How do you log your food?

Strongfitmama100412
Strongfitmama100412 Posts: 90 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Do you log as you go through the day or in the morning for the day?

I find it helpful to log in my food in morning for the whole day. I know what Im going to eat throughout the day and I know what I can have or cant. Example, when I put the food in sometimes it says you have too much sugar so I know that I need to back something off or just not have it.
I feel like this has been super helpful for me. If i dont go with what I set for the day i will modify but 9 times out of 10 if its in the log im following it.
Thoughts?

Replies

  • Chef_Barbell
    Chef_Barbell Posts: 6,646 Member
    I'll loosely log in the morning and adjust throughout the day.
  • yirara
    yirara Posts: 9,388 Member
    Breakfast and lunch are pretty much the same every day. I vary the kind of fruit in my breakfast oats, and what I put on my sandwiches might vary but that's it. I also usually cook for two, sometimes three days.. So I can copy pretty much everything in the morning and make adjustments where needed.
  • Dilvish
    Dilvish Posts: 398 Member
    I enter food as I go so I can see where I am at through the day. It helps me see how much I've had and whether the current craving can be satisfied with food or just plain water!
  • Panini911
    Panini911 Posts: 2,325 Member
    Chef_Barbell wrote: »
    I'll loosely log in the morning and adjust throughout the day.

    ditto (or just review at end of day and adjust)

  • ZoneFive
    ZoneFive Posts: 570 Member
    Strongfitmama100412 wrote: »
    Do you log as you go through the day or in the morning for the day?

    I find it helpful to log in my food in morning for the whole day. I know what Im going to eat throughout the day and I know what I can have or cant. Example, when I put the food in sometimes it says you have too much sugar so I know that I need to back something off or just not have it.
    I feel like this has been super helpful for me. If i dont go with what I set for the day i will modify but 9 times out of 10 if its in the log im following it.
    Thoughts?

    I wouldn't put too much emphasis on the pop-up notes from MFP for sugar. They don't differentiate between inherent sugar (in fruit or vegetables or dairy, for instance) and added sugar (in baked goods or sauces or desserts, also for example).

    Like yirara, my breakfast and lunch are pretty consistent and I can log them in the morning. Dinner can be a little more flexible, but then I know what my availabilities are.
  • Jackie9003
    Jackie9003 Posts: 1,105 Member
    I too log as much as I can at the start of the day, I prepare my lunch at the same time as breakfast and have an idea about what dinner might be. I like to do that so if I fancy something in the afternoon I know what I have spare, I also keep a range of 100 cal snacks in my drawer for the occasion so I don't buy random rubbish from the shop.
  • Strongfitmama100412
    Strongfitmama100412 Posts: 90 Member
    ZoneFive wrote: »
    Strongfitmama100412 wrote: »
    Do you log as you go through the day or in the morning for the day?

    I find it helpful to log in my food in morning for the whole day. I know what Im going to eat throughout the day and I know what I can have or cant. Example, when I put the food in sometimes it says you have too much sugar so I know that I need to back something off or just not have it.
    I feel like this has been super helpful for me. If i dont go with what I set for the day i will modify but 9 times out of 10 if its in the log im following it.
    Thoughts?

    I wouldn't put too much emphasis on the pop-up notes from MFP for sugar. They don't differentiate between inherent sugar (in fruit or vegetables or dairy, for instance) and added sugar (in baked goods or sauces or desserts, also for example).

    Like yirara, my breakfast and lunch are pretty consistent and I can log them in the morning. Dinner can be a little more flexible, but then I know what my availabilities are.

    I normally dont but Im trying to really lean out so Im being super strict right now with carbs, sugars and macros.
    Dont get me wrong i lost all my baby weight and then some not worrying about sugars, carbs etc and just staying within my calories.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 31,966 Member
    I virtually never pre-log. What I want to eat a few hours from now is inobvious to me until the time comes; sometimes even the number of meals is a mystery. I tend to one of about 3 breakfasts, one of which I'll have for lunch if it wasn't breakfast. After that, it's all whim.

