for me.
  • kissedbythesunshine
    kissedbythesunshine Posts: 416 Member
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    I prelog my dinner a day in advanced everyday. I have had much success this way because I love to eat large dinners. I always prelog my big dinner then work around that on that day as far as other meals go. If I don't prelog/preplan for my dinner I'll end up going over my calories every time.
  • Rabidrunner
    Rabidrunner Posts: 117 Member
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    I love pre logging the night before. Then when I get hungry I go to my list of pre-approved snacks and make my choice. Danger for me is that moment of 'hmmmm, I'm hungry, what do I feel like eating?' and instead makes me think 'hmmmm, I'm hungry, what would be a good choice for right now?'

    Actually, I often find myself removing items the end of the day as I just didn't have the appetite to finish everything l had planned out. Always a rewarding feeling!
  • ChristerHaugsoen
    ChristerHaugsoen Posts: 35 Member
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    I only do this before a meal. I'll figure out what I want to eat and log it then go eat. That way I don't go overboard. But I'm still really new to this. I can see how logging a whole day would be advantageous. I think this will be a goal of mine. Thanks OP!
  • rankinsect
    rankinsect Posts: 2,238 Member
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    Always. I've been extremely successful with this method - in six months, apart from five days of special events (birthdays, holidays) where I had no goal, I actually only missed my goal on one day and it was due to misreading the plan and measuring out too much of one item.

    It also makes it so much easier to plan shopping trips, as well as making logging a cinch.
  • Orphia
    Orphia Posts: 7,097 Member
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    Never, unless you call on the day "pre-logging".

    I couldn't stand the stupid messages saying I haven't logged my meal even though I did it the night before.
  • duddysdad
    duddysdad Posts: 402 Member
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    I have always, since the beginning, logged my meals in advance. I've tried not doing it when I hit maintenance, but it was much harder to stick to my calorie goals. I accredit the pre-logging to most of my success. If I know what I can eat, I am more likely to stick with just eating what I logged. If I just add it as I go along, I end up with no calories or dinner and have to go over.
  • crb426
    crb426 Posts: 657 Member
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    I pre-log every single morning for the day. Sometimes the night before. Then I know what to bring to work for lunch, snacks, etc. And in terms of dinner I usually know what I'm going to cook, but if not, then I'll log in a calorie guess, "600 calories", and edit it once I know what we're eating. It helps to keep me in line during the day.
  • ransaka
    ransaka Posts: 135 Member
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    Lounmoun wrote: »
    I usually log the night before or in the morning.

    This. I find it way easier to stay on track this way. I plan out breakfast, lunch and dinner plus snacks on work days so I know exactly where I am if I get peckish at work and nip to the canteen for a snack or something. When I don't pre-log I find I rarely hit my protein goal, usually go over my carbs and am lucky if I hit or just stray over my calorie target.
    I've tried logging as I go but for me it doesn't work, if I have log before I stuff something in my face or start cooking it annoys me for some reason, it's okay now and again but if I did it constantly I'd go mad. Horses for courses I guess :)

  • melonaulait
    melonaulait Posts: 769 Member
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    I have actually found myself pretty successful with pre-logging. I'm just too lazy/unimaginative to do it too often, but when I do it, I find it very easy to stick to the day's calories. The meals might change up a bit, but the calorie count stays the same. Like magic!
  • oolou
    oolou Posts: 765 Member
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    My meals don't vary too much from week to week so I tend to prelog the day in the morning, then adjust the weights or meals as I go along. I find the routine of doing this to be helpful as it keeps me on track more than if I only log afterwards. I don't always stick to what I've prelogged, but it helps me to have an initial plan of what the day's food may look like.
  • natboosh69
    natboosh69 Posts: 276 Member
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    Yep I log a week in advance, if I'm going out for food/drink at any point I'll just quick add an overestimated amount of cals and then adjust accordingly.
  • scfarrant
    scfarrant Posts: 30 Member
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    Since I find food planning really helps me avoid the bad stuff, I prelog all my meals and snacks for the day by lunchtime. If anything changes, I can delete and add before the day's submit. Also -- I find prelogging exercise that morning really does help me to actually go and do it. I see how it will help me with my calories goals, and think "I said I would do it so I better had". So far, so good...

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