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

2

Replies

  • Courtscan2
    Courtscan2 Posts: 499 Member
    Both, really. I have the same thing for breakfast and lunch most days, so pre-logging those is easy. Dinner...sometimes I prelog so that I know what my day roughly looks like, then I update the details afterwards. Sometimes I don't plan it at all, and just adjust what i feel like eating to meet my needs. Ditto snacks.
  • slade51
    slade51 Posts: 188 Member
    Log meals and exercise after, weight once a day when I wake up.
  • AlexandraFindsHerself1971
    AlexandraFindsHerself1971 Posts: 3,106 Member
    I prelog.

    I know what I'm eating because I make a five week meal plan for my family. The lunches repeat; Monday is a chicken quesadilla, Tuesday is hamburgers, etc. So all those are, by now, in my database. I also know what it is that I'm going to have for dinner.

    So I prelog, putting in dinner first, then lunch, then breakfast, then snacks as needed to land me close to but not over my calories for the day.

    I don't need to be in the habit of snacking. If I need a snack to get through to dinner, it's because lunch was a little lighter weight (Grilled chicken sandwich, let's say.) And I want to know what I can have, and that way I don't have to worry because I won't eat too much in my snack. I like knowing in advance what I can eat. Thus, prelogging works for me.
  • NovusDies
    NovusDies Posts: 8,940 Member
    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.
  • lightenup2016
    lightenup2016 Posts: 1,055 Member
    edited February 2020
    sardelsa wrote: »
    Back when I used to log, I did a mix. I prelogged parts of my day then left some blanks. Even if I prelogged I would change things around as I went quite frequently.

    ^^This. I usually have breakfast, lunch, and snack figured out, so prelog those foods. Then I will at the least prelog a “quick add” of 550 calories for Dinner and 350 for After Dinner Snack, just so I have the planned calories straight. Then I log the real food for these as I figure it out.
  • BlueCanyonKid
    BlueCanyonKid Posts: 2 Member
    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.
  • hereinmissouri
    hereinmissouri Posts: 11 Member
    I weigh out and prelog breakfast, lunch and my snacks for work. Dinner and weekends I log as I go.
  • BradOWGolf
    BradOWGolf Posts: 13 Member
    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.
  • mgfit2020
    mgfit2020 Posts: 10 Member
    I loosely pre-log my 3 main meals either the morning of or the night before, leaving 300-500cal gap for snacks and adjustments. Then during the day I adjust things as I eat, and actually weigh/measure things. I find if I don't pre-log I have a tendency to end up at dinnertime with less calories available than I'd like, or no room for snacks (I love snacking--always have, always will, not something I'm willing to give up, so working it into my plans instead of trying to work against it is what works for me)
  • Jruzer
    Jruzer Posts: 3,501 Member
    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.
  • ishamina
    ishamina Posts: 4 Member
    I prefer to pre log so I know what I will eat and stick to my plan and then I change it as I go through out the day. I find that when I pre log I tend to stay below my calories.
  • ishamina
    ishamina Posts: 4 Member
    I want to add I only pre log up to a day. No more than one day. But I tend to pre log at the end of the day or at night for the next day.
  • katelynntavano
    katelynntavano Posts: 22 Member
    I log my main meals in the morning and then I can decide how snacks, coffee runs with coworkers etc, fit into my day!
    I had a few run ins with nothing left come dinner time, so this helps me to stay balanced
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,458 Member
    Some of both.

    Most days I manage to input dinner when I'm entering breakfast, but I don't plan any further ahead than that. That's not to say I actually stick to it every day. Some days I have to go back in and change it at the end of the day because some unexpected food thing happened. :) I've been doing this so long that I pretty much keep a running tab in my head, anyway.

  • Katmary71
    Katmary71 Posts: 7,145 Member
    I try to log right before I eat something. It's stupid because I eat the same or similar breakfast, lunch, and night snack so logging ahead of time isn't changing that but if I prelog it's as if it becomes a challenge and I no longer want to eat it because then I feel I HAVE to.
  • sharonlep
    sharonlep Posts: 50 Member
    I prelog the night before or first thing in the morning so I don't have anything to think about and I know it's done properly.
    I then only have to adjust throughout the day as I need to for unexpected things, change of plans or even just fancying something different and tweaking a meal.

