Do you plan out your menu each day or figure it out as you go along?

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  • SonyaCele
    SonyaCele Posts: 2,841 Member
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    95% of the time i eat the same thing every day, i'll have about 5% variety that i just decide as i go.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 32,851 Member
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    I never pre-plan eating. Occasionally, if I know I have a special event (with celebratory food) coming up, I may reduce my calorie budget for a few days in order to cover part of the special day, but that's the extent of planning. I like being able to eat what I feel like at the moment (within reason), and it works fine for me when I have healthy food in the house, and know some healthy eating-out options. But I live alone, which makes this approach easier.
  • missblondi2u
    missblondi2u Posts: 851 Member
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    Wow! Lots of pre-planners here! I have a distinct, fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants approach.

    I usually don't eat breakfast, but lunch is whatever my husband feels like making or we grab something quick, and dinner is whatever we have in the fridge that I have the calories for. I then use any leftover calories for evening snacking/drinking. However, if I have a really yummy dessert I want to eat later, I may pre-log that just so I make sure to save room.
  • strong_curves
    strong_curves Posts: 2,229 Member
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    I usually plan out breakfast & lunch for the week.
  • amgreenwell
    amgreenwell Posts: 1,268 Member
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    Yes, I plan weekly and daily. Logging in the morning helps me see what I'm eating that day, what I have room for and what exercise I need to get to stay within my calories. By logging in the morning I keep myself way more accountable. yes, I have to add during the day if I have a snack or something unplanned.
    Weekly planning not only keeps me sane but also lets my husband know what we are having and he can either help out or suggestion things before we grocery shop.
  • gothchiq
    gothchiq Posts: 4,590 Member
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    sort of plan. I buy mix and match type foods... various vegetables, lean meats, and simple carbs, and combine them however appeals to me at the moment. chicken or beef? rice or potatoes? cooked spinach or salad? stuff like that.
  • sbrooks0387
    sbrooks0387 Posts: 167 Member
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    i usually have a menu plan for the week. but i log my stuff the night before or the morning of. that way i know what cals i have and if i need to add a snack or take something out to hit my calories. now i'm getting it down so i have the main meals i prefer and i know the cals for each one.
  • Need2Exerc1se
    Need2Exerc1se Posts: 13,575 Member
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    Figure it as I go along. We keep our pantry, freezers, fridge and root cellar well stocked at all times so always lots of options to choose from.
  • guinevere96
    guinevere96 Posts: 1,445 Member
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    I used to plan but I found that it caused me too much anxiety when i would go out to eat or other people would cook. Now since the beginning of the new year I stopped planning and ive managed to stick with my calories a lot better. For some people it works, for others it doesnt :)
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
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    I loosely plan weekly, in the sense that I do groceries for 3/4 days and the food got to get eaten.

    Other than that, no. A meal will satisfy me more if I get to eat something I want right now and not what I had planned 4 days ago. So I typically know what I'll make for dinner in the morning, and I log that, and my lunch (when I know what I'm having for lunch, obviously), then if I get hungry and need a snack I can plan around my calories and macros. And even then, sometimes I end up changing my dinner plans because I got really hungry in the day and have less calories for dinner.

    But yeah, spur of the moment outings typically end up messing things up because it's rare that I have over 450 calories for dinner, and finding filling restaurant food for that amount of calories is very difficult. I wish I was one of the people who is not hungry during the day but unfortunately it's the other way around for me - hungry during the day and small dinners.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,867 Member
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    When I logged, I had the best success pre-planning my day which I generally did the evening prior. Things would change here and there...most often with dinner. When you have a plan, you always know exactly where you are and because it was mapped out, it is exactly where you should be.

    Most successful endeavors in life require a solid plan of action and adherence to the plan.
  • callsitlikeiseeit
    callsitlikeiseeit Posts: 8,627 Member
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    i make a rough plan in the morning.

    sometimes it changes.

    LOL
  • kommodevaran
    kommodevaran Posts: 17,890 Member
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    I don't count calories anymore, I meal plan mostly to prevent waste and running unexpectedly out, and create balance and promote variety. I will change the plan if I have to, for instance if I can't get a central ingredient or I miscalculated portions, but I find myself wanting what I have planned and looking forward to it.

    I have a rotation of weekly themed dinners that align neatly in a 12 weeks plan. Only Fridays are open up to a few days in advance.
  • Brithicks
    Brithicks Posts: 148 Member
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    I menu plan dinners monthly. I grocery shop once a week so I decide when I make my list what breakfast/lunch/snacks will be for the week. I usually get food for 2-3 options for each breakfast and lunch and snack. My meals are usually the same each day until dinner. I usually pre enter my calories for the day in the morning and adjust if needed as I go.
    I also try to look ahead at the menu when I know I am eating out so I can have a game plan. I will also save some calories for a few days if I really want to eat something that would put me over otherwise. I did that last week for this past weekend so I could have a guilt free wine night with girlfriends and brunch with my family for my birthday.
  • SarahR0811
    SarahR0811 Posts: 6 Member
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    For me, I'm doing a challenge right now so I have to plan to be successful. However I've found that it helps me mentally to feel that I'm making a choice in this. I'm not having those chocolate chip cookies because I've planned my food, I'm having this or that instead. There's nothing unexpected to derail me. That and I know what groceries to purchase so for money it helps also. I just don't trust myself to make last minute healthy choices, some people can
  • srecupid
    srecupid Posts: 660 Member
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    Make it up as I go along on an 1850 budget and eat 3 meals a day. I structure it in such a way that breakfast/lunch are smaller than dinner and I almost never exceed my goal
  • Carlos_421
    Carlos_421 Posts: 5,132 Member
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    I plan each day up until I get home from work (aka I pack my lunch and snacks for work).
  • AnvilHead
    AnvilHead Posts: 18,344 Member
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    I do it entirely on the fly. Most of the time I have no idea what I'm going to eat until I walk into the kitchen and open the refrigerator. I actually enjoy doing it that way because 1) I like variety in my meals and 2) It's like a real-life 'Tetris' game, manipulating the pieces on the go to make them fit. :)
  • kommodevaran
    kommodevaran Posts: 17,890 Member
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    AnvilHead wrote: »
    I do it entirely on the fly. Most of the time I have no idea what I'm going to eat until I walk into the kitchen and open the refrigerator. I actually enjoy doing it that way because 1) I like variety in my meals and 2) It's like a real-life 'Tetris' game, manipulating the pieces on the go to make them fit. :)

    That's just amazing - literally the exact same things I think about my meal planning :o
  • mkakids
    mkakids Posts: 1,913 Member
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    I figure it out as i go along.

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