Question For Those Who Advance Log Meals

I used to worry about it, and would refuse to go out or eat anything off plan.
Not so much now. My weekly log is also a shopping list, so I plan the week, do the shopping. But sometimes things change.

If it helps, include snacks as well as meals in your plan. That way if you end out not following Plan A it is easy to drop the evening snack at the end to balance things out.

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.

HeyJudii wrote: »

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 change my mind I look up the food I will use as a replacement to make sure I get in the same range. I also have calories that I bank that can be used for last minute situations as insurance or used on Sunday for a nice lunch.

CarvedTones wrote: »

I change the log and put the new item in. If I go over, I will make up for it at some point. This happens to me sometimes when I bring my lunch in forgetting there is an office celebration or taking someone out to lunch for some recognition or whatever. Allowing plans to change and dealing with it is part of a sustainable lifestyle IMO.

This.

I pre-log some „fixed” items and standard lazy dinners, or just pre-log lunch before I go out of the office to get it, to make sure I get what and how much I need. It may be that I lose appetite for the options when faced with the actual shopping moment... so then I just change the log. I adjust and replace based on calories and the protein I am trying to hit.
There are moments in which lunch or dinner turn into office parties or nights out, then I just focus on getting some good filling „base” + whatever liquid or sugary calories there will be, but moderately. If going over happens, it happens.

I always log for the day in the morning and the only day I ever have completely unplanned restaurant trips is on Fridays with coworkers. Since I know I might go out for drinks after work, I keep breakfast and lunch light and if I don't end up going out I get to eat a big dinner when I get home. I always know if advance if I'm going out with friends so I just plan accordingly. If there's a pattern to your last-minute changes maybe you could do something similar?

Also, logging the entire week in advance seems kind of inflexible to me. I pick out three recipes that can be lunch or dinner and shop for those, then log/decide what I feel like that day in the morning. If I change my mind about what I want for dinner at home it's not a big deal because the meals I plan tend to have about the same number of calories.

I prelog by day not by week. Also, I usually treat going out to eat as a regular meal , not a treat. I order grilled meat and veggies. If my plans change it's not a big deal. I don't go to places where there's not food I like.

As long as your calories average out over the week, it doesn't really matter ...

nowine4me wrote: »

fr33sia12 wrote: »

I usually pre log my meals daily. If I find I don't want what I planned (usually for evening meal) at least I know how many calories I can play with and choose something different to fit into that amount of calories.

Me too. And if I eat something not in the days plan, I log it and subtract those calories from my supper — or make an informed to go over.

This is exactly what I do.

HeyJudii wrote: »

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 want something different, it needs to fit within the original calorie budget. If I can't find anything I want that fits, I go with the original plan.

But the closer reality is that I buy groceries each week that match *exactly* what I plan to eat that week. So the odds are good that unless I'm swapping meals for another day, I'm pretty much stuck with the original plan. (I also don't keep snack foods in my house, so there's no option of "sit and snack" for dinner.)

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.

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.)

HeyJudii wrote: »

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:

HeyJudii wrote: »

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.

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.

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.