    I always do very badly when I have a holiday or family staying. Too many unplanned treats and restaurants etc. I've got the kids home for a few days on Saturday. Funnily enough I decided this morning that I was going to prelog my food for the weekend now. I've never thought to prelog my most difficult situations in advance like this before.
    So I've built in our treats and hopefully know exactly what I'm making or ordering when we go out (and how much extra exercise I need to build into the days!).
    I feel massively motivated to stick to it now I know that the pressure is off and I can (hopefully) succeed this holiday now it's mostly all planned.
    Feel quite impressed with myself right now 👼👼
  • glassyo
    glassyo Posts: 7,759 Member
    I prelog the morning of but I tend to eat the same thing every day (only changing things up if I finish a box of cereal or a package of cookies or whatever) so it's like a 2 minute thing. This way I know what to expect

    Except for how mfp has been acting up for me on copying days and sometimes I get the same items like 4 or 5 times and have to do a lot of deleting but that's not the point! :)

    It helps to see where I am caloriewise before exercising and I can play around with my portion sizes or foods if need be towards the end of the day.
  • HotFrieZ
    HotFrieZ Posts: 35 Member
    I usually log as I go, but I do tend to eat a lot of the same foods for breakfast and lunch most days so it is basically a different combination of the same things every day. Dinner varies the most.

    I used to restrict and then binge so I find prelogging makes me feel deprived. So personally I do better with logging as I go. I feel like I can eat more intuitively that way but just keep a general idea of where I am throughout the day.
  • Nanaluvs2sweat
    Nanaluvs2sweat Posts: 97 Member
    I log mine as I go. Even though I plan all my meals ahead of time I just got in the habit of keeping the app open until after my last meal. Plus, sometimes I don’t finish what I prepare. Example: sometimes I eat half a cup of fruit instead of the cup in my meal plan.
  • idaevon
    idaevon Posts: 19 Member
    hesn92 wrote: »
    I pre log the whole day unless I don't know what I'm having for dinner yet or something. Because I like to see how my whole day looks and make adjustments if I need to...

    Same. Then I know what I need to do to hit my daily goals.
  • reversemigration
    reversemigration Posts: 170 Member
    Both. For instance, I meal prep lunch for work, particularly when I'm working a long stretch. In those cases, I'll prelog several days in a row. I'll also semi-prelog for a meal in which I know what I'm making, but know that I'll have to go back in and fiddle with the actual weight once it's all done.

    Otherwise, I do it as I go, with the understanding that many of my meals - particularly breakfast - are from a fairly limited repertoire and take only a few moments to pull together out of MFP's memory.
  • BeamingBadass
    BeamingBadass Posts: 1,454 Member
    I do both
  • holliesterr
    holliesterr Posts: 16 Member
    I do both, but I'm more successful with staying at a deficit if I pre log my meals.
  • karenscfld
    karenscfld Posts: 38 Member
    I absolutely must pre-log. I have to know exactly what I'm going to eat each day before it starts, If I don't I will eat most of my calories for breakfast and my day is lost. Tomorrow I will eat 2 hard boiled eggs for breakfast, a chicken wrap for lunch, chicken and salad for dinner and a slice of cheese for snack. I'll be hungry but I really want to lose weight so, hunger is something I have to live with.
  • kcmcbee
    kcmcbee Posts: 179 Member
    I do both but found pre logging very helpful. I think for me it depends on how close I want to stick to the target whether it’s calories or sodium or all/other specs.

  • weatherking2019
    weatherking2019 Posts: 943 Member
    I’m a prelogger as well.
    I just logged for tmrw so I know what my day is like.
    I was logging as I go but I find its easier making changes later.
  • Machka9
    Machka9 Posts: 25,698 Member
    Buttermello wrote: »
    Do you log all your food for the day ahead of time (the night before or the morning of), or just log foods as you consume them?

    Why?

    Kind of both.

    I eat the same lunch and snacks most days so I just copy them to the next day, next day, next day ... etc.

    It gives me a good idea where I'm at each evening.
  • scarlett_k
    scarlett_k Posts: 812 Member
    A bit of both. Usually I have a choice of leftovers to have for lunch and I'll pick which meal I think I'm going to cook for dinner. But sometimes there are no leftovers and sometimes the evening meal will change for whatever reason so I log on the fly. Works out fine most of the time.
  • cmhubbard92
    cmhubbard92 Posts: 5,064 Member
    edited February 2020
    I usually pre-log if I know what my meals are looking like. If I meal prep for work, I log each work day while I prep, and the amounts are fresh in my head. This week, I have had breakfast/lunch/snacks pre-logged, and logged a rough plan for dinner. I think I stay on track better, when I know where I am at calorie wise.
  • amtyrell
    amtyrell Posts: 1,447 Member
    I log immediately before I eat something. It helps me stop and ask myself "am I actually hungry and is this actually what i want to eat"
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