Can you pre-save Foods?

JenAnn905
JenAnn905 Posts: 3 Member
in Getting Started
I’m trying to plot out my meals for the next day and wish I could have my list of foods include ones that I haven’t yet eaten yet - or not recent. Is there a way to do this? It would be great to come home from grocery store and load all my foods in!!! This seems so obvious...surely I’m missing how to do it on the app, right?!?!

Replies

  • bbell1985
    bbell1985 Posts: 4,571 Member
    It'll be in there tomorrow since you logged it. Ya know.
  • lynn_glenmont
    lynn_glenmont Posts: 10,092 Member
    JenAnn905 wrote: »
    I’m trying to plot out my meals for the next day and wish I could have my list of foods include ones that I haven’t yet eaten yet - or not recent. Is there a way to do this? It would be great to come home from grocery store and load all my foods in!!! This seems so obvious...surely I’m missing how to do it on the app, right?!?!

    There's nothing stopping you from coming home from the grocery store and pre-logging your food, either to the specific day you plan to eat them, or to some day out in the future so they'll be in your recent food list whenever you decide to eat them. (The recent foods list isn't "recent" in the sense of what is in your diary for today, what is in your diary for yesterday, etc. It's recent in the sense of the most recent act of logging, regardless of what day in your diary you logged it to.)

    If you click the little arrow to the right of where it says Today , you can advance to tomorrow, and log the foods you want to add there. Or you can click on the calendar icon (on the web) or the word Today (in the Android app -- I can't tell you exactly what it looks like in the iOS app) and select a day in the next week and log them all there, so they'll be available in your "recent foods" all week. Then just delete them from that future day when it arrives. Or copy them to another day a week away if you still haven't used them and want to keep them in your frequent foods.

  • seska422
    seska422 Posts: 3,217 Member
    JenAnn905 wrote: »
    I’m trying to plot out my meals for the next day and wish I could have my list of foods include ones that I haven’t yet eaten yet - or not recent. Is there a way to do this? It would be great to come home from grocery store and load all my foods in!!! This seems so obvious...surely I’m missing how to do it on the app, right?!?!
    I use My Foods to store the nutritional info for foods that I eat and don't share with the database. That way, I can customize the name and know that the nutritional info is correct and can't be edited by someone else.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,203 Member
    You could also go to a day in the past, and log foods there to get them onto your "recent" list. That day will show up on your reports, though, so I'd suggest logging small quantities. ;)
  • jasmineemmaeats
    jasmineemmaeats Posts: 24 Member
    When I meal plan I save all my meals as recipes, then it's easy to just add the whole meal from that to each day I'm going to eat it. I often log meals in advance because I meal prep my week - feels easier than always doing it while eating! I recommend getting used to the recipes function, it's helped me lots :smile:
  • carolsoules
    carolsoules Posts: 34 Member
    edited April 2018
    YES! There is and I use it all the time. I'm like you--I find it easier to have a plan the day before, especially since I count macros as well as calories and like to time my macros in a specific way around my workouts.

    In the app, at the very top of your screen when you pull up your diary, you'll see: < Today >

    You can click on the right arrow to go to the next day, or you can click on the word "today" and it'll let you select a specific date.

    You can go pack to previous days, too. I work at night so my days aren't on a normal schedule. I eat breakfast at noon-1pm and keep eating until 3am. The app is set on a midnight-midnight schedule and so I often have to log my "Wednesday dinner" at 3am on Thursday.
  • adele012
    adele012 Posts: 78 Member
    carolsoules wrote: »
    YES! There is and I use it all the time. I'm like you--I find it easier to have a plan the day before, especially since I count macros as well as calories and like to time my macros in a specific way around my workouts.

    In the app, at the very top of your screen when you pull up your diary, you'll see: < Today >

    You can click on the right arrow to go to the next day, or you can click on the word "today" and it'll let you select a specific date.

