Logging AS A PLAN? Or, logging AS YOU GO?

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  • KeriA
    KeriA Posts: 3,275 Member
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    Mostly as I go but I do what someone else said I sometimes log things in to see if they work or if I have planned a dinner I log it in ahead sometimes. I have been planning dinners but I don't log them too much in advance since there may be changes.
  • godblessourhome
    godblessourhome Posts: 3,892 Member
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    i used to log as a plan but i've currently been logging as i go. :)
  • Pebble321
    Pebble321 Posts: 6,554 Member
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    Hmmm very interesting. Didn't know there were so many "pre-planners" out there!

    I didn't think there would be so many "as I go" people. For me that would be a recipe for over or under eating.
    I plan meals for the day, add snacks to get close to my goal then adjust depending on anything that changes through the day. This way I can easily make room for an extra - like birthday cake at work - because I can just drop some snacks or take something away from dinner if I need to.
  • Hodar
    Hodar Posts: 338 Member
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    I log everything a matter of hours before the meal. Sometimes a group of guys at work all go out to eat (Yayy, Jimmy Johns); and it's awesome to be able to plan my noon meal, based upon my morning exercise and breakfast routine. Sometimes I have more, or less; of either breakfast or exercise.

    That way, I can 'budget' my day. If it's 4pm and time to go home; and I have extra calories - I can have something nutritious for supper - and top it off with a bag of microwave popcorn and a crystal light; and stay below my calorie goal.

    My life isn't predictable enough for me to plan out 24 hours in advance. I'd just have to erase and re-enter things to reflect 'reality'.
  • NicoleMarie0409
    NicoleMarie0409 Posts: 151
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    I log as I go :)
  • KatiePeca
    KatiePeca Posts: 314 Member
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    I prefer to plan out my day in advance, it makes it much more likely that I will actually succeed at staying within my goals and also helps me to plan for little treats here and there :)

    Katie
  • Laurarunnergirl
    Laurarunnergirl Posts: 36 Member
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    I currently log as I go, because 1) I have an idea of what works and what doesn't, and 2) I'm just too lazy right now to plan it out ahead of time.

    That being said, my most successful weight loss was when I planned out what to eat for the week (with room for revisions as necessary), and then actually went out and bought the food so I would have it on hand. Of course, that was waaay back when I was young and single and had only myself to cook for :smile: (yeah, I know -- no excuses!!)

    Laura
  • taralou20
    taralou20 Posts: 30
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    I kind of do both!
  • LadyPHX
    LadyPHX Posts: 52
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    I log in every day (so technically as I go), and it's all part of the plan. It's really both.
  • 1953Judith
    1953Judith Posts: 325 Member
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    My husband and I make a meal for four for breakfast, lunch and dinner using a cookbook/mealplanner for diabetics (husband is diabetic). Because the meal plans are for four portions, we eat the same menu two days in a row. The third day we use leftovers (or occasional out to eats at friends or restaurants) and aim to meet the same nutritional goals as the diabetes menu planner has.

    I try to log my three main already-planned meals before breakfast (sometimes I run out of time and log dinner after I get home from work, but I always know how many calories dinner will be). Then I plan what my exercise goals are for the day and plug those in as though I have done them. That tells me how many calories I have available to use toward mini-meals/snacks throughout the day.

    While only a couple of months into MFP, we have done the meal planning as described above for over a year. It has offered us the opportunity to change habits while still enjoying food in a healthy variety. My husband's diabetes is under much better control and I am starting to look as good as I feel. The pre-logging of food and exercise has provided me with a daily fitness goal that is doable, useful and fun. I don't know if it would work for others.
  • anacsitham5
    anacsitham5 Posts: 814 Member
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    Because I work 7:45 am to 11:30 pm with only M-F I pack my lunch, supper and snacks in the morning and log in after breakfast. That way if I have any extra calories, fat or sugars left I know and can indulge accordingly without ever going over.
  • skinnyhopes
    skinnyhopes Posts: 402 Member
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    I log as I go, because my mom cooks for me,
    I
  • Pink_turnip
    Pink_turnip Posts: 280 Member
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    Both, I log my breakfast and my lunch during the work week, ahead of time, because I know what I'm bringing, so I know what I'm eating. As for dinner, I usually log it after, unless I'm going out for dinner. I don't like big surprises when I log something that I thought was healthy, and turns out isn't.
  • emmaNEEDSskinny
    emmaNEEDSskinny Posts: 317
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    log as i go!
  • TS65
    TS65 Posts: 1,024 Member
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    Breakfast & Coffee I log as I go (I pretty much have the same thing every morning).

    Lunch, Dinner & Snacks I try to enter before I eat them. This way there are no surprises. For example, the other day I decided to have a BLT... I didn't log it first - due to thick sliced bacon, it ended up being 742 calories and over 2000 grams of sodium! :noway: *Lesson Learned! *
  • ShellyLee
    ShellyLee Posts: 293 Member
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    I do both... depends on the day. Sometimes I'll plan a day out the night before, but then change something (usually breakfast) if I'm just not feeling what I originally picked lol. Yesterday and today I logged after I'd eaten. I have no logging pattern lol.
  • iuew
    iuew Posts: 624 Member
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    i log as i go using the phone app for android.
  • monky13grl
    monky13grl Posts: 55 Member
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    little of both. If i am at home or know im going to cheat- i plan. If i am just out and about- as i go.
  • JennLifts
    JennLifts Posts: 1,913 Member
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    I plan it the night before. and i do it that way because otherwise i wont get everything i need in, or ill eat more or less of a macro than i need.
  • robin52077
    robin52077 Posts: 4,383 Member
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    As I am eating and logging breakfast, I log all the work snacks and lunch stuff I plan to bring with me, so at 4AM I am logged till 4PM, after 4PM varies greatly...I try to be at least at 1000 calories by 4...if I don't pre-log and plan to eat I will go the whole work day without eating and be weak dizzy and have a headache by the time I get home, and that leads to a binge!

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