How do you plan?

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gardengnomemanifesto
gardengnomemanifesto Posts: 427 Member
in Motivation and Support
Do you prelog all of your food for the day? The week? Do you food prep? Do you write out a meal plan? How do you plan for successful eating for the days and week? I am a little overwhelmed with how much weight I need to lose and can't seem to get through one day without blowing it on eating. I hope to learn from others and how they plan for success.

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  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
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    i make my breakfast and lunch in the evening for the next day, so i log it after i make it.

    we have a menu for our evening meal so i log that., and then tweak the portion sizes as i weigh and cook it.
  • gardengnomemanifesto
    gardengnomemanifesto Posts: 427 Member
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    TavistockToad wrote: »
    i make my breakfast and lunch in the evening for the next day, so i log it after i make it.

    we have a menu for our evening meal so i log that., and then tweak the portion sizes as i weigh and cook it.

    The proper way to weigh food (as I have a new digital scale!) is before cooking right?
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
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    gardengnomemanifesto wrote: »
    TavistockToad wrote: »
    i make my breakfast and lunch in the evening for the next day, so i log it after i make it.

    we have a menu for our evening meal so i log that., and then tweak the portion sizes as i weigh and cook it.

    The proper way to weigh food (as I have a new digital scale!) is before cooking right?

    yes, as long as you then use the 'raw' database entries
  • gardengnomemanifesto
    gardengnomemanifesto Posts: 427 Member
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    acfisher88 wrote: »
    Hiya! I've been an MFP lurker/start-and-stopper for years, and only got serious about my journey 6 months ago. Have lost 20kgs/40lbs-ish so far (Just so you know the kind of person you're getting this info from!). The idea of planning can be really overwhelming, so I'd suggest you take it slow and find a style that works for you:

    Some people will plan and/or prep their meals for the week in advance, which can work well if you want to avoid temptation and like the convenience of having full meals readily available.
    I tend to plan my smaller meals like breakfast for the week, and lunch a day ahead of time. I don't plan dinner, meaning I can change it up depending on what mood I'm in.

    A number of people like to plan treats into their day so that they can stick to their calorie limit without feeling like they're only eating rabbit food and making themselves miserable. Even if you don't have a specific food in mind, the MFP 'quick add calories' option means you can block out 100-200 calories for any small unexpected items.

    If I know I'll be going out for dinner, I try and look at the menu online beforehand and choose a dish that will fit my calories so I can pre-log that and fit my food for the rest of the day around it. Same with going out for drinks (especially handy around the holiday season!) - I'll pre-log 2-3 drinks, so I'm still sober enough to know when I've gone over my calories. I can either choose to stop drinking at that point, or can continue drinking but won't be completely blindsided by the calorie hit in the morning!

    These just a few things I've learned from other MFPers and developed into personal preference. I'm sure you'll get a lot of guidance from people who have had other experiences and prefer other ways of planning. Good luck!

    This is great advice. I think I will find it helpful to plan my breakfasts and lunch in advance since I tend to eat the same things during the work week. I think I will need to have some sort of plan for the weekends, which are a trouble area for me. Looking at the menu ahead of time is an excellent idea!
  • acfisher88
    acfisher88 Posts: 58 Member
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    gardengnomemanifesto wrote: »
    This is great advice. I think I will find it helpful to plan my breakfasts and lunch in advance since I tend to eat the same things during the work week. I think I will need to have some sort of plan for the weekends, which are a trouble area for me. Looking at the menu ahead of time is an excellent idea!

    I found it hard at first on the weekends, and initially tried to stick to the same breakfast and lunch pattern as during the week. It didn't work well because my activities and meal timings are much less structured on the weekend. I now tend to just have 2 meals on weekend days so I can have more calories at each meal - at least one of them is likely to be a social meal and so it seems a shame to limit myself to a salad because I don't have enough calories! Most restaurant foods are already in the MFP database, but if not it's usually straightforward to find a copy of the restaurant menu with nutritional info on it.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,867 Member
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    When I logged, I typically pre-logged the night before for the next day...at least breakfast, snacks, and lunch.