    You can go pack to previous days, too. I work at night so my days aren't on a normal schedule. I eat breakfast at noon-1pm and keep eating until 3am. The app is set on a midnight-midnight schedule and so I often have to log my "Wednesday dinner" at 3am on Thursday.

    Great response to OP. I do this sometimes as well. It's always nice to have a plan plus it can definitely help to stay on track. Especially if you're counting macros and calories.
  • pamfin
    pamfin Posts: 169 Member
    I love pre-logging. It's handy to have a plan for each day but it's also a powerful tool of disuasion to stop yourself eating something that's not in budget.
  • RetiredAndLovingIt
    RetiredAndLovingIt Posts: 1,395 Member
    I have been prelogging up to a few weeks in advance, my breakfast, and a couple of snacks which are pretty much the same every day. Then what is left is what I can eat, so seems to help with the planning. If my day changes, I can always delete what doesn't get eaten & put in what does. Seems to help me stay within my calories easier.
  • DragonHasTheSapphire
    DragonHasTheSapphire Posts: 184 Member
    I always pre-log my meals in advance. Things do change sometimes, so I just make tweaks here and there. I find it to be a LOT easier and way less stressful. I used to log food right before I ate it, and found it time-consuming because I had to think on what I was going to eat that day.
  • RetiredAndLovingIt
    RetiredAndLovingIt Posts: 1,395 Member
    Just wondering...if you prelog things and then are not able to log on daily (like on vacation when no service), will it keep your streak going? I know I have rarely missed logging on a day & it kept my streak. (years ago it didn't, but seems to now)
  • malibu927
    malibu927 Posts: 17,562 Member
    RetiredAndLovingIt wrote: »
    Just wondering...if you prelog things and then are not able to log on daily (like on vacation when no service), will it keep your streak going? I know I have rarely missed logging on a day & it kept my streak. (years ago it didn't, but seems to now)

    Your streak actually has nothing to do with your diary. It’s based on logging into the app or website. If you have an activity tracker linked it may continue the streak if you sync it.
  • Beachrunner54
    Beachrunner54 Posts: 27 Member
    @carolsoules hi!! I don’t know quite what to do about the macros...So if my protein for example is 175g , do I need to “figure” out foods high in protein and spread them around 3 meals, then repeat next day? thank you for your help! I’m Trying to get this right!?!
  • lynn_glenmont
    lynn_glenmont Posts: 10,092 Member
    malibu927 wrote: »
    RetiredAndLovingIt wrote: »
    Just wondering...if you prelog things and then are not able to log on daily (like on vacation when no service), will it keep your streak going? I know I have rarely missed logging on a day & it kept my streak. (years ago it didn't, but seems to now)

    Your streak actually has nothing to do with your diary. It’s based on logging into the app or website. If you have an activity tracker linked it may continue the streak if you sync it.

    I don't think that would work for the specific case the poster mentioned, since the tracker would also be on vacation with no internet access. Maybe leave the tracker at home on the dog's collar (or have a friend who's staying home wear out for you) if the steak means that much to you?
  • RetiredAndLovingIt
    RetiredAndLovingIt Posts: 1,395 Member
    Lol..no dog! It will be no big deal, even tho it says I have 900 days going now (even without logging on every day). If I would have been totally consistent with it, it would be a couple thousand.
  • CyberTone
    CyberTone Posts: 7,337 Member
    malibu927 wrote: »
    RetiredAndLovingIt wrote: »
    Just wondering...if you prelog things and then are not able to log on daily (like on vacation when no service), will it keep your streak going? I know I have rarely missed logging on a day & it kept my streak. (years ago it didn't, but seems to now)

    Your streak actually has nothing to do with your diary. It’s based on logging into the app or website. If you have an activity tracker linked it may continue the streak if you sync it.

    MFP had a major Christmas week glitch in December 2015 that lasted for about 10 days into January. As part of the January 2016 fix, it seems MFP implemented a grace period beyond midnight for login streaks. I do not know how many hours or days the grace period is, because I have never tested it out.

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