I plan my meals by the week, but I don't know what I'll make for dinner till, say, that morning. I have X ingriedents to make X things, so I know what I have to make, I just have to pick.
I both plan mine for the day and for the month. For example, whenever I have a free hour or two (usually on the weekends), I'll make a batch of soup and a few different dishes. I take the number of servings, divide my food into that many containers, and freeze them with calorie counts on them. At any given time I have probably 6 different types of soup and 6 different dinner meals.
The night before, though, I pack my lunch (always a frozen cup of soup that I've already made) and my two snacks (mid morning fruit/mid afternoon veggies with protein) for the following day.
I have generally the same breakfasts - sandwich or wrap that amounts to between 150-250 calories. Most of my dinners (pre-cooked) are between 300-400 calories each, so I just grab the one I want to eat or make something else that is quick cooking if I'm in the mood for another cuisine.
Night time snacks tend to stay the same, so I don't have to plan them so heavily.
My meals are so consistent, but the slight variance in calories is why I have a range of 1000-1200 calories/day.
I plan my meals 2 weeks at a time. We get a produce co-op thingy every other week, so it works best for me to find out what fruits and veg we get, then make the menus around that. It's a lot easier for me to stick to my plan when there's stuff around on my menu so I'm not tempted to stop at the drive-thru or eat crap and garbage. Also, by knowing ahead, I can plan for more food, more nutritious food, food that is awesome to eat. Better quality, more volume and less calories. It works really well for me when I do it that way. I do 1500-1800/day, calorie counting and weighing EVERYTHING except spices, Splenda and cooking spray ;-)
I haven't been very good lately at the breakfast and lunch and snacks, and it shows on my big fat butt! Just typing out what I normally do is being a help though because I am reminded of how I lost the first 60, and how I've gotten into some bad habits again.
But I find that you can't preplan how you'll feel. I'm taking a more intuitive approach lately. If I'm hungry I'll give myself some wiggle room. If I'm not I don't force calories. I've been at this a LONG time, though. I know how many calories something has. I know what will make me retain water or crave sugar or feel like booty.
Starting out, I definitely think it's a good idea to preplan, though! If I start to slip into bad habits I go back to meticulously keeping track and meal planning. But, I'm another one that eats pretty much the same things every day.
I don't, really - I've gotten to the point where I feel I can trust my own judgment. Too much planning for me = total anxiety whenever something comes up as seemingly benign as somebody offering me a cookie at work.
I do plan a few days ahead, but I'm not strict with it.
Like now, I have three servings of hamburger and veggie soup and some seasoned grilled chicken breast tenders with veggies, but if I wake up tomorrow and want salmon - I'll go get it and the meals just sit in the fridge.
I only have so many calories and I'm gonna eat what I crave (within calories of course). The soup can be frozen and eaten another day.
I have a weekly meal plan. But, it is set up as a long term thing. Monday is a low day...it has three low day options for me to pick from in the morning to make sure I pull out meat to thaw or whatever prep is needed. Then Tuesday has 3 medium day choices. Wednesday has 3 high day options. Etc.
Loosely in that I usually spend a weekend cooking like a maniac, freeze everything in single serve portions and take it as I need it for lunches or when I don't have time or feel like cooking dinner.
Leading up to this weekend I have to do some preplanning, choose recipes take stock of what I have on hand, make grocery lists etc.
But when I do it right I can go as long as 2 months without having to worry about it again.
Loosely in that I usually spend a weekend cooking like a maniac, freeze everything in single serve portions and take it as I need it for lunches or when I don't have time or feel like cooking dinner.
Leading up to this weekend I have to do some preplanning, choose recipes take stock of what I have on hand, make grocery lists etc.
But when I do it right I can go as long as 2 months without having to worry about it again.
I usually plan it the night before because I can kind of see what cravings I'm having or if I need to change it up. It does help though to have your meals planned a whole in advance, it makes it easier to keep on track, but some might get bored of it so it depends on the individual.
Do You Plan Your Menu?