    In terms of planning, my wife and I have certain staple foods that we keep on hand...on Saturday we decide what we're going to be eating throughout the week...go through recipes for dinner, etc and we figure out what we need to make those things and go through our staples and see what's needed and then go shopping on Sunday.
  • gardengnomemanifesto
    gardengnomemanifesto Posts: 427 Member
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    cwolfman13 wrote: »
    When I logged, I typically pre-logged the night before for the next day...at least breakfast, snacks, and lunch.

    In terms of planning, my wife and I have certain staple foods that we keep on hand...on Saturday we decide what we're going to be eating throughout the week...go through recipes for dinner, etc and we figure out what we need to make those things and go through our staples and see what's needed and then go shopping on Sunday.

    When you logged....so eventually do you find that you don’t need to log every single thing? I have lost weight before and gained it back a couple times so I wonder if I will have to log forever and ever
  • kshearer13
    kshearer13 Posts: 32 Member
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    acfisher88 wrote: »
    Hiya! I've been an MFP lurker/start-and-stopper for years, and only got serious about my journey 6 months ago. Have lost 20kgs/40lbs-ish so far (Just so you know the kind of person you're getting this info from!). The idea of planning can be really overwhelming, so I'd suggest you take it slow and find a style that works for you:

    Some people will plan and/or prep their meals for the week in advance, which can work well if you want to avoid temptation and like the convenience of having full meals readily available.
    I tend to plan my smaller meals like breakfast for the week, and lunch a day ahead of time. I don't plan dinner, meaning I can change it up depending on what mood I'm in.

    A number of people like to plan treats into their day so that they can stick to their calorie limit without feeling like they're only eating rabbit food and making themselves miserable. Even if you don't have a specific food in mind, the MFP 'quick add calories' option means you can block out 100-200 calories for any small unexpected items.

    If I know I'll be going out for dinner, I try and look at the menu online beforehand and choose a dish that will fit my calories so I can pre-log that and fit my food for the rest of the day around it. Same with going out for drinks (especially handy around the holiday season!) - I'll pre-log 2-3 drinks, so I'm still sober enough to know when I've gone over my calories. I can either choose to stop drinking at that point, or can continue drinking but won't be completely blindsided by the calorie hit in the morning!

    These just a few things I've learned from other MFPers and developed into personal preference. I'm sure you'll get a lot of guidance from people who have had other experiences and prefer other ways of planning. Good luck!

    I agree! I had to take it slow when I started logging. Eventually you will find what works for you. I generally eat the same thing for breakfast everhday (different flavors of homemade protein smoothie). Each week I make a salad for lunch. I decide on the ingredients a d because I live alone I buy the ingredients and don't want to waste them so I eat the same salad every day for the week. For me this makes it super easy and I love the food. Orher people have told me they never want to eat the same thing daily for a week.

    I've naturally fallen into a routine where I make my one snack a veggie and my one snack a fruit without even thinking about it. Then for dinner I decide what I want and I measure it out to fit within my calories and I leave 150 calories ish for a snack after dinner.

    Now i barely think about what I eat.
  • dawn__westbury
    dawn__westbury Posts: 46 Member
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    I find it helps to pre-log the day before as then I’m not wondering what to eat. Just eat what’s on my diary!
  • lorrpb
    lorrpb Posts: 11,464 Member
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    What do you mean you "can't make it through one day without blowing it?" This could mean you always go over maintenance calories and are still gaining, you eat at maintenance not a deficit so are not losing, you eat at a deficit but not as large a deficit as you think you should so you are losing slower than you think you should, you eat at your target deficit but you don't eat as "healthy" as you think you should. It could mean you don't log consistently.
    What is your calorie goal and lbs per week goal? Many people find that if they set a slower weekly loss they get more calories and that makes it easier to stay on track with calories.
  • gardengnomemanifesto
    gardengnomemanifesto Posts: 427 Member
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    lorrpb wrote: »
    What do you mean you "can't make it through one day without blowing it?" This could mean you always go over maintenance calories and are still gaining, you eat at maintenance not a deficit so are not losing, you eat at a deficit but not as large a deficit as you think you should so you are losing slower than you think you should, you eat at your target deficit but you don't eat as "healthy" as you think you should. It could mean you don't log consistently.
    What is your calorie goal and lbs per week goal? Many people find that if they set a slower weekly loss they get more calories and that makes it easier to stay on track with calories.

