Diary question

I usually log after my meals, though I'll sometimes add dinner beforehand since I usually know what I'll be eating then. Snacks are added at the end of the day. How much I can eat for snacks depends largely on how much exercise I got during the day which varies a lot.

I used to pre-log, but I found that I ended up focusing too much on what I ate, how much, etc. Now I log throughout the day as I think about it. It helps me be more flexible on choices. It gives me the illusion of more control rather than being driven by 'the predetermined standard.' It seems to work for me. If I am involved in a situation where there is the potential for dinner with a higher calorie intake, I can somewhat plan for it in advance.

In that respect, I use a combination of both strategies--some planning, but not specific to allow for freedom of choice and flexibility.

I like prelogging, which usually takes me under five minutes or so the night before. I do meal plan my week in advance since I am cooking for my family. If I have recipes saved already in the recipe builder, it's a cinch. But if we have an unexpected change, it's not a big deal to me to adjust. I find the largest amount of effort with logging is in the beginning as you get used to it and find the items that you use the most, add the recipes you usually eat, etc. But once you've been doing it even for a few weeks, it becomes automatic.

I like to plan ahead in life generally, so prelogging really works for me. It would make me anxious to not have a rough idea ahead of time how many calories I would expect to eat in a meal, most of the time. But not everybody is like that, so you experiment and work out what works for you.

I log as I go. I eat based on what I'm craving and/or what macronutrients I need to hit for that meal and can't predict that. I very rarely pre-log anything as I'm not that organized nor rigid. My hubby, on the other hand, is. He can eat the same thing for breakfast (oatmeal) and lunch (tuna) daily - probably dinner too, but I vary that meal - and is always so content with it. He even comments about it being delicious sometimes. That cracks me up every time. It's the SAME thing. 😄😄😄

Either way, once you find which method works for you, do that. 😁

I check the fridge/cabinet in the evening and loosely pre-log tomorrows meals, based on what I need to use up. In the morning, I check my logging to remind me, then I change everything around, add things, etc. according to what I actually eat.

Q: if you pre-log, and then don't log in for a few days, do you lose your streak?

I like to pre-log for the day. Most days my breakfast & lunch are the same. I'll also be thinking of what I was having for dinner in case I needed to prepare something. I'll make changes afterward if there were any differences

@akf2000 yes you do lose the streak. I originally thought the streak was for logging so I lost a 180 + streak due to a vacation I had pre-logged and forgot to go into the app. Streak is just for logging in, you don't even need to log anything to keep it.

I pre-log as much as I can, as far in advance as I can. I usually work a week at a time, my weeks run Monday to Sunday and I weigh in on Fridays.

I prep breakfast and lunch for the week on the weekends, so I can fill that in for the whole week on Sunday afternoon. I also make dinners that yield leftovers and pack those up immediately - if the recipe I'm using makes 4-6 servings, I plate up two for me and my husband to eat right away, then pack up the other two or four servings for us to eat later in the week, weighing everything to make sure the servings are all the same size. Then I can just copy tonight's dinner over to whichever night we eat the leftovers. This system has me cooking only 2 or 3 nights per week.

Sometimes I'm really on the ball and can pre-log breakfast, lunch, and dinner for the entire week, because the dinners I have planned I make the same way every time, or I made a huge dinner that yielded tons of leftovers so we just eat that all week (like a stew or chili or something). I'll still measure ingredients and tweak the recipes as needed (maybe this time I used 350g of onion instead of 300g, etc), but using the previous recipe is close enough that I can see approximately how many calories I have left over unspoken-for (if any).

akf2000 wrote: »

sarah12277 wrote: »

@akf2000 yes you do lose the streak. I originally thought the streak was for logging so I lost a 180 + streak due to a vacation I had pre-logged and forgot to go into the app. Streak is just for logging in, you don't even need to log anything to keep it.

thanks, that does seem unfair but at least i know now!

You can reset your own streak, though.

Which seems like cheating but you can. From Help/Troubleshooting:

https://support.myfitnesspal.com/hc/en-us/articles/360032624931-My-login-days-in-a-row-counter-is-incorrect-How-do-I-fix-this-

i always only have coffee for breakfast. so that's the same day to day.

generally my lunches are repeat items- things i eat pretty consistently for lunch. so, pretty much know whats happening there, too

dinners are always different. sometimes i plan well and know days ahead .... other times i figure it out that morning. I pre log it when I know what I'm doing but go in and edit amounts while i prepare it