    I log as I go along.

    At this point, 3 years into maintenance,I have a pretty good gut feel for calories in the fairly wide range of things I like to eat, so I normally don't even need to prelog my final meal of the day. On the rare occasion, if I'm tight going into that meal, I might, to make sure I get the nutrients I want in the calories I have, but that's less than once a week, I'd say.

    I didn't even prelog days when I first started logging: Not my nature. I prelogged a lot of the evening meals at first, though, until I got the hang of things.
  • Lounmoun
    Lounmoun Posts: 8,426 Member
    I find it helpful to prelog my whole day in the morning. I usually enter dinner first, lunch, breakfast and then snacks. Besides hitting my calorie goal it also helps me to get enough protein and vegetables or fruits to plan out my day.
    I am not super rigid but most of my food is eaten prepared at home and we shop only once a week so choices are limited to the things we have in the house. I have an idea of 2-3 things for breakfast, lunches or snacks and dinners for the week are planned.
    I have noticed that my choices for particular meals are usually the same amount of calories. So dinners are usually 500-600 calories, lunch is about 400 calories, breakfast is 100-300 and snacks are 100-300. If I need to change what I eat suddenly it can be helpful to know I am looking for a 400 calorie meal.
  • kemoon0915
    kemoon0915 Posts: 113 Member
    I actually pre-log up to a week and a half in advance and adjust the day of as needed. This helps me plan what I need to get while grocery shopping, and helps me use up things that I have in the freezer. I also like not having to worry about what I'm eating that day and if it'll fit into my goals. I live alone and also work from home most days so nearly everything I eat is homemade.
  • seska422
    seska422 Posts: 3,217 Member
    I only pre-log in the sense that I log immediately before I eat. Spontaneity is important to me. Food plans make me feel too constrained.

    Pre-logging makes me stop and think if I really want something and, if so, how much of it I want. I own my intake. If I don't feel like logging it then I must not want it enough so I don't eat it.

    As for post-logging, I can't remember what I did 5 minutes ago so there's no way that I could reliably log food at the end of the day. If I'm not near my phone or computer, I write my intake down on paper.
  • Running2Fit
    Running2Fit Posts: 702 Member
    I usually log the night before or in the morning. I don’t necessarily stick exactly to what I pre-logged though so I’ll make adjustments throughout the day.
  • Duck_Puddle
    Duck_Puddle Posts: 3,224 Member
    I tend not to rely on mfp’s assessment of the nutritional content of my food...

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    I don’t pre-log. I have tried it and I just get confused or forget to change things.

    I tend to have my breakfast and lunch pre-portioned so there’s not a huge amount of variability. My dinners & evenings tend to be more freeform based on what calories I have left at that point.
  • Kalex1975
    Kalex1975 Posts: 427 Member
    kemoon0915 wrote: »
    I actually pre-log up to a week and a half in advance and adjust the day of as needed. This helps me plan what I need to get while grocery shopping, and helps me use up things that I have in the freezer. I also like not having to worry about what I'm eating that day and if it'll fit into my goals. I live alone and also work from home most days so nearly everything I eat is homemade.

    Almost me as well, I log a week in advance and make small adjustments as I go. However, I don't pre-log anything with regard to exercise calories. Those calories are used for treats/rewards after my exercise.
  • JennJ323
    JennJ323 Posts: 646 Member
    I prefer to pre-log in the morning for my day, then tweak as needed. It gives me a good idea of extra calories I have that can be used towards a piece of candy after lunch or a snack after dinner. Sometimes I even pre-log the whole week, for example if I make something for lunches on Sunday, I'll figure out the calories and then just add it to each day.
  • puffbrat
    puffbrat Posts: 2,806 Member
    Chef_Barbell wrote: »
    I'll loosely log in the morning and adjust throughout the day.

    This is what I do. I tend to be looser with pre-logging on the weekends, but it is really helpful for me to know how the day is generally looking so I have an idea of whether I need to earn extra calories through exercise, be diligent in eating only what I logged, or I can add something extra into my day.

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