Pre-filling the food diary

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fatgirlflow
fatgirlflow Posts: 13 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Does anyone do this? Does it help? How far in advance do you fill it in?
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  • 35dollars
    35dollars Posts: 830 Member
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    Generally, I fill in breakfast after eating it, then if I know what I'm having for dinner, I fill that in ahead of time - that's effectively a "fixed" meal. Then, I work back from there to see how many calories I have left for lunch & snacks.

    Only do it for today though, no further than that
  • SamanthaLouiseMence
    SamanthaLouiseMence Posts: 663 Member
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    I fill in my breakfast just before I eat it when it's all measured/weighed
    I log my dinner (lunch) after I've made it and sometimes I log my tea (dinner) soon after my dinner (lunch) of i already know what I want to have, if not, i log it when I'm making it
  • brigg9
    brigg9 Posts: 104 Member
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    It usually helps me, since I only meal prep for part of the next day at a time. During a work day I'll have breakfast through afternoon snack planned out, and then depending on how heavy my workout is in the evening I'll then make adjustments and decided on a dinner to fit my macro goals.

    Weekends I try to plan my meals in advance, if I can. Two meals that I can spread over lunches and dinner. Breakfasts are usually easy for me, as I tend to eat the same things. I'll adjust my portion sizes depending on how much activity I do in those days.

    Many people will meal prep 4-7 days worth of food, log it and adhere to it (or adjust as needed). Others I've seen pre-plan a single day in advance the night before. Others I've seen just wing it with no pre-planning. Whatever helps you stick to your plan, I say go for it.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,372 Member
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    I fill in when I know what I'm going to have, then adjust quantities as I go. It's useful when I want to save calories for a higher calorie dinner and to pick my snacks according to how many calories I have left (and fill up my macros too).

    For example, if I know that I'm going to have pasta for dinner, I will pick lower calorie/higher protein snacks. But if I know that I'm having a low calorie dinner (like tonight - cod and zucchini), I know that I can afford some higher calorie/fat snacks during the day.
  • ForeverSunshine09
    ForeverSunshine09 Posts: 966 Member
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    I have been lazy lately but, generally I prelog about 2 weeks at a time. Things change but, at least this way I have a good base going. It can be difficult but, once I got the hang of it it helped with my grocery budget and time management.
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
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    at home we have a menu of whats for tea, and i make my lunch for the next day in the evening, so i will log for the next day, and then tweak measurements when i am actually weighing out whatever it is i'm eating/cooking as i go along.
  • arditarose
    arditarose Posts: 15,575 Member
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    For the day I do it in the morning. Sometimes I'll start the day before.
  • st476
    st476 Posts: 357 Member
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    I pre log a week in advance, so on Saturday after food shopping I put in a weeks worth of food. It helps me a lot because I feel like if I logged as I went along I would have a lot more choice left up to me in the moment and I would overeat. :smile: I don't always stick with everything I put to the dot, I might change snacks for something with an equal or less amount of calories but my meals stay the same 95% of the time.
  • JenHuedy
    JenHuedy Posts: 611 Member
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    On work days I generally prep my breakfast & lunch the night before so I log it then. If I've got my ducks in a row that week, I also figure out what I'm going to make the next evening and log a rough guesstimate. Then I adjust it when I actually fill my plate. But some nights I wing it and don't even think about what to make for dinner until I'm driving home from work!
  • jlj9287
    jlj9287 Posts: 51 Member
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    I usually do all of our cooking for the week on Sunday, so I log as far as I can and adjust if life changes anything. We're pretty boring eaters and will eat the same meals every day for that week so it's easier and has made counting a lot less stressful. I've found it works for me because I'm less likely to obsess over counting every single calorie every time I eat.
  • leejoyce31
    leejoyce31 Posts: 794 Member
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    I fill a week in advance and tweak it as I go.
  • RoxieDawn
    RoxieDawn Posts: 15,488 Member
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    First thing in the morning.. sometimes I copy entries from today to tomorrow. Pre-logging for me is key.
  • lisalewis7588
    lisalewis7588 Posts: 76 Member
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    Every morning I log for the day. I have a menu plan so I always know what's for dinner, and I bring my lunch with me. I always have to go back and tweak the exact amounts for dinner after I've weighed and everything, but it gives me an idea of what I should eat for snacks. I have a little bit of a snack drawer at work and pre-logging lets me know which snacks and how many I can have. It helps a lot!
  • xmarye
    xmarye Posts: 385 Member
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    I pre log for the day usually, since what I eat is generally the same thing for breakfast and lunch everyday. I'll leave the snacks and dinner slots open (I have my diary set to breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks and drinks) so that I can chose what I'll have then according to the calories I have left. Usually I'll have for dinner what I'm serving my family, like the meat and veggies and I'll leave out the starch (potatoe, rice or pasta) since it's high in calories.
  • SLLRunner
    SLLRunner Posts: 12,943 Member
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    fatgirlflow wrote: »
    Does anyone do this? Does it help? How far in advance do you fill it in?

    Yes. Every day. I use a different food diary than MFP, but by the end of the day it's filled with the next day's food.

  • bametels
    bametels Posts: 950 Member
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    Yes, I do. After, I close out my daily log, I plan and log all or most of my next day's food. I use it as a guideline and change up some things based on my schedule and cravings for something different. I find pre-logging helpful in multiple ways. Because I do some batch cooking, I find it helpful in using up what I've already cooked. It also helps me to pay attention to using up produce or other foods that go bad over time. Most importantly, it helps to prevent me from going off plan when sudden hunger strikes or I have the urge to stress eat.
  • Xo_healthylc
    Xo_healthylc Posts: 77 Member
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    Before bed I fill in the night before. It helps me stay on track.
  • tryett
    tryett Posts: 530 Member
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    I log breakfast when I eat it because I don't always eat it. If I know what I am having for dinner I put it in so I can see what I have in terms of calories and macros for lunch. If I am going out with people at lunch, I prelog it if there is an online menu available, then I can plan dinner better. Since I have found several recipes that the family likes it is getting easier to preplan the dinner menu.
  • Kimo159
    Kimo159 Posts: 508 Member
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    I usually do at least a day in advance, if not a few days. Then I know what I need to get from the grocery store and I have a plan. If I deviate from the plan for the day I make adjustments as I go.
  • laur357
    laur357 Posts: 896 Member
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    I log in the morning when I get to work for the whole day. Then make quick adjustments at mealtimes if I need to change a portion amount or weight.

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