Do you pre-log?
MsAmandaNJ
Posts: 1,248 Member
Just today, I decided to pre-log, see how it goes. So far, I'm liking it; seeing everything I will have eaten by the end of the day feels right. Seems like a lot more food than when I log after I've eaten, yet well within my calorie goal...still have 500 cals available. I feel like I obsess over what I'm eating (or have eaten) and pre-logging takes that away since it's already logged. How do you feel about pre-logging?
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I personally love it -- I log the next day's food each afternoon. It keeps me from running out of calories and it also lets me notice ahead of time if I'm low on fat or protein so I can make adjustments.6
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I always like to do this! It gives me some structure and I'm less likely to stray from it because in my head it's already set in stone
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I don't.
I'm one not that organized and two afraid I will not eat what I said I would eat.
I log as I go on my phone.4 -
Sometimes, if I think I'm in danger of going over, and I prelog the lunch and snacks I take to work so I don't have to worry about it.2
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I pre log all meals so I know how much extra I have for snacks and goodies if we end up having something else for any of the meals i just switch it out and hope that i'm not over so far it's been working been logging since November 1st2
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YES! I noticed that I was going to be low on protein by the end of the day, so I added a protein-rich snack just now. My focus was always on calories, if I hit my p/c/f goals, it was a coincidence. Perhaps this is what I needed to take this process seriously to make it meaningful.janejellyroll wrote: »I personally love it -- I log the next day's food each afternoon. It keeps me from running out of calories and it also lets me notice ahead of time if I'm low on fat or protein so I can make adjustments.
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I don't always pre-log, but I sometimes do. Especially if I am going out to eat for dinner I will log it early in the day so I can plan the rest of my day around it. But most of the time I log as I go. My husband and I are bad about changing our minds 10 minutes before dinner and having something different than what was originally planned. I always log snacks before I eat them. Sometimes that will talk me out of eating something that I don't really want or need.3
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Pre-log during the work week and less structured, log-as-I-go on the weekends.3
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I like to pre-log the things I would like to absolutely include into the day!
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When I logged I did...I considered it the "game plan"...IMO, having a game plan is far superior to just winging it.5
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It's 8pm here, I have just pre logged tomorrow, everything except snacks.4
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i pre log most days but today i pre logged thanksgiving dinner just to give me a headups1
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I pre-log a week in advance - helps keep me on track and organized. And I can always change things if something happens. I figure out breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks for both me and my husband (he can't cook) based on what we have in the kitchen and pantry. During the week it's a lot easier for me to come home from work and already know what needs to be done for dinner and throw my lunch for the next day together.2
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I love prelogging. I have the same breakfast and lunch just about every day, so it's easy. Dinners I am more creative (since I cook them and eat them with my family). I play it a little looser on the weekends, but typically it's pretty similar. I have boiled eggs during the week for breakfast since I can cook a bunch ahead of time. On the weekend, I will have an omelette. So, same stuff, just different configuration. It helps w/ breakfast and lunch to be prelogged, so then if I know it's going to be a dinner out or fast food, I know exactly what my go-to options. Having 600 calories for dinner is a very different game plan than having 400 calories left for dinner when I know it will be "convenience food."5
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IME pre-logging=life.4
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janejellyroll wrote: »I personally love it -- I log the next day's food each afternoon. It keeps me from running out of calories and it also lets me notice ahead of time if I'm low on fat or protein so I can make adjustments.
^^EXACTLY!
I pre-log up to a week in advance. It helps me keep my sanity. When I get back from the gym, I just look at my diary and I know exactly what I need to make for my breakfast and lunch to take to work. That way, I'm not spending more time trying to figure out if my macros will be in order for the day. I pre-log even my snacks. I know I'm going to have them, so I log them ahead of time. Tonight, my snack is wine. Tomorrow is halotop icecream. It's already in the books. The only thing I can't pre-log is Thanksgiving dinner because I have no clue what the crap my family is bringing to dinner. I just have to suck it up for that day.3 -
I usually pre-log the rest of the day after breakfast in the morning, helps me plan out the day and stay on track for macros. I do keep it fluid and switch things in and out at the last minute, but seeing the whole day planned helps keep the individual meals portion controlled instead of going hog wild on one meal and having to starve for the next one.3
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I prelog every morning. It helps me make better choices.1
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I'm the queen of pre-logging. Sometimes two weeks in advance. Then I can check macros and nutrients and make sure I'm within limits and hitting targets. Sometimes I will end up making minor changes to my day, but it helps me stay on track seeing my plan in advance.3
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Ha! If only nighttime cereal counted as breakfast ;-)deannalfisher wrote: »
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I usually pre-log the rest of the day after breakfast in the morning, helps me plan out the day and stay on track for macros. I do keep it fluid and switch things in and out at the last minute, but seeing the whole day planned helps keep the individual meals portion controlled instead of going hog wild on one meal and having to starve for the next one.
