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

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Replies

  • 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: 33,907 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: 6,482 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: 7,572 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: 168 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: 177 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: 24,707 Member
    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: 5,018 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: 1,449 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"