    yes I think I might need to look into setting a higher calorie goal and increasing my exercise. Take it slower so it is not such a drastic change. This is good way to look at it. Thanks.
  • adammay93
    adammay93 Posts: 14 Member
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    I always have to plan a weeks worth of meals in advance to stick to it the best I can. It sounds boring but I try do this and switch it up every 6 weeks or so, depending on my goals, I just find it easier than finding the time to do it on the day or night before, plus I can get everything I need on a one day shop.
  • DebLaBounty
    DebLaBounty Posts: 1,172 Member
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    I never plan what I'm going to eat in advance. I just wake up, go to the kitchen, drink some coffee, eat some breakfast, and log everything. I like being spontaneous and I still lose weight by keeping track of calories.
  • apullum
    apullum Posts: 4,838 Member
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    I've been here for a few years, so my logging is pretty routine at this point. That's step 1: make it a routine.

    I think of meals as modular pieces that I fit into my day--a big piece here, a small piece there.

    I eat essentially the same thing for breakfast on most days, so that is a constant. I just go ahead and pre-log it during the week. On weekends we might have something different.

    Lunch is often dinner leftovers, so I go ahead and pre-log that by copying it from dinner. Sometimes if I'm in a hurry, lunch is a protein bar, and I know how many calories are in those by now.

    I have a few dozen "go to" dinner recipes that are already in MFP, so I know how many calories are in them. I think most of us eat the same few things for dinner. To make grocery shopping easier, I plan out dinners for the week in advance, and I schedule them around my workouts (higher calorie dinners on run days, lower calorie dinners on rest days). I also make sure that any dinner that makes a lot of leftovers is cooked early in the week, so we'll actually eat the leftovers--we never wind up eating them on weekends.

    I save some calories for chocolate.

    It all comes back to step 1. Figure out your routine. Make sure that it is sustainable over the long term.
  • gardengnomemanifesto
    gardengnomemanifesto Posts: 427 Member
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    I can tell I will need some sort of plan for certain. From advice I've been receiving to past efforts I am thinking a few go to meals will be a good idea.
  • JeromeBarry1
    JeromeBarry1 Posts: 10,182 Member
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    When I was working I rotated among several breakfasts, had a consistent lunch, and rotated among a few different dinners. As long as I had an 8-hour workday and a commute I could stay in a feeding rhythm that worked for me.
    Your tolerance for the same thing day after day may be different from mine.
  • JeromeBarry1
    JeromeBarry1 Posts: 10,182 Member
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    gardengnomemanifesto wrote: »
    yes I think I might need to look into setting a higher calorie goal and increasing my exercise. Take it slower so it is not such a drastic change. This is good way to look at it. Thanks.

    I have my mfp weight loss goal set at 0.5 lb per week. I chose that early on as a way of psyching myself into thinking that this was easy.
  • d16262
    d16262 Posts: 18 Member
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    A couple weeks I was meal planning 7 days in advance for lunch and dinner. It was really helpful. It really helped when my daughter would ask for something to eat, I could offer her a nutritious meal. I’m embarrassed to say that my daughter had adapted poor eating habits from me. But this year I plan to have some of her and my favorite snacks pre prep and in the fridge... like fresh cucumbers with pepper, edamame with light sea salt, fresh fruit salad, ice cream made of fresh fruit and skimmed milk, and fruit infusion water. I feel if she sees me eating healthy she will adapt healthier eating habits.

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