Who plans their meals in advance and why?

In the mornings I log everything for the entire day for my meals. I do not log my excercise tell night even if i workout in the morning. Logging everything in the morning for the entire day has really helped me stay on track. I don't log my excercise calories til night time because i really dont like to eat them back. But i have been eating half back if i am hungry at the end of the night for a snack. This system has worked for me. Youll find out what works for you best. Everyone is different.

I plan at least my weekday breakfast, lunch, and snacks ahead of time so I can make sure I have what I need to pack them for work. I don't generally plan dinner unless I am going out and then I hunt the restaurant menu and nutritional info sites to come up with a couple possibilities.

I dont plan weeks in advance but when I wake up I plan and track everything from breakfast, snacks, lunch, snacks, and If I know dinner- then dinner too I like to have some calories left over for the day just in case dinner might change etc. But I do like to plan my day out when it comes. And if i KNOW I am going to a movie, or maybe Ihope-returant etc with the family I will look that up like days- week in advance and then plan my day around it. I will usually sneak 2 apples, cut up, into the movies so that I am not tempted by popcorn or candy!! And a water of course!

I do because prepping certain meals takes a fair amount of time and I try not to spend too much time in the kitchen, especially after evening workouts. And I am a control freak. :glasses:

Yes I do on the days that I go to work cause I eat then pretty much the same thing but on the weekends it does get harder. I feel its easier just do it that way and get it all done and I know what I am okay to eat. On the days that I know I am going to eat more - I just pump up my exercise and get more calories that way :-)

I do it, especially if I know I'm going to be eating out or drinking with friends. It keeps me accountable while I'm out and I find myself envisioning my preset "allowed" drinks or calories and sticking to it.

I try and plan the night before although I'll plan in my head the week ahead in case I need to buy anything.

Usually it's just a rough idea, if I fancy something different I'll change it but I like planning my meals so I know how many calories I have left for if I fancy a snack.

Like this

Sometimes I plan my meals up to about 900 or 1000 calories. In reality I end up tweaking my diary during the day and end up with 1300-1500 calories.

Yeah I plan ahead, not just days either but normally my whole week. I tend to find that if I don't it makes meal decisions harder and I can end up over cals.

Also, if I've planned it out, it means I know what I'm getting at the weekly shop and save me buying excess stuff or stuff that really doesn't go with anything and I start having weird meals just to use it up!! Golden syrup porridge with crab sticks anyone? :laugh:

I like to plan ahead but it is quite difficult to follow all the recommendations regarding how much dairy, whole grains, vegetables, etc. If I am left on my own, I have a bad tendency to "forget" dairy products. If I am not traveling, I use a website called soscuisine. It is for the most part free and they provide meal plans following the recommended guidelines and for many situations such as losing weight, pregnancy, diabetes, controlling acid reflux, or just eating well in general without controlling for anything in particular. The basic meal plans and access to recipes are free but if you take a specialized meal plan you will have to pay up to 2$ a week to cover for the nutritionists reviewing the meal plans and the hard work they put into that. The meal plans are sent once a week and there is also an interactive shopping list (click what you need for the week based on your recipes, then print). Also, the CHUM recently adopted the “Heart-Healthy” meal plans of SOSCuisine (CHUM is an hospital in Montréal), so this is serious stuff I am talking about here, not some gimmick to make money. I am not related to them in any ways, I am a very happy user

I do! I find if I don't then I make poor choices and blow everything out the water!

I do this, up to 3 or 4 days in advance. I do it because it's fun, it takes the anxiety out of how I'm going to eat my calories, and I make sure to leave enough left over calories to not worry myself with unscheduled treats. That being said, I also make my food for the week ahead of time so it really is truly easy.

It helped me immensely with losing weight and making my diet more custom fit to my nutritional needs. I really hated the anxiety of counting down the calories in the day.

^^This

bump...always open to new ideas and methods.

I typically do not plan to far in advance, but I usually have all of my foods in except evening snack by about noon. It helps me stay accountable to myself.

Two weeks ago I had all of my dinners put into my diary on Monday for the whole week. My boyfriend thought it was weird, but we knew what we were having, so I did it!