Are you a prelogger or do you log as you go?

I almost never prelog: I'm an impulsive person, with variable exercise, and prelogging doesn't suit. That said, my breakfasts and lunches have certain patterns (saved as meals), because I'm still semi-comatose and on autopilot then. Dinner & snacks, not so much.

I think the value of prelogging or not is a personality and self-insight kind of thing, not a universal. YMMV.

Log as I go. I eat a lot of meals that I have cooked and froze so I know generally what is going to fit in to my log.

Sometimes I wish I pre-logged, but I know myself well enough and I know the sure-fire way for me to not want to eat something is to pre-log it!

I very, very rarely eat breakfast and my lunches tend to be fairly formulaic based on a few variables but only around 200-250 cals.

This leaves me room to be fairly spontaneous when it comes to dinner. I often ‘plan’ in my head, but very infrequently actually stick to that plan when it comes to it! As a vegetarian, I also cook for a meat eating husband and a picky grown daughter who like to eat at different times so by the time I get to dealing with myself I often just opt for easy and quick!

Best laid plans...😂

When I log my morning coffee I'll tend to fill in what I expect I'll be eating for the rest of the day as I'll generally have a good idea of what I'll feel like eating.

It means I only have to log once a day so logging becomes a 30-60sec task. It also gives me a good view of my calories for the day up front and lets me know if I have some wiggle room in order to treat myself should I feel the need.

If my reality deviates significantly from my plan then I'll pop in and update as needed but even if I don't eat exactly what I planned I tend to just let it go as long as I know what I logged and what I now plan to eat are both relatively close in calories. For example one of premade frozen meals I enjoy is 825cal. I also know that a regular order from a local restaurant comes to about 790cal. If I pre-log one and change my mind and eat the other then I'll tend to just leave it as is, because for my purposes the calories are close enough and I don't monitor macros.

Usually log after I eat unless I know 4 sure what I am going 2 eat for a meal, which only happens when I cook at home

Log meals and exercise after, weight once a day when I wake up.

When I started I pre-logged everything. It was an effective way to teach me how to make better choices on food and portions. Over time I graduated to a hybrid system of some of both. Now on routine days I can log well after the meal is done because I have it down. On days I will be eating food I do not know as well I will still pre-log as needed.

I am not sure what the purpose of this thread is. If it is idle chat about who does what that is fine. If it is an attempt to identify "best practices" there is no such thing when it comes to logging styles. Ease and effectiveness are all that matters and that is for each person to decide.

I use My Fitness Pal to keep track of the amount of calcium I consume each day, so I log a couple of times a day and by evening I know if I have to supplement the consumed calcium with some or all of calcium tablets. (I don't take more than 100% because of the possibility of forming stones from too much calcium). I started this when I was taking steroids to treat Polymyalgia rheumatica; the Prednisone has been tapered off for a long time now, but you can't build calcium in your bones when taking steroids so My Fitness Pal was a life (and bone) saver. Now as I look at a diagnosis of osteopenia I go to the gym and do weight-bearing exercise and keep tracking calcium with daily logging because it's a good habit to keep going.

Log as I go, use the phone app regularly... what is harder for me is less than a serving size estimates... i.e. if I snag a handful of almonds and then trying to calibrate what percentage that is of a serving.

I pre-log during the work week, but tend to be more free-form during the weekend.

I do one thing which I haven't heard discussed elsewhere - I log today's dinner for tomorrow. I do this because 95% of the time Mrs Jruzer is preparing dinner, and I don't know what's on the menu or how calorific it will be. This way I can successfully pre-log for tomorrow, because I already logged dinner, the largest piece of the puzzle.