Question For Those Who Advance Log Meals
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What happens if you decide you want something different last minute?
I try to plan my meals by the week because it has worked well for me so far.
But, I worry (probably too strong a word) that I will eat my first and second meal, and then by third meal time, either the group will decide to go out to eat, or I will decide I have a taste for something else, but because I ate earlier average calorie size meals, now I am "stuck" with what I already planned.
I am here filling out my weekly log, but hesitating to fill in Fri-Sun, because, "What if I want something different then?" The danger, for me, in not pre-planning, is that every time I leave it open, I wind up using more of my exercise calories than I originally intended to use. Since I don't really trust the amount that of exercise calories MFP gives me, it stresses me out. (Neurotic as I am, I don't need any additional things to worry about.
)
How do you other pre-loggers handle that?
It makes me stop for a moment and make a conscious decision. It reminds me what I intended to do and gives me an opportunity to see what the consequences would be and go from there. Sometimes I decide I'm being dumb and I eat what I logged. Sometimes I decide the new plan will work just as well, and I delete my prelogged food and log what I'm having. Sometimes I split the difference and make one or two changes.
If I were constantly deleting my prelogged food, I would perhaps need to take a look at my goals and my plans and see if I'm either being unrealistic in my prelogging or if there is some reason I'm fighting against what I planned.
No stress. It's all data, and structure, and habit formation :drinker:4 -
What happens if you decide you want something different last minute?
I try to plan my meals by the week because it has worked well for me so far.
But, I worry (probably too strong a word) that I will eat my first and second meal, and then by third meal time, either the group will decide to go out to eat, or I will decide I have a taste for something else, but because I ate earlier average calorie size meals, now I am "stuck" with what I already planned.
I am here filling out my weekly log, but hesitating to fill in Fri-Sun, because, "What if I want something different then?" The danger, for me, in not pre-planning, is that every time I leave it open, I wind up using more of my exercise calories than I originally intended to use. Since I don't really trust the amount that of exercise calories MFP gives me, it stresses me out. (Neurotic as I am, I don't need any additional things to worry about. )
How do you other pre-loggers handle that?
I only ever logged one day in advance...if I changed my mind about something I just deleted whatever it was and then added whatever I ended up eating. Because I was only doing one day in advance, not much changed often.0 -
What happens if you decide you want something different last minute?
I try to plan my meals by the week because it has worked well for me so far.
But, I worry (probably too strong a word) that I will eat my first and second meal, and then by third meal time, either the group will decide to go out to eat, or I will decide I have a taste for something else, but because I ate earlier average calorie size meals, now I am "stuck" with what I already planned.
I am here filling out my weekly log, but hesitating to fill in Fri-Sun, because, "What if I want something different then?" The danger, for me, in not pre-planning, is that every time I leave it open, I wind up using more of my exercise calories than I originally intended to use. Since I don't really trust the amount that of exercise calories MFP gives me, it stresses me out. (Neurotic as I am, I don't need any additional things to worry about. )
How do you other pre-loggers handle that?
I religiously pre-log but usually only 1-2 days in advance for this very reason, mostly because my wife has some indecision about dinner or some of our lousy family or friends want to do something last minute.1 -
I pre-log Monday to Friday mostly to keep myself organized. If things change, I can always move things around.
I also only eat in a deficit M-F and eat maintenance on the weekend, so it's a little easier to make adjustments if something happens and I end up going over.0 -
I usually prelog each morning. I change my mind sometimes but will usually fit in something of the same calories. This is easier now since Im not deliberately eating back all my exercise calories. I will plan for my meals without exercise and if I get hungry I'll eat extra. I wasn't losing much lately eating all my exercise calories, although I lost about 40 lbs. Eating them all back.0
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Hi, I plan my day around a core 3 meals and 2 snacks. Breakfast, Snack AM, Lunch, Snack PM and then Dinner. But I always include an extras and have a plan to drink a ~300cal Huel V2.3 Vanilla shake, if I am going out for tea, or somewhere that requires me to go off plan, the 500 calories I save for dinner and the 300 for the shake give me some room to play with. Likewise if I over eat at lunch, I will eliminate the extra shake rather than sacrifice the meal for the sake of consistency.
Also, I pre plan the day before, but if I want to have a pastry instead of porridge, or Friday morning Hash Browns (courtesy of my generous non diet strict friend) I account for the likelihood of this and have to make some real honest changes and review my goals. What's more important to you? Lying on your plan to look good, or having a healthy social diet life.
Alternatively, if I go to a BBQ/know in advance I'm attending, or something similar, (I am a massive over eater at these events) I will grab my jump rope and do a 500 calorie skip.
Anyone who want's to follow my diary add as a friend, it's open anyway but I'm always learning about this stuff.
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Thank you all for your replies.
This is closest to my situation.nickssweetheart wrote: »I prelog a week at a time. I try really hard not to waste food, and in a household of one that requires some careful planning, especially where produce is concerned.
