View Poll Results: Do you plan your food in advance?
I write down ahead of time what I'm going to eat for the day and stick with the plan. 4 14.29%
I write down ahead of time what I'm going to eat for the day, but I will change my plan. 8 28.57%
Most of the time I just eat what I feel like as long as it's on my plan. 12 42.86%
I never write down ahead of time what I'm going to eat for the day. 4 14.29%
Voters: 28. You may not vote on this poll

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Old 04-15-2007, 03:46 PM   #1  
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Default Do you plan your food for the day?

I'm just curious if other people write down ahead of time what they're going to eat for the day or if you write down what you eat after or don't write down at all. Not sure if I've covered all the possibilities, but feel free to write down what you do as far as journaling or not journaling. I couldn't fit all the words in, so please note that it should read "Most of the time. . ." because I realize not everything is 100%.

For me, I've found through trial-and-error that I get the best weight loss if I plan out everything ahead of time and stick to it. I don't always do that because sometimes a friend will invite me out to lunch or something that day, but I'd say most of the time I do that.

Last edited by Sheila53; 04-15-2007 at 03:52 PM.
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Old 04-15-2007, 03:55 PM   #2  
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I'm not a food journaler, as I have a hard time remembering to do it. I'm good if I can do something first thing in the morning, but if I have to do it after work, I never remember (work seems to just wipe my brain clean).

I do however partially plan my food intake during the week. I used to buy lunch every day at work, but soon found that it was having a major effect on both my waistline (getting larger) and my wallet (getting smaller). I chose instead to start bringing my food to work. By doing this, I have my exact food intake planned for the entire workday. I bring my no sugar added oatmeal for breakfast, soup or lean cuisine for lunch, my 100 cal pack for afternoon snack, and that's my day. I do have supplementary items like nuts and craisons at work if I need them, and occassionally there is cake or other treats there that I allow myself to have, but that is why I don't plan dinner. When I get home, I try to think about what additional items I may have had at work, and then plan dinner and dessert (what would life be without dessert?). I find that by doing this, I'm able to feel like I have flexibilty with some of my food, and I'm still in control and making the choices.
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Old 04-15-2007, 04:28 PM   #3  
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I do plan my meals ahead.I take about 5 minutes in the evening to plan all meals and snacks for the following day,staying within my calorie allowance.As I eat my meals I check them off, so I don't eat something twice or forget something. I am not rigid about it but usually follow it pretty well.If I do not plan ahead I am apt to eat more than I should.




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Old 04-15-2007, 04:39 PM   #4  
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I plan my meals but it is a mental plan, not written down. Like I knew what I was going to have for dinner today as of Friday. I knew what I was going to have for lunch today when I woke up. I also allow for some flexibility.

So I don't really wing it, I plan it but I don't always write it down.
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Old 04-15-2007, 04:41 PM   #5  
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I do plan somewhat ahead for dinners. As in, we'll be out this night, DH has to work late, DH requested this food, etc. For the most part, I just stock my fridge/freezer and cupboards with good OP food and I can decide what to eat throughout the day. If I eat less points during the day and have a ton leftover (I get a ton b/c I breastfeed too), I might make something for dinner that is a little higher in cals/fat.
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Old 04-15-2007, 04:49 PM   #6  
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I'm like Sheila - I plan out my day and log it into FitDay ahead of time. But there are the rare times that I change it for some reason. Usually it's small changes - like substituting one veggie for another - but there have been a few times that I have to delete almost everything once I get back home because of something that came up - unexpected dinner with a friend or the boss buying us lunch.
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Old 04-15-2007, 04:59 PM   #7  
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I guess I semi-wing it. I kind of know what I'll be having but it isn't cut in stone. It usually seems to come out a lot the same from day to day anyway.
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Old 04-15-2007, 05:05 PM   #8  
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I'm another Fitday-ahead-er I get up in the morning, take my shower, and then sit at my computer and enter into Fitday what I will have for the day. I find it best to do it at home so I can get up and look in the kitchen if I have to. If I wait until the end of the day to try to go back and log what I had eaten that day, I will innevitably forget something or be way off on the amounts (magically, that big handful of Hershey's Kisses shrink into only 3 pieces when I think back to what I ate that day ).