That's a great point about the switching things in and out. I've heard other's ask how can they pre log and then change things... I never understood that. On Sunday I pre log my week. But I weigh everything the day or night before. I know some people that make all of their food on Sunday for the week but I have no clue how they fit all of that in their fridge!!!
For example, I made the plan on Sunday to have chicken and veggies for lunch today and I knew it would be bland so I wanted bbq sauce. I pre logged something like 250g of chicken and 105 grams of broccoli/cauliflower and 1tbs of bbq sauce. This morning when I got hom, I weighed the precooked chicken in the fridge I had leftover from Saturday and it weighed 320grams. So I adjusted the diary accordingly. I removed the 100g of chicken I planned for dinner because my chicken at lunch was so much more. Then I decided to only have about 85g of broccoli/cauliflower and I weighed the 8grams of bbq sauce and went on my way. For dinner when I get home, I will weigh the ground turkey and shrimp and try to keep it as close as I can to the original logged entry weight since that's technically my last meal of the day and I can't really adjust anymore. It's really a lot of fun once you get the hang of it but maybe that's my Type A personality. I like structure.2 -
Wow...I thought doing it for the day was big, but some of you are doing it for a week+. Good for you! I can see how it makes shopping and planning much easier, get it done and over with.
Those of you who mentioned a "plan", that's certainly what's been missing for me.0 -
I pre-log as often as possible. For me, it's pretty easy to pre-log breakfast, lunch, and snacks but sometimes, dinner can be up in the air (or I haven't compiled it from the recipe builder). It takes away the worry over what I'll be able to eat or not having enough calories. Sometimes, I pre-log for an entire work week. I do go back and tweak it (if I eat less or a double serving) but that's a lot easier then adding everything after I've eaten it.2
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tri_gal_87 wrote: »I usually pre-log the rest of the day after breakfast in the morning, helps me plan out the day and stay on track for macros. I do keep it fluid and switch things in and out at the last minute, but seeing the whole day planned helps keep the individual meals portion controlled instead of going hog wild on one meal and having to starve for the next one.
That's a great point about the switching things in and out. I've heard other's ask how can they pre log and then change things... I never understood that. On Sunday I pre log my week. But I weigh everything the day or night before. I know some people that make all of their food on Sunday for the week but I have no clue how they fit all of that in their fridge!!!
For example, I made the plan on Sunday to have chicken and veggies for lunch today and I knew it would be bland so I wanted bbq sauce. I pre logged something like 250g of chicken and 105 grams of broccoli/cauliflower and 1tbs of bbq sauce. This morning when I got hom, I weighed the precooked chicken in the fridge I had leftover from Saturday and it weighed 320grams. So I adjusted the diary accordingly. I removed the 100g of chicken I planned for dinner because my chicken at lunch was so much more. Then I decided to only have about 85g of broccoli/cauliflower and I weighed the 8grams of bbq sauce and went on my way. For dinner when I get home, I will weigh the ground turkey and shrimp and try to keep it as close as I can to the original logged entry weight since that's technically my last meal of the day and I can't really adjust anymore. It's really a lot of fun once you get the hang of it but maybe that's my Type A personality. I like structure.
I do this too -- I enter an estimated portion and then I update it with the actual weight the day that I eat it. I4 -
MsAmandaNJ wrote: »
Ha! If only nighttime cereal counted as breakfast ;-)deannalfisher wrote: »
if i work out in the am, then I do it fasted - so it helps (plus I found that i've been sleeping better when I add this in) - its literally right before bed (I sit and eat it as i'm reading at night0 -
I always prelog. Sometimes just a meal, sometimes a day. Never more than a day ahead. I don't think I can eat without logging in up front. That has bothered me somewhat.1
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Yes! I've always prelogged unless I'm traveling. Its worked really well. If I eat more, or less, than I logged I make the appropriate changes at the end of the day. The prelogging has saved me a lot of anxiety I used to have about what to eat to get to certain number of calories. I don't think I could have had the same success without it tbh. Maybe because it keeps me accountable?1
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It's not for me, but I'm the type of person who plans on eating one thing for lunch or dinner and then I change my mind.
I also sometimes don't eat all my food. If I'm full I don't believe in forcing it. For example, this morning I had cereal, a piece of fruit, and yogurt planned for breakfast. I didn't finish all my cereal because I was full so I didn't eat my yogurt. And it's also been the case where I plan to eat one thing but I'm still hungry so I eat something else.
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