This gives me food (ha ha) for thought.nickssweetheart wrote: »If I want something different, I first think about whether I REALLY want it and what that means for the food that I already have in the house. Say I want to go out for lunch. If my lunch is something that's already made, like a soup or stew or leftovers, I ask myself, will it freeze well? If it does AND I really want whatever it is, I have it, and then make the rest of my day work. Sometimes that means a little extra activity, sometimes that means just going over, sometimes that means sipping bubbly water all evening instead of having another meal. Then I bang whatever I was going to eat into the freezer and plan to have it another day.
If what I was planning won't keep and I really want to deviate, I copy the pre-logged meal into my next day's worth of eating, eat the meal I've decided to have, change the log, and go on from there.
Mostly, though, if I deviate, it's from the point of moving things around or eating something from the freezer, not just throwing out my plan and going out for tacos and margaritas (not that there's anything wrong with that! I love a good taco and a margarita, but for me, those tend to be planned events, to fit into my caloric and fiscal budgets.)0 -
I definitely will remember this the next time I am waffling about eating what I preplanned.livingleanlivingclean wrote: »Tough. I eat what I've prepared unless something either drastic or amazing happens to change my plans. I figure if I desperately want something, I'll still desperately want it on the weekend when I can fit it in.
Tough love!
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I only plan a day ahead. Sometimes things pop up with friends or I work later than expected so I change the pre-log to what I actually eat. Prelogging still keeps me mindful of caloric intake and helps me make better decisions.0
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I plan at least a day in advance. Currently I’m planned out through Friday, this is a pretty calm week and Nothing should come up or I wouldn’t be planned out that far.
If something happens and I can switch my other meals around to make the unplanned meal fit, I do that.
If I can’t change my breakfast/lunch up (like when hubby bring dinner home unexpectedly), I divide dinner up into appropriate sized meals for what I have calories for and will eat leftovers the next day or two. (Throwing in vegetables if I need to bulk up the meal).
While you should be flexible and no one wants to be the Debby downer because of their lifestyle change, it’s still important to be able to say no. No to more than one drink. No to eating the entire plate of food, when it could easily be 700+ calories.0 -
I preplan all meals and snacks for Monday through Friday and preplan my dinners on Saturday and Sunday. I do this to keep myself on track and to actually eat what I buy. I find if I tell myself "You are supposed to have yogurt this morning and it fits in your calories" I am less likely to swing by the café and get a big platter of eggs, bacon, hashbrowns, and biscuits. Or "You're making Asian glazed Salmon for dinner as that is what you bought" and I won't stop for McDonalds for a couple cheese burgers and fries.2
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I thought about this thread as I was updating my diary today. I edited my prelogging yesterday and today to reflect the fact that I DIDN'T want split pea soup and DO want a Chipotle burrito.
So much for my fine words about not throwing out my plan.
But I still mostly followed my own rules, because the peas are dried, so I can fix them any time. The lackluster carrots and celery I was going to use up in the soup I can dice and freeze along with an onion, and then I've got the start of a soup whenever I want it. And I'm having the burrito today when it's easier to fit into my goals than it would have been yesterday because I edited down my lunch to compensate and worked in more fruits and veg. I had my original lunch today for dinner yesterday and I'm good to go.0 -
What happens if you decide you want something different last minute?
I try to plan my meals by the week because it has worked well for me so far.
But, I worry (probably too strong a word) that I will eat my first and second meal, and then by third meal time, either the group will decide to go out to eat, or I will decide I have a taste for something else, but because I ate earlier average calorie size meals, now I am "stuck" with what I already planned.
I am here filling out my weekly log, but hesitating to fill in Fri-Sun, because, "What if I want something different then?" The danger, for me, in not pre-planning, is that every time I leave it open, I wind up using more of my exercise calories than I originally intended to use. Since I don't really trust the amount that of exercise calories MFP gives me, it stresses me out. (Neurotic as I am, I don't need any additional things to worry about. )
How do you other pre-loggers handle that?
If I switch it up, I simply do that in my log. Not a big deal. Just be conscious of your decisions if you're trying to hit macros. For example, I won't have a 200 g protein day and then sub in a bagel, or pizza, I'll make sure that whatever I'm getting on a whim is still high in protein.0 -
typically i pre-log for the week. and then make minor adjustments as I go. Maybe I don't want brussel sprouts tonight and I want corn instead. Or maybe my farm share didn't give me green beans like I thought they would and they gave me something else.
If something comes up and suddenly we are going out for a social event. I go out and enjoy myself. If I go significantly over my calories I might cut out a snack for the next couple of days. But really I use my weekly deficit so as long as I'm under or even for the week I don't usually worry about being over for a day or two.
For me pre-logging isn't a prison. If I change my mind I change my log and I move on with my life. To me the pre-planning is to take the stress and decision making out of "what do I eat tonight when I get home" some days after work I'm mentally exhausted and don't want to think about it at all when I get home. I don't care what I eat, I care that I'm hungry so I grab what I logged and go. Other times things come up and plans change and I roll with it.1 -
I just delete the meal and log what I’m actually eating? I generally stick to a ballpark number of calories for each meal. Plus I always leave a couple hundred each day for random snacks and whatnot. Although- I only log out my day in advance, never an entire week. If you’re constantly pre-logging your weeks and then changing them all the time maybe pre logging just doesn’t fit your lifestyle?1
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