Of course, that's not to say it doesn't change. I voted for the second option, that I sometimes change my plan. Sometimes we end up going out for lunch, sometimes we end up having a birthday party for someone at work, sometimes I end up working late and no longer have time to cook the dinner I'd had planned, etc. It's not set in stone for me, and the thing I like best about the free online version of Fitday is that I have access to it from ANY computer, so I can still update it throughout the day while I'm at work.

I've found that if I don't plan ahead, I'll make worse choices. They may not necessarily be BAD choices, but if I don't keep track of things, I may have a higher-cal dinner more nights than I would if I had been planning, like whole-wheat pasta or turkey burgers--not necessarily bad foods, just not as welll calculated.
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Old 04-15-2007, 05:31 PM   #9  
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I log as I go. I eat something, I put it into The Daily Plate. I use Fitday as well for the pretty pie chart, but basically all I do is take the total nutrient counts I get from The Daily Plate and input it as a custom food that I constantly update. I'll make adjustments for the rest of the day based on where I need to get my calories from. For example, if I look at my pie chart after lunch and it says I'm nearing my usual amount of carbs for the whole day, I'll skip on the bread/pasta/rice with my dinner and just have the veggies. Or if I need more protein, I'll have cottage cheese for a snack instead of a piece of fruit, etc. I find that planning ahead doesn't work for me, because I might plan on cooking an awesome dinner, but come home and be too tired, and decide to have a Kashi frozen dinner instead. Or I might read about an interesting recipe on here, be totally craving it, and have that rather than what I had intended. I do usually have some sort of a plan, though. I'm also a creature of habit, so I have routines that are comfortable.
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Old 04-15-2007, 05:44 PM   #10  
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I map out my plan in my head for the week. I don't write it down. So, like Nelie, I have a mental picture of what I am eating for the day/week. This works really, really well for me. I could absolutely not see this working for me if I did not know what I was eating for my upcoming meals. I keep my home well stocked with all the veggies and proteins that I need for a 5 day period or so. It really, really helps to keep me on track. Just knowing that I will be eating something delicious for breakfast, lunch, diner and my snacks keeps me on the right path. Leaving it up to chance is just that for me, the chance that I will stray. Setting myself up for success instead of failure is what it's all about for me.
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Old 04-15-2007, 06:01 PM   #11  
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If I don't want to eat it, I don't have it in the house. That along with having to eat small meals every 2-3 hours and having a veggie or fruit at each is the only structure I have. It works best for me, that way i'm not feeling to restricted. If I know i'll be going out, which isn't to often, i'll plan for that, even calling a restaurant ahead of time so there are no surprises.
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Old 04-15-2007, 06:16 PM   #12  
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During the week I'll plan ahead in the morning (since I bring 2 meals and 2 snacks to work anyway). Weekends are sort of less structured, although I do usually know what I'm having.
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Old 04-15-2007, 08:18 PM   #13  
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Since I am still getting used to the points system, I am writing everything down, but not in advance. I take OP snacks to work, but might choose the fruit over the yogurt, and so on. So I write down what I eat, when I eat it and tally up my points. I just discovered Fitday yesterday, and like the way it shows my daily intake. What I need to cut back on and what I need more of. I generally know what dinner will be, but will adjust as necessary.
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Old 04-16-2007, 09:09 AM   #14  
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I stick everything into fitday everyday. I have a mental picture of the entire week - and as said above, I don't keep anything in the house that is something I wouldn't eat. (which is a good thing - this past week I had 2 days in a row where I just wanted something - and ended up eating a handful of nuts.) I need to keep track of what I eat - I still feel I need that structure. Kind of the......"if I bite it - I write it" mindset.
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Old 04-16-2007, 10:13 AM   #15  
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I don't necessarily write it down - (that was what I chose) but I have everything planned out in my mind - but I always have an option of swapping something out - as long as it is pretty much the same calorie wise.
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