Tips on pre-logging?

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  • tracefan
    tracefan Posts: 382 Member
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    I don't do it days or one day in advance.. maybe just pre-log my dinner or lunch that day. I never know what I even want to eat. If I know ahead for dinner that may be my only pre-log. I personally don't feel I will follow the plan if I do it ahead a day or two. Just me.
  • _lyndseybrooke_
    _lyndseybrooke_ Posts: 2,561 Member
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    ForeverSunshine09 wrote: »
    I prelog weeks in advance. I put a standard weight for my ingredients and change it once I make it. Usually doesn't change too drastically.

    You're the first person I've met on MFP that does this. I'm slacking because I don't have most of next week logged, but I typically have my meals logged about a month ahead of time. I don't think I've ever logged all of my meals on the day I actually eat them. I always hear about people getting to the end of the day and not having enough calories for a decent dinner. Nope, not me. I'm super anal and organized with everything else in my life, and logging is no different.

    OP - I'm confused about your confusion regarding how to know what you're going to eat if you haven't weighed it yet. Simple...you log what fits and weigh out that amount when you get to it. If you logged 2oz lunch meat yesterday, weigh out 2 oz lunch meat today. Easy as that. As for recipes, I use MFP's recipe tools for things like that. If I need to change a recipe, I just go in and edit it, then re-log it with the new nutritional information. I typically follow recipes to the gram, so I rarely have to do this, but it would be pretty simple to do.

    Pre-logging is actually really fun to me. It's like a puzzle - finding just the right combination of food that will fit my macros to my liking (I'm not always spot on, but close enough). I'll make changes as necessary, but most of what I log I end up eating. Some people's lifestyles make pre-logging difficult, such as people that travel a lot or have really active social lives. But for people like me, it's perfect. All I do is work, lift, eat, and sleep. I'm married, so I don't have to worry about dates, and I don't have the patience to maintain a lot of friendships, so it's not as if I have some girl's night causing issues with my macros. And that's how I like it. Quiet and simple. I'm an old lady at heart. :smile:
  • distinctlybeautiful
    distinctlybeautiful Posts: 1,041 Member
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    I'm out of the house for breakfast and lunch every day, so I make my food and log it the night before. If I ever want to log before I make my food I just estimate and then fix the numbers when I make it - but the estimate is always either spot on or off by just a little because when I log ahead I always know about how much going to eat. The only reason it's ever off more is if a food package doesn't actually have the amount it says on the label.
  • truelight_photo_craig
    truelight_photo_craig Posts: 347 Member
    edited January 2016
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    I try to pre plan my dinners a week to 10 days in advance. Most if the recipe's I use are loaded into a program I have called Master Cook, which, if you add it accurately, gives a usable nutrition summary. I then pre-log those meals into MFP and fine tune depending on portion sizes.
  • nossmf
    nossmf Posts: 9,056 Member
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    I prelog breakfast (which never changes) and dinner. Whatever room is leftover tells me what I can have for lunch. Knowing in advance whether I have room to indulge in a little dessert makes the treat guilt-free, which tastes better.

    After each meal I log back in and compare reality to my prelog, adjusting as needed. I've been logging for almost two years now, so my estimates are typically very close to true.
  • NealNH
    NealNH Posts: 106 Member
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    "megbugs wrote: »

    Wonderful, I wish you both lots of success! It's great to be working as a team :smile:

    Thanks for the well wishes Megbugs and yes it is great to have such support so close by.
  • megbugs
    megbugs Posts: 107 Member
    edited January 2016
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    @LyndseyLovesToLift - I agree with you. Once I pre-logged this week while planning my menu and grocery list, it all came together. I made a ham the week before and just diced it and divided it into 1.5 oz servings along with spinach and onions to cook with an egg in the mornings. That's 10 breakfasts for my family done and logged. And you're right about consistently measuring during prep for sandwiches/salads/etc. It's actually not difficult at all.

    I've lost 30 pounds without pre-logging, but feel like this set me up for future weight loss. It's nice not to have to think about what I'm going to eat every day -- just go to my diary. I often have 200-300 calories leftover to play with for snacks throughout the day. I'm also more likely to eat leftovers using this method because they're already measured out and logged. Really enjoying it so far -- thanks all for the comments!
  • wandererlust
    wandererlust Posts: 64 Member
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    What an interesting concept, I hadn't considered this before. I usually have an idea of what I'm going to eat but keep it kind of loose because sometimes I change my mind and eat different things within the same calories. Maybe I should try this!
  • shinycrazy
    shinycrazy Posts: 1,081 Member
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    callsitlikeiseeit wrote: »
    i only prelog for that day. and i go back and fine tune measurements when i prepare it.

    Ditto. It's not perfect the night before, but I find it super helpful in staying in my calories.

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