in need of some help with planning

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beachgirl1218
beachgirl1218 Posts: 16
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi All! Just wanted some ideas or suggestions on how to go about planning my day as far as my food. I was sitting here trying to plan my week and it just gets overwhelming to me....HEEELLLPPP! Do most people plan a week in advance of day by day??? I am brand new to MFP and to tracking what I eat.

Thanks...I am so overwhelmed right now over what seems silly, I know. Thanks! :frown:

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  • beachgirl1218
    beachgirl1218 Posts: 16
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    I should say that until this point, I have been pretty much relying on Smart Ones because of the ease. However, I realize I can't live on just these and don't really want too!
  • Nikkiray32
    Nikkiray32 Posts: 123
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    Hi there. I usually plan one day ahead. Sometimes I have to plan what to bring to work because I have a co-worker who eats like food is in shortage. I stopped eatting the smart ones and healthy choices because they are expensive and packages. It's your choice, but my body if full longer withreal food. I am also on a budget and the healthy choices where killing me ( as I have to shop for the rest of the family as well). I sometimes cook two nights of dinner at once to save on time. Hopefully it helps.
  • MelHoneyRocks
    MelHoneyRocks Posts: 223
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    When shopping I stock on things like fruit, yogurt, hummus, veggies, nuts, cheese and lunch meat.. And then I plan day by day, in advance how I am going to pack my meals for each day. I always go to work armed with snacks.
  • Athijade
    Athijade Posts: 3,280 Member
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    Hi All! Just wanted some ideas or suggestions on how to go about planning my day as far as my food. I was sitting here trying to plan my week and it just gets overwhelming to me....HEEELLLPPP! Do most people plan a week in advance of day by day??? I am brand new to MFP and to tracking what I eat.

    Thanks...I am so overwhelmed right now over what seems silly, I know. Thanks! :frown:

    I plan my dinners a week in advance for specific days. Each week, about Wednesday, I do my dinner plans for the following weeks. I also plan a set of breakfasts, lunches, and snacks for that week, but not for any specific day. I like variety so I do this so I know what I am going to make and so I have the items on hand.

    I also made a monthly rough sketch for dinners. This gives me some ideas, but does end up being changed week by week. Things get added, subtracted, and switched around.
  • Shelby814
    Shelby814 Posts: 273 Member
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    Almost every night around 9 or 10pm I plan & pack my food for the next day. I pack breakfast, 4 snacks & lunch to be eaten during my work day. I write it all down & cross it off as I go during the day. I also make a mental note of what I plan to have for dinner that next night so I can take something out of the freezer. A lot of times I will cook up an entire family pack of chicken breasts & eat that in various ways over the next several days. I often do this for weekends as well because it takes all of the guessing out of it for me & I'm less likely to eat what isn't planned for. I typically stick with mostly whole foods & clean protein because the processed stuff like deli meat & frozen entrees are full of preservatives & sodium. Planning is key for me. Good luck!
  • 01elizabeth59
    01elizabeth59 Posts: 59
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    If it's overwhelming in the beginning, just plan one or two days. But plan everything, even snacks. I'm in my 10th week on Curves Complete and really like having a week planned but the website is doing it for me at this point. I have started trying to ease back into it.
    Remember whole foods will fill you up and keep you feeling full longer. Don't skimp on protein. it feeds your muscles.
    Good luck! You've choosen well with MFP!
  • lacewitch
    lacewitch Posts: 766 Member
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    how often a week do you want to go shopping and what is your main meal, how many are you cooking for?

    i draw a table with 7 days , breakfast lunch dinner and 2 snacks per day

    then i choose a recipe like chilli or stew for Sunday lunch and make enough for 3 extra portions - 1 Monday lunch , 1 wed lunch and 1 freeze. B'fast is normally eggs on toast or porridge
    dinner is then salad
    I will plan salad for Tuesday Thursday lunch
    and I will cook on Tuesday with 3 extra portions maybe soup ( quick and easy and have one on friday lunch and one on weds tea and one for the freezer thursday dinner is steamed fish and veges or something equally tasty and easy
    Friday is store cupboard day - beans on toast etc
    This way I have variety and a freezer full of meals that can be defrosted when i am lazy.

    snacks include
    fruit, oatcakes w/ hummus low fat cream cheese. celery and peanut butter chopped veges and hummus a small can of tinned fish, 1/2 a baby avocado on oat crackers, a little yogurt ( i try for 1 savory 1 sweet or i go over on sugar (my weakness)

    hope this helps

    If you have a slow cooker you can always fill it in a morning then the evening meal is sorted and you have lunch / freezable extras
  • opajee
    opajee Posts: 69
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    I like planning the night before or the morning.

    I like making sure I know two of the three meals I will have. The snacks and third meal are determined by the two meals. If those two meals are fairly calorie heavy I'll have a lighter 3rd meal and snacks. If the two meals are lower in calories, I can indulge a bit more in the other meal and snacks.
  • Itsallbs15
    Itsallbs15 Posts: 262 Member
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    I plan my weeks worth of dinners on Sunday's when I do my coupons. I pack my lunch and snacks the night before. I usually take leftovers or sandwiches for lunch. As for snacks, I always pack 3. That way I can have one after breakfast, one after lunch, and one on my drive home. When planning on Sunday's, I always make sure that my fruits and vegetables are fully stocked as that is what I prefer to take for snacks. Also, I do all my prepping Sunday nights. I cut my vegetables, boil eggs (so I have hard boiled egg whites for breakfast), and separate my snacks into mini ziploc bags. That way I have portion control as well as manage my time between work, family, school, workout time, and making sure I am eating healthy. I hope this helps.

    BRENDA
  • margo36
    margo36 Posts: 222 Member
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    I plan my food daily first thing in the morning.I cook using fresh ingredients and don't eat ready meals. I generally have poached eggs on toast for breakfast. Lunch can be either a Sandwich ( love banana sandwich ) or Jacket potato with Tuna or homemade soup.Dinner can be Any sort of meat or fish with loads of vegs and not too many potatoes or some sort of pasta meal. I even manage some red wine.. I'm on 1200 calories and I eat my exercise calories. my main exercise is walking my three dogs. I have lost over 150 pounds using this method although I'm only showing a pound at the moment because I have reset my start point.
    I usually enter my dinner first then I know what calories I have left to play with. My slim partner eats the same dinner as me only more of it.
  • beachgirl1218
    beachgirl1218 Posts: 16
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    Thank you all so much for all of the advice! I know it seemed like a silly question..the perfectionism in me starts to take over and I get overwhelmed with it! Thanks again! :flowerforyou:

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