Planning a day's worth of eating

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Hey there! I am trying to plan my day's food intake ahead of time... I figure if I know what I will be eating all day long then I will be able to talk myself down from temptations, because I know my calories are accounted for already. I leave a little wiggle room in case I want to add something (150 cals, or so). Do others work this way? Does this seem like a reasonable strategy? I am really determined to make this work and I don't want to fail. :happy:

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  • Strobins05
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    You are on the right path, planning AHEAD is so important! Yes, I prep my meals on Sunday night such as pre cutting my veggies for omelets, cooking my meat for dinner and even putting my snacks in order. this helps you calculate your calories and even plan for those days you may eat out! Continue to plan ahead and log it, you will see a big difference vs. sitting and trying to decide what to eat that may be within your range! Good luck!
  • oneIT
    oneIT Posts: 388 Member
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    I made a list of meals for the week when I was doing P90x based off of their program. It takes some planning. Eventually you will understand that some foods you just need to cut out. If you are eating clean foods it is way easier to stay in your calorie range.

    I found it very very helpful to do this kind of planning when i started though. Teaches you about different foods and how many calories they have. I just wing it now cause I pretty much know what has more calories.

    I found along the way the best thing to do is eat the least amount of processed food you can. I tell people if you can't grow it, raise it or catch it, you shouldn't be eating it.
  • tigerblue
    tigerblue Posts: 1,525 Member
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    I often add dinner in sometime between lunch and the dinner hour. It lets me see if I have calories to spare for an afternoon snack.

    Works for me!
  • tigerblue
    tigerblue Posts: 1,525 Member
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    I often add dinner in sometime between lunch and the dinner hour. It lets me see if I have calories to spare for an afternoon snack.

    Works for me!
  • amybeth83
    amybeth83 Posts: 29 Member
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    I do this almost every morning - it really, REALLY helps me stay on track! :wink:
  • jakejacobsen
    jakejacobsen Posts: 595 Member
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    I do this every night for the next day it helps me hit my protien levels, watch my carbs and sodium. But when my teen eats what I had planed too, it causes me great frustration but over all it works well for me
  • lts42uk
    lts42uk Posts: 162 Member
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    I plan the week's meals in advance and then enter on MFP the night before, I then add any extras during the day before finalising at the end of the day - it works for me!
  • MommaFuhrer
    MommaFuhrer Posts: 214 Member
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    I usually log all the food I'm going to eat for the day in the morning, then make changes if I need to throughout the day! ~Jessica :happy:
  • MercenaryNoetic26
    MercenaryNoetic26 Posts: 2,747 Member
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    That's the BEST strategy. That way you're more likely to stick to it! I plan up until the point where I come home from work then I prepare the rest of my meals based on whats left for calories. I go a little over sometimes, but I don't care. I know if I'm in the ballpark I